A SHORT COMMENTARY ON TIMOTHY M. TIPPINS AND JEFFREY P. WITTMANN'S "EMPIRICAL AND ETHICAL PROBLEMS WITH CUSTODY RECOMMENDATIONS

In this commentary, the call for clinical humility and judicial vigilance in custody recommendations is confirmed as valid and the Australian experience, where the child custody report writer has for some years been permitted to express an opinion on the ultimate issue, is considered. The inherent risks are briefly discussed, and the question of who of the judge and the social scientist might be better placed to decide the exquisitely difficult children's issues after family breakdown is touched upon. It suggests that a combination of the expert's opinion and judicial fact finding probably produces a result that is as good as it gets. But a greater danger is highlighted. It is the impact of the adversary system, and whether it is suitable in any event to these sensitive court decisions.     

20世纪90年代以来的近代中国妇女史研究综述

20世纪90年代以来的近代中国妇女史研究取得了令人可喜的成果,成立了一批研究机构和学会,扩大了研究领域和范围,更新了研究视角和方法,发表、出版了可观的论著,从而促进了整个史学的发展。但就总体水平而言,高质量、高水准的成果并不多见,妇女史作为历史学科的一个分支学科,并未引起足够的重视,主要是资料的不足、分散,限制了近代中国妇女史研究的进一步拓展和深化。要真正确立妇女史的学科地位,尚需学术界的艰辛努力。     

对20世纪50年代中国宪法学基本范畴的分析与反思

一门学科的生命力首先表现在基本范畴与学术规范的确立。宪法学作为研究宪法现象的知识体系,应确立表明其独立学科地位的范畴与学术话语。中国宪法学发展正处于社会转型期,需要认真反思5 0年来宪法学范畴发展的历史过程,以中国社会的发展为背景,建构中国宪法学基本范畴。     

Age and family structures among the Jews of Mitau, Kurland, 1833–1834

The article analyzes an 1834 listing of the Jewish inhabitants in the city of Mitau in the province of Kurland, one of the Baltic provinces (the other two were Estland and Livland) of the Russian Empire. From Catherine the Great's reign onward, the Jewish population of the Baltic provinces rose steadily throughout the 19th century, but microstudies of Jewish communities in the region are virtually nonexistent, especially for the first half of the century. The Mitau list shows that the Jewish population there was very young, with about 45% being in the age group 0–14. Age at first marriage for males was about 24 years, and for females 21. From about age 35, 93% of males and 97% of females were married. The mean size of the family group was 5.8 persons, and about a third of all families were either extended (containing unmarried relatives beyond the nuclear family) or multiple (more than one kin-linked conjugal family unit). Judging by kinship terms in the source, the kin system tilted toward patrilineality, as would be expected. These characteristics need to be compared to other Jewish communities before and after 1834—in the Baltic area and surrounding regions—but the paucity of local studies suggests that some time will pass before the Mitau findings can be placed in an adequate comparative framework.     

中国民法现代化历程中的三个误区

清末民初开始的中国民法现代化历程,在确立平等、自由、秩序等现代民法精神,构筑当代民法制度发展基本脉络的同时,尚存有一些遗憾与不足,以下三个历史误区更值得关注:民法现代化初期的民法价值理念,不恰当地追随了西方的“权利社会化”思潮;民法现代化历程始终未能摆脱国家本位主义的阴影;民法制度的创制过度突出了“制定法”地位与“法律移植”的作用。为此,我们需要进一步反思这一百年的民法现代化历程之得失,以期重新展望、描绘更为美妙的民法现代化图景。     

Disciplining Society through the City: The Genesis of City Planning in Brazil and Argentina (1894–1945)

This paper looks at the genesis of a discourse on urbanismo (city planning) in Brazil and Argentina between 1894 and 1945 using the ideas of Michel Foucault on discipline and his concept of bio–power. The demographic pattern of the major cities in both countries from 1890 onwards and the renewals of the centres of these cities are also discussed. Other sections are dedicated to the plans proposed for the same cities in the 1920s and to urban representations, such as ideas about social reform, the role of hygiene as a point of departure for planning, and the relationship of ideas on Taylorism (scientific management) and the city. The paper also discusses the planners opposition to elections, when they claimed that they were the only ones qualified to deal with urban problems and therefore they should be employed in the state apparatus.
Other concerns of the paper are the use of planning as an element of nation building and ideas defining eugenics (race 'betterment') as an important aspect of city planning. I conclude by arguing that, if implemented, city planning was a way of creating an industrial culture, disciplining society through the city, although the industrial proletariat has never made up the majority of the population in Brazil or Argentina. Even if many aspects of the plans proposed for both countries were not implemented, the discourse of planners can be seen as a will to discipline society through the city. This discipline would affect the freedom of movement of human bodies, and is therefore approached through Foucault's concepts of bio–power and discipline     

邓小平对马克思世界历史理论的新发展

邓小平的对外开放理论是马克思世界历史理论在当代中国的坚持和发展。邓小平对马克思世界历史理论的新发展主要表现在以下几个方面:立足于当代世界局势和基本国情,提出了“现在的世界是开放的世界”的科学论断;基于对中国长期停滞落后历史教训的深刻总结,提出了“中国的发展离不开世界”的科学认识;顺应世界历史发展趋势,立足国情,在对外开放中建设中国特色的社会主义。     

历史人类学刍议

历史人类学是文化人类学的一门新兴边缘学科 ,由于这一新兴学科的研究领域是历史上的各民族文化 ,并且在研究过程中需要借助于大量的历史典籍资料 ,容易使人将其与历史学相混。历史人类学是一门具有特定研究领域并具有文化人类学研究传统的新兴分支学科 ,其实质与价值不可能被其他任何学科替代 ,其发展也不会损及其他学科 ,因而应当对这门新兴学科加以积极引进和消化吸收 ,早日形成本土化的中国历史人类学。