Threshold Concepts Through Enactive Learning: How Effective Are They in the Study of European Politics?

Studying European Politics can be a challenge! And this is not surprising: even the best scholarly minds of European politics often struggle to give precise definition to such a young, but already so complex and constantly evolving polity as the European Union, and are increasingly at odds with identifying its prospects for survival. One way to achieve a better understanding of the subject is to utilize a threshold concept approach, which is essentially a "less is more" approach that chooses to work with a few "founding" concepts, and identifies a "road map" for independent learning of broader but essentially inter-connected issues of the discipline. The threshold concept approach becomes even more effective if combined with enactive learning—that is, learning-by-doing, through role taking and simulation of the threshold concepts during seminars. Such learning evidently exceeds the boundaries of conventional knowledge and becomes a useful transferable investment for the future.     

Recent Administrative and Managerial Practices and Public Service Motivation: Evidence from Seoul City Government,South Korea

This study aims to investigate the impact of recent administrative and managerial practices of public organizations on public service motivation. Using data from a survey of 1840 civil servants in Seoul City Government, this research uses hierarchical linear modeling to empirically assess the aforementioned associations. The results show that recent administrative and managerial practices have both positive and negatives on public service motivation. At the end of the study, the administrative and managerial implications of the study are also discussed in light of these results.     

Citizen Trust in Civil Servants: A Cross-National Examination

How trusting of civil servants are citizens in North America and Europe? What individual-level and national-level attributes correlate with trust in civil servants? To answer these questions, data from national samples across 21 countries are taken from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 2006 Role of Government module and are analyzed by estimating multilevel binary logistic regression models. Trust is correlated with both subjective (at the individual-level) and objective (at the national-level) indicators of performance. The quality of institutions also matters as countries with lower levels of public sector corruption experience higher levels of trust in the civil service.     

Social Skills Training with Adolescents:

No abstract available for this article.     

公共危机事件中网络谣言对网络舆情的影响

以公共危机事件产生的网络谣言为辐射中心,通过构建网络谣言对网络舆情影响程度的评估指标体系,建立多元线性回归方程模型研究其对网络舆情产生的影响程度。据此分析出公共危机事件中网络谣言的变量对网络舆情的影响方式和程度并反映其变化规律,为公共危机事件网络舆情的管理和控制提供理论支撑,以利于政府和网络监管部门及时地,准确地做好公共危机事件网络谣言的防控工作。     

Negotiating in the European Council: A Model European Union Format for Individual Classes

This paper demonstrates the use of an in-class simulation to model negotiations in the European Council. Simulations are an increasingly popular way to teach the complex processes of policymaking and negotiations in the European Union (EU) where institutional procedures are difficult to understand and where intergovernmental and supranational issues often conflict. Advocates of active learning promote simulations to get students more involved and to reach an increasingly diverse student body. The simulation presented here has three separate sessions, each covering a different issue and lasting for a week (two class days) each. Modeling the European Council allows students to experience the intergovernmental side of policy decisions in the European Union while at the same time learning about the issues facing EU policymakers. It is a useful tool for teaching about the EU presidency and a worthwhile exercise for studying the national aspects of European integration. Student surveys indicate that students process the information they gain by role-playing better than information they receive in the traditional classroom. A simulation of the European Council gives students a base for understanding issues of European integration and can serve as a springboard for further study of EU institutions.     

Simulating the Creation of a New International Human Rights Treaty: Active Learning in the International Studies Classroom

This article details a simulation of formulating a new international human rights treaty designed for an introductory international studies course. Student understanding and interest in a range of international relations topics—including diplomacy, two –level games, international law, human rights, and group decision making—are reinforced by actively engaging the students in policy formulation and state –to –state negotiations. The article is structured around the four key components of active learning approaches—educational objectives, design parameters, procedures, and assessment and debriefing—in order to provide a full understanding of the goals, set –up, process, and advantages of the simulation. The simulation has been successfully run multiple times at both a large state university and a small liberal arts institution. Supportive student feedback and an interesting variety of outcomes indicate that this simulation is a positive addition to the course and reinforces the use of active learning approaches in the international studies classroom.     

连接论:对基于计算机隐喻的认知模型的质疑

本文比较了基于计算机隐喻的传统认知处理模型的内容与特点和新兴起的连接论的内容与特点，认为，连接论将取代传统的基于计算机隐喻的认知处理模型成为今后指导人类认知研究的主流思想；语言学等学科要取得突破必须抛弃计算机隐喻的影响。     

从模式化的八旗制度看满族法律程序意识

满族作为中国封建社会最后一个王朝的建立者,其政治制度、法律制度和民族文化一直是东亚各国研究的热门问题。从法文化的研究角度,对满族入关以前的政治制度和法律文化进行研究和分析,以八旗制度为切入点,思考满族共同体的模式化思维方式和法律程序意识之间的内在联系。     

Competing interests and technology policies: A rational choice approach

This paper explores the competition over technology policies by various domestic and foreign interest groups or stakeholders. An expected utility model is used to simulate the competition over the nature and direction of the American supersonic transport (SST) program in the 60s and 70s. The simulation shows that this rational choice approach offers a powerful analytical tool for examing technology and other foreign economic policy processes. The expected utility simulation allows for a more rigorous inspection of the explanations presented in the political economy literature which should allow scholars to’ further explore expectations and conclusions about strategic trade and other foreign economic policies.