Sacrifice for the family: representation and practice of stay-at-home fathers in the intersection of masculinity and class in Hong Kong

With changing socio-economic conditions, some men choose to become stay-at-home fathers in Hong Kong. Although they constitute only about .5% of the total male population, they have captured widespread media attention in recent years. This paper is an exploratory study on the gender representation of stay-at-home fathers in newspapers, and their identity and practice in real life in relation to the construction of masculinity in the Asian context, with particular focus on the intersection of masculinity and social class. Although stay-at-home fathers have given up their traditional breadwinner role, the media continue to portray them in terms of conventional masculinity. Contrary to the findings in Western society, this paper, which is based on Bourdieu’s practice theory, reports that middle-class men in Hong Kong with social and cultural capital are less reflexive in their gender habitus to accept their carer identity, whereas working-class fathers, who lack the appropriate capital to resume their provider status, define themselves as carers who are responsible to the family. As the identity of provider is still central to men, the emergence of this new fatherhood is only a refashioning of the traditional role of fathers and thus does not challenge the existing gender structure.     

Tilting Towards the Cosmopolitan Axis? Political Change in England and the 2017 General Election

The general election of June 2017 revealed a continued tilting of the political axis in England that has been long in the making. This was not a Brexit ‘realignment’—in that the vote is better seen as a symptom of a longer‐term divide that is emerging between citizens residing in locations strongly connected to global growth and those who are not. In this analysis, we explore constituency‐level patterns of voting in England between 2005 and 2017. Over this period, Labour's vote share has tended to rise in urban areas (that is, major cities), with younger and more diverse and more educated populations often working in ‘cosmopolitan’ industries, whereas the Conservative vote has tended to increase in less densely populated towns and rural areas, with older and less diverse populations. Significantly, Labour has also increased its vote in constituencies with a higher share of ‘precariat’ and emerging service workers—somewhat at odds with characterisation of a party that has lost the ‘left behind’. To the extent that changes in electoral support for the Conservatives and Labour are linked to the Brexit vote, the relationship far predates the referendum vote and should be expected to continue to reshape British politics in future.     

Putin's popularity since 2010: why did support for the Kremlin plunge,then stabilize?

This paper seeks to explain the surprising decline in Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval rating in 2011. During the previous 10 years, Putin's rating had correlated closely with Russians' perceptions of the state of the economy. Yet the fall in his approval – from 79% in December 2010 to 63% a year later – occurred despite roughly stable economic perceptions. Comparing Levada Center polls from late 2010 and 2011, the paper explores both who (what types of respondents) grew disenchanted with Putin, and why (what issues or grievances prompted this switch). It finds that (a) the fall in support for the Kremlin – although faster among members of the “creative class,” women, the rich, and residents of provincial cities – was broad-based, occurring among all social groups examined; (b) attitudes toward immigration, the West, and Russia's international status, as well as assessments of public service quality, changed little during 2011; (c) Putin's declining popularity most likely reflected stronger – not weaker – economic concerns; although the proportion judging economic performance to be poor did not increase, those who saw economic weakness became much less supportive of the Kremlin. Russians appear to have increasingly blamed their political leaders for unsatisfactory economic and political outcomes.     

South–South cooperation and the international development battlefield: between the oecd and the UN

This article discusses the transformation in development architecture, focusing on the role of emerging powers and the growing relevance of South–South cooperation (ssc). Drawing on a conceptual toolkit based on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, it aims to approach ssc as a narrative and to understand the processes of contestation that have turned international development into a battlefield since the end of the 1990s. The article argues that the emergence of ssc has contributed to decentring the field of international development, both in terms of the agents authorised to play and the practices considered legitimate. Within this process the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, led by the oecd’s Development Assistance Committee, and the United Nations Development Cooperation Forum have become two sites on the battlefield on which the borders of international development are being redrawn.     

民事虚假诉讼认定的规范化探讨

民事虚假诉讼的规制制度在不断完善,大量的民事判决反映出的却是虚假诉讼认定存在不规范的问题。诉讼主体举证责任不清晰、举证标准不明显、法院行使职权不积极已成为虚假诉讼认定不规范的突出表现。产生问题的原因在于对民事虚假诉讼概念范围界定不明确、规范目的理解有偏差、虚假诉讼规制制度使用过度,因此,应该在厘定民事虚假诉讼的概念范围的基础上实现司法居中裁判的回归。为了实现虚假诉讼认定的规范化,应当加强虚假诉讼的事前规制,明确制度的谦抑性,增强判决的说理性。     

小农户经营现代化背景下农村阶层重塑对村庄治理的影响

小农户经营现代化进程推进了农民以要素配置方式为基础的阶层重塑。这种重塑对农民个体和乡村治理都有着深刻的影响。各阶层在生产方式、资源利用、权力和利益需求等方面存在异质性,会改变村庄治理中的权力结构、信任关系、沟通渠道、公共资源分配方式和村庄秩序,但这种异质性并非是均质的,其影响亦非都是负面的。中间层、兼业层和贫弱层农民之间有易于调和的冲突,会推动形成以中间阶层农民为主的村庄治理模式,该模式既是对原有村庄治理的自我修复和更新,又能帮助小农户经营与现代市场对接。外源农民与其他阶层农民之间存在不易调和的冲突,会推动村庄治理重塑,形成有利于资本的新模式。为此,要注重区分各地农民分化的实际,着力提高政策的系统性、瞄准性和针对性,提升村庄治理绩效,为推进小农户经营现代化提供组织和平台保障。     

开创新时代工会工作新局面——学习习近平同志关于工人阶级和工会工作的重要论述

党的十八大以来,习近平总书记围绕工人阶级和工会工作多次作出重要论述,指导制定了一系列关于加强和改进党的工会工作的意见,形成了以"地位作用论"、"根本宗旨论"、"时代主题论"、"政治方向论"、"精神动力论"、"改革原则论"等为主要内容的严密思想体系。系统而深刻地回答了"为什么要重视工人阶级和工会工作、什么是工会工作的根本宗旨和目标任务、怎样做好工会工作"等重大理论和实践问题,为丰富和发展马克思主义工运理论和中国特色社会主义理论增添了重要内容,为开创新时代工会工作新局面提供了科学指引。科学理解、准确把握习近平同志关于工人阶级和工会工作重要论述的内在逻辑和本真意蕴,对于坚持和拓展中国特色社会主义工会发展道路、充分发挥工人阶级在推进中华民族伟大复兴中国梦征程中的主力军作用具有十分重要的意义。     

Urbanizing the Iranian public: text,Tehran and 1922

By using the heuristic device of transpatialization and the methodology of urban cultural studies, this article argues that the 1922 serialized novel Tehrān-e Makhuf (Dreadful Tehran) by Seyyed Mortaza Moshfeq-e Kazemi (1902–1978), with its distinctly urban modes of imagination and production, at once reflected and propelled a process that can be termed the urbanization of the Iranian public. The article analyses the literary techniques with which Moshfeq contributed to this process; the circumstances and context in which the novel was produced; and the ideological change reflected in the author and his work. The article thus sheds light on a crucial stage in modern Iranian history by unravelling some of the socio-spatial intertwinements that made that history.     

刑法学者的使命与刑法学的深度展开——评陈兴良、周光权教授的《刑法学的现代展开》

就目前而言,中国刑法学的表面繁荣的背后暴露出理论创新的贫乏与回应实践问题乏力的危机。所以刑法学人的首要任务,就是建立刑法学科的属于自己“专业槽”,刑法学只有成为“最精确的法律科学”,①才能有自己的核心技术与工艺流程的“专业槽”,只有最精确的刑法学,才能最精当地解决实践中棘手的刑法问题。陈兴良教授和周光权教授合作完成的《刑法学的现代展开》一书正是对此的回应。作者站在时代与学科的前沿,多维度立体式展示了两代刑法学人对超规范的刑法学的基础命题、规范刑法学的前沿问题与实践课题的最新思考,展示了理论“突围”与专业槽建设的努力。突出展示了罪刑法定原则视角转换、死刑问题的观念引领、刑事政策的深刻洞见等内容。全书“充满了人文气息及高度学术性”,是践行刑法学者使命,体现刑法学创新与突围的一部力作。     

After-School Programs as a Prosocial Setting for Bonding Between Peers

This study reports on the longitudinal analysis of a structured after-school arts program for Canadian youth, ages 9 to 15 years, from low-income communities where the relationship of peer social support, family interactions, and psychosocial outcomes is evaluated. Multi-level growth curve analyses suggest an increase in prosocial development with peer social support and a decrease in prosocial development when negative family interactions are present. Comparisons between matched controls, using estimated linear propensity scores, revealed significant improvement in prosocial behaviors for the intervention group. The structured after-school arts program was found to increase prosocial behaviors and bonding with peers for youth from low-income communities.