Anticipating modernity: the Jewish ‘welfare state’ in biblical and medieval times

The impact of religion on social policies and its role in the development, structuring and functioning of welfare states has only recently attracted significant attention. Studies of the relationship between religion and the welfare state have given little consideration to whether the religious precepts and values of the major religions, and the ways of life which they have shaped, are consistent with the idea of the welfare state. This paper shows that the elements of the definition of the modern welfare state were reflected in Jewish communal life as either prescribed by Jewish law (halakha) or lived during both ancient and medieval times, and that communal life was ‘welfare‐state‐like‘. In doing so this paper demonstrates that the idea of the welfare state is consistent with Judaism.     

Effects of attributed responsibility and response strategies on organizational reputation: A meta-analysis of situational crisis communication theory research

Scholars utilizing situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) mainly examine how attributed responsibility affects organizational reputation and how response strategies matched with the amount of attributed responsibility protect reputation. The findings on these 2 important questions have been mixed. A meta-analysis of 35 investigations from 24 studies published between January 1990 and March 2015 was conducted to explain the mixed findings and reveal average correlations. Attributed responsibility was strongly associated with reputation at –.54, and response strategies were only weakly associated with reputation at .23. Equally important, crisis vignette choice moderated the responsibility-reputation association. Crisis clusters, reputation measurements, sample choice, and crisis vignette choice moderated the match-reputation association. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications were discussed.     

同意观念的历史谱系与当代困境

通过提出明示同意与默示同意这两个不同的同意概念并强调有别于集体同意之个体同意的重要性，特别是通过对默示同意的分析和说明，洛克使得近代意义上的同意理论逐渐浮出水面。同意理论在颠覆君权神授理论、确认人民主权思想的过程中有着无可置疑的历史价值。虽然在现当代，同意理论因遭遇到越来越多的诟病而逐渐步入困境，但同意理论并非一无是处。对于当代中国社会来说，强调政府及政府行为必须经过人民的同意这一点，对于政治体制的改革以及政治秩序的合法构建来说仍然具有极为重要且深远的意义。     

学校体育伤害事故的类型及责任认定探析

学校体育伤害事故关系学校、教工、学生和家长等多方主体利益,更关系国家体育教育事业的发展。根据发生原因的不同,学校体育伤害事故可以分为因物的原因、因人的原因和因意外原因导致的三种不同类型的学校体育伤害事故。学前教育、初等教育、中等教育、高等教育等不同受教育阶段学生的行为能力存在明显差异:学前教育阶段学生属无民事行为能力人;初等教育阶段学生以无民事行为能力为一般,以限制民事行为能力为特殊;中等教育阶段学生属限制民事行为能力人;高等教育阶段学生为完全民事行为能力人。结合我国现有法律法规,不同受教育阶段中,不同类型的学校体育伤害事故,各方主体(学校、教师、家长、学生等)的法律责任分配是不同的。法律责任的清晰界定不仅有助于解决此类纠纷,而且有利于构建一个权责明确的社会,促进学生身心健康成长,发展体育运动事业。     

试论民族地区建立“环境侵权责任社会分担机制”的必要性

环境侵权责任社会分担是一种将因环境侵权行为所造成的损失转移到社会,由侵权行为人以外的主体完全或部分分担损失金额的侵权赔偿责任机制。社会连带理论为其提供了正当性基础。从伦理学、经济学、政治学和社会学角度均能证明民族地区建立环境侵权责任社会分担机制的必要性。     

Explaining how unexploded ordnance clearance enhances livelihoods in the Lao PDR

BackgroundFollowing violent conflict, the continued presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance pose a barrier to rebuilding livelihoods. Mine action removes these explosive remnants of conflict to enable communities to safely return contaminated land to productive use. There is limited understanding, however, of how, why, in what context and in what respects mine action contributes to livelihoods. Yet, such information is required for effective resource allocation, checking underlying program assumptions, understanding benefits and potential harms.MethodsThe evaluation was undertaken in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. It used an interpretive case study design and applied the principles of realist evaluation. Program staff and local government authorities were interviewed (N = 37) and program beneficiaries. In total, 38 individual interviews with program beneficiaries were conducted and eighteen focus group interviews (9 with males, 9 with females), each with 6–9 participants.ResultsThe evaluation identified two main mechanisms through which the program ‘worked’: (1) communication pre- and post-clearance and (2) the delivery of the product (cleared land).ConclusionThe realist approach helped to refine the program theory, highlighted the role of self- and task-efficacy and community communication, assisted in identifying contextual factors that influence outcomes and suggested a revision of expected outcomes.     

Young adults’ hopes for the long-term future: from re-enchantment with technology to faith in humanity

Recent scholarly research has claimed that young people are predominantly concerned with their immediate ‘horizon of planning’, resulting in an outlook upon the future that is dominated by present-day concerns. By distinguishing between choices and plans, on the one hand, and hope and faith, on the other, this article analyses how young people relate to the future through their attitudes about responsibility and technology in order to complicate this narrative. The data are drawn from an interview project in which 28 young adults (aged 18–34) discuss both their own future and a general idea of the future of society. Two key findings are discussed. Firstly, respondents are found to place faith in the potential of technology to mitigate future predicaments, and secondly, respondents are found to ascribe mystical or magical qualities to technology. Drawing on these findings, this article suggests that the oft-cited attitude that technology will develop in time to meet the needs of the future does not simply signify a deferral of responsibility onto future generations. Instead, by drawing on scholarship on re-enchantment it is argued that for young adults technological development can represent a refuge of faith and hope for the future.     

Children's participation in foster care placements

This article presents results from a study of the birth children of foster carers and their experiences of growing up with foster siblings. Data were gathered from focus groups (17 participants), discussion groups (16 participants), a questionnaire (684 responses) and eight individual interviews. The children's participation in the fostering placements is in focus. Accounts from the children show that several of them participate in care-giving activities in everyday life. Their participation in the official assignment is however limited and can lead to children taking on responsibility with no support from adults. The tension between children's agency and position in society is addressed. The study shows how power relations between children and adults come into play, how both children and adults (re)-produce positions where children's rights to have a say in questions that concern them are not reflected within fostering processes.     

The Cat and the Cloud: ACT for LGBT Locus of Control,Responsibility, and Acceptance

Advocating acceptance, committed action, and value-guided behavior over experiential avoidance, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) may aid lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) clients affected by hetero/homonormative social pressure. By conceptualizing LGBT paradigms of internal/external control/responsibility (IC-IR; EC-IR; IC-ER; EC-IR), ACT may be adapted to a myriad of multicultural worldviews. This article presents locus of acceptance as the attributed worth of internal/external cues perceived necessary by the client to achieve self-acceptance. Recognizing visibility and isolation as recurrent LGBT issues, locus of acceptances balances identity as individual (internal acceptance) with identity as community (external acceptance).     

论思想解放的内在机制

今天的解放思想已经从人类社会特殊历史时刻才出现的重大的思想和理论变革运动转变为社会发展的经常性、普遍化、常规化、常态化的内在要求和有机组成部分。解放思想是人之生存结构中给定性与创造性、自然性与超越性之间的张力和冲突的集中体现，它的动力机制和制约机制具体表现为：创新的与保守的思想观念之间的张力和冲突、开放的与封闭的思维方式之间的张力和冲突、现代的与传统的文化模式之间的张力和冲突。在新的解放思想进程中，我们不仅要积极推动各个领域各个层面的具体的解放思想；而且要高度关注解放思想的机制体制建设，特别是解放思想的文化创新机制的形成：营造尊重不同思想观念的制度文化，确立开放包容和求异创新的思维方式，培育尊重个性和创新的文化模式。