探秘“第七大陆”——南极

南极,是人类最后到达的大陆,也叫“第七大陆”,位于地球最南端,土地几乎都在南极圈内,四周濒太平洋、印度洋和大西洋,是世界上地理纬度最高的一个洲.然而人们对那里并不陌生,《南极大冒险》、《帝企鹅日记》等影片无不呈现了那片神秘大陆的冰雪风情和感人故事,令人心向往之. 企鹅成群景象壮观 南极洲腹地几乎是一片不毛之地.那里仅有的生物是一些简单的植物,比如苔藓、地衣和一两种昆虫.但是,海洋里却充满了生机,那里有海藻、珊瑚、海星和海绵,大海里还有许许多多叫做磷虾的微小生物,磷虾为南极洲众多的鱼类、海鸟、海豹、企鹅以及鲸提供了食物来源.     

韩国对南海争端的认知、立场与影响

韩国虽非南海争端的当事国,但由于南海局势事关其海上生命线的通畅,且中韩之间亦存在海洋划界的争议,因此韩国长期对南海争端保持高度的关注。纵览韩国政府、学界、媒体三方的认知,韩国对南海争端整体上持中立但不支持中国的态度。韩国的这一立场,不仅是为了维护其政治、经济和安全利益,也有着借此增强本国在中韩海洋划界问题上筹码的考量。因此,充分认识到韩国立场对南海争端乃至于中韩海洋划界问题的影响,防止南海争端和中韩海洋争议的纠缠与并发,应是中国未来周边外交工作的重点之一。     

我们的南海

我们的南海!中华人民共和国的南海!中华民族的南海!近年,南海风云诡谲,"祖国宝岛,我可爱的家乡"正被心怀非分之想的国家觊觎。2009年1月28日和2月3日,菲律宾参众两院以高票通过了所谓的"菲律宾群岛领海基线议案","宣示对南海部分岛屿享有主权";印度为了实现其地区霸权的战略目标,提出了"东进政策"。2000年以后,印度加强了同越南、     

South Pacific Migration and Australia

Historically Australia has had, and continues to have, important links with the South Pacific. As emigration has become a growing necessity for South Pacific Islands, Australia has become involved as a receiving country of both legal and illegal immigrants from the region. A recent study of the social consequences of emigration in Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa raises several important issues for Australia, and another study of South Pacific Islanders in Melbourne raises equally important questions. This paper summarises briefly the nature of those issues and suggests that this is an area of welfare requiring considerable attention.     

澳大利亚与南太平洋地区主义

南太平洋地区主义的发展已近70年,其中澳大利亚一直占据着重要地位。一方面,澳大利亚几乎是所有南太平洋地区中政府间合作组织的创始会员国,同时作为该地区发展最为强大的国家,其为地区主义的建制付出了巨大努力,并发挥着主导作用;另一方面,随着区域内外局势的变化,澳大利亚在南太平洋地区主义的构建和维护中遇到一些问题,其地位和作用受到一定的影响。本文认为,虽然澳大利亚的地区影响力受到削弱,但在未来几十年间,将依然是南太平洋地区主义发展的中坚力量。     

韩国"反美主义"浅析

众所周知,近年来随着韩国国力的上升,韩国人自主、主权意识的不断提高,韩国国内对韩美关系的现状颇为不满,反美情绪高涨。本文分析指出,所谓的韩国人的反美“主义”更准确的应该是反美“情绪”。并进一步分析韩国人的“反美主义”在国家层面上的“韩国第一”和个体层面上的“个人第一”的“实用主义”本质。     

Southern Political Exceptionalism? Presidential Voting in the South and Non‐South*

Objective. This study develops and tests a model of political regionalism that posits that if regions are politically exceptional, then individuals sharing the same profile but living in these different regions will have divergent presidential voting patterns ( King, 1996 ). Methods. Analyzing presidential voting behavior from 1952 to 2004, I use logistic regression techniques to test a regional model of homogeneity (southern exceptionalism) versus a unit model of homogeneity (South and Non‐South are statistically similar). Results. The findings show that the South's presidential voting patterns are exceptional in the 1950s and during the civil rights era but, starting in the Reagan era, southern exceptionalism waned. These findings also show that the South is converging with the non‐South (northernization) relative to the influences of race, family income, union membership, in‐migrants, and gender, and the non‐South is converging with the South (southernization) relative to the influences of education, blue‐collar workers, and age. Conclusions. Both economic class and race variables contribute to the demise of regional exceptionalism; however, race plays a more persistent role. Given the process of “southernization” and the instability of the predictors of presidential voting for the South over time, I conclude that the study of the South as a region should continue until the process of change subsides and a new equilibrium is found.     

Transforming child and family services in urban communities in South Africa: lessons from the South

Post‐apartheid, South African agencies have been required to shift their services in fundamental ways, including offering services in previously un‐resourced areas, honouring the rights of children and families, ensuring that users, staff and governing bodies are representative of the population and providing developmental social welfare services in place of child protection‐oriented interventions only. A study of urban South African child welfare agencies provides insight into the complex task of managing and leading change. In view of overloaded change agenda and resource constraints, managers focused on effecting incremental change and prioritized the most ‘rewarding’ change efforts. Transforming practice towards a developmental approach was less successful. Structural interventions were also not prioritized. Child welfare agencies internationally face demands to transform in response to the effects of local change and globalization. The study's insights might resonate with agencies working for change in other societal contexts.     

Old Age Pensions in South Africa

This article briefly describes the old age pension system in South Africa, with a special focus on its strengths and the challenges it faces. The article shows that the most pertinent concerns are the level of exclusion from the contributory pension funds, the extent of reliance on the social assistance programme and the lack of institutional capacity to deliver the social assistance programme effectively. The proposed reforms are aimed at achieving a better integrated pension system where contributions are mandatory for all formal sector workers and where contributions are preserved for retirement. The underlying objectives are to limit the growing dependence on social assistance from the State, and at the same time to increase the effectiveness of the social assistance scheme for the target population.     

Overlapping identities in the American South

Despite the extensive literature on southern identity, we know surprisingly little about how regional identity competes with potential loyalties toward other groups in the South. We investigate the prevalence and predictors of four overlapping identifies—Appalachian, Southern, North Carolinian, and American. We find that people identify primarily as Americans, followed by North Carolinians, Southerners, and finally Appalachians. We also examine the correlation between these overlapping identities and test multivariate models to explain each identity using a common set of predictors: age, education, time in region, sex, political ideology, and race. Identity correlates shift depending on the group under consideration and that time in the region is the most consistent predictor, followed by age, and political ideology.     

State social benefits in South Africa

The growth of South African state-provided social security is traced from its origins in British colonialism, through the consolidation under apartheid of racially discriminatory benefits mainly to protect white interests, to the present time of political change when there is a rapid move towards racial parity. It is a difficult system to understand, because of the fragmentation created by apartheid: benefits are delivered through 17 separate “governments”, geographically different from each other, using different information systems and, until recently, characterized by secrecy regarding information. This paper is based on interviews conducted in all administrations in 1991, and it focuses on the state social pensions and grants for elderly people, disabled people, child and family care, and poor relief. Major problems with the system are those of access, racial discrimination, inefficiency, corruption, and the way in which the means test is implemented. Does the social security system have a role to play in addressing the inequality and poverty produced by apartheid? In rural areas most beneficiaries live in three-generational families, and the benefit is consumed by the household. It is suggested that its potential is greatly underestimated, and rather than being seen as an expensive burden, the social security system should be enthusiastically embraced. It is already in place; it can relatively easily be made more efficient.     

水资源与南亚地区安全

水资源短缺以及因水资源争夺所造成的国家之间的紧张关系一直威胁着南亚地区的安全与稳定。多年来南亚各国在处理水资源问题方面试图采取合作的态度,签署了一系列分享水资源的条约,但这种合作并没有完全解决该地区水资源纠纷。由于该地区安全环境较为复杂,一旦水资源问题处理不好,将可能成为南亚地区安全新的隐患。如何加强合作、解决跨国界水资源利用问题以维护南亚地区的安全与稳定,已经成为南亚各国的迫切任务。     

南亚区域合作的新进展

在 2 0世纪末的 15年中 ,南亚地区经济合作由于种种原因没有取得重要进展 ,一直徘徊在起始阶段。进入新世纪 ,随着世界科技发展日新月异 ,经济全球化的趋势不可阻挡 ,南亚国家领导人审时度势 ,纷纷表示要为地区经济和科技合作做点实事 ,引起人们关注。本文拟就南亚区域合作联盟的形成、存在的问题和前景进行了详细而严谨的探讨。作者认为 ,南亚区域合作对区内各国都会产生实际利益 ,而且南亚国家间互利合作的潜力很大 ,因此区域合作的前景是美好的。但是 ,由于南亚国家间 ,特别是印巴两国间存在着一些非经济的消极因素 ,区域合作的进程往往受到阻碍。因此 ,只有当南亚各国 ,特别是印巴两国领导人在区域合作方面具有真诚的政治意愿之时 ,上述消极因素才能得以消除 ,区域合作的事业才能取得重大进展     

Social inclusion under Labor in South Australia

Social inclusion policies were championed by the former Rann Labor government in South Australia from 2002 to 2011. In 2011 the Social Inclusion Unit was dissolved by the South Australian government. It is argued that the relatively narrow focus of the former SIU on ‘problem’ communities limited its capacity to provide more than residual solutions. The diminishing political returns on social inclusion also encouraged the South Australian government to abandon this initiative. In 2014 this government has had to grapple with the end of car making in Australia and a declining manufacturing labour force, traditionally a ‘mainstream’ constituency of the Labor Party. The return to ‘mainstreaming’ social policy in South Australia might offer limited space for realignment of social policy with the concept of social citizenship. It might also represent a move away from the functionalist morality of social inclusion. Social inclusion as practiced in South Australia has limited capacity to address generalised social disadvantage. The latter is likely to concern a re‐elected Labor minority government grappling with significant job losses and a declining local economy.