Low Public Expenditures on Social Welfare: Do East Asian Countries have a Secret?

This paper explores the sources of low public expenditures on social welfare in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Six factors are analysed based on aggregate data: the public/private mix of welfare programmes, the age structure, the maturity of old-age pension schemes, the population coverage of social security, the relative generosity of social security and the role of enterprises and families as alternative providers of welfare. The evidence allows putting some conventional statements about the virtues of East Asian welfare states into questions. Public expenditures on welfare are bound to rise a lot in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, while the level of protection in Hong Kong and Singapore is well below the standards of Western countries.     

义熙伐蜀与晋末宋初政局

刘裕主持东晋朝政期间,曾于义熙二年、九年两次派兵伐蜀。第一次伐蜀的条件并不成熟,其本意也并非在于克蜀,而另有其政治意义。第二次伐蜀,则已经是历史发展的必然选择。而盖州的平定,除了直接造成梁州的回归外,更为日后南北之间的长期对峙,作了奠基。     

新疆发现的铸铜石范及其意义

新疆发现的铸铜石范大多属于青铜时代,以工具和武器范为主,这是欧亚草原西部很早就兴起的青铜器文化向东传播的结果。新疆铸铜石范的发现说明这类青铜器是当地制作,它们是研究新疆青铜文化和早期东西文化交流的珍贵材料。     

跨国移民与东亚现代化——以中、日、韩三国为例

跨国移民对东亚尤其是中、日、韩三国现代化具有重要影响:为中、日、韩三国提供了物质和人力资本,其商业网络促进了中、日、韩三国市场的扩大,并对中、日、韩三国政治结构的分化整合及文化结构产生了影响,进而促进了社会的开放性和多元性.随着全球化的进一步发展,各国间经济的依赖程度进一步增强,移民尤其是移民后裔越来越快地融入当地社会,在与他国公民交往和沟通的过程中建立起日益友好的民间联系;东亚各国的联系将会日益密切,东亚一体化终将会实现,而东亚也将在东亚各国人民互通有无、互相补益、互相协同的基础上,充分发挥人类的力量,成功实现由传统社会向现代社会的转型.     

晚清西学东渐过程中的价值取向

晚清输入西学的主体为传教士及其他来华外国人及相关机构、清政府官办机构、中国民间知识分子及民办机构,这三类机构与人物,由于其立场、出发点有别,重点活动时期不一样,因而输入西学的价值取向有明显不同.官办机构输入西学有强烈的为用而译、急用先译的功利主义倾向,重应用技术,轻基础知识,重自然科学,轻人文社会科学,其缺陷由传教士及其他来华外国人及相关机构作了弥补,这是传教士在十九世纪末中国上层社会能发生重要影响的原因.官办机构中的译员,在一定程度上也会影响西学传播的内容,但比较有限.庚子事变以后,中国民间资本在输入西学方面发挥了极其重要的作用,官办机构、传教士机构均相形见绌.     

“东亚福利体制”的外在独立性研究

20世纪90年代以来,东亚福利体制成为学术界讨论的重点之一。有学者赞同东亚福利体制的存在,但是也有学者对东亚福利体制这一概念进行了质疑。由此,对东亚福利体制是否具有外在独立性进行研究就具有相当大的意义。本文在将东亚福利体制与自由主义、保守主义、社会民主主义福利体制的典型国家进行对比后认为,东亚福利体制在福利进程、福利取向、福利文化、福利期待四个方面均具有外在独立性,是与传统三种福利体制并存的独立福利体制。     

Ethnic Language Retention and East Asian Endogamy in the United States

This study examines the influence of ethnic language on the endogamy of three East Asian groups, which have been previously omitted within intermarriage research. The study findings present important indications of ethnic language playing a key role in endogamy amongst East Asian groups. Providing for this key component, the groups were divided into U.S. born vs. foreign-born East Asians. Amongst foreign-born East Asians, the effect of English ability provided significance over U.S. born East Asians. Separate examinations of Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans presented diverse patterns of endogamy, migration, and ethnic language retention. Specifically, findings provided insight to high levels of endogamy amongst U.S. born Japanese due to ethnic concentration, despite their loss of ethnic language.     

The role of technology in reconfiguring volunteer management in nonprofits in Hong Kong: Benefits and discontents

There is plenty of evidence demonstrating that volunteering generates benefits for individuals and society at large. However, the role of technology used in recruiting, managing, and retaining volunteers in nonprofits is underexplored in East Asia. Drawing from in‐depth interviews with representatives of eight nonprofits, we examine how technology reconfigured volunteer management in nonprofits, identify its limitations and shortcomings, and discuss strategies in which technology can be utilized to enhance the effectiveness of volunteer management. We found, through this study, that the use of technology reconfigured key aspects of volunteer management: improving recruitment by enlarging and diversifying the volunteer pool; enhancing precision and speed of volunteer matching; improving nonprofits’ ability to recruit professionals; and reducing overall administrative burden of volunteer management within these nonprofits. However, challenges in volunteer management resulting from technology uptake were also observed, including resistance among frontline staff to adopt technology, and volunteer accountability and quality assurance. Specifically, it was found through this study that the extent to which nonprofits are able to effectively utilize technology in volunteer management is contingent on how well volunteer managers are able to actualize the notion of capacity optimization, create a friendly volunteer environment, and build rapport with volunteers. Implications for enhancing organizational capacity in volunteer management vis‐à‐vis the role of technology in the third sector are further discussed.     

论土耳其埃尔多安政府的外交政策

以埃尔多安为总理的土耳其政府,改变了土耳其以往单维度、不平衡的外交政策,开始向多维度、多样化的方向逐渐发展,积极扩展在中东、中亚、高加索、巴尔干、非洲等地区的影响力,以改善与邻国的关系,其外交政策显示出更大的独立性。尽管埃尔多安政府在外交上主要以西方国家尤其是美国作为外交基轴,但并未一味地为迎合美国而在国际事务中处处跟随其后,而是着力扩大国家影响力在国际舞台上寻求独立声音。中东剧变后,埃尔多安政府的外交政策表现出延续性和灵活性。需要指出的是,埃尔多安政府外交政策的调整并不意味着以西方国家为基轴的外交战略发生根本性扭转,外交政策的东移不过是亲西方政策的补充,旨在更好地完善土耳其的外交政策。