Narrowing of Public Responsibility in Finland, 1990–2010

Public responsibility in Finland has narrowed in the last 20 years while the sphere of the private sector has been increased. The economic crisis of the early 1990s was not the cause, but an accelerator of public sector/welfare state retrenchment in Finland. Based on which, it was easy for the advocates of neo‐liberal reforms to argue that the changes were a must. The welfare state programmes however, are popular among the Finnish population and therefore large one‐time cutbacks have not been possible beyond the immediate aftermath of the economic crisis. This article looks into three different methods through which the Finnish welfare state has been gradually cut since then: (1) by not raising income transfers along with the rising cost of living and wages; (2) by reducing funding of public services; and, on the other side of the coin (3) through regular tax cuts contracting the revenue side. Welfare state retrenchment in Finland has therefore been achieved in a subtle fashion through slow gradual weakening of social programmes on one hand, and through cuts in revenue on the other that have left proportionally more in the hands of the wealthier. These combined movements have resulted in a drastic reversal in the trend in income inequality in Finland.     

One of us? Reaction formation and inclusion as a strategy in the ethnic state

Many states question how to manage burgeoning migration. This is particularly problematic for ethnic states whose foundation myths imagine the state as the home for the nation. In this paper, we argue that ethnic states engage a type of defense mechanism, ‘reaction formation’, as part of migration policy to distract attention from threats to the claimed ethnic homogeneity that undergirds the reason for the state's existence. Using Israel as a case of a planned ethnic state, we show how a state develops a spectrum of membership models to incorporate ‘others’ into the nation-state. We suggest that Israel could conceivably devise some arrangement to incorporate the several hundred thousand labor migrants currently resident there. We argue that the state is reluctant to recognize these migrants as ‘Israeli’ because to do so would reveal a hidden truth: Israel may be becoming more Israeli than Jewish and, thus, the recognition of labor migrants and their children provokes questions about Israel's very reason for existence, that is, being a Jewish state.     

Identifying Factors that Influence State-specific Hunger Rates in the U.S.: A Simple Analytic Method for Understanding a Persistent Problem

An existing measure of food insecurity with hunger in the United States may serve as an effective indicator of quality of life. State level differences in that measure can reveal important differences in quality of life across places. In this study, we advocate and demonstrate two simple methods by which analysts can explore state-specific contributions to state-specific hunger rates. Using existing survey data and the U.S. Department of Agriculture measure of household food insecurity with hunger, we illustrate how comparing group-specific hunger rates within states and how the demographic method of standardization can both be used to assess how a state’s population and local characteristics influence hunger rates and other quality of life indicators associated with hunger.     

Indicators and Indices of Child Well-being: A Brief American History

This paper traces the history of indicators and indices of child well-being from its origins in the social indicator movement of the 1970s through recent developments in the field. Initial work calling for comprehensive sets of indicators of child well-being and later recommendations for indicator improvement are detailed. Products that resulted from these recommendations, such as comprehensive indicator reports and online resources are described. The development of child well-being indices is shown to parallel the history of indicators. The contributions of state and international indicator and index projects are included as well. Important aspects of child well-being indicator development are uncovered through documenting its history, including the need to focus on subjective as well as objective measures of well-being, and the need to develop indicators for the multiple ecological contexts of children’s lives, but to separate measures of context from measures of child outcomes. A rough consensus emerges across the history of indicator efforts on the critical domains of child well-being: physical, psychological, cognitive, social, and economic well-being. Recent recognition of the importance of indicators of positive development is noted. This paper was funded by the KIDS COUNT project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.     

A People-Based Approach to OBM

Abstract

This rejoinder discusses some common points raised in the commentaries of this special issue of JOBM, including (1) different definitions of positive and negative, (2) use of the terms reinforcement and establishing operation, and (3) concerns over the abandonment of behavior analysis for mentalistic research. In addition, a people-based approach to psychology is introduced and advocated as a leading-edge approach to understanding and improving organizational behavior.     

美国州别研究的意义、内容与方法--以北卡罗来那州为例

州本身就是美国政治经济体系的重要环节,中美关系的发展现状对我们开展美国州别研究提出了新的要求.研究美国各州与中国的经贸关系应该以各州经济发展的总体情况研究为基础,以各州与中国经贸往来中的大宗货物为重点,数据收集与加工分析的方法、典型个案分析的方法与比较研究的方法并用.     

论社会公民权的保障——以国家义务的适当承担为出发点

社会福利制度与公民权的结合便形成社会公民权。社会公民权之目的是确保一定的福利水平,使公民过上一种“文明化的生活”。而国家一般通过宪法等形式来确认社会公民权。公民与国家在社会公民权方面的争议可通过社会公民权的适当限制、理性的公众参与以及相应的司法救济予以解决。     

不遵守Bell不等式的量子缠绕(英)

本文给出正交态及非正交态的量子缠绕，通过分析两个实例，发现能够产生不遵守Bell不等式最大限度的缠绕态。     

另一种和亲——也谈中唐以后公主下嫁藩镇问题

唐代中晚期,政局糜烂,内外交困。唐朝政府在不断对外采取和亲政策的同时,更频频地将公主下嫁到各个藩镇,以求取国家内部的表面和平。这种政治婚姻,是另一种意义上的和亲。但和亲本身是否有效,更多地决定于政权双方的实力对比,所以,唐朝政府对各藩镇的“和亲”政策,并没有收到预期的效果,最终以失败告终。     

战国中晚期学术文化综合的类型与表现

战国中晚期文化学术思想的总结与综合成为历史的潮流,这种总结与综合表现出多种类型和形态:有同一学派内部不同分支思想的综合,有主于一家吸取它家思想成分的综合,有某专门领域学术思想的综合,有企图兼取百家构筑新思想体系的综合。此外,尚有超越于学派之上以政治实用主义的"王治"为主旨,兼摄诸子、融会百家的先秦杂家的综合等等。诸子百家各学派及其著作分别代表了不同的综合类型和形态。这种总结与综合,一方面是对整个先秦时期文化思想学术成就的重新梳理,另一方面是在前所未有的大一统历史形势下文化学术思想重新建构的初步尝试。