The Anglo‐Irish Agreement: 25 Years On

This article examines the surprisingly muted commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Anglo‐Irish Agreement. It was surprising because not only was the Agreement a major innovation in relations between the two states but it was also the defining political issue in Northern Ireland for almost a decade. It is argued that the significance of the Agreement has been diminished because of retrospective narratives which serve the political convenience of the key parties to the Northern Ireland conflict. The article adapts Oakeshott's notion of the ‘dry wall’ to re‐assess and to re‐state the Agreement's place in recent history.     

Understanding Employee Motivation to Innovate: Evidence from Front Line Employees in United States Federal Agencies

In a period of ongoing public sector reform in the United States (US), federal government agencies have been pushed to find new ways of performing their public functions more effectively and efficiently. Frontline public sector employees are a particularly vital source of innovations in organisational function and form. This study seeks to identify factors that motivate front line employees in the US federal bureaucracy to engage in innovative behaviour. The empirical analysis is based on data from the 2006 Federal Human Capital Survey. The results show that a constellation of factors encourage bottom‐up innovation, including the expectancy of innovation being rewarded, employee training and development, employee empowerment and involvement in decision‐making, and high‐exchange dyadic relationships with supervisors.     

全球化对文化义务的冲击

文化义务在全球化的冲击下正发生着深刻的变化,导致文化义务的履行面临机遇也面临挑战,以文化霸权为取向的全球化不仅割裂了文化权利和文化义务的统一,而且也使文化义务背离了自己的本质,这让文化义务的履行陷入了困境.     

经济结构转型升级中的工会对策思考

我国经济结构转型升级进入加快期。对职工群体的影响主要表现在需求结构转型与职工收入分配失衡、产业结构转型与职工群体演进、要素结构转型与职工素质提升。工会应对经济结构转型的思路和对策是:需求结构转型要利益重整、产业结构转型要群体凝聚、要素结构转型要素质全面。     

科学认识论的一次革命性变革——爱因斯坦科学认识论思想述评

目前通行的哲学认识论描述人的认识活动过程,是从对认识对象的现象到对认识对象的本质和规律的认识运动和发展路径,而蕴含在爱因斯坦创立相对论的科学理论研究活动中的科学认识活动过程,是从揭示认识对象或实在的本质和规律到描述认识对象的基本现象的认识运动和发展路径。爱因斯坦通过对日常思维本性的批判性考查,揭示了人们的日常思维与科学思维在本质上的一致性,从而完成了科学认识论发展史上的一次革命性变革。     

论中国传统女性参政角色及当代转变

女性参政是社会发展和现代化事业的一个重要部分,也是推进社会主义民主政治、加强政治文明建设的需要。从原始社会到改革开放这一悠久的历史时期内,女性参政角色经历了由执政人、工具人到平等人的漫长演变,并且这些演变过程中都有着共同的特征。从历史角度分析,主要可归因为政权、族权、神权和夫权这四大权力对传统女性参政角色的压抑。探究中国传统女性参政角色的转变对新时期建构合理的女性参政角色大有裨益,可以从参与机制、法律保障、女性话语和公民维度四个角度进行建构。     

近期非洲政局突变及对党的执政能力建设的启示

近期非洲多国由于民生危机、专权腐败、内政僵化和外交失败等原因,导致执政几十年且长期保持稳定的强人政治风云突变。非洲多国政局突变给我们的启示是：党的执政地位不是与生俱来的,也不是一劳永逸的。中国共产党作为马克思主义执政党,只有立党为公、执政为民,着力保障和改善民生,严治贪腐,促进社会的公平正义和民主进步,才能保证党的执政地位稳坐的船！     

试论转型期中国行政法制度的变迁

随着改革开放的不断深入,中国的政治、经济、文化以及法制都进入了转型时期,其中政治体制改革对于国家发展和社会生活产生了巨大影响.行政法制度属于政治体制的一个重要部分,它的变迁反映出了中国政治体制中长期存在的诸多问题.本文分析了处于转型期的中国行政法制度变迁的类型、影响因素和社会环境,并对转型期中国行政法制度的变迁提出了相关建议.     

Safeguarding development aid against climate change: evaluating progress and identifying best practice

Official development assistance currently totals around US$130 billion per year, an order of magnitude greater than international climate finance. To safeguard development progress and secure the long-term effectiveness of these investments, projects must be designed to be resilient to climate change. This article reviews 250 projects for three countries from two development organisations and finds that between 2% and 30% of these may require action now to “future-proof” investments and policies. Both organisations show improvements in the recognition of climate change in projects, but many projects are still not future-proof.     

Experiences applying the climate resilience framework: linking theory with practice

This paper discusses the evolution and application of the Climate Resilience Framework (CRF). The framework focuses on the roles of systems, agents, institutions, and exposure in climate resilience and adaptation, and supports planning and strategic policy development using iterative shared learning techniques. Conceptual foundations of the CRF are explored, along with its application in a range of implementation and research contexts, including: urban planning (Asia), food systems (Nepal, Central America), and post-flood recovery (Pakistan, USA). These illustrate how analysis of system dynamics and agent behaviour in different institutional contexts can be used to identify points of entry for building resilience.