School Choice in London and Paris – A Comparison of Middle‐class Strategies

Education is one major public service in which quasi‐markets and other choice‐based mechanisms are now established methods of delivery. The types of school people choose, and the extent to which their choices are realized, have a fundamental impact on the outcomes of any mechanism of school choice. In this article, we provide a comparative analysis of the school choice strategies of middle‐class families in London and Paris. We draw on approximately 200 in‐depth interviews carried out across the two cities. This enables us to investigate the extent to which middle‐class school choice strategies transcend the institutional context provided by both the local (state and private) schools market and national education policy in England and France. We discuss these findings in the context of current school choice policy and consider their implications for future policy design.     

The Middle‐class in the German Welfare State: Beneficial Involvement at Stake?

The working‐class is typically regarded as the driving force of welfare state development. Yet, some argue that the middle‐classes' beneficial involvement in the welfare state is crucial for its financial sustainability and popular legitimacy. Against this backdrop, we investigate how recent welfare state reforms in Germany which affect the status of the middle‐class are viewed and discussed by this group. Germany is a particularly interesting case because its welfare state is seen to be centred on the desires of the middle‐class, especially through its focus on status maintenance and horizontal redistribution over the life‐course. However, the move from status maintenance to minimum income support in unemployment provision and the strengthening of private old age provision challenge this assumption. Thus, we ask how the German middle‐class views the emerging abandonment of the principle of status maintenance and the shift from collective to individual responsibility. Based on qualitative material from focus groups, we find that individual responsibility is generally supported, but that the state is still assigned responsibility for providing basic levels of social security. Furthermore, for those groups seen as less capable of acting individually responsible (e.g. the poor or long‐term unemployed) the ‘inducement’ of – or assistance for – individually responsible behaviour by the state is demanded. Overall, while the principle of ‘individual responsibility’ seems to find some resonance among the middle‐class members interviewed, they still try to balance individual and collective responsibility.     

读《史记·五帝本纪》论黄河中游早期国家形成的时间

司马迁《史记·五帝本纪》以五帝时代作为中国早期国家的开端,此观点并未得到近现代学界的足够重视。近年来随着早期国家理论的提出和考古学的新进展,我们有足够的理由相信五帝时代是中国早期国家确立的时期。     

Role of Comparative Risk Assessment in Addressing Environmental Security in the Middle East

During the 21st century, environmental challenges are likely to intensify across the world and possibly lead to violent conflicts. Strategies for conflict avoidance will be incomplete unless they recognize, discuss, and mitigate regional environmental stress factors. Comparative risk assessment (CRA) is one of the most critical tools emerging to influence modern environmental policies and is increasingly used to create a common language to help reconcile competing interests in development and environmental disputes around the world. This article considers the environmental challenges facing the Middle East in light of their "transboundary" nature and proposes CRA as a framework for setting environmental priorities and reducing tensions in the region.     

摩洛哥阿拉维君主制统治合法性分析

本文从历史与传统、现代与理性、宗教以及国王个人魅力等四个方面分析了1956年独立后摩洛哥阿拉维君主制统治合法性的基础和来源。作者指出，摩洛哥阿拉维君主制的统治反映了韦伯关于合法统治的三种类型，即合理型、传统型和魅力型，其中，传统型占主导地位并与伊斯兰教紧密相连。迄今，宗教神圣的合法性体现了阿拉维君主制所有统治合法性学说的本质，然而其神圣性也遭到了质疑和挑战。     

Resource reallocation under alternative trade regimes: A simulation of Turkey's entry into the EEC

A general equilibrium model that is applicable for simulating the directions in which resources would be reallocated under alternative trade regimes, in particular, a free trade regime, is developed and applied to the Turkish economy. Because of the likelihood that Turkey will gain full entry into the EEC, the model is also used to identify sectors in which Turkey may have a comparative advantage relative to the EEC countries and to estimate magnitudes of static gains from full entry. To provide some tests of important generalizations from the theory of customs unions, these estimates of static gains are compared with some estimates of total welfare effects of the entry of the United Kingdom into the EEC.     

国际原子能机构及其核查效能研究——以该机构在中东核查为例

国际原子能机构自1957年成立以来,经历了产生、发展和完善三个阶段,其核查效能也处于动态变化之中.影响国际原子能机构核查效能有三个基本因素:该机构核查制度的完善程度、大国对该机构的支持度和受核查国融入国际体系的程度.为检验上述基本假设,本文考察了国际原子能机构在中东国家的核查实践,分析了其对以色列、伊拉克、利比亚和伊朗四国核查是否有效及其原因,最终证明上述假设基本成立.     

城市社区中老年人口死亡态度影响因素研究

死亡态度直接影响个体的生命和生活质量。本文利用在成都市城市社区进行的抽样调查数据,对影响城市社区中老年人口死亡态度的个人和家庭因素进行了分析。分析结果表明:性别、身体健康状况、家庭经济状况、家庭谈论死亡情况是影响城市社区中老年人口死亡态度的因素。研究发现可为城市社区中老年人口死亡教育的实施、保障和促进该群体的生命和生活质量提供有益的参考。     

车向忱与东北竞存学校的抗日救亡活动

东北老教育家车向忱身负国仇家恨,于抗日战争期间在陕西创办私立东北竞存学校,安辑东北流亡难童,立志要为抗战培养革命力量,为将来的建设培养人才.竞存学校的创办和发展离不开中国共产党的关怀和支持.在车向忱的带领下,东北竞存学校的学生积极投身到抗日救亡活动中.