Does a universal non-contributory social pension make sense for rural China?

China’s pension reform during the past three decades has allowed a majority of China’s population to be covered by a pension scheme. Of particular note has been the New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS), a voluntary programme introduced starting in 2009. One goal of our analysis is to assess that pension scheme, using a variety of sources of information including data drawn from recent (2013 and 2015) nationwide China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Surveys (CHARLS). Our analysis involves an exploration of differences between the generosity and structure of the NRPS and other pension schemes currently in place. We also explore the feasibility of reforming the current “quasi-social pension” component of the NRPS by substituting a universal non-contributory social pension pillar. In connection with our assessment of the NRPS, we note the unusually low benefit levels for rural China.     

Fire and restoration of the largest urban forest of the world in Rio de Janeiro City,Brazil

National Park of Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) is about 3,300 ha and considered the largest urban forest in the world. Its floristic composition is typical of Atlantic Rain Forest. The reserve is being altered because of fire occurrences and urban expansion. This study identified locations and causes of forest fires, and makes management recommendations to restore damaged areas. From 1991 to 2000, forest firefighters recorded an average of 75-fire occurrences/year. Identified causes included hot air balloons (24%), intentional (24%), rubbish burning (21%) and religious practices (17%). Primary fuels included invasive grasses and ferns. Although hot air balloons destroyed larger areas of forest in each occurrence, a greater number of fires started in the invasive vegetation along roads that bisect the forest. In response to recurrent forests, invasive vegetation has spread gradually into the forest increasing forest degradation. To decrease fire damage, sites with high fire frequencies and density of invasive vegetation were planted with less flammable species. Results indicate that fire frequency decreased and density of invasive vegetation declined. This approach appears to prevent fire incidence, reduce the need for fire fighting, and preserve existing biodiversity.     

Les transformations de l'intégration par l'emploi: Regards croisés : France métropolitaine - île de La Réunion

Against a background of mass unemployment and the increasing precariousness of employment, the current changes in the labour market demand that we examine the previously central role of paid employment in social integration. If the individual now deprived of employment or having a temporary contract is by dint of this fact less included in society or is less secure by not having a permanent salary, is it to say that he embodies the face of the de-affiliated, of those who miss out on social benefits? Taking the example of the Reunion Island which has the highest level of unemployment and population covered by the minimum income (RMI: Revenu Minimum d'Insertion) in the country, this article endeavours to explain and understand how, in the context of a protective society and increasingly flexible employment market, new methods of social integration without and resulting from paid employment are being formed.     

Les agriculteurs dans la fabrique d'une nouvelle agriculture

The model of development that has governed the modernization of farming in France is increasingly coming under attack. Given this, analysing the “work” that farming performs to “translate” the criticisms with which it must cope in formulating new definitions of roles is important in order to understand changes under way in this sector. The changes undergone by farming over the past eighty years are briefly presented and then the procedures and results of a survey, conducted during the mad cow disease among beef-farmers in Burgundy, are described. Light is thus shed on the diversity of the positions that farmers have adopted with regard to the future of their occupation. An interpretation is proposed of how the distribution (and interplay between) these positions might affect agriculture. - Special issue on Agriculture and food.     

"得"字句研究札记三则

我们认为 ,“得”字句的语义、结构中心在“得”后成分上 ,所以“把墙刷得白”不能说 ,是因为“把”字句表示一种处置 ,其后的谓语必然蕴含着实现这一时体意义 ,而作为有“把”的“得”字句中心的“白”是单个性质形容词 ,本身不包含实现这一时体特征 ;我们对范晓先生《复动“V得”句》一文中的用三个平面观点解释一种“得”字句提出一点疑问 ;对张豫峰以博士论文为基础发表的两篇论文中的观点和学风问题进行了批评。     

德曼的“新社会主义哲学”和他的“新发现”

亨利·德曼的“新社会主义哲学”建立在对马克思主义的批判基础上，并与资产阶级哲学实行联姻，德曼在马克思《１８４４年经济学哲学手搞》中的“新发现”表明的不过是对马克思主义的严重曲解，这一哲学不仅在理论上没有给社会主义运动贡献新东西，而且在实践上蜕变成了与法西斯合流的反动力量．     

论《塞莱斯蒂娜》的文体之争

围绕着《塞莱斯蒂娜》的文体,国内外的学者们争论了多年,究竟是戏剧,还是小说,至今仍未能统一看法。笔者在文章中就《塞莱斯蒂娜》的文体之争表明了自己的观点:《塞莱斯蒂娜》是一部戏剧,而且是一部悲喜剧,一部应该归入案头剧范畴的悲喜剧。     

Attracting Micro‐Enterprises To Learning

Micro‐enterprises, i.e. firms with less than 10 employees, are traditionally the hardest to engage in learning; they are also least likely to participate in such measures as business advice and guidance provision and initiatives to support information communication technology (ICT) adoption. Through a community‐based initiative initially targeting parents (unemployed or employed) to participate in ICT, 30 micro‐enterprises were attracted to learning for the first time. These companies had carefully avoided similar initiatives taking place locally, which emphasized business success and growth; they had only participated in this ICT skills training because of their children. The paper takes a case study approach to evaluate the reasons for participation, explores barriers and implications for those organizing similar activities, and calls for a more holistic view of owners and managers of small firms as fathers, mothers, etc. rather than just as ‘entrepreneurs’.     

莫泊桑短篇小说中的第一人称叙述

莫泊桑的短篇小说堪称一绝,在叙事上独具特色。与其他现实主义作家不同,莫泊桑喜欢采用第一人称叙述,他笔下的叙述者"我"并非都是全知全能,大部分叙述者权利有限。更为独特的是,他在这类作品中首创的叙述分层的手法,使得人物成一种对话关系。他对叙述者权利的限制使得作品意义留有空白。叙述语调的中立要求读者积极参与作品意义的建构,这极大增强了短篇小说的可读性,也使他的作品带有现代主义的气息。     

《巴黎圣母院》的性虐色彩——透视一种文化现象

性虐活动是欧洲古往今来特有的文化现象,本文认为,这种现象在雨果的《巴黎圣母院》中时有隐现,小说中加西莫多受鞭刑和克罗德观看对爱斯梅哈尔达的拷问并自虐致伤等情节隐含着性虐色彩,这和渗透在欧洲绘画雕塑中的性虐艺术趣味相似,透现出一种苦乐相生、痛快相承的残酷痛苦之美。