Consumption and poverty in the homes of the English poor,c. 1670–1834

The consumer behaviour of the poor in the long eighteenth century has attracted more historical attention in recent years. Yet, we have little understanding of whether regional factors affected consumption or how the poor’s ownership of household goods was influenced by level of poverty and the life-cycle. By focusing on Kent and drawing comparisons to other counties, this article argues that the material lives of the poor were improving by the late eighteenth century, but finds that there were distinct regional differences as the poor acquired more and better goods in London and the Home Counties than in relatively remote areas. Moreover, by using pauper inventories and labourers’ probate inventories, the research finds that the poor were not a homogeneous group with similar levels of material wealth, but should be considered in terms of different subgroups which often led very different material lives to one another due to life-cycle-related problems including sickness and old age. Labourers’ probate inventories are found to represent a minority of the poor who were materially richer than most, whilst pauper inventories appear to represent a more typical subgroup of the poor that struggled to make do and owned most types of goods in smaller numbers.     

Institutional evolution and abrupt change: Reforming the administration of social assistance in Finland

Historical institutionalist studies have explained institutional change as resulting from critical junctures that interrupt long periods of stability or from endogenous, incremental evolution. Building on these theories, discursive institutionalists have focused on the roles of agency, ideas and discourse as explainers of change. Combining these approaches, this article analyses Finland’s decision in 2014 to transfer the administration of basic social assistance from municipalities to the central government. This study demonstrates that institutional change can be both abrupt and evolutionary. Due to sudden, exceptional political circumstances, the decision in question was made quickly and under pressure, circumventing possible veto players. However, it was possible only because of the incremental, endogenous change that had occurred in the way in which social assistance was administered at the municipal level. It enabled a change in political discourse, which eroded the credibility of the ideational frames that policy actors had previously utilised to reject the centralised model.     

上海辐射与苏南地区思想观念嬗变的动因分析

从上海辐射的角度考察苏南地区思想观念嬗变的主要原因 ,有经济基础、文化教育和科学知识三个方面。上海买办地位的转变 ,说明经济基础在观念变迁中的重要作用 ,由此导致上海和苏南地区人们的思想观念向重商重利转变。随着近代教育在上海成为时尚 ,苏南地区的近代教育也日渐兴起 ,新式学堂具有重视传播科学知识和培养创新精神、注重塑造民族精神、宣传男女平等等特征 ,有助于苏南地区思想观念的变革。上海开埠后 ,介绍西方科学知识的书籍首先从这一窗口流向内地 ,苏南地区作为桥头堡而得其先 ,在译介中发挥了重要作用。     

民国防区制时代四川的反缠足努力

民国四川的缠足状况与不缠足努力甚少为学界关注 ,本文依据地方档案和报刊资料 ,初步重建 1917- 1935年四川“防区制时代”以官方为主的反缠足努力 ,并通过考察此后四川妇女的缠足情况来验证反缠足努力之成效 ,希望能对整个近代四川不缠足运动的大致进程有更为连贯和全面的认识。与过去“军阀落后”的既定认知相反 ,防区制时代四川一些军事主政者对妇女缠足问题比较关心 ,其禁缠足努力比较积极而且持久     

教师教学观念的历史演进

教师的教学观念具有历史性,它随着社会政治、经济、文化与教学实践的变化而变化、发展而发展。因此,不同时代的教师教学观念都不可避免地带有时代的烙印,具有不同的特点。本文以不同时期教师教学观念的主要特征为线索,描绘了教师教学观念的历史演进脉络。     

评鲍德里亚的"消费社会理论"

鲍德里亚系统提出了"消费社会"的理论。他企图对唯物史观进行"颠覆"是错误的。但是不能简单地认为他是资本主义制度的辩护士。鲍德里亚不懂得马克思从根本上颠覆了国民经济学和唯心主义历史观的两种"幻象",从而奠定了生产和劳动对于人类社会存在与发展的基础性地位;不懂得消费与生产的现实辩证关系,片面地离开生产探讨消费的新特征,甚至主张用消费取代生产。消费异化是劳动异化的表现。技术救赎不可能解决当代人类面临的重大社会问题。     

《管子》富国思想初探

《管子》并非一时一人之作,最初是假托管仲之作,后人又不断增补。其内容驳杂,大部分是论述商品货币关系。本文主要从发展农业生产、重视工商业等方面探讨《管子》的富国之道。     

质押——个人住房消费贷款的一种制度创新

文章分析了推行个人住房消费质押贷款的优势和可行性,探讨了可以用来作为住房质押贷款的质物和住房消费质押贷款的运作机制,最后指出了个人住房消费质押贷款能顺利运作所必须的支撑体系.     

Consumption and Saving Behavior of Older and Younger Baby Boomers in Korea

The 1998 Korean Survey of Family Income and Expenditures was used to examine the overall consumption and saving behavior of Korean baby boomers and compared the differences in consumption and saving behavior between older and younger boomers. The t -test results indicated that the younger boomers allocated a significantly higher percentage of their expenditures on food away from home, household appliances, transportation and communication than did the older boomers, whereas the older boomers spent higher amounts and allocated larger budget shares on their children's education than did the younger boomers. The results of Ordinary Least-Squares (OLS) regression analysis showed that, holding other factors constant, older boomers not only spent significantly more in the total consumption expenditures and education expenditures, but older boomers also saved significantly less than did younger boomers.     

Consumption Patterns of Chinese Children

In the ten-year period from 1990 to 1999, children's consumption has increased dramatically in proportion to family income. In 85% of urban families, children's average consumption is equal to one third or more of the family's income. Resources are being directed to children's food and dietary supplements, toys, travel, computers and other electronic equipment, and educational resources. Children perceive that they have a significant influence on the family's financial decision-making. Problems related to children's consumption include indulgence in unnecessary or harmful purchases, and conspicuous consumption that cannot be sustained by the family's income. While some child-focused spending is viewed as enriching development, other expenditures may harm the family's economic well-being and foster an overly materialistic outlook among children.