宪政的法哲学分析

宪政是人类智慧的产物,是人类政治文明和法治文明的结晶。回顾宪政的历史发展过程,宪政的思想渊源是自由主义、共和主义;宪政的制度构建离不开民主、法治和人权理论及实践;同时,市场经济的发展以及政治国家与公民社会的二元分立对宪政理念及制度的形成和发展也起到了基础性的作用。从法哲学的视角出发,以上问题分别构成了宪政发展的思想基础、政治基础、经济基础和社会基础。对这些问题进行理性的思考和分析,特别是从法哲学角度的分析,能够为宪政问题的研究提供科学的理论根据。     

法治社会与法治国家问题研究

从人类文明的形态上,国家与社会一直是人类创造并生存于其间的两个最基本的组织体,从法律意义上说,它们分别代表着两种不同的价值导向。法治的其本形态就是以国家为主体的宗法模式,与社会决定国家的民主模式。法治的真正基础与源泉是社会而不是国家。现代法治是法治国家与法治社会的统一。在当代中国,建构以社会为本位的社会主义法治模式是最可行亦是最有效的。目前,在法治建设中应确立私法优位理念、社会优位理念和权利优位理念。     

宪政视角下的受刑人权利保护

(一)宪政理念下的监管权力与受刑人权利宪政主义的逻辑前提是市民社会与政治国家的分离与对立.在西方传统的市民社会与政治国家的二元分立理念中,国家权力的势力范围仅仅限于政治国家领域;对于市民社会领域,国家权力是一种放任的态度,只要市民社会中的自治行为没有违反法律的强制性规定,国家对市民社会的干预就是多余的、非法的.这样,通过对市民社会与政治国家之逻辑划分,在社会生活中便形成了公共领域与私人领域之划分以及由此而引发的国家权力与公民权利之区分.在宪政理念中,国家权力与公民权利是一种对立与冲突的关系,公民权利的实现与保护首先要防止和避免国家权力的侵犯.在宪政主义者看来,国家权力是侵犯公民权利的主要威胁者.为了限制国家权力的无限膨胀,防止国家权力对公民权利的任意侵犯,人们通过制定宪法达到规束国家权力、保障公民权利之根本目的.在这个意义上,宪法是市民社会与政治国家达成的政治契约,是公民权利保障的宣言书.     

"人肉搜索"的宪政之维——从《徐州市计算机信息系统安全保护条例》的相关条款说起

"人肉搜索"既是正义之器,又可能演变为网络暴力.在公民社会与政府体制"双重不规范"和宪法权利"现实残缺"的条件下,"人肉搜索"实质上充当了宪政供给不足时的一种替代性机制.徐州立法禁止"人肉搜索",试图在保护隐私的法律精神下匡正"人内搜索"可能带来的个人权益侵犯,无疑是符合法治精神的,但却存在着管制色彩过浓与缺乏利益衡量思维两条硬伤.美国等国家的法治经验也告诫我们,对于"人肉搜索"的法律规制需要慎行,或许宪政视野下的网络公民社会才是我们更应该关注的话题.网络促进了当代中国宪政文化的整合与转型,"人肉搜索"中产生的网络言论自由膨胀和网络暴力也会在网络公民社会的构建中得以实现宪政理念下的自我规制.当然,为实现这一目标,需着力解决好塑造网络公民、推行网络自治和深化政治参与等三大课题.     

公民政治:宪政的主要实践形式

宪政的主要实现形式是公民政治。迄今人类社会经历并继续存在三种主要的政治形态:臣民政治、人民政治和公民(市民)政治,但发展趋势是公民政治。哪个民族、哪个国家率先实现了向公民政治的转变,它就可能率先实现人的全面发展及其价值。作为以人为本的公民政治,它所蕴涵的民主和法治精神既需要宪政作保障,也是宪政生成、发展和成熟所不可或缺的基础。中国要建设社会主义宪政,就必须吸收和借鉴古今公民政治的文明成果,逐步建设有中国特色的公民政治。     

中国市民社会与私法制度的双向建构

中国的市民社会具有成长的受监护性、价值的非主导性和发展的不平衡性等属性,并在私有财产保护与权力抗衡、自由权利追求与社会公平的重新定位、私法自治与自主平衡秩序、公序良俗与社会伦理基础等方面与私法制度形成了双向建构的互动关系。这不仅奠定了私法秩序的基础,也促进了中国法治道路的渐进主义走向。     

中西法律文化传统比较与宪政发展之大趋势

各国宪政大多是在本国法律文化传统的基础上形成的．因而各有特色。中国宪政发展也带有中国法律文化传统的烙印。本文从人治与法治、义务本位与权利本位、集体本位与个人本位、伦理入法与否等方面对中西法律文化传统作了比较分析。作者指出，世界各国宪政终将全面汲取西方法律文化传统中的法治主义和权利本位，从中国法律文化传统中汲取其伦理入法与集体本位的精神，其结果必将是法系的接近和融合。     

根基于公民文化的法治之路——读《公民文化与法治秩序》

法学工作者当以不断反思法治建设中的理念性问题,避免法治的"表层化"为根本追求.作为一名法学工作者,刘雪松博士始终秉持这样的职业信念,于200r7年完成了<公民文化与法治秩序>一书.对法治建设的精神基础这样一个古老话题,从文化视角进行了开创性的卓有成效的探索.     

西欧的"独特性"、"东方专制主义"与近代法治

文章认为,法治的生成和发展是与国家和市民社会关系紧密相关的,而国家和市民社会关系在东西方却具有不同的演进路径.即在西方呈现的是国家与市民社会相复合(古希腊)--国家对市民社会的监护(古罗马)--国家吞并市民社会(西欧中世纪)--市民社会与国家的二元分立和抗衡(近代资本主义).这种发展路径造成了多元文化和权利抗衡国家权力的西欧"独特性",并促动了近代法治的生成.而古中国及东方国家则一直处于国家吞并市民社会状态,形成了扼制权利和自由的"东方专制主义",法治便无以产生.这启示我们,中国要走向法治,就不应仅满足于法律制度的植入和法律体系的建构,也不应满足于民主政治、市场经济和理性文化这种"法治基础和条件"的一般性解说,而应着力建立国家和市民社会的良性互动关系,这才是问题的关键.     

宪政修养与宪政制度——中国共产党宪政修养与中国宪政制度发展探讨

中国共产党作为执政党,其自身宪政修养的高低直接制约着中国特色社会主义宪政制度是否能健康、顺利发展.自1978年十一届三中全会后,中国共产党作为一个执政党和建设党,其法治宪政修养日臻提高,为中国特色社会主义宪政发展趋势提供了基本依据.概括来看,其表现具有四种趋向:第一,20世纪80年代执政党接受了以宪法治理为核心的法治理念,开始逐步制约党的各级领导干部的权力;第二,20世纪90年代执政党以法治与宪政理念为价值选择,明确提出依法治国、建设社会主义法治国家的治国方略;第三,进入21世纪头十年左右执政党的宪政修养日臻成熟,具有较强的宪政意识,开始尝试宪政制度建构的具体实践;第四,可以预期21世纪头十年之后执政党的宪政修养会更加成熟,对权力的监督与制约将必然从党内制度迈向宪法法律制度,彻底完成从人治到法治、从宪法到宪政的转变.     

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.     

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.     

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.