‘Surrounded with so much uncertainty’: asylum seekers and manufactured precarity in Australia

In Australia, nearly 30,000 asylum seekers have the legal right to work, but their temporary and conditional migration status exposes them to work-related precarity. This article draws on a small qualitative study that examined asylum seekers’ experiences of seeking work and achieving economic security. Over an 18-month period, 29 semi-structured interviews with asylum seekers who had work rights in Australia were conducted. It provides insights into how restrictive immigration policies manufacture precarity through short-term, conditional visas, resulting in employer risk aversion, segmentation into insecure work, and in-work instability and mistreatment. Asylum seekers manage their experiences and feelings of pervasive insecurity through individual coping and survival strategies.     

“思想的无端骄傲”——评《中国思想史》第一卷

本文是对清华大学教授葛兆光新著《中国思想史》第一卷的学术评论。文章认为 ,葛先生“重写”思想史的基本路子即以论带史、以今视昔、以文领义 ,而“基本路子只有一条 ,一分为三 ,乃是方便说法”。事实上 ,思想史领域本来就别有洞天 ,“葛先生自许的突破之处 ,不过是划地为牢 ,然后纵身一跃 ,作突破状而已。”文章还批评了《中国思想史》中存在的理路不清、用词不当的一些“大议论”。本文作者总结道 :如果要我用一句话来评论这本书 ,我将说 :“在这本号称‘思想史’的书里 ,我看不到历史上的思想和知识 ,我只看到现在一位中国人葛兆光的‘思想’”。     

论科学发现中的非理性因素

本文探讨了科学发现过程中的非理性因素直觉、灵感,等等,它们在科学研究中往往起到十分重要的作用.文章阐述了灵感思维的突发性、非逻辑性等特点,以及机遇在加速科学发现进程中所起的作用.文章指出,研究环境尤其研究单位的学风、传统和学术水平等,对于科研的进程和成败起着极大的作用,并以诺贝尔奖得主的情况作了深入的讨论.     

试论企业技术创新激励与约束机制

由于缺乏有效的企业技术创新的激励机制和约束机制,致使相当部分国有企业缺乏创新的热情和责任,不能成为技术创新的主体,激励机制与约束机制是企业技术创新的动力机制,只有尽快建立相对完善的激励机制和约束机制,才能保证企业技术创新活动的健康发展.     

语料库和翻译研究：翻译中的跨文化动态探索

文章在跨文化视角下考察近年来英语和汉语语料库的发展,旨在探索基于语料库方法在翻译研究中的应用。以汉语原文和英语译文为例,比较分析两种语言在词汇、句法和篇章层面的差异,揭示文化对翻译过程可能产生的影响,进一步探索翻译中的跨文化动态,着重指出跨文化知识在翻译过程中的价值。     

民营企业文化管理的重构

民营企业文化管理重构,主要包括理念和制度两个方面.在理念上,要把民营企业的非理性的血缘、情缘文化理念,转变为现代企业的业缘、事缘理念;要用"以人为本"的现代管理理念,取代以"以工具为本"的陈旧理念;用注重灵魂塑造的理念,取代注重形式主义的有害理念;用注重长期培育的理念,取代追求短期见效的落后理念;用注重形成企业集体无意识的理念,取代注重企业细小行为规范的肤浅理念.在制度方面,民营企业要努力建构自己的文化意义符号管理制度,文化沟通网络管理制度,职场氛围管理制度,文化训练管理制度,文化遗传管理制度等.     

现代社会中的灵性

灵性(the spiritual)与世俗(the secular)在欧美现代性中同时被构建成为与制度性宗教(institutionalized religion)相关联的两个替代物.灵性的概念存在着矛盾,即:它既被视为具有普遍性的概念,又与民族认同相关联.再者,灵性的概念在全球传播的同时,被植入不同的历史进程中,它的发展轨迹在各个地方是不同的.本文认为:印度和中国的现代性是两国与[西方]帝国现代性互动后的产物.灵性在印度的相对成功与其在中国的相对失败不能简单地归结为中国共产主义的兴起.从更深层次上讲,有一个普遍观点,即中国的传统必须被西方的科学所取代,这在建国前早已被描绘成中国现代性的特征.而在印度,各类传统被当作反抗帝国主义斗争的资源,其所反抗的是从文化和政治上使印度从属于西方强权的物质现代化.     

Professional discretion and length of work experience: what findings from focus groups with care managers in elder care suggest

ABSTRACT

Research has explored how care managers in elder care – who often function as ‘street-level bureaucrats’ – regard professional discretion. The way in which length of work experience affects care managers’ use of professional discretion remains, however, unexplored. This article present findings from 12 focus groups with 60 care managers. By bringing attention to how care managers experience the needs assessment process, this article sheds light on how these ‘street-level bureaucrats’ struggle when they try to balance their clients’ needs against institutional frameworks and local guidelines. Length of work experience seems to play a role in how care managers claim to use professional discretion. Experienced care managers describe how they deviate from the guidelines at times in order to create an increased scope of action in their decision-making process. Those with less time in the profession describe greater difficulties in this respect. Findings suggest that research should explore if length of work experience plays a role in the actual way in which care managers assess needs and make decisions. As such, they contribute to our understanding of how needs assessment processes are navigated by professionals while also pointing towards the nature of professional discretion in gerontological social work.     

Critical Reflection on the Ethics of Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a way to achieve mental wellbeing that has been widely adopted as part of counselling and mental health treatment. However, there is a distinct lack of critical reflection about the origins of this technique, how it is used, and the implications it has for the beliefs of clients. The purpose of this paper is to provide a carefully considered response to the use of humanistic mindfulness. Social workers need to explain why they recommend mindfulness, and explore culturally consistent and sensitive practice, so that they are abiding by the Australian Association of Social Workers Code of ethics.

IMPLICATIONS

• The use of mindfulness in social work practice requires careful consideration as to its impact and relevance to clients’ needs.

• Mindfulness originates in philosophical traditions distinct from mental health treatment.

• In choosing to use mindfulness social workers require consistent and sensitive understanding of clients’ needs, world views, and culture.