Contracting-Out in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Contracting-out was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1978 as part of the arrangements for the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) in order to avoid duplication with the existing well-developed defined benefit occupational pension plan sector. Members and sponsors of contracted-out schemes were able to save on their social security contributions in recognition of the fact that they were accruing equivalent benefits through an occupational pension plan. Later on this concept was extended to those with individual money purchase pension plans. This article considers a brief history of contracting-out, the principles of contracting-out, some problems associated with contracting-out, the implications of the introduction of stakeholder pensions and State Second Pension, and the latest rebate review and rebate orders. It examines how U.K. pensions policy since 1978 has been based on a partnership between social security and private pension plans.     

德国退出核能利用的法律框架

本文首先回顾了起源于上个世纪七十年代的全球反核运动,从而阐明了德国退出核能的历史渊源。进而简要介绍了核能在德国能源结构中的地位与核能利用的现状。通过分析德国政府与核电企业签署的《关于逐步退出核能利用的协议》以及2002年的《原子能法修订法》的相关条款,特别是结合了RWE公司转让发电量一案,理清了德国退出核能的立法脉络与框架。最后,文章还对德国退出核能利用的最新进展作出了述评。     

Visibility as Resistance by Muslim Americans in a Surveillance and Security Atmosphere

Based on ethnographic data on South Asian Muslims in Los Angeles and analysis of publications of the largest Muslim organization in North America, this article shows how Muslim Americans manage their hypervisibility in the post‐9/11 security atmosphere, which has intensified after ISIS terrorist attacks at home and abroad. At the individual level, Muslim Americans try to distance themselves from the “Muslim” label, which associates them with “terrorists.” Instead, many self‐categorize into the seemingly more favorable “moderate” identity, which could sometimes render Muslims politically passive. Contrastingly, Muslim organizations strive to construct a “Muslim American” identity that can allow Muslims to engage in mainstream politics by reframing Islam as compatible with American values. Theoretically, this article engages with the scholarship on security, surveillance, and visibility to show how the observed's visibility is not always only repressive but can also be used to resist imposed categories. However, findings reflect how the racialization of Muslims and the security regime give these strategies a double edge—while providing some advantages, these do little to dismantle Muslims’ hypervisibility and the security atmosphere. Overall, findings shed light on the contemporary issue of Muslim identification—not just in terms of how others see Muslims but also how Muslims see themselves.     

东北亚安全体制:2010年的动荡催化新制度建设

2010年在朝鲜半岛地区与周围发生了天安号警戒舰沉没与延坪岛受到炮击等事件,由此引起东北亚局势的新动荡和国际社会的严重不安。本文探讨这些事件的可能成因以及对东北亚安全的影响,分析主要相关方的安全利益聚离,并由此提出塑造东北亚集体安全体制的必要性与可能性。     

AGING,RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY IN A MODEL OF INTEREST GROUPS

The assessment of the degree of genetic variation in a natural population, and the nature of that variation, is of central importance in both theoretical and applied population studies. Two “variance” results in population genetics theory are presented. For the first, expressions are found for the expected difference in the estimates of genetic variation in a population obtained by two investigators sampling from the same population in the same generation. The second result concerns the question of whether the degree of genetic variation in a population is best estimated by using the number of alleles observed in a sample of genes or by the number of polymorphic sites observed in the sample. For some combinations of the actual degree of variation and the sample size the former is preferred while for other combinations the latter is preferred. The reason for this is discussed.     

当前我国社会保障存在的问题及其改革措施

自《中华人民共和国劳动保险条例》颁布始 ,中国社会保障制度已走过 50年发展历程 ,社会保障制度从雏形到逐步成熟和规范。当前我国社会保障实践在成绩中隐含着许多矛盾和问题 ,因此 ,应尽快建立起独立于企业事业单位之外、资金来源多元化、保障制度规范化、管理服务社会化的社会保障体系已是迫在眉睫     

Morality and Nuclear Energy: Perceptions of Risks and Benefits,Personal Norms,and Willingness to Take Action Related to Nuclear Energy

We examined factors underlying people's willingness to take action in favor of or against nuclear energy from a moral perspective. We conducted a questionnaire study among a sample of the Dutch population (N = 123). As expected, perceptions of risks and benefits were related to personal norms (PN), that is, feelings of moral obligation toward taking action in favor of or against nuclear energy. In turn, PN predicted willingness to take action. Furthermore, PN mediated the relationships between perceptions of risk and benefits and willingness to take action. In line with our hypothesis, beliefs about the risks and benefits of nuclear energy were less powerful in explaining PN for supporters compared to PN of opponents. Also, beliefs on risks and benefits and PN explained significantly more variance in willingness to take action of opponents than of supporters. Our results suggest that a moral framework is useful to explain willingness to take action in favor of and against nuclear energy, and that people are more likely to protest in favor of or against nuclear energy when PN are strong.     

支持MLS的多层次嵌入式高可信软件架构

为增强安全关键系统的高可信能力,在分析高可信保障机制现状的基础上,提出了一种多层次的高可信软件架构。该架构采用时空分离思想、虚拟机技术,为基于MLS的嵌入式安全关键系统提供了一种整体解决方案。基于该架构,研究了多层次的安全和防危策略管理方法、信息流控制机制、可信软件的评估和认证方法,为安全关键嵌入式系统提供可认证的安全服务。     

A Methodology for Seismic Risk Analysis of Nuclear Power Plants

This methodology begins by quantifying the fragility of all key components and structures in the plant. By means of the logic encoded in the plant event trees and fault trees, the component fragilities are combined to form fragilities for the occurrence of plant damage states or release categories. Combining these, in turn, with the seismicity curves yields the frequencies of those states or releases. Uncertainty is explicitly included at each step of the process.