Post-Soviet universities as development in practice: local experience and global lessons

The university holds a privileged place as the site of knowledge production in social development. Simultaneously, traditions of pedagogy drawing from the liberal arts have evolved within Northern/Western post-secondary educational systems which claim to create citizens through developing the skills of freedom; this claim was central to interventions in post-Soviet university reform projects. The author's university development and reform experiences in the former Soviet Union show that a depoliticised liberal arts pedagogy in fact reinforced authoritarian practices, and the promise of a liberal arts pedagogy as an emancipatory project remains an ongoing global task of critical knowledge practices.

Universités post-soviétiques en tant que développement dans la pratique : expériences locales et leçons mondiales

L' université occupe une place privilégiée comme site de production de connaissances dans le développement social. Dans le même temps, des traditions pédagogiques s'inspirant des arts libéraux ont évolué dans le cadre des systèmes d'éducation post-secondaires du Nord et de l'Occident qui affirment créer des citoyens en développant les compétences de la liberté ; cette affirmation a été centrale dans les interventions dans les projets de réforme universitaire post-soviétiques. Les expériences de l'auteur du développement et de la réforme des universités dans l'ancienne Union soviétique montrent qu'une pédagogie dépolitisée des arts libéraux a en fait renforcé les pratiques autoritaires, et la promesse d'une pédagogie d'arts libéraux comme projet émancipatoire reste une tâche mondiale en cours constituée de pratiques critiques d'acquisition de connaissances.

Universidades na era pós-soviética enquanto desenvolvimento na prática: experiência local e lições globais

A universidade ocupa um lugar privilegiado como lugar de produção de conhecimento na área de desenvolvimento social. Simultaneamente, tradições de pedagogia extraídas das artes liberais têm evoluído dentro dos sistemas educacionais pós-ensino médio no hemisfério norte / ocidental, que afirmam criar cidadãos através do desenvolvimento de qualificações para liberdade; esta afirmação foi central para as intervenções nos projetos de reforma da universidade na era pós-soviética. As experiências da autora sobre desenvolvimento e reforma da universidade na antiga União Soviética mostram que uma pedagogia de artes liberais despolitizada, na verdade, reforçaram práticas autoritárias, e a promessa de uma pedagogia de artes liberais enquanto projeto emancipatório permanece uma tarefa global contínua de práticas importantes de conhecimento.

Las universidades postsoviéticas para el desarrollo en la práctica: experiencias locales y mundiales

La universidad desempeña un importante papel en la producción de conocimientos para el desarrollo social. Simultáneamente, se afirma que la pedagogía utilizada en las humanidades de los sistemas escolares universitarios del Norte o de Occidente fomenta la ciudadanía porque desarrolla herramientas dirigidas a la libertad; los proyectos de reforma de la universidad postsoviética se basaron en esta idea. Las experiencias de la autora en el desarrollo y la reforma universitaria de la antigua Unión Soviética muestran que la pedagogía despolitizada en las humanidades más bien fortaleció prácticas autoritarias; la esperanza de contar con una pedagogía emancipadora en las humanidades continúa construyéndose a nivel mundial mediante el ejercicio de prácticas de conocimiento crítico.     

Micro-insurance through corporate–NGO partnerships in West Bengal: opportunities and constraints

This Practical Note examines the nascent micro-insurance sector in West Bengal, paying particular attention to the corporate–NGO partnership model for micro-insurance distribution, which has been enabled by India's unique regulatory framework. We challenge the popular construction of this model as a ‘win–win’ for all parties by analysing conflicting understandings of micro-insurance schemes and their purposes by insurance companies, NGOs, and poor villagers. The article also considers the role of the specific political context of West Bengal in constricting corporate–NGO micro-insurance.     

俄罗斯气候政策转型的驱动因素及国际影响分析

作为世界第三大温室气体排放国和世界最大能源出口国,俄罗斯在国际气候协议谈判中的地位极其重要。自从梅德韦杰夫总统上任以来,俄罗斯政府一改过去的冷漠态度,在国内和国际两个层面采取了一系列行动,在应对气候变化问题上表现出积极的政治姿态,被国际社会解读为俄罗斯的气候政策出现了惊人的转型。分析俄罗斯气候政策转型的各种驱动因素以及由此带来的国际影响,对研究未来国际气候体制的发展趋势具有重要意义。     

Integrating Europe’s PSI re-use rules - Demystifying the maze

Despite various studies evincing the huge potential locked up in public sector information (PSI), this potential is far from being fully exploited. To a large extent, this failure is caused by the immensely complex legal labyrinth surrounding PSI re-use. This complexity works in two ways: public sector bodies do not comply with the regulatory framework and re-users do not avail themselves of the legal instruments offered, resulting in unexploited economic potential. What makes the legal framework so complex is the transcending nature of PSI re-use, as it blends four areas of law - freedom of information law, ICT law, intellectual property law and competition law - that, throughout the years, have been regulated at a European, national and even at a sectoral level, but in isolation. The fundamental impact that ICT developments have on our society, subsequently also rocking the legal rules and underlying principles and axioms, makes the picture even more complicated. Taking the maximization of utility of PSI as a starting point in this article, I will anatomize each of these legal frameworks and demonstrate how they interact, culminating in a conceptual framework that may help public sector bodies and re-users, and courts where necessary, to apply and rely on the rules involved and to bring to the surface areas for policy action, both at the national and European level.     

English Education Policy after New Labour: Big Society or Back to Basics?

This article considers possible future directions for education policy and public service governance under the Conservative‐led coalition government. The article considers the extent to which Conservatives might develop a distinctive strategy for managing public services that breaks decisively with that of the New Labour era. The coalition faces a markedly different political and economic context for public service reform compared to its predecessor. This article argues that these contextual constraints make a continuation of the New Labour governing strategy less viable, but unresolved tensions in the coalition education policies enacted to date may hinder the development of a novel project for education reform. As a consequence, the New Labour education project seems likely to remain largely intact for the foreseeable future.     

COMBATING HEALTHCARE COST INFLATION WITH CONCERTED ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS IN A CHINESE PROVINCE

This article defies the traditional notion that cost inflation in healthcare could hardly be curbed without the significant revision of economic incentive scheme, but demonstrates the possibility of containing cost inflation with concerted administrative actions in the Chinese context. It examines the case of Fujian Province that embarked on a health bureaucracy‐led policy reform without an alteration of economic levers but mainly using administrative tools to combat cost escalation. Through clearly defined, well designed, targeted and concerted administrative measures, effective cost containment is attainable in China's healthcare sector, at least in the short run. If combined well with the powerful economic instruments, administrative tools would be able to augment their effects in cost containment, provided with the government's possession of hospital ownership. At the heart of Fujian's case are the reassertion of the government stewardship, the reconstruction of the collapsed accountability mechanisms, the reconfiguration of policy instruments, and the revision of administrative incentives, rather than the decreased costs per se. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Australian Public Service and Policy Advising: Meeting the Challenges of 21st Century Governance

This concluding article summarises the case study findings comprising the Special Issue on ‘Advising Australian Federal Governments: Assessing the Evolving Capacity and Role of the Australian Public Service’, identifies and discusses cross‐cutting issues, and considers strategic implications for future practice and research. It reviews key findings from six case studies – Treasury, Prime Minister and Cabinet, Intergovernmental Relations, Housing, the BER Stimulus program, and Defence – and assesses the policy advising capacity of the Australian Public Service, with a focus on the policy‐political interface between governments and officials. Putting recent experience in historical context, it considers the performance of the Commonwealth's policy advisory system, the impact of prime ministers and centralisation, the link between advising and analytic capacities, the system's resilience and readiness, whether recent dissatisfaction over APS advising reflect lack of capacity or a culture clash, and the responsibility for ensuring high‐quality policy advice. It recommends developing a more systematic approach to assessing policy advising capability, building on recent APS reforms.     

公共对话式政策执行及其支持性维度分析

顺应当前的行政民主化浪潮,政策执行中引入对话协商,即公共对话式政策执行,代表了政策执行领域的一种对话性转向,具有重要的理论与现实意义。公共对话式政策执行的支持性维度包括:动机性维度——利益偏好,保障性维度——行动与信任合作,政治性维度——话语民主,情境性与能动性维度——社会建构。这些支持性维度与公共对话式政策执行之间存在着双向的促进作用,共同推动实现政策执行过程的合法性与有效性。公共对话式政策执行这一议题是一个初始性研究,存在诸多有待进一步思考与分析的问题,但公共对话本身所蕴含的巨大潜力,表明其将有着良好的发展前景。     

Land and Water Institutions in the Blue Nile Basin: Setups and Gaps for Improved Land and Water Management

This study undertook an assessment and gap analysis of the institutional arrangements for improved land and water management in the Tana and Beles Sub‐basins highlands of the Blue Nile Basin. We explored the mandates and design features of the major land‐ and water‐related institutional arrangements. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a literature review were used in the analysis. The results of our work reveal that a lot of progress has been made in creating an institutional framework for improved land and water management and the policies and laws hitherto developed reflect global policy changes consistent with the widespread adoption of the integrated water resources management (IWRM) principles. There are also cases where informal institutions replace formal institutions. Judged by their enforcement, the water resources management, pollution control standards, and regulations and land use rights are not enacted effectively because of poor enforcement capacity. Overall there is a tendency to focus on command‐and‐control type policies. There is a need to strengthen traditional institutions by drawing lessons from their strengths and establish the legitimacy of these institutions. There is also a need to improve formal policy design, developing policies with specific objectives, goals, targets, and overall institutional changes and resources through active adaptive management to maximize the level and effectiveness of institutional learning. Finally, more focus needs to be given to incentive‐based policies through increased use of positive incentives and more emphasis needs to be given to self‐enforcement rather than third‐party enforcement.     

论宽严相济刑事政策视野中刑罚之经济分析

在宽严相济刑事政策下,良好的刑罚应具有四种经济功能：惩罚犯罪,恢复正常秩序,减低交易成本;提供奖惩机制,打击机会主义动机;展示冲突的风险,促进合作;实现犯罪行为外部性的内部化,促进资源的优化配置和增殖。