留守与政局:唐高宗、武则天时期的京师留守

唐代君主离开京师长安之时,往往设置京师留守,确保统治秩序的稳定。唐代京师留守的主要职能是维系政治秩序的正常运转,但在唐高宗、武则天时期,由于李、武二氏围绕长安、洛阳展开争夺,京师留守衍生出特殊的政治功能,成为不同政治集团间政治斗争的重要工具。唐高宗即位之初的京师留守尚未体现出时局政争的明显痕迹,但从显庆年间武则天政治权势渐长之时起,京师留守逐渐成为高、武二人争夺长安局势控制权的重要工具。唐高宗去世后,武则天久留洛阳,京师留守的人选逐渐为武周宗室所占据,成为武则天在长安的利益代言人。唐高宗、武则天时期的京师留守呈现出更换频率高、与时局政争关联密切、逐渐常制化等发展特点,是唐代京师留守发展历史上的关键时期。高、武时期以后,京师留守成为唐代政治生活中的重要组成部分,至玄宗朝发展成"三都留守"之制。唐代的京师留守对五代、宋及以后各朝产生了深远影响。     

初唐政治文化结构分析

本文所谓“初唐”,主要指高祖武德建国迄于 武则天专政改制这一历史时期,凡历高祖、太宗、 高宗三朝,出于论述需要间或略作上下延伸。初唐 三朝中,高祖草创,万事未暇一时毕举,而高宗政 事多因循贞观之旧,唯太宗贞观二十余年功业蔚为 宏观,故不得不作为讨论重点。所谓“政治文化结 构”则指其最高统治集团即君相及主要大臣的文化 构成。不能不承认,最高统治集团是各类社会事业 的组织者、领导者,是社会风尚的向导,其于文化 发展又往往起到催化剂的作用。其文化构成不仅关 乎一朝一代的政治、经济、军事、外交、尤其是文 化的发展,而且也会对…     

唐朝前期俸禄制度的演变

在唐代,官员的俸禄包括禄米、俸料钱、职田和禄力四项。唐前期的俸禄制度虽沿袭隋制,但又有不少新的变化,在新的变化中逐渐整齐划一,并相对完备。开元二十四年月俸制的建立标志着唐代俸禄制度的完善。唐代的俸禄制度屡有变动,且相对复杂。在前期主要有武德制、贞观制、乾封制、开元制,俸禄数额、发放依据、俸禄来源都在发生变化。从京官和外官两个系统入手,重点分析京官与外官各项收入的比重大小,可以发现京官俸料钱收入比重大,外官职田收入比重大。     

汉唐盛世形成原因探析

在我国两千多年的封建社会发展史中,曾经出现过政治稳定、经济繁荣、人民安居乐业的盛世或治世,其中西汉的“文景之治”、武帝的文治武功,以及唐代的“贞观之治”、“开元盛世”早以被史家誉为汉唐盛世。文章对汉唐盛世极其形成原因加以剖析,以期从中获取有益的历史借鉴。     

唐代人事制度考论

以科举制为基础的唐代人事制度,不仅迥异于魏晋人事制度,开古代中国中古时代之后用人选官及世界文官制度之先河,而且其在选拔、录用、考绩官吏等方面体系化的、较为科学完备的制度措施,既是构成贞观、永徽、开元年间吏治清明乃至治世出现的重要因素,也是中国古代文明的有机组成部分,对于行政机构和人事制度深刻改革的当今社会,仍有一定的借鉴作用。     

论盛唐的工商业

唐代思想家文学家韩愈在《平淮西碑》中概括了唐前期政治、经济的发展关系,指出“高祖、太宗,既除既治,高宗、中、睿,休养生息;至于玄宗,受报收功,极炽而丰。”①可见,就经济发展水平而论,贞观之治远不如开元之治,也许这与盛唐之称不无关系吧! 盛唐是以开元盛世、“海内富实”②,载入史册的。唐玄宗年间农业的发展,论者不少,工商业的繁荣则谈得不多,本文试图从此入手,描述一下当时经济发展的面貌。     

唐代进士科“以诗赋取士”辨析

唐代进士科从初唐的策问取士,到武则天的始试杂文诗赋,再到盛唐时期单纯试诗甚至律诗,充分表明了进士科考与唐代诗歌文学之间愈来愈密切的关系.这种密切关系推进了唐代科举于文学的偏重,同时刺激和催发了唐代诗歌的发展与繁荣.     

张说对唐诗发展的贡献

张说(667-731),字道济,一字说之。武后时起家太子校书,历仕武后、中宗、睿宗、玄宗四朝,“官政四十有一”,“三登左右丞相,三作中书令”①,是睿宗特别是玄宗开元前期政治中枢的主要成员之一。他在排除太平之党、确定玄宗统治地位的过程中出力甚多;开元前期,他还曾三次总戎临边,平定叛乱,是开元盛世的功臣,与姚崇、宋等一起被称为一代贤相.张说一生不脱文人本色,对开元时期的文化建设贡献很多。他和玄宗关系密切,他在文化方面的主张,诸如“尊儒崇道”、“博采文士”等,都为玄宗所采纳.他在玄宗时期以宰相知集贤院事,参与和主持过当时许多重大…     

试谈贞观时期的法制

唐初贞观时期(六二七——六四九年)在法制方面的经验教训,值得我们借鉴。唐太宗贞观时期为我国封建史上的黄金时代,向有“贞观之治”之称。但在唐太宗即位初年,国库空虚,灾害不断,民生困苦,边防不宁,政权很不稳固。当时,“太子(李建成)派”的余党还“散亡在民间,虽更赦令,犹不自安”。“河北州县素事隐(建成)、巢(李元吉)者,……曹伏思乱”。就在他登基后的第二十天,北方的突厥骑兵四十万人,竟打到了长安城郊的渭水便桥,形势十分严峻。怎样收拾这副烂摊子,复兴被破坏了的经济文化,巩固李唐王朝的封建统治,成为贞观朝廷的头等大事。唐太宗在短短的时间里,调动了整个统治集团的积极因素,出色地完成了这一历史使命。     

唐代科举“两都试”略论

唐代科举实施“两都试” ,除了“京师米贵”以外 ,武则天的政治统治需要和“安史之乱”所产生的影响也是很重要的原因。“两都试”期间录取的进士、状元和长安一地录取的进士、状元并无区别 ,有学者称“两都试”录取的状元为“分场榜首” ,虽有新意 ,但并不符合历史事实。     

Considering Improvisation: Play,Transitional Space,and Discovery

This article explores the concept of improvisation in the therapeutic setting as a complex construction when elaborated in the idiom of jazz music. A composite clinical case is offered that illustrates an impasse and how improvisational thinking offers a way forward. Improvisation has recently been conceptualized through the metaphor of theater improvisation, dance, and rhythm. The therapeutic hour is considered an improvisational dialogue with the main theme (melody) and counter melodies, and harmonic possibilities that underlie the rhythmic pulse of the hour. Improvisation requires a reflective/interpretive process that draws on patterns, structures, and experiences reformulated in the relational field of the participants. The client initiates the call and response pattern, from which improvisation emerges as a mutual process of discovery. A more relaxed, receptive, and reflective posture extends Winnicott’s 1971 notion of play to integrate classic understanding and relational interaction.     

Objective Tests versus Subjective tests

objective test has only one correct answer, while subjective test has a range of possible answers. Because of this feature, reliability will not be difficult to achieve in the marking of the objective item, while the marking of the subjective items is reliable. On the whole, a good test must contain both subjective and objective test items.     

Comments on the National College English Test

College English Test is an important national test for Chinese college students, this paper introduces the distribution of scores, time of examination, and analyses the four parts in CET ,such as listening comprehension, reading comprehension, integrated testing, and writing based on testing theories.     

Social security reforms in Kenya: Towards a workerist or a citizenship‐based system?

With social security provisions in Kenya remaining under‐reported in the more recent literature, this overview covers recent reforms in key areas of the country's social security system. In the health sector and in old‐age pension provision social security is still mainly workerist (biased toward those in formal employment), and attempts to expand coverage have had limited effect only – cash transfer programmes, for instance, have been expanded but in practice they do not universally cover the entitled categories. Thus, although the Kenyan social security system now has a considerable pro‐poor social assistance component it remains biased toward those in formal employment, to the benefit of the highest income quintile.     

Abstracts of theses: Smith College School for Social Work,July 1954

Abstract

Many clients relate in ways that elicit emotional responses in practitioners and may also feel pressure to intervene when appropriate action is not yet clear. Practitioners must develop sufficient self-awareness so their own reactions do not interfere with the work they do with clients. Educators exhort their students to be self-aware, but locating methods that foster the capacity can be difficult. Infant observation is an elegant training model that helps to develop self-awareness. The method described here makes use of regular observation, supportive small groups, and repeated detailed examination of what is seen in training both generalist and specialized practitioners. It has become a prototype for the observational study of several kinds of specific populations. Because it attends to people in their own environments and demonstrates a flexible, reflective, multi-modal manner of information-gathering, infant observation is particularly useful in the education of social work practitioners.     

India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act: Assessing the quality of access and adequacy of benefits in MGNREGS public works

The extension of social protection to all has become a central policy objective, both nationally and internationally. A considerable number of middle‐ and low‐income countries have undertaken substantial efforts to extend social protection, while the international community reaffirmed its commitment to the extension of social protection through the adoption of the ILO Recommendation concerning National Floors of Social Protection, No. 202 (2012). This article reviews the legal provisions and the implementation of the Indian Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), legislated in 2005, and does so in the light of the more recent provisions of ILO Recommendation No. 202. Since its introduction ten years ago, MGNREGA has provided a source of income to rural workers, increased wage rates, achieved high female participation rates and created durable assets. India's local governance bodies, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI), have been empowered and involved in the processes of planning and monitoring. However, despite successes, there have been considerable shortcomings in implementation. This article highlights two central themes: first, the innovative policy framework of the Act, which brings together rights‐based entitlements, demand‐driven employment, and citizen‐centred monitoring. Second, it assesses the accessibility and adequacy of benefits in the implementation of MGNREGA. We conclude that MGNREGA offers potential for South‐South learning, both in terms of policy‐design and implementation.     

From “Either‐Or” to “When and How”: A Context‐Dependent Model of Culture in Action

In this article, I outline a framework for the sociological study of culture that connects three intertwined elements of human culture (cultural motivations, resources, and meanings) and demonstrates the concrete contexts under which each most critically influences actions and their subsequent outcomes. In contrast to models that cast motivations, resources, and meanings as competing explanations of how culture affects action, I argue that these are fundamental constituent elements of culture that are inseparable, interdependent, and simultaneously operative. Which element provides the strongest link to action, and how this link operates, must be understood as a function of the actor's position within wider social contexts. I argue that on average motivations have the most discernable link to action within a social strata, cultural resources provide the strongest link across strata, and meanings have the greatest direct influence when codified and sanctioned. I then offer a reframing and synthesis that reintegrates previously “competing” theories of culture into a more holistic context‐dependent model of culture in action. Finally, I use evidence from prior empirical research, as well as new data from an ongoing ethnographic study of health behaviors among the aged, to show how various elements of culture are concretely linked to action in eight different social contexts. In doing so, I provide a roadmap for the transition out of the “either‐or” logic underlying much of cultural theory and reemphasize the importance of the classical sociological concern for “when” and “how” various aspects of culture influence action and outcomes in concrete social contexts.     

The gender gap in pensions in Latin America

Lower female lifetime labour market participation rates, greater interruptions during their working lives, and wage gaps contribute to create gender gaps in pensions at the time of retirement. The design of social security systems may reinforce or attenuate these gaps. This article provides new evidence on gender gaps in access to pensions and in pension income in four Southern Cone countries in Latin America and analyses their evolution between 2000 and 2013, showing significant improvements in both gaps, with differential patterns by countries. The decrease in the gender gap in pension income has been particularly significant in Argentina and Brazil. In both cases, the largest increases in pension values during the period correspond to the lowest income percentiles, where women are overrepresented. The application of redistributive policies in these countries, aimed at reducing poverty and inequality but not necessarily focused on gender equity, has had positive and probably unintended consequences in terms of reduction in gender gaps in pensions.     

A Man Can be Destroyed but Not Defeated

Santiago,the main hero in the Old Man and the Sea is characterized as someone struggling against defeat. He has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish,the sail of his skiff resembles "the flag of permanent defeat." But the old man refuses defeat at every turn:he resolves to sail out beyond the other fishermen to where the biggest fish promise to be. He lands the marlin,tying his record of eighty-seven days after a brutal three-day fight,and he continues to ward off sharks from stealing his prey,even though he knows the battle is useless. He establishes a great hero:a man can be destroyed but not defeated.