Assimilation vs. multiculturalism: Views from a community in France

A recent American survey of attitudes toward societal multiculturalism vs. assimilation has found surprisingly widespread support for maintaining heritage cultures not only among immigrant minority groups but also among most subsamples of majority host groups, black and white. Working-class whites are the one exception. This pilot study explores the same attitude domain in a contrasting European setting. Randomly selected samples of middle- and working-class families (a mother, father, and teenage son or daughter) from a small city in France were interviewed. As a group, they were neutral to slightly favorable to immigrants maintaining heritage cultures and languages rather than losing them through assimilation. On measures of attitudes toward specific immigrant groups, there were marked intergroup dyfferunces with Maghrebian Arabs rated leist favorably and Southeast Asians, the model immigrants, most favorably. Comparisons of subgroups of respondents who varied in terms of (a) political left-right orientation, (b) social class standing, (c) degree of religiosity, and (d) generational level provide the base for a more general discussion of cultural assimilation and multiculturalism.     

The Limitations and Opportunities of Business Process Re-engineering in a Politicized Organizational Climate

This paper is concerned with the organizationalchange and project management issues raised by theimplementation of a business process re-engineering(BPR) approach in the politicized hospital context. This is a report of research in progress,focusing on the issues arising at the problem definitionand project planning stages of a BPR application in anoperating theaters department experiencing problems with scheduling and delays. The research designrelies on a case study approach, with the researcher asparticipant observer, as both an adviser to the projectteam and as field interviewer. The paper argues that an ambitious BPR agenda is compromised inat least two regards. First, the lack of precisionsurrounding the focus and methodology of BPR givespolitically motivated actors considerable influence with respect to defining terms of reference in wayswhich will shape potential outcomes in their favor.Second, the complexity and indeterminacy of the businessprocess or patient trail can also diluteredesign attempts. The principal limitations of theapproach thus concern the impracticality of embarking onrapid and radical change working from a blanksheet of paper with respect to organizational and job design. BPR, unlike other organizationdevelopment interventions, is not a contextsensitive approach. The role of project manageris critical in establishing a working balance betweenindividual, occupational, and organizational goals in a manner perceivedto be legitimate in the context. Effective BPR projectmanagement thus requires a combination of political andprocess analysis skills. The principal opportunities of BPR derive from its process orientation,which brings a fresh perspective to a traditionally andfunctionally fragmented organizational setting, andwhich presents a potentially valuable platform for anevolutionary approach to process improvement.     

公共利益的概念建构评析 ——行政伦理学的视角

文章系统地梳理了美国行政学理论发展过程中的“公共利益”观念的变迁;批判了诸种功利主义和技治主义行政学理论对于“公共利益”的片面甚至错误的看法;主张将“公共利益”取向视为行政人必备的一种精神,一种职业信仰和终极向往。     

Call My Bluff: Multiple Interpretations of an Organizational Process

This paper attempts to illustrate the value of interpreting organizational processes from a variety of perspectives. It demonstrates that this approach reflects the natural richness of organization and avoids the rather blinkered search for single-paradigm explanations. It does not seek to offer the answer, but rather some possible insights. By combining both actor and researcher frames, it sheds light upon a particular process of social interaction within an organization. Both the context, an NHS trust hospital, and the content, a significant change scenario, brings richness and relevance to the debate.
The paper outlines the macro and micro context before focusing on the interpretative methodological approach. The research involved collecting and analysing over thirty hours of taped, semi-structured interview discourse with senior and middle management and some junior staff. After describing the change initiative, an attempt at multi-skilling and the response of recipient actors to the proposals, the paper outlines three readings which seek to explain the events that occurred. The reader is invited to play the game 'Call my Bluff' and to choose the scenario that represents the most plausible explanation. The three interpretative frames employed are a managerial, a cultural and a political perspective. The paper concludes by raising some important issues in research, organizational change and the NHS.     

《千年之痒》与知识分子的精神史

吴昕孺的长篇小说《千年之痒》讲述了知识分子乌去纱跨越少年、青年到中年的心路历程。乌去纱的生存变迁实则对应了生于20世纪70年代的知识分子的青春成长史、现代都市中的情爱史,以及在欲望时代中的命运史。《千年之痒》展现了20世纪80年代以来中国城乡社会与时代的发展变化,揭示了日常生活的本相和当代人的精神图景。     

从哲理诠释、精神信仰到成德成人——20世纪以来“致良知”教研究的基本定位与反思

“致良知”教作为王阳明思想的重要内容,既是其讲学的立言宗旨,又是王门诸子学习、实践活动中的思想纲领。20世纪以来,关于“致良知”教的研究主要形成了哲理诠释与精神信仰两种不同诠释路径。反观20世纪以来阳明“致良知”教的两种研究取径,都不可回避一个更为本质的问题——成德成人。成德成人的德性教养既是儒学一以贯之的内在精神,更是阳明“致良知”教的本旨意涵,其意义就在转化个体生命情感、精神意志的过程中显现出人人本有且知是知非的良知。在成德成人的基础上,哲理诠释的路径蕴涵着精神信仰的价值追求,而精神信仰的路径又表现出哲理诠释的普遍性面相。这既关涉如何体贴阳明哲学的真精神,也向当代儒学研究提出了应当如何诠释儒学传统价值的重要问题。     

The Holodomor law and national trauma construction in Ukraine

This article proposes to conceptualize the remembrance of the 1932–33 famine, known as the Holodomor, as cultural trauma construction in Ukraine. This entails the study of how the memory of this devastating historical event became the national collective symbol of suffering with which Ukrainians identify today. Based on Jeffrey Alexander’s concept of cultural trauma, the analysis focuses on the role of political elites and their claim-making regarding the meaning of the famine. Focusing specifically on the 2006 Holodomor law as the main claim of the Ukrainian policy-makers, the article investigates their definition of the historical event, their naming of victims and perpetrators, and their social mediation of famine representations. The article reveals how, through their definition of the Holodomor as genocide, the political elites promoted the understanding that Ukrainians experienced the years of 1932–33 differently from other Soviet nations. The Holodomor law should therefore be seen in the context of Ukrainian nation-building policy, which aims to forge a distinct Ukrainian collective identity.     

贾谊和西汉政治、经济

贾谊提出众建诸侯的建议为文帝所采纳,并对后来晁错和主父偃很有启发。消除边患是贾谊治国方略之一。对于匈奴侵扰,文帝和景帝采取和、战结合,武帝则是先和后战,不同做法与贾谊方案是一致的。重视经济是贾谊思想的重要内容。由于这样思想主张得到实行,文景之治带来经济的发展。武帝时币制改革,事实上也是贾谊思想在政策方面的实现。     

现实与表达：1945年中共对“胡世合事件”的建构——以《新华日报》为考察中心

“胡世合事件”是1945年2月20日在国统区发生的一起特务非法枪杀电力工人胡世合所引起的全国高度关注的惨案。中共对于“胡世合事件”的大力宣传，一方面引起了广大工人群众对于保障人权、争取民主、反对特务统治的呐喊，另一方面从侧面论证了中共在抗战末期追求民主、实现民主政治的正当性。     

The other side of Malaysia’s enviable economic and multiethnic stability: the obstinate resilience of ‘money politics’

Many governments, in their zeal to progress and deliver the fruits of development, are caught in a web of unsavory habits and practices that impair not only their international image but also domestic legitimacy. One such perennially persistent and resilient disease is ‘money politics.’ Taking Malaysia as a case study, we note that despite sustaining a remarkable record of economic and multiethnic stability, the country has also been helpless in mitigating this obstinate issue. In this article, it is posited that the phenomenon is not a new or recent portent but has actually persisted even prior to independence. We shall then contend that unless the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government attaches greater priority in stamping out this political bug, the country’s otherwise enviable development trajectory and the quest to reach a ‘developed nation’ status via its Vision 2020 declaration, even if fulfilled, are not cause for celebration, given its implications to the country’s economic sustainability and multiethnic stability.