Nuclear perceptions from radioactive blue to sustainable green: The EU taxonomy as reflection of a divided public

Following the Fukushima disaster, several European countries revisited their policies and decided to phase out nuclear energy production. More recently, however, the EU taxonomy proposed a classification system of environmentally sustainable economic activities and consequently reopened the debate regarding nuclear energy. This study analyses public comments about the inclusion or exclusion of nuclear energy as a response to climate change, in the conceptual frameworks of ecological modernization, sustainability and technological neutrality. The study highlights the challenge of shaping energy policies amid dynamic circumstances and diverse viewpoints. Proponents of nuclear energy emphasised its low-carbon emissions and climate change mitigation potential, while opponents focused on issues of radioactive waste and environmental risks. The study reveals that sustainability emerges as a potential reconciling framework to match arguments to influence the EU's decision-making, while it reflects the political primacy of this process. Finally, this research recommends improving feedback visibility and enhancing clear communication, and suggests further research directions to understand future EU nuclear energy policies.     

‘My private kingdom and sometimes my private jail’ The meaning of home in the lives of Bedouin women: changes in the home and social spaces and their implications for Bedouin women

Home has always been significant in the lives of Bedouin women. At times it has been considered a ‘private kingdom’ – an intimate space, a jurisdiction, a sphere of influence and a space of creativity and well-being. In other periods it has been perceived as a ‘private jail’ – suffocating and limiting. The Bedouin communities in southern Israel, which are part of the country’s Arab-Palestinian population, are undergoing major changes – cultural and social, as well as in the form of settlement – imposed largely by the state. The external form of the Bedouin home has changed too, from a tent to a cement-block house, from an open structure to a closed one, from being part of the open space of the desert to being a limited space in a neighbourhood. To understand the changing meaning of home for Bedouin women during this transition, I conducted a narrative study with 30 women who live today in permanent settlements, but who represent three generations that correspond to three periods of settlement and three housing types. I found that each generation ascribes different meanings to the home.     

Understanding rural resistance: contemporary mobilization in the Brazilian countryside

Contradictions between impressive levels of economic growth and the persistence of poverty and inequality are perhaps nowhere more evident than in rural Brazil. While Brazil might appear to be an example of the potential harmony between large-scale, export-oriented agribusiness and small-scale family farming, high levels of rural resistance contradict this vision. In this introductory paper, we synthesize the literature on agrarian resistance in Brazil and situate recent struggles in Brazil within the Latin American context more broadly. We highlight seven key characteristics of contemporary Latin American resistance, which include: the growth of international networks, the changing structure of state–society collaboration, the deepening of territorial claims, the importance of autonomy, the development of alternative economies, continued opposition to dispossession, and struggles over the meaning of nature. We argue that by analyzing rural mobilization in Brazil, this collection offers a range of insights relevant to rural contention globally. Each contribution in this collection increases our understanding of alternative agricultural production, large-scale development projects, education, race and political parties in the contemporary agrarian context.     

会计准则变更对企业盈余管理的影响:对国有与非国有公司的考察

基于2003-2010年上市公司的数据,采用应计利润法计量盈余管理水平,比较国有公司和非国有公司盈余管理水平上的差异,同时对新会计准则实施前后上市公司的盈余管理水平进行比较,并对2007年之后的数据进行逐年回归,对其变化趋势做出分析.研究表明:国有公司的盈余管理水平相对于非国有公司更弱;新会计准则对于企业盈余管理水平具有明显的抑制作用,国有公司和非国有公司的盈余管理水平差异先减小后增加.     

公共支出改革与政府职能转变

政府机构改革的关键是转变政府职能 ,转变政府职能离不开政府公共支出的改革。政府职能转变要求合理界定公共支出范围 ,科学进行公共支出预算 ,改进公共支出的使用方式 ,健全和完善公共支出的管理制度。     

苏联剧变是信仰危机还是体制危机——兼与杨金华商榷

苏联剧变是20世纪影响世界的大事,其根本原因在于苏共的社会主义实践出了问题。经过70多年的探索,苏共并没有找到适合苏联特点的社会主义建设之路,因此,戈尔巴乔夫的改革发展成改向,在抛弃斯大林模式的同时,也放弃了社会主义道路。这一教训值得共产党人深刻总结,但把苏联剧变的主要原因归为信仰虚无主义危机,是本末倒置。苏联剧变不是信仰虚无主义的问题,是放弃对苏联模式的社会主义的信仰,转而信仰其他选择的问题。发生这一切的根本原因不在于公开性、民主化,而在于原有的信仰空洞无物,未给民众带来实惠。     

Framing Trade‐offs: The Politics of Nuclear Power and Wind Energy in the Age of Global Climate Change

This article outlines recent debates over nuclear energy and wind farms in an age of growing concern about climate change. Proponents of these technologies have used “trade‐off” frames to promote these technologies in the face of current and potential opposition to them. This article examines the nature and limits of the trade‐off frames being used and their probability of success. We argue that using the language of trade‐offs is generally a suboptimal framing strategy: trade‐off frames remind the public of the costs associated with particular policies, and therefore play into the hands of policy opponents. However, policy advocates may turn to them when the costs of a technology are well known and are perceived as high. In such cases, trade‐off frames may help to justify controversial policy solutions. Like any frames, the trade‐off frames used in the debate over climate change solutions both illuminate and obscure the deeper issues involved in energy policy reform.     

An Assessment of the Impact that Participation in Local Climate Networks Has on Cities’ Implementation of Climate,Energy, and Transportation Policies

Much of the attention surrounding local climate protection in the United States is associated with two networks: ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability's Cities for Climate Protection and the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement (MCPA). However, the impact of these networks on member‐city actions has not been clearly established. This paper examines whether, and to what extent, participation in climate networks leads to the implementation of greenhouse gas (GHG)‐reducing policies, above and beyond what would have been done in their absence. To account for the possibility that cities which join climate networks are systematically different from those that do not and control for self‐selection induced bias, three statistical techniques—propensity score matching, Heckman full information maximum likelihood, and instrumental variables—are employed to estimate the “treatment effect” of participation. Results suggest that impact is network specific: ICLEI membership causes small to moderate increases in cities’ GHG‐relevant activity, whereas the MCPA has no such effect. The characteristics of each network are evaluated in light of these findings.     

论广西转变经济发展方式新走向——从“工业兴桂”向“质量兴桂”转变

广西转变经济发展方式新走向是从＂工业兴桂＂向＂质量兴桂＂转变。在实施中要进一步解放思想;要加快转变经济增长方式,优化产业结构;要加快工业技术创新和技术改造,大力实施品牌发展策略;要充分发挥企业在＂质量兴桂＂战略中的主体作用;要建立健全质检监测平台,加强质量诚信体系建设,普及质量文化知识教育;要加强执法检查和质量安全监管;要加强宏观调控,系统管理;要切实加强＂质量兴桂＂战略实施的领导。     

海洋话语与国际秩序转变

国际关系的演进表明,海洋话语转变是国际秩序转变的重要风向标。文章对海洋话语进行了概念分析,并将其细分成海洋硬话语与海洋软话语,明确其包涵因素和互动关系。战争、谈判、国际会议、条约及协定等是国家争取战略主导权、在国际权力格局中占据优势的重要手段,可作为海洋话语与国际秩序之间的互动机理。海洋话语与国际秩序转变主要经历了欧洲主导时期和美国主导时期,且美国主导时期延续至今。在“百年未有之大变局”时代,海洋世界多极化趋势显著,海陆联动明显,“泛海洋时代”到来;海洋话语的话语主体、结构设计、海缘范畴及议题领域等均在经历多维嬗变,国际海洋新秩序建构的可能性和必要性在不断提升。中国需把握好角色定位与策略选择,优化中国海洋战略,树立新海洋安全观,踏实构建海洋话语,在国际海洋新秩序的构建中发挥积极引领作用。