A stem-family society without the stem-family ideology? The case of eighteenth-century Poland1

This paper mobilizes historical census microdata and quantitative methods to answer a seemingly qualitative question of whether the stem-family organization, profoundly described in sociological and anthropological literature, existed in historical western Poland. The paper’s narrative takes a threefold argumentation format, each step relying on different methodologies. First, using household registers data and basic tools of historical demography we come to the point where a conjectural hypothesis of stem-family prevalence in the territories in question seems to be necessarily rejected. However, the vivid prevalence of the stem family is brought back to the fore in the second step, when empirical data are combined with more sophisticated statistical tools (computer microsimulation of kin sets). Finally, the latter observation is problematized in light of the historical contextual information, which altogether makes the incidence of stem-family organization in the region unthinkable given the existing socio-cultural and political-economic framework. We close with a contemplation of the limits of quantitative approaches to concerns over historical family systems, and with a discussion of the extent to which – given this apparent conundrum – our findings may illuminate existing models of historical family systems.     

E‐Government Technology Transfer: A Case Study of the Implementation of a European Patent Management System in Brazil

In order to bolster the emerging but still underdeveloped conceptualization of e‐government technology transfer, we examine the implementation of a European Patent Management System in Brazil. The case study provided in this article offers opportunities to improve understanding on technical and organizational issues associated with e‐government technology transfer. Our findings provide evidence that the transfer of e‐government technology from a European to a Brazilian context requires multiple adaptations of the original design, intensive learning on the side of the recipient organization, and flexible implementation plans. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The electoral consequences of the financial and economic crisis in Europe

The electoral consequences of the Great Recession are analysed in this article by combining insights from economic voting theories and the literature on party system change. Taking cues from these two theoretical perspectives, the impact of the Great Recession on the stability and change of Western, Central and Eastern European party systems is assessed. The article starts from the premise that, in order to fully assess the impact of the contemporary crisis, classic economic voting hypotheses focused on incumbent parties need to be combined with accounts of long‐term party system change provided by realignment and dealignment theories. The empirical analysis draws on an original dataset of election results and economic and political indicators in 30 European democracies. The results indicate that during the Great Recession economic strain was associated with sizable losses for incumbent parties and an increasing destabilisation of Western European party systems, while its impact was significantly weaker in Central and Eastern European countries, where political rather than economic failures appeared to be more relevant. In line with the realignment perspective, the results also reveal that in Western Europe populist radical right, radical left and non‐mainstream parties benefited the most from the economic hardship, while support for mainstream parties decreased further.     

Catalysts and barriers: Explaining electoral reform in Western Europe

Most accounts of electoral system change tend to consider it as being driven by purely partisan interests. Political parties are expected to change the electoral rules as a way to maximise gains or minimise losses. However, little work has been done on the question of why electoral reforms are so scarce in spite of these potential benefits. In this study, a wide range of both factors that may foster (‘catalysts’) and ones that may hinder (‘barriers’) the change of electoral institutions are investigated. A statistical analysis is performed of 16 West European countries from 1975 to 2005, covering 23 reforms of the proportionality of their electoral systems. It is found that procedural barriers are more effective for explaining the likelihood of electoral reforms than (most of) the catalysts. Additionally, there are indications that courts may play a more active role in triggering reform than previously thought.     

Measuring dynamic collaborations: Collaborative health assessment tool

The changing nature of organisations in the public sector means that collaboration has become an imperative for many. Notwithstanding considerable scholarly agreement about factors contributing to successful collaboration, a broadly accepted model of collaborative practice has not coalesced. In this paper, we put forward an augmented collaboration assessment tool. Building on existing research, we argue that systems thinking can help us better account for the dynamic and multidimensional nature of collaboration – a process in which partner organisations are interconnected and organised in a way that seeks to achieve a common purpose that they could not have achieved alone. We tested the validity of our tool using a three‐stage, iterative mixed‐methods approach. Our research confirms the value of a diagnostic tool to assist collaboration partners navigate an often uncertain terrain. It further establishes the value of our tool in illuminating a collaboration's dynamic interactions as a means to evaluate ‘collaboration health’.     

Commitment or expertise? Technocratic appointments as political responses to economic crises

Why do prime ministers or presidents appoint non-elected experts, also known as technocrats, during economic crises? Do they appoint them for their expertise or for their commitment to pro-market reforms? Answering this question is crucial for understanding and predicting the longer-term role of technocrats in democracies. With the aid of unique data on the political and personal background of finance ministers in 13 parliamentary and semi-presidential European democracies this article shows that commitment, not expertise is the primary driver of technocratic appointments during major economic crises. Technocrats are preferred over experienced politicians when the latter lack commitment to policy reform. An important implication of the findings is that technocratic appointments to top economic portfolios in West European countries are unlikely to become the norm outside economic crises, assuming economic crises are short-lived and not recurring.     

有组织犯罪的侦查思维

有组织犯罪在我国作为一种新型犯罪形式,其侦查思维方式与侦查常规犯罪相比有许多不同的特点。针对有组织犯罪及其反侦查的一些特征,侦查人员应改进思维方式,提高侦查情势分析能力,运用正确的思维方法和模式。     

经济发展与政治稳定的再思考

从长期来看,经济发展是实现政治稳定的根本保证。改革和完善现行政治体制,是经济发展和政治稳定的双重要求。维护社会经济秩序和实现政治权力有序运行需要厉行法治。维护中央的政治权威,则是经济发展与社会稳定的现实选择。     

高校会计学专业实践教学体系及其实施模式研究

会计实践教学是高等会计教育的重要组成部分。注重核算内容操练的传统会计实践教学形式已与“能力强、素质高、富有创新精神”的素质教育人才培养目标不相适应,与我国不断发展的社会经济环境对高校会计人才提出的新要求不相适应。本文首先对高校会计实践教学的现状及如何满足上述两个适应展开了讨论,认为高校会计实践教学不能仅仅作为理论联系实际的一个教学环节,还应作为一种教学方法和手段,贯穿于全部教学活动过程中,为培养高素质、强能力、富创造的人才服务。在此基础上,文章重点讨论了实务演示、单元练习、模拟实习、社会调查、案例教学、项目设计、课题研究、校外实习等8种实践教学形式及其运用。最后提供了可供参考的一个实施模式。     

我国科技评价法律制度的反思与重构

尽管我国科技事业取得了很大发展，但是科技评价法律体系的缺乏在一定程度上导致了科技领域自主创新能力不足。因此，建立起与科技创新相适应的科技评价制度势在必行。