Moderate Caucuses in a Polarised US Congress

Despite putting themselves in a thorny relationship with heavy-handed party leaders, some US legislators continue to join moderate coalitions. To understand why, this article derives seven explicit hypotheses concerning electoral, institutional, and strategic dimensions and tests them on two moderate coalitions from the 107th to the 110th Congress (2001–8): the Republican Main Street Partnership and the New Democrat Coalition, along with the Senate's ‘Gang of 14’ during the 109th Congress (2005–6). The article finds that, as expected, a member's ideology and previous affiliation strongly predict who joins these caucuses. What is surprising from the findings is that the constituencies' partisanship does not always predict the legislators' decision to be a moderate caucus member. There is little evidence that more electorally vulnerable members join these caucuses; on the contrary, when it does matter, members from competitive districts appear to stay away from moderate coalitions. Therefore, the findings call into question the prevailing ‘constituency-based’ understanding of moderate coalition membership in a polarised Congress and call for a new examination of electoral connection between moderate members and moderate caucuses.     

State and Territory Government Strategic Plans: Exercises in Managing,Monitoring and Marketing

All but three of the Australian States and Territories have whole‐of‐government, jurisdiction‐wide strategic plans in place and the three exceptions had previously established a state plan in the decade after the first such plans were introduced by Tasmania and Victoria in 2001. Scholarly attention to date has been directed towards discrete aspects of state plans, such as the extent to which they can be seen as exercises in participative democracy or sustainability, rather than with examining state plans for what they explicitly purport to be – strategic plans originating in the core executive of government. We propose that there are three key strategic orientations for Australian state plans: to holistically manage, monitor and market government administration. These orientations may be competing, complementary or overlapping, and can vary over time. The article also proposes that state plans are a significant development in public management and warrant further and more detailed examination.     

Effects of Strategic Management Accounting Techniques on Perceived Performance of Businesses

The present study was carried out to examine the compliance of medium and large-size enterprises in Kayseri, Turkey with strategic management accounting techniques （SMAT） and to determine the effects of SMAT on the perceived performance of businesses. The sub-dimensions of SMAT were specified as cost-oriented, customer-oriented, and competitor-oriented techniques. The effects of SMAT and sub-dimension usages on the perceived performance of businesses were investigated by hypotheses. The data gathered from 202 accounting managers in Kayseri were used to test the hypotheses. Results revealed that the participating businesses had a usage intensity of above average for 16 out of 17 SMAT and they had over 50% compliance with 12 of these techniques. Although SMAT and cost, customer and competitor-oriented sub-dimensions had significantly weak impacts on perceived performance, the positive relationships and effects were found to be sufficient to accept the hypotheses.     

论新型城镇化对解决中国“三农”问题的战略意义

“三农”问题是中国经济社会发展中迫切需要解决的重大问题,该文在分析“三农”问题的表现形式及其成因,以及新型城镇化的内涵的基础上,探讨了新型城镇化对解决中国“三农”问题的重要战略意义.     

经济结构理论研究的回顾与思考

推进经济结构战略性调整,是加快转变经济发展方式的主攻方向。为了完成这项任务,需要深入研究经济结构理论,掌握经济结构演变的规律。我国系统研究经济结构是从上世纪七十年代末八十年代初开始的。研究经济结构既要研究生产关系结构,也要研究生产力结构,要在它们的协调统一中深化对经济结构及其比例关系的认识;我国经济结构不合理是和盲目追求高速度联系在一起的,所以还应深入研究经济增长、经济结构和经济效果三者的关系,应深入探索经济结构合理化的标志和途径。当前推进经济结构战略性调整,应根据提高质量和效益的要求来确定合理的增长速度,应把经济增长、经济结构、经济体制、经济管理、经济效益、社会效益、生态效益统一起来,不断克服经济社会发展中不协调、不平衡、不可持续的突出问题,实现经济社会生态全面协调可持续发展。     

Terrorism and the media

The linguistic turn in political science is an important step toward more sophisticated political knowledge. Greater awareness of political language implies attention to words such as reason. Reason is central to modern political discourse because of its historical and cultural importance and because of the contemporary dominance of the rational choice paradigm. Reason the concept therefore justifies closer scrutiny of reason the word. The meaning of reason is constructed as a variable. Standing by itself, reason seems relatively shapeless and empty; dictionary definitions are circular and tautological, although some subtle nuances derive from the network of reason's root words. Most of the variance in the meaning of reason is determined by other words that surround it, with a significant portion of reason's meaning being defined by its context. Anterior meaning shifters, nominal referents, spatiotemporal modifiers, and textual narrative all surround reason and fix it in a large lattice. The meaning of reason in use varies continuously. From this perspective, it becomes clear how reason functions as an important rhetorical trope in political discourse. Its plasticity and flexibility help reason stimulate and evoke variable mental images and responses in different settings and situations, all the more important because these go largely unnoticed. The example of reason of state shows reason's rhetorical power and privilege, its normative dimension, its persuasiveness, and its consequences. Seen in this light, a weak version of reason of state is preferable to a strong one. Pluralistic reason opens new paths for democratic thought and political action.     

Biparietal Thinning: Accidental Death by a Fall from Standing Height

Biparietal thinning resulting in bilateral and symmetrical resorption and loss of thickness of the parietal bones is an uncommon to rare condition in the anthropological and clinical literature. This enigmatic condition of unknown etiology was first reported in the 18th century and has been variously described as a nonmetric trait, anatomical variant, anomaly, and pathology. Biparietal thinning presents grossly and radiographically as oval‐shaped depressions in 0.25–0.8% and 0.4–0.5% of individuals and with a higher frequency in females over the age of 60 years. A review of the literature revealed only one example of cranial trauma associated with biparietal thinning and none of fatal trauma associated with this condition. This case reports a rare example of fatal trauma in an elderly man that resulted from a backward fall from a standing height and highlights the increased risk of craniocerebral trauma in individuals with this condition.     

环境动态性对战略柔性与企业绩效关系的调节效应——基于浙江民营企业的实证研究

本文把战略柔性划分为资源柔性、技术柔性、结构柔性、文化柔性这四个维度,研究了环境动态性对战略柔性与企业绩效关系的调节效应。研究结果显示,战略柔性对企业绩效有显著影响,但资源柔性、技术柔性、结构柔性和文化柔性对企业绩效的盈利能力和成长潜力两个维度的影响有所差异;环境动态性对战略柔性—企业绩效关系存在调节效应。该结论有助于指导企业制定提升战略柔性的管理措施。     

试论中韩战略合作伙伴关系中的美国因素

中韩关系的发展已进入战略合作伙伴关系的高层次阶段,对整个东亚战略新格局的形成起着至关重要的作用。然而,韩国的对华外交却承受着美韩同盟关系的制约,韩国夹在中美之间,左右为难,面临着严重困境。2010年发生的"天安舰事件"和"延坪岛事件"以及2012年发生的"脱北者事件"等,将中韩战略合作伙伴关系中原本隐蔽着的问题暴露在世人的面前,其中之一即是美韩同盟关系与中韩战略合作伙伴关系的内在结构性矛盾。李明博执政期间,美韩同盟有趋强的趋势,导致中韩关系面临着重大考验。韩国外交的根本出路:"须在中美间找准外交平衡点","中美韩‘三国演义’演不好,半岛南北就永无宁日"。为此,韩国需要有更多的独立决策能力,保持自身在两者间的平衡,既与美国保持同盟关系,又与中国发展战略合作伙伴关系。任何倒向美国一边的政策,都会使韩国的战略决策失衡,使中韩战略合作伙伴关系受损。可以期待2012年大选后韩国政府的对美、对华政策会有新的调整,自主性、多元性、平衡性将成为韩国外交的发展方向,将有利于推动中韩战略合作伙伴关系的深化与发展。