AFRICAN RENAISSANCE AND NEGOTIATION OF YORUBA IDENTITY IN THE DIASPORA: A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIAN STUDENTS IN CAPE TOWN

ABSTRACT

Drawing on poststructuralist discourse analysis and Hall's (1990) notion of diaspora cultural identities, this article explores the discontinuation and maintenance of Yoruba identity options by students at three Western Cape Province universities. Interviews and observations data are used to consider how different forms of representations and cultural practices associated with Yoruba in Nigeria lead to equally fragmented and hybrid lifestyles and identity options in the Diaspora due to the changed socio-cultural conditions. The argument shows the ruptures and fragmentation of Yoruba cultural elements as students try to fit into the South African socio-cultural contexts while trying to live ‘home’ life away from home. It also shows cultural appropriation by local South Africans who claim Nigerian [Yoruba] affiliation through wearing Yoruba attire and partaking in Nigerian [Yoruba] cuisine. The authors argue that identities are produced across national and ethnic boundaries not only through language choices, but also through dress, food and other semiotic resources, and that to promote the ideals of an African renaissance, there is need to recognise that Africa is a consequence of not just similarities, but more so of various critical points of profound difference and discontinuity. The article concludes that African renaissance entails embracing shared African cultural heritage and differences as the norm; and transnational competition, interdependency and interconnectedness are critical ingredients for the technological and socio- economic development of Africa.     

Preventive veto and obstructive veto: the imposition of public policy by organizations on the margins of government

This article argues that powerful organizations at the margins of government (i. e,, contractors, franchisers, quangos, state-owned corporations, etc.) which provide vital public services are able to impose public policy on the electorate and elected officials in democratic countries. These organizations' enormous resources, including not only their tangible assets, but also freedom from accountability and dependent clientele, constitute both a source of power and vital vested interests. Illustrating with the example of the Kupat Holim Sick Fund of Israel, it shows how when these interests are significantly jeopardized, the organizations impose veto power: a preventive veto at the policy making stage or an obstructive veto at the policy implementation stage. Both types of veto enable them to appropriate the major instruments of policy making - allocation, regulation, and restructuring - from elected government. This ability undermines the traditional relationship between the electorate and elected and raises questions about the risks to democracy inherent in the proliferation of such bodies on the margins of government.     

Calling Attention to the Nature of Professional Knowledge and Its Impact on Perceptions of Performance Measures

Nations around the globe are increasingly facing tough challenges when dealing with environmental problems. The limited success of government interventions to protect the environment is a testament to the growing concern about government's inability, or insufficient capacity, to address environmental issues. As a response, scholars note that promoting environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) on the part of the citizenry is critical for the growth and development of efficient environmental governance. However, despite the introduction of a variety of measures by governments to encourage greener practices, influencing citizens' behavior remains a major challenge. Using social capital theory, this article examines the effects of various social relation components on the promotion of pro-environmental behavior in five key public policy areas—recycling, food purchasing behavior, gasoline, energy conservation, and water use. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

大卫·哈维空间视域中的资本批判及其启示

在资本主义城市问题突显的现实背景以及城市地理学和马克思主义双重理论背景下,大卫·哈维试图将马克思主义理论引入空间分析,形成了空间视域的资本批判理论。尽管哈维对马克思主义缺乏空间维度这一说法颇有欠缺,但他从资本积累的维度阐述了城市物质景观变迁和阶级关系再生产的新特征。哈维将资本批判引入空间理论的成果继承了马克思主义分析方法,丰富了马克思主义的内容,并为城市空间理论提供了新思路,同时也为中国解决城市问题提供了一种启示。     

Schumpeter's economic theory and the dynamic accounting view of the firm: neglected pages from the Theory of Economic Development

Abstract

The first English translation of some of Schumpeter's (1926) pages of the Theory of Economic Development is presented. These neglected pages are remarkable because they significantly add to Schumpeter's masterpiece on a number of issues concerned with accounting, law and economics of the firm. They show that Schumpeter considered understanding the firm, together with innovation, as important scientific problems. Schumpeter doubts the explanatory value of proprietary entrepreneurship and provides an early justification of the dynamic entity view of business activity generated by the firm as a becoming concern. He discusses its implications for understanding issues of economic organization and corporate governance, and suggests some theoretical insights concerning business capital and money under conditions of real dynamics and complexity. The doors opened by Schumpeter indicate that money and accounting are fundamentally coupled as complementary institutions in framing and shaping the economic and monetary process of the firm as an enterprise entity.     

Trusting,Happy, Religious,and Giving: Explaining Volunteering in the Context of Nordic Exceptionalism

Abstract

Using data from the European Values Study, this article examines the mechanisms through which social capital facilitates volunteering in Nordic countries. Three specific mechanisms are examined as drivers of volunteering: Generalized trust, subjective well-being, and religious activity. We find that trust bridges social capital and that people volunteer more as their level of generalized and institutional trust increases. Our results also indicate that individuals with higher levels of well-being and those who attend religious services regularly are more likely to volunteer.     

人力资本语境中的教育投资

在全球经济一体化的时代潮流中,教育投资的挑战与机遇并存.我们只有深刻理解在国际大市场背景下的教育投资内涵,才能真正把握好发展机遇.综观当今世界发达国家的教育投资状况,教育经费随着各国经济的不断增长而呈增长的趋势,即不仅教育投资绝对量在增长,而且教育投资的相对量也在增长.我国资本市场与国际资本市场的逐步接轨,对我国进一步拓宽教育投资的融资方式、拓宽教育投资的市场领域,解决我国当前教育投资经费总量性短缺问题非常有益.我们要充分利用加入WTO的国际平台,进一步加强和明确政府在国家教育投资主体中的核心地位,调整教育投资经费结构性短缺问题.     

金融发展、资本存量与经济增长关系的实证分析

根据内生增长理论,确定经济增长的影响因子,然后着重考察资本存量,将其与金融发展的指标变量建立回归模型,以此深入分析金融发展作用于经济增长的资本存量渠道。研究结果表明:无论在长期还是短期内,金融发展对资本存量的影响较大;并且,金融中介对资本存量的作用明显要大于金融市场。     

方式与效果:死刑执行中检察权的重构

现行死刑执行程序存在诸多不足,检察监督没有发挥出应有效用,问题根源在于人民法院承担死刑执行职能的制度性缺陷.需要改变我国刑事裁判执行体制,重构死刑执行中检察权的行使方式与效用,基本思路是构建检察官指挥死刑执行的监督模式.     

货币政策的资本市场传导机制

随着资本市场的迅速发展,传统的货币政策传导渠道有所削弱,资本市场在货币政策的传导过程中发挥着越来越重要的作用.货币政策的资本市场传导机制主要体现在托宾的q效应、非对称信息效应、流动性效应、财富效应和资源配置效应等,应该对经典的IS-LM模型进行修正,从而准确反映资本市场传导机制在均衡产出水平决定过程中的作用.从目前中国的现实来看,货币政策的资本市场传导机制还存在着不少问题,严重影响了货币政策的实际效果,应该采取积极措施,逐步完善我国资本市场的货币政策传导功能,以提高货币政策的有效性.