The South African National Credit Act fails to protect homeowners against various interest rates hikes

Where a credit provider makes a proper financial assessment and finds that the low-income consumer will be able to satisfy in a timely manner all the obligations under all the credit agreements to which the consumer is a party he will in all probability conclude the credit agreement with the consumer. Obviously the affordability assessment made by the credit provider will depend on the prevailing interest rates at the time. There has been several interest rate hikes since June 2006 to December 2008 in South Africa that has had a detrimental impact on low-income home owners. Due to the various interest rate hikes and the prevailing high interest rates many consumers have lost their mortgaged homes. The South African National Credit Act of 2005 has failed to take into its purview cases such as these, and as a consequence there is no sort of consumer protection available for the low-income group who become over-indebted, because of the constant rising interest rates on their mortgage loans.     

多媒体网络技术辅助英语听力教学浅探

本文根据素质教育的要求和"以人为本"的学习观,依照英语听力教学的规律,通过对常规英语听力教学存在的不足与多媒体网络技术下的听力教学的优点的比较和分析,着力倡导多媒体网络技术下的英语听力教学。文中结合多年的工作实践,提出了在教学中应注意的问题,旨在引起同行的关注与探讨,进而充分利用现代化教学资源,切实提高英语听力教学质量,提高学生学习的效果。     

我国发展消费信贷的对策探讨

消费信贷在我国还是一个新事物,它是市场经济社会中货币信用发展到较高水平时的必然产物.鉴于我国经济发展的特殊性,消费信贷的出现是针对经济活动中有效需求不足引起的通货紧缩而推出的.目前,我国已经结束了短缺经济,进入了买方市场,启动消费信贷的条件已基本成熟.我国潜力巨大的消费需求现状为消费信贷业务提供了广阔的市场前景.因此,开发消费信贷品种,完善金融工具,建立中小型消费信贷机构和消费信贷中介机构,进一步改善消费信贷环境已成为加快改革需要面对和解决的问题.     

谢榛诗学对严羽的超越及其时代意义

谢榛诗学是严羽诗学在明代最有力的续响 ,他把握到严羽诗学的大关键即诗道妙悟 ,对渐渐形式化的格调之说进行了深刻的改造。他拈悟入格、倡养以悟、定悟为兴 ,从悟的本体意义、实现途径、表现形式等方面 ,改造了格调之说 ,超越了妙悟之论。     

论毛泽东消费经济思想

毛泽东消费经济思想带有我国新民主主义革命、社会主义革命和社会主义建设初期的时代烙印与国情特点;有以共同富裕为核心的一系列思想内容;体现其消费思想的消费政策有供给制、消费品统购统销、配给制、福利保障等。     

Migration and Healthcare Reforms in Spain: Symbolic Politics,Converging Outputs,Oppositions from the Field

ABSTRACT

Migrants’ healthcare entitlement represents a conflictive issue in the political battlefield, with research pointing towards the determinant role of party politics in determining policy outputs. Addressing the 2012 healthcare reform and 2018 counter-reform adopted in Spain by a right-wing and left-wing government respectively and drawing on qualitative analysis of parties’ discourses and policy measures, we argue that ideological differences along the healthcare-migration nexus were overemphasised to play symbolic politics. Partisan competition had less impact on actual outputs, while clashes between the central and regional governments, path-dependent practices and opposition from multiple venues played a central role in the policymaking process.     

Local government advocacy in the ‘suburban age’: an institutionalist interpretation of Melbourne’s evolving sub-metropolitan regional structures

ABSTRACT

The ‘suburban age’ has been conceptualised as the dominant global urban spatial reality for the 21^st Century, yet the politics associated with this heightened expansiveness remain underdeveloped. Of relevance is the potential for suburban discontentment across a myriad of spaces centred upon the under provision of infrastructure and employment. With urban regions often highly fragmented by local government boundaries, bottom-up inter-local government responses assume significance, including sub-regional advocacy given enduring hierarchical government dependencies. In consideration of the evolving strength of sub-regional advocacy, three institutionalist themes are introduced: credibility, coherency and coordination. Empirical insights are presented from chief executive officer (CEO)-based interviews conducted across expansive Melbourne, Australia. In Melbourne, a ‘weak mayor/strong CEO’ local government system predominates beneath a state government with extensive metropolitan responsibilities. Melbourne’s sub-metropolitan regional structures have recently looked to strengthen their external presence through actions illustrative of the identified themes, with local government CEOs playing a key role in directing their evolving character. The global ‘suburban age’ must be associated with heightened sub-regional competition across enlarged urban regions, the management of which will present a growing spatial challenge for political leaders.     

俄罗斯远东发展生活资料市场的规划和措施

俄罗斯远东的买方市场是在生产能力不足而不是过剩的条件下形成的,许多消费品还依赖进口就是明证。俄罗斯国家和远东地方政府出台了一系列发展生活资料市场的规划和措施,但是远东消费品工业发展滞后的局面难以根本改观。     

A Comparative Study of Nonprofit and For-Profit Web-Based Issue Advocacy

Abstract

Using the Web to advocate positions and actions on public issues is an emerging and potentially powerful means of shaping public opinion and action. Building on studies of Web advocacy in the political sector, this research employs content analysis to examine Web-based advocacy by U.S. for-profit and nonprofit organizations. For-profit organizations were found to engage in much more Web advocacy than nonprofit organizations. Those organizations that did engage in extensive advocacy, or were committed to multiple social values, appear to have come to adopt these postures or activities consistent with what a cost-benefit analysis of the impact on their enterprise would predict. With respect to region, the Northeast and South evidenced a higher and lower pattern of advocacy, respectively. Finally, greater financial resources predicted more extensive advocacy content generally; the particular issue areas this study examined were community focus, charitable causes, environmental issues, and diversity.     

金融消费者的权益保护路径

在金融市场发展迅速的今天,传统的消费保护理念与制度没有为金融消费者权益提供充分的保障。次贷危机前后美国金融消费者保护格局发生了根本变化,参考美国的做法,我国应确立金融消费者保护是金融监管的目标,确立宏观审慎为金融监管的原则,并针对我国金融法律法规在消费者权益保护方面的不足,完善金融法并加强金融监管。