Equity and ‘No Fee’ Schools in South Africa: Challenges and Prospects

Despite almost 20 years of democratic governance in South Africa, there is growing evidence that equitable access to quality education remains elusive for the majority of its children. In 2007, the Department of Education declared 40 per cent of schools in the country to be ‘no fee’ schools and, by 2011, 60 per cent of all schools had been designated as such. This article examines the introduction and the effects to date of the no fee schools policy, and assesses the progress of South Africa's undoubtedly pro‐poor education policies towards promoting equality in education and, above all, achieving equity of access to resource allocation. It discusses the main challenges and issues relating to the implementation of the no fee policy at provincial and school levels while also considering the efficacy of existing equitable funding instruments, and concludes with suggestions for how more effective and equitable access to quality education can be realized.     

当前我国民办高等学校融资问题的实证分析

民办（私立）教育规模在教育系统中所占比例是民办教育研究领域的一个重要问题，本文通过对民办高校发展规模的地区差异及资金需求分析，通过民办高校与公办院校及普通高校响应指标的对比来研究资金不足的现状，对民办高校的投融资问题提出政策建议。     

The nature and context of cross-border social work in Ireland

This article is concerned with mapping cross-border social work in Ireland. After a short background section on the nature of the Irish border, it evaluates and assesses the main areas of collaboration in social work. It argues that this type of work has been largely led by special project funding and is dependent on the skills, knowledge and commitment of a small number of individuals who have driven cross-border projects. Whilst there is a clear rationale for collaboration in social work programmes, it is contended that this method of working lacks an overall coherence and is in danger of disappearing when special funding programmes come to an end. The article contends that there is a fundamental desire for close co-operation, but as cross-border social work has not been embedded into the routine business of health boards and trusts the impetus is constantly undermined. It is concluded that cross-border social work programmes will remain marginal and insignificant until they are mainstreamed rather than bolted on as an afterthought to existing programmes.     

层次分析法在企业筹资决策中的应用研究

将运筹学中的层次分析法应用于企业的筹资决策中,可以减少企业筹资决策的盲目性。本文在建立了筹资决策的层次分析模型的基础上,进行了实证分析并指出了应用此方法应注意的问题。     

政府研发资助是否有利于撬动跨境投资的技术创新溢出？——基于IFDI与OFDI双向演化的新视角

如何通过政府研发资助撬动跨境投资的技术创新溢出是新时代深化全面开放和创新驱动的关键所在。本文以IFDI和OFDI双向演化视角,揭示了跨境投资技术创新溢出的逻辑关系以及政府研发资助的动态调节机制。以介质影响门槛模型和省级面板数据实证研究发现：IFDI技术创新溢出是一个由强到弱的过程,而OFDI技术创新溢出呈现出先抑后扬的“U”型规律;政府研发资助对双向跨境投资技术创新溢出具有显著而不同的门槛影响,当研发资助强度高于0.2491时,能够撬动IFDI技术创新溢出;研发资助强度高过0.2501时,能够有效释放OFDI技术创新溢出,相较而言对“走出去”的创新驱动更为有力。相应结论在合理的内生性检验和稳健性检验时依然成立。通过进一步研究发现,政府研发资助对双向跨境投资技术创新溢出的调节影响存在一定的空间异质性,特别是在东中西部地区呈现出较为复杂的演化特征。由此为提高政府研发资助效率,双向撬动跨境投资的技术创新溢出红利,提出了动态优化、分区调节的系统策略。     

近十年来新闻学与传播学研究动态与趋势——基于1999～2009年国家社科基金资助项目的分析

根据十余年来（1999年-2009年）国家社科基金中新闻学与传播学类立项资助项目的数据,分析了相关项目的表面特征以及走势所显现的含义,并着重研究和探讨了项目内容的变迁与发展。据此可有效了解我国新闻传播研究的大趋势。     

德国普及严肃音乐的文化政策及对我国的启示

随着我国经济的发展,人民群众的物质精神生活水平得到了显著的提高,然而大众对于严肃音乐的接受程度仍然较低。以严肃音乐最为发达的德国为例,分析德国社会对于严肃音乐的认识、德国政府对艺术团体的公共资助策略以及相应的音乐教育普及情况,并根据中国国情,提出促进我国严肃音乐发展的策略。     

Home birth and the National Australian Maternity Services Review: too hot to handle?

Background

In February 2009 the Improving Maternity Services in Australia – The Report of the Maternity Services Review (MSR) was released, with the personal stories of women making up 407 of the more than 900 submissions received. A significant proportion (53%) of the women were said to have had personal experience with homebirth. Little information is provided on what was said about homebirth in these submissions and the decision by the MSR not to include homebirth in the funding and insurance reforms being proposed is at odds with the apparent demand for this option of care.

Method

Data for this study comprised 832 submissions to the MSR that are publicly available on the Commonwealth of Australia Department of Health and Aging website. All 832 submissions were downloaded, coded and then entered into NVivo. Content analysis was used to analyse the data that related to homebirth.

Findings

450 of the submissions were from consumers of maternity services (54%). Four hundred and seventy (60%) of the submissions mentioned homebirth. Overall there were 715 references to home birth in the submissions. The submissions mentioning homebirth most commonly discussed the ‘Benefits’ and ‘Barriers’ in accessing this option of care. Benefits to the baby, mother and family were described, along with the benefits obtained from having a midwife at the birth, receiving continuity of care and having a good birth experience. Barriers were described as not having access to a midwife, no funding, no insurance and lack of clinical privileging for midwives.

Conclusion

Many positive recommendations have come from the MSR, however the decision to exclude homebirth from these reforms is perplexing considering the large number of submissions describing the benefits of and barriers to homebirth in Australia. A concerning number of submissions discuss having had or having considered an unattended birth at home due to these barriers. Overall there is the belief that not enabling access to funded, insured homebirth in Australia is a violation of human rights. It appears that homebirth was considered by the MSR as ‘too hot to handle’ and by dismissing it as a minority issue the government sought to avoided dealing with homebirth as a ‘sensitive and controversial issue.’     

Facing Up to Underfunding: Equity and Retrenchment in Community Care

Local social services departments in the UK are expected to distribute their cash-limited budgets for community care in ways that achieve an equitable allocation of resources in situations where, with present levels of funding, they cannot meet all the needs with which they are presented. This paper discusses a case study of the introduction of a "needs-based" formula to allocate a local authority's budget for home care services and a follow-up survey to investigate whether services reached the people intended to benefit. The article argues that the "gatekeeping" role of community care assessments is important to safeguard equity without the inflexibility of highly standardized tests of eligibility. However, with the new Labour government seeking to reduce dependency on public expenditure, and a growing lobby for national standards of social care, it will be increasingly important that local authorities justifiy their different practices with evidence about how they relate to local needs.     

城乡居民基本养老保险待遇调整方案的优化与选择

科学可持续的调待政策是城乡居民适度养老保险待遇的可靠保障。通过设计五种不同路径的调待方案,在现行政策的基础上构建城乡居民养老保险精算模型,从目标替代率、基金平衡性、缴费积极性、受益最大化等多维度对以上方案作比较并详细阐述各方案的优劣,研究结果表明差异化的调待方案有利于实现多维度目标的最优化整合。基于实证分析得出的建议是在财政补助固定的情况下,应构建差异化的待遇调整机制;此外,为保证基金短期和长期平衡,地方政府应加大对个人账户的补贴。