An end to “Civil War politics”? The radically reshaped political landscape of post-crash Ireland

The European debt crisis has impacted on electoral politics in most European states, but particularly in the Republic of Ireland. The severe nature of the economic crash and the subsequent application of austerity policies have brought large fluctuations in political support levels, with the three parties that have dominated the state since its foundation – Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour – all being adversely effected. The extent of these changes is highly controlled both by geography and by class, with political allegiances proving to be highly fluid in certain parts of the state. Growing support levels for left wing parties and groupings, but most notably Sinn Fein, appear to be moving Irish politics away from the old “Civil War” style of politics and bringing it more into line with the traditional class cleavage politics of continental Europe.     

全球化、社会转型与中产阶级的建构——以中国为对象的比较研究

20世纪90年代后,中产阶级在中国社会的成长是一个具有全球性意义的话题。这一话题所以具有世界范围内的学术意义,不仅在于中国是一个具有13亿人口的大国,更在于中国中产阶级出现和成长的独特性。同西方相比,中国中产阶级受到全球化的影响,不仅表现出了鲜明的消费主义特征,而且消费更为突出地成为地位模糊的中产阶级寻求社会认同的途径。同东欧前社会主义国家相比,一方面,经济改革的成功凸显了这一阶级的消费能力;另一方面,现有的政治格局也制约了中产阶级的行动空间。中国经济的迅猛发展和政治改革的相对滞后,使得中产阶级凸现出＂消费前卫、政治后卫”的双重特征。     

试论新生代农民工阶层的社会流动问题

农民工阶层的产生是其户籍身份与职业身份相糅合的产物,新生代农民工随着代际传递沿袭其父辈的身份出现。在中国城镇化浪潮的趋势下,从教育程度、职业与收入、户籍变动方面,表现出其在竞争的马太效应下呈现的阶层流动固化的倾向。职业结构、教育程度水平相对较低,农民工生产体制的存在是其中的主要因素。从加强职业教育增强后致性因素力量、完善基本社会保障、改革户籍制度等方面入手,可保证庞大的新生代农民工群体在城镇化过程中有序流动。     

Family breakdown and the ‘Welfare Child’ in 19th and 20th century Britain

This article traces new cycles of interest in past children as distinct from past childhood. Recent work highlighting that a conceptualisation of childhood existed even in periods with few written records closes the chapter begun by Philippe Ariès in 1960. Instead, there has been a new surge of interest in children on the edges of family life, as well as children in similarly liminal positions between the worlds of adults and children: runaways, delinquents and orphans. Several themes in the literature are identified, based on the conflicting ideas of ‘body/mind’, ‘victim/threat’, ‘needs/rights’. It is noted that researchers are using more imaginative ways of reaching the lived experience of children than the family or institutional framework, and that an increasing link is drawn between historical and modern concerns such as child abuse and the care of ‘at risk’ children.     

浅谈任务教学法在外语课堂的应用——以日语拟声拟态词的讲解为例

传统教学模式以讲授法为主要教学法,学生在课堂上处于被动接收的位置,学生缺乏自主学习的兴趣动机。通过课堂案例的实际体验,发现使用任务教学法进行教学时,教师从课堂的讲解者转变为任务的布置者和课堂的主持者,任务布置为学生制造出学习时刻,学生在完成任务的过程中自主汲取知识,课堂教学效果得到大幅改善。     

Trace evidence dynamics of cocaine on banknotes: A comparison study of paper and polymer banknotes

It is well established that a large proportion of paper banknotes in circulation contain traces of cocaine. Being able to discriminate between the innocent transfer of illicit drug particles acquired through everyday interactions with surfaces such as banknotes, as opposed to transfer resulting from criminal activities can provide valuable intelligence that can inform an investigation. With many countries adopting polymer banknotes as legal tender, it is important to consider the transfer of cocaine from these surfaces as well as the retention of these particulates on polymer banknotes for evaluative interpretation in crime reconstruction. This comparison study assessed three contact variables (force, time, and rotation) on the transfer of cocaine particulates from paper and polymer banknotes onto a human skin proxy. The persistence of cocaine particulates was assessed through a realistic scenario which mimicked a cash transaction. Quantifiable amounts of cocaine were transferred onto the human skin proxy across all of the contacts assessed, with a greater transfer observed with contacts involving polymer banknotes and those contacts which involved rotation. Following extensive handling, cocaine persisted on both banknote types, with paper banknotes retaining larger amounts of cocaine than polymer banknotes. These findings show that cocaine can persist on both paper and polymer banknotes for extended periods of time following handling and is therefore available for transfer. This transfer then readily occurs, even when contact is brief and involves relatively small forces. A key distinction between the banknote types was that cocaine particulates are more likely to transfer from polymer banknotes due to the lower retention rate of particulates on this surface. Such insights can aid in evaluating the relevance of illicit drug particles identified on items or persons of interest in crime reconstruction approaches.     

The power few: experimental criminology and the reduction of harm

The promise of experimental criminology is finding ways to reduce harm from crime and injustice. The problem of experimental criminology is that so few experiments produce evidence of big effects from the interventions they test. One solution to this problem may be concentrating scarce resources for experiments on the “power few:” the small percentage of places, victims, offenders, police officers or other units in any distribution of crime or injustice which produces the greatest amount of harm. By increasing the homogeneity and base rates of the samples enrolled in each experiment, the power few hypothesis predicts increased statistical power to detect program effects. With greater investment of resources, and possibly less variant responses to greater dosages of intervention—especially interventions of support, as distinct from punishment—we may also increase our chances of finding politically acceptable interventions that will work.

外企中方高管：远离政治的社会新阶层？①——以世界500强驻京外资企业中方高管为主体的一项考察

驻华外资企业中方高级管理技术人员在公共政治生活中参与程度不高,是因为他们在利益上与资产阶级更加接近,并且很少参与企业外部的政治活动。但是,他们进一步团结的基础和趋势是强势的,其代表资方影响政府决策能力的机会和能力也呈上升趋势。因此,作为潜在的政治主体,如何规范他们的利益表达,引导他们的政治意识,就成了一项紧迫的课题。     

A Rigorous Quasi‐Experimental Design to Evaluate the Causal Effect of a Mandatory Divorce Education Program

All couples with minor children who filed for divorce within a specific 6‐week period (N = 191 couples) in one jurisdiction were ordered to attend a divorce education program. The control group included about 20 couples randomly selected from each of six 6‐week intervals before and six 6‐week intervals after the treatment interval (N = 243 couples). Archival records were searched for variables such as legal and residential custody award, visitation percentage, and relitigation. The impact of the program was assessed by evaluating, for each variable, whether the data for program interval departed from the straight (regression) line drawn through all the control group intervals. Only the visitation time award significantly differed: 27.75% for treatment couples and 22.46% for control couples. Analyses show that the father's attendance at the program primarily accounts for the difference.

Key Points for the Family Court Community
• There are considerable methodological weaknesses in most of the existing evaluations of divorcing parent education programs.
• Stronger, more scientifically rigorous—and thus persuasive—designs are possible in court settings, such as the regression discontinuity quasi‐experimental design we feature here.
• Archival records, such as various court filings, are a rich and relatively untapped source of data.
• Being mandated to attend a single 2‐hour divorcing parent education class caused an increase in the visitation time award in divorce decrees.
• There is a disconnect between being mandated by a judge to attend a program and actual attendance.

     

农民工发展趋势展望

农民工是中国社会的一个特殊群体。从发展趋势看,农民工与中国的城市化和工业化进程相统一,将成为中国工人阶级的主体,并将工会作为提高其组织化程度的社会组织形态。通过对农民工的发展走势进行深入的探讨和研究,可以更充分地认识农民工问题的长期性和复杂性,为解决农民工问题提供理论依据。