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.     

“Who generates this city”? Socialist strategy in contemporary London

This essay, based on a “militant ethnography” of the attempts of the small radical grassroots activist group, Our London (a pseudonym), to mobilize a collective oppositional politics through activities around an election campaign, engages critically with E. Laclau and C. Mouffe's arguments on discourse and collectivity in Hegemony and Socialist Strategy (London: Verso, 1985). I argue, on the basis of my findings, that while their model does provide insights that help describe the process of building collectivity from among disparate perspectives and identities, we need to go beyond a focus on discourse alone and consider the ways politics is shaped by material contexts. This is necessary if we are to understand the continued appeal of class politics as well as the difficulties in mobilizing collectivity in highly unequal and fragmented cities. From an activist perspective, the essay also highlights how developing a conception of collective interests and a critique of overarching systems of exploitation can be important in building political unity.     

Civil Society and Democracy: The Israeli Experience

Civil society has been considered pivotal to democracy, but the causes of its performance have remained controversial. According to one view the political context is a critical factor in shaping the contours of civil society. Another suggests that whether democracy prevails is contingent on society itself and the associations comprising it. In a test of these views it was assumed that if society prevails associations would vary by type. If the state is more important, then associations would be expected to score similarly on the democratic scale. It was also expected that variation among the types of performance would cut across group categories, reflecting general attributes of the polity. Data were derived from a survey conducted among voluntary associations in Israel (n = 360). Findings showed that (a) associations scored similarly on the democratic scale, (b) the scores for the democratic performance were not influenced by group category, and (c) the least performed function was integration.     

Linguists and other animals

Book reviewed in this article:
Joan Dunayer, Animal Equality: Language and Liberation     

JOURNAL OF UNIVERSITY OF SHANGHAI FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2002 Vol.24 No.1～4 Total Contents

在学习英语时,中西文化背景的差异,往往会给我们的阅读带来很大的困难。本文拟从词汇的文化内涵、历史典故和西方现代历史文化等三个方面来论述中西文化差异对篇章阅读的影响。     

论我国农村基层民主建设的现实基础

基层民主建设是有中国特色的民主政治内容之一。近年来,我国农村的基层民主建设引起世人关注。本文从我国农村的经济因素、社会因素和文化因素三个方面探讨了在经济、文化相对落后的农村推进民主进程的可能性与可行性。     

论后印刷时代话语中图像与文字的关系

当代图像与文字的关系体现为“超媒体”和“互动电视网络系统”两种形式。传统符号学以语言为本体论基础来处理两者之间的关系在认识论上是误导，符号的本质也被还原为符号现象。图像与文字，由于各自的不同“给予”，具有不同的认识论要求。认知的中介本质、符号的非中立性以及符号体系必须拥有的三大元功能不仅为区别图像与文字奠定了认识论基础，而且也为探讨它们之间的关系提供了可能性，同时，更是理解虚拟现实的有效途径。     

书写的欲望——论20世纪中国女性文化与女性话语权力

本文在 2 0世纪的文学背景下 ,系统梳理了女性文学发展的脉络 ,指出女性书写是一个男性无法进入而又实际存在的生命空间 ,这一世界相对于男性是“盲区”,女性写作便在这“盲区”中生长、发展 ,形成潮流 ,目的是颠覆男权文化的霸权地位 ,为自己争取话语权力     

阅读与语篇理解的相关理论分析

阅读是外语教学和学习中的重要环节。阅读不仅是读者知识积累和经验积淀的反映,而且可以构架起作者和读者之间沟通的桥梁。掌握了语篇生成的理论基础和技巧,读者就能在阅读中驾轻就熟地理解作者的意图和观点,从而达到理解语篇的目的。