Participation,education, and pluralism: towards a new extension ethic

The concern driving current debate on agricultural extension is increasingly that of how to help farmers learn how to deal with the complex world around them responsibly and profitably, in such a way that the extension worker is ancillary. This article seeks to deconstruct and provide a more reasoned assessment of agricultural extension services through a reflection on development paradigms, adult education, individual empowerment, and institutional pluralism. By calling into question the underlying ethical dimensions of agricultural extension, it is possible to develop an alternative paradigm and thereby generate new insights into it. The article concludes that the raison d'être of agricultural extension today must be to create an ethical basis which ensures that extension practices are more inclusive and thus responsive to the needs of farmers and other rural populations, integrating individual expectations into the wider socio-economic, cultural, political, and geographical environment.     

Globalisation

The term ‘globalisation’ is widely used to describe a variety of economic, cultural, social, and political changes that have shaped the world over the past 50-odd years. Because it is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, globalisation has been credited with a wide range of powers and effects. Its proponents claim that it is both ‘natural’ and an inevitable outcome of technological progress, and creates positive economic and political convergences. Critics argue that globalisation is hegemonic and antagonistic to local and national economies. This article argues that globalisation is a form of capitalist expansion that entails the integration of local and national economies into a global, unregulated market economy. Although economic in its structure, globalisation is equally a political phenomenon, shaped by negotiations and interactions between institutions of transnational capital, nation states, and international institutions. Its main driving forces are institutions of global capitalism – especially transnational corporations – but it also needs the firm hand of states to create enabling environments for it to take root. Globalisation is always accompanied by liberal democracy, which facilitates the establishment of a neo-liberal state and policies that permit globalisation to flourish. The article discusses the relationship between globalisation and development and points out that some of the most common assumptions promoted by its proponents are contradictory to the reality of globalisation; and that globalisation is resisted by more than half of the globe's population because it is not capable of delivering on its promises of economic well being and progress for all.     

弱人工智能时代的劳动价值论与劳动制度

随着弱人工智能时代的到来,物质生产与非物质生产全面自动化。这个正在生成的社会现实意味着经典劳动价值论“一切价值均来自人类劳动”的命题必须被重新思考。笔者以为,弱人工智能应被视为介于人与物之间的特殊劳动者。这样才能解释弱人工智能时代的价值创造问题。从这个角度出发,将弱人工智能视为物或工具就是一种未经反思的意识形态,其建构方向是资本原则与弱人工智能结合的永续生产模式。因此,只有强调并确立弱人工智能的劳动者地位,才能有效破除资本原则对社会发展模式的控制,将弱人工智能强大的生产能力服务于人类自由发展的目的。     

Vigilante justice and informal policing in post-Euromaidan Ukraine

During and after the Euromaidan, the Ukrainian society experienced an emergence of non-state groups that combined elements of civic activism and paramilitarism. They operated independently from the state and often used extra-legal violence to restore law and order, deliver justice, and protect Ukraine from external and internal threats. Their conduct closely resembles vigilantism. This article draws on the body of criminological and sociological research on vigilantism in order to understand the diverse landscape of vigilante groups in post-Euromaidan Ukraine. It explores the complex relationship between the most representative vigilante groups, the Ukrainian government, and the political and business elites; analyzes the legal boundaries of vigilantism in Ukraine; and discusses the outcomes of vigilante justice for democratic consolidation, rule of law, and human rights. This article offers a new paradigm for theorizing popular mobilization in Ukraine and sheds light on important dimensions of the formation of an informal system of policing and justice.     

贸易对中日韩经济周期协动性的影响研究

对中日韩贸易对经济周期协动性的影响进行分析,可以得出结论:双边贸易强度对经济周期协动性的影响取决于双边产业内贸易强度的大小。产业内贸易强度大,则双边贸易强度与经济周期协动性为正相关;产业内贸易强度小,则双边贸易强度与经济周期协动性为负相关。另外,中日贸易中纺织纱线等6种行业的贸易有助于提高经济周期协动性,而服装等2种行业的贸易降低经济周期协动性;中韩贸易中有色金属相关行业等6种行业的贸易有助于提高经济周期协动性,而塑料等2种行业的贸易降低经济周期协动性。     

Childhood poverty and evidence-based policy engagement in Ethiopia

This article explores efforts to bridge multi-disciplinary research and policy engagement to tackle child poverty in the contexts of developing countries, based on the experiences of Young Lives, an international longitudinal policy-research project. It focuses on a case study involving the application of research evidence on child poverty to shape policy debates concerning Ethiopia's second-generation Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (2006–2010). The discussion is situated within theoretical literature on the interface between knowledge, policy, and practice, which supports the conceptualisation of policy making as a non-linear dynamic process. It pays particular attention to the importance of understanding the political and policy contexts of Southern countries, rather than assuming that they should simply import Northern-derived models of advocacy. It concludes by identifying general lessons for translating research into social-policy change.     

我国第三部门的发展与政府职能转变

20世纪80年代以来，全球掀起了一场范围广泛的“结社革命”，即第三部门运动。成千上万的第三部门组织活跃在环保、医疗、宗教、慈善、教育等传统的政府活动领域，发挥着越来越积极的作用。与此同时，中国的第三部门也获得了很大发展。随着中国市场化改革的深入发展及国家与社会关系不断的调整，第三部门对于克服市场与政府的“双重失效”、推进政府管理改革与政府职能转变、缓解就业压力以及提升社会自我管理能力具有重要意义，成为愈来愈不可或缺的社会组织。     

Towards a policy framework for the empowerment of social movements

As they move from responding to needs and demands to a more rights-based approach, some French NGOs are rethinking both their areas of work and their ways of working. ‘Empowerment’ has become a key concept in this changing context, although it is sometimes difficult to know how best to apply it and understand what it really means in an NGO setting. This article shares some thinking on empowerment, analysing its ‘object’ (individuals, organisations, networks, or movements) and the ‘process’ through which it is realised. Drawing on the author's own experience and on a brief literature review, it is illustrated by the examples of the international disability and US gay rights movements.     

Innovation in the U.S. Service Sector

This paper contributes to ard a better understanding of innovation in the service sector by focusing on the disparate nature of R&D in the U.S. service sector as learned through case studies of the U.S. telecommunications, financial services, systems integration services, and research and development testing services industries. Based on this understanding of the nature and scope of R&D therein, a new policy-oriented model of innovation specific to the service sector is posited. Also, policy recommendations are offered with regard to the public sector’s collection and interpretation of R&D data related to the service sector.      

关于探索和完善上海应急处置体系的思考

当前,世界各国越来越重视对突发事件应急处置体系的建立和完备,相比之下,我国在这方面还显得比较落后,存在很多薄弱环节。因此,对上海这座国际性大都市来说,建立以“六种能力”为核心内容的城市应急处置体系,已成为摆在我们面前的又一重要课题。