Dandelions dancing in the snow

Abstract: This article is a translation of the keynote address delivered at the ‘Relire Kawabata au 21e siècle – modernisme et japonisme au-delà des mythes’ conference hosted by the Maison de la culture du Japon (Paris) and Université Paris Diderot-Paris 7 on 17–18 September 2014. It situates Kawabata Yasunari's late unfinished novel Tanpopo (Dandelions) within Japanese modernity and literary history, in particular drawing an array of connections between the work and the history of the rural northern mountain country of Japan.     

Principles of Participatory Communication Reconceptualised for Instructional Corporate Social Responsibility Communication

One of the main aims of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is to contribute to sustainable development, and effective communication is imperative in reaching this goal. When the aim of communication is to contribute to sustainable development, it falls within the field of communication for social change, where the participatory approach is the norm. However, the context of instructional CSR communication poses challenges to the traditional conceptualisation of the participatory approach. This creates a need to reconceptualise the participatory approach for instructional CSR communication contexts. A literature review identified four main principles of the participatory approach (dialogue, participation, cultural identity, and empowerment) and illustrated how they are traditionally conceptualised. The empirical study focused on two companies’ CSR programmes where agriculturists were assisting emerging farmers with training, skills development and mentoring. Sixteen semi-structured interviews with farmers and agriculturists were conducted to determine the applicability of the theoretical principles as traditionally conceptualised for this context. We argue that beneficiaries may not be able to participate as equal partners in all aspects of the CSR initiative from the beginning (as traditionally assumed), but that they should, through their involvement, be empowered to participate more meaningfully in later stages even though power will remain largely with the company.     

In search of the ‘Other’ in Asia: Russia–China relations revisited

This paper argues that Russia and China are partners of consequence and that the neglect of the normative dimension of the Sino-Russian relationship has led its impact on global governance to be undervalued and misunderstood. Following a constructivist approach, the paper examines the shared norms underlying an ever closer Sino-Russian partnership, despite divergent interests in a number of areas. A first section examines how shared norms lead Russia and China to define their identity similarly, facilitate joint actions, and constrain their individual policy choices. For Russia, elaborating its own unique identity is crucial to its claim to global status, though complicated by interactions with multiple ‘Others.’ Russia's effort to engage Asian partners is often viewed as hedging against China, but as second section argues that Russian engagement in Asia is better understood in terms of Russia's effort to define an Asian identity. A third section highlights the securitization/desecuritization dynamic in Sino-Russian economic relations. Xi Jinping's efforts to redefine China's global role reinforces its tendency to desecuritize the vulnerabilities that lead China to seek economic cooperation with Russia. Russia, fearing becoming a ‘resource appendage’ of China, then securitizes economic relations with China.     

The Intersection of Emotional and Sociocognitive Competencies with Civic Engagement in Middle Childhood and Adolescence

Civic developmental theory anticipates connections between normative developmental competencies and civic engagement, but little previous research has directly studied such links. The current study sought to contribute to civic development theory by examining associations between emotional and sociocognitive competencies (empathy, emotion regulation, prosocial moral reasoning, future-orientation) and civic engagement (volunteering, informal helping, political behaviors and beliefs, environmental behaviors, social responsibility values, civic skills). Data came from a geographically and racially diverse sample of 2467 youth (M_age?=?13.4, Range: 8–20 years, 56% female). The results indicated that empathy and future-orientation significantly predicted nearly all forms of civic engagement, whereas emotion regulation and prosocial moral reasoning were uniquely associated with specific forms of civic engagement. Exploratory multi-group models indicated that empathy and emotion regulation were more strongly associated with civic engagement among younger youth and prosocial moral reasoning and future-orientation were more strongly related to civic engagement among older youth. The findings help to advance developmental theory of youth civic engagement.     

Feckless and reckless or forbearing and resourceful? Looking behind the stereotypes of HIV and AIDS in "fishing communities"

Over the last decade evidence has emerged suggesting that inmany countries fisherfolk, as an occupational group, are atgreater risk to HIV and AIDS than the general adult population.This high vulnerability has been explained in terms of the lifestylesassociated with fishing and related occupations, such as fishprocessing and trading. Fishermen have been portrayed as risktakers, their attitudes and behaviour shaped by the physicaland economic risks of the fishing lifestyle. Women in fishingcommunities, often engaged in fish processing and trading andproviding food and lodging in fishing settlements, are portrayedas being in subordinate social and economic positions and preyto sexual exploitation by cash-rich fishermen. There is a dangerin such lifestyle summaries that fisherfolk are characterizedas feckless risk takers with a reckless attitude to the chanceof contracting HIV. In this article we look at the lives ofsome men, women, and children living in a lake-side communityin Uganda severely affected by HIV and AIDS to illustrate howexisting portrayals of fisherfolk, and fishing communities,need to avoid stereotypes in order to better inform appropriatehealth sector and livelihood support measures.     

南非扣船法律的最新动态

南非海事管辖最创新的措施可能就是关联船制度了 ,它是在195 2年扣船公约确立的姐妹船扣押规则基础上的有意义的延伸。在“Heavy Metal”案中 ,法院的判决导致扣船范围进一步延伸 ;然而在“Fortune 2 2”案中 ,在特定情况下 ,却缩减了扣船权利。作者认为这会引起混乱     

Effects of Parental Substance Abuse on Current Levels of Domestic Violence: A Possible Elaboration of Intergenerational Transmission Processes

Research conducted on the intergenerational transmission of domestic violence has framed much of its inquiry from within the context of social learning theory. Although consistently significant, the effect size of social learning-derived intergenerational transmission variables is often small. This study was undertaken in an effort to broaden the theoretical basis of intergenerational transmission of family violence by assessing if incorporating parental substance abuse variables with exposure to violence in family of origin would increase the predictive power of a multiple regression model. Subjects (N = 74) were men in treatment for domestic violence. Paternal substance abuse was found to exert effects on respondents' violent behavior comparable to those from exposure to family of origin violence. Findings supported a need to broaden theoretical views of the etiology of domestic violence perpetration.     

西南地区的土司制度及清代早期对其进行改革的原因

本文从中央政府与土司的关系及土司享有的权力等方面阐述了西南地区的土司制度;并通过讨论雍正执政早期关于土司制度改革的争议,论述了雍正废除土司制度的根本原因在于消除西南民族地区土司间和土司内部的暴力事件,加强中央集权。     

Teacher–Student Relationship Climate and School Outcomes: Implications for Educational Policy Initiatives

In recent discussions regarding concerns about the academic achievement of US students, educational policy makers have suggested the implementation of certain teacher policies. To address the limited empirical research on the putative educational impact of such policies, this study used multilevel structural equation models to investigate the longitudinal associations between teacher evaluation and reward policies, and student mathematics achievement and dropout with a national sample of students (n = 7,779) attending one of 431 public high schools. The student sample included an equal number of boys and girls averaging 16 years of age, and included a White (53%) majority. This study examined whether associations between teacher policies and student achievement were mediated by the teacher–student relationship climate. Results of this study were threefold. First, teacher evaluation policies that allowed students to evaluate their teachers were associated with more positive student reports of the classroom teaching climate. Second, schools with teacher reward policies that included assigning higher performing teachers with higher performing students had a negative association with student perceptions of the teaching climate. Lastly, schools with better student perceptions of the teaching climate were associated with lower student dropout rates by students’ senior year. These findings are discussed in light of their educational policy implications.