Beyond community participation? Alternative routes to civil engagement and development in South Africa

Although community participation still enjoys a high level of support across various sectors in South Africa, its practice is fraught with conceptual and practical difficulties. This paper starts out by examining some of the problems and limitations associated with community participation, including the heterogeneity and fragmentation of many poor communities, the lack of social and material resources and community members' expectations of receiving a return from their involvement in development projects. Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) or participatory learning and action (PLA) is used as an example to illustrate some of the conceptual and theoretical limitations that characterise most approaches to participatory development. In particular it is argued that approaches such as PRA/PLA lack the theoretical basis for effectively getting to grips with the problems of participatory development. What is needed is a conceptual framework not only to understand the responses of communities, but also to locate such communities within their socio-economic contexts. The second part of the paper therefore examines three developments in social science theory that may be able to contribute to the development of a richer conceptual framework for popular participation. These are the concept of social capital, the asset-based approach to development, and the debate around the role of the state in development.     

What Drove Housing Wealth Inequality in China?

Although China is experiencing a deterioration in wealth distribution where housing is playing a dominant role, this issue has received scant research attention despite its importance. Combining four rounds of the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) data, this paper measures and discusses wealth inequality in China, with a special emphasis on the contribution of housing. Our analysis reveals that housing is the largest contributor to wealth inequality, responsible for around 70 percent of total wealth inequality, and its contribution has been increasing over time. Our research efforts have focused on the housing wealth disparity, exploring its composition from alternative perspectives. The results show that housing wealth inequality has also been rising over time and an absolute majority of housing wealth inequality is due to within‐group gaps. Finally, we employ Wan's (2004) regression‐based decomposition methodology to quantify the contributions of different determinants to housing wealth disparity in China, and to demonstrate serious biases in the conventional approach that is often used to analyze housing wealth inequality.     

英汉常规触觉隐喻的认知比较

英语、汉语中广泛存在着常规触觉隐喻。研究表明，两种语言体系具有一致性，触觉领域都向非触觉领域影射。也就是说，人们有时是从触觉领域来理解表达非触觉概念的；而且这种触觉隐喻已经常规化了，其隐喻意义已经完全不被人们所感知；另一方面，英、汉常规触觉隐喻也由于所处文化不同呈现出显著的差异。     

Participatory appraisal approaches versus sample survey data collection: a case of smallholder farmers well-being ranking in Njombe District, Tanzania

Social scientists and rural development interventionists inTanzania and in Sub-Saharan Africa depend mainly on conventionalsample surveys; in part this is a legacy of their basic training.Participatory rural appraisal and intervention approaches offera varied range of methods. We ask ourselves whether the resultsfrom participatory, rapid appraisals are conflicting and differentto those from sample surveys? This paper compares results ofa Rapid Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) with a conventionalsample survey. These surveys were conducted at the end of 1995and mid-1996 respectively, to establish socio-economic well-beingranks in Njombe district. A comparison of results shows thatthe well-being ranks established using PRA are valid and theapproach is reliable. The three qualitatively established well-beingranks differed empirically in many socio-economic indicators.These include resource endowment, labour force size, agriculturalland, livestock ownership, forest woodlot management, perceptionof food insecurity, technological advances in agricultural productionand natural resource management systems. Results show that thelow well-being group and female-headed households are disadvantaged.The goal of the Hifadhi Ya Mazingira-Njombe project is to developenvironmentally sustainable crop and livestock husbandry practicesin the district. The well-being ranking exercise has strongimplications for the project's strategy. We discuss the adoptedmethodology and implications. The paper recommends that developmentprogrammes and workers in Tanzania and Sub-Saharan Africa oughtto extend their approaches. It is time to include more of theparticipatory, relatively rapid rural appraisal and interventiontechniques. Benefits that they may accrue are time saving, lowercosts, quality information and stakeholder involvement.     

无人机共享空域管制间隔研究

国内外关于无人机在有人机共享空域运行的相应规章几乎为空白，无人机运行仍处于隔离空域。通过对无人机进行使用高度层的分类，提出无人机进入有人机共享空域的关键约束条件。根据无人机相较有人机管制操纵指令延迟的实际情况，推导管制区域内，无人机与有人机的防撞管制间隔。建立无人机与有人机碰撞风险模型，对无人机管制间隔进行风险评估。为无人机与人机共享管制区域运行的防碰撞间隔提供了可行的推导与验证方法。     

China’s evolving inequality

China’s inequality is evolving. This paper brings the story up to date, drawing on recent research, much of it by the author. It begins with a brief account of rising inequality, and its causes, over the period of economic reform. It then examines the fall in the inequality of income in recent years and the reasons for this reversal of trend. Inequality of wealth, by contrast, has risen over the twenty-first century: its dimensions, components and causes are analysed. The final substantive section considers the evaluation of inequality in more depth and detail than is conventional, and provides pointers as to how value judgements about inequality might be made.     

广西自然保护区周边社区民生问题初步识别

文章针对社区居民生产生活中存在的主要问题,对广西自然保护区中的大明山、龙虎山、银殿山周边社区中的32个村屯进行PRA调查。结果显示,社区居民民生问题集中在交通不畅、饮水困难、致富门路少等方面,关注重点集中在低层次生计底线,对居民的基本发展机会和发展能力也有一定的需求,而对于社会福利关注较少。鉴于PRA调查的局限性,文章提出进一步完善自然保护区周边社区民生问题研究的建议。     

失地农民与企业社会责任

在工业化下,农民失去土地成为了常态,企业是市场经济的强者而失地社区则是弱者。在这二者之间能否协调发展?本文系统调查了日照市开发区发展的情况,系统分析了失地农民的困难处境,并对存在于失地农民、村级社区、企业和当地政府之间的互动关系进行了研究,最后提出发挥企业社会责任感是帮助失地社区发展的重要途径。     

从“次级债风波”看现代金融风险的本质

2007年爆发的美国"次级债风波"淋漓尽致地展现了"现代金融风险"的本质。本文的目的主要是通过整理和归纳国外学术界对次级住房抵押贷款问题的最新研究成果,来深入分析现代消费者信贷业务的差异化问题、"资产证券化"的风险蔓延问题和国家宏观调控政策所引起的"有效性冲突"问题,由此揭示出上述"三位一体"的特征所代表的现代金融风险的本质。所以,本论文强调现代消费者信贷风险与以往传统商业信贷风险完全不同——系统性风险的程度、深度和波及范围大大增加,这给既有的风险管理模式带来前所未有的挑战。     

Forecasting Performance of Exponential Smooth Transition Autoregressive Exchange Rate Models

This paper compares the forecasting performance of the Smooth Transition Autoregressive (STAR) model with the conventional linear Autoregressive (AR) and Simple Random Walk (SRW) models. The empirical analysis was conducted using quarterly data for the yen-based currencies of six major East Asian countries. We discovered strong evidence on nonlinear mean reversion in deviation from purchasing power parity (PPP). The results suggest that both the STAR and AR models outperform or at least match the performance of the SRW model. The results also show that the STAR model outperforms the AR model, its linear competitor in a 14-quarter forecast horizon. This finding is consistent with the emerging line of research that emphasizes the importance of allowing nonlinearity in the adjustment of exchange rate. JEL Classification Numbers: F31, F47     

On demographic aging,inflation, and real wages: Some evidence from the Netherlands

Summary The findings of this paper suggest that when allowance is made for the potential impact of low fertility on relative price levels, the emergence of a state of sustained population decline might lead to levels of economic well-being which are declining both absolutely and relative to populations experiencing moderate growth. Such a conclusion emerges only after the passage of some 30 years; prior to this time span, conventional results (slower population growth yielding faster income growth) are confirmed. The result is attributable to a considerable scarcity of labor, resulting from fundamental changes in the ratio of workers to (older) dependents.This research was conducted while the author served as a visiting senior research scholar at the Netherlands Interuniversity Demographic Institute (NIDI), under the auspices of the Fulbright-Hays Act. Voluminous thanks are due to NIDI and its director, Pro. Dr. D. J. van de Kaa, for generous clerical and computer support. A special note of thanks for many helpful suggestions and insights is due to Drs. J. J. van Oosterwijk-Bruyn, Dr. H. G. Moors and Prof. C. J. O'Neill. All errors and omissions are, of course, the sole responsibility of the author.     

负责任的科研管理及绩效评价体系的探讨与实践

针对常规科研管理中科研项目、科研成果、科研人员、科研平台存在的问题,对科研管理模式与绩效评价体系的关系进行反思,提出建立负责任的科研管理及绩效评价体系需要明确的关键问题.通过优化科研项目/成果、科研人员、科研平台的评价指标,提出以信任为基础、以约束为保障的动态科研管理模式,建立以实绩为导向、以贡献为标准的科研绩效评价体系.结合贵阳学院实际,利用学校科研专项资金进行负责任的科研管理及评价体系的改革试点,历时5年的改革实践和动态调整.结果表明,围绕高校的目标定位,创新科研管理模式、优化科研绩效评价是激发科研活力和提升科研水平的有效手段.     

BIG QUESTIONS IN AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY: FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN1

The conventional story of Australian economic history is worth challenging. Rather than just assuming a national economy with conventional turning points such as Federation, economic historians would do well to investigate more complex processes like the interplay between regions, races and development, and the changing patterns of interaction with the outside world. The big question for economic historians is whether in the future they can undertake economic research which informs history and so contributes to the national debate.     

A method for estimating the volume of Baltic timber products exported through the Sound and its application to Portugal, 1669–1815

Abstract

In this article, the conventional wisdom on German trade policies during the interwar and the wartime years are examined from the Swedish experience. The conventional view, represented by, for instance, Hirschman, Child and Ellis, is that Germany adopted exploitative trade policies during the 1930s. By forcing bilateral agreements onto its smaller trading partners, the bargaining power was biased towards Germany's advantage – that is, Germany gained the market position of a monopolist-monopsonist. According to the conventional view, this was reflected in the cash flows, export and import prices and the commodity structure of the trade. In this article, German trade policies are analyzed with respect to the design and practice of the Swedish-German bilateral exchange clearing agreement; the commodity structure of the trade; and the price trends in Swedish-German bilateral trade. In the analyses, no evidence was found that would suffice to confirm the conventional view on German trade policies. Instead, it seems more likely that the Germans aimed for long-term cooperation, as has been claimed by, for instance, Milward, Neal and Ritschl. This does not mean that German trade policies were not exploitative, but since bilateral arrangement leveled the asymmetric power relations, Germany could not make use of its relatively stronger position.     

Why Research Partnerships Really Matter: Innovation Theory,Institutional Arrangements and Implications for Developing New Technology for the Poor

This paper explores the conceptual basis for existing and emergent institutional patterns in the context of partnership approaches to technology development. Drawing examples from recent studies of private enterprise activity in India smallholder horticulture, it suggests that agricultural innovation as a process involves a wider range of organizational types than the conventional policy focus on public sector research organizations would tend to suggest. It uses the concept of a “national innovation system” to argue that a partnership approach is adopted as a core methodology for engaging science and technology development with the livelihood demands of the poor.     

中国科学院与5家主要科研机构全球专利布局与技术创新能力比较研究

基于EPO、 JPO、KIPO、SIPO、USPTO、WIPO六个主要专利审查机构的专利数据，对比分析了中国科学院与五家国际科研机构的全球专利布局与技术创新能力，从中发现，中国科学院的技术水平相较于其他国际科研机构并不存在显著劣势，但其专利布局过于集中在中国国内，对于产业界的技术影响力也极为有限。作为在基础研究领域取得了巨大国际影响力的中国科学院，在未来的科研工作中需要扭转“基础研究国际化，技术研发内卷化”的局面。而这一方面要求中国科学院在专利布局方面要拥有全球科技战略大局观，另一方面要更多地参与产业技术研发，将自身的科研工作与产业技术需求进一步接轨。     

密云水库周边地区农户收入调查研究

文章通过参与性农户评估的调查方法对水库周边地区的877户农户的收入基本情况以及重要收入项目进行了分析研究,并针对存在的主要问题提出了相应的对策建议。研究发现,密云县的农户收入结构调整,畜牧业和服务业等收入已经成为农户的主要收入来源,但二三产业发展仍处于起步阶段,个体规模较小,服务种类较为单一,有很大的提升空间;从区域比较来看,水库上游区在结构调整和产业转型方面较水库下游区更有潜力。协调保护水源和发展农村经济的双重矛盾,应当依托当地的旅游资源和北京郊区的区位优势,发展生态环保的都市农业。     

多元化对企业创新投资模式的影响——基于R&D异质性的实证研究

基于R&D异质性视角，把R&D投资分为探索式创新投资和常规式创新投资，选取149家国内医药制造业上市公司2007-2013年的数据，研究多元化战略对企业创新投资模式的影响。实证研究的结果表明：专一化经营的医药企业重视R&D投入的研究阶段支出，进行探索式创新投资（R>0，D=0；R>0，D>0）；多元化经营的医药企业偏好常规式创新投资（R=0，D>0），不愿把过多的资金投放入高风险、回报周期长的R&D研究阶段。研究结果可以为医药企业高管选择创新投资模式、政府对企业创新的金融支持政策制定提供决策参考。     

The basic needs approach: A missing ingredient in development theory?

The poor record of conventional development theories in reducing poverty in developing countries may result from the neglect of certain preconditions that are necessary before the people of a developing country are receptive to conventional economic stimuli. The basic needs approach, in its various forms, focuses on some of these requirements through its emphasis on human development and the recognition that economic development does not take place in a social vacuum.

In this article a critical threshold of basic needs satisfaction is said to be a necessary, but not sufficient, precondition for economic development. Only if such a threshold has been achieved, will a population be receptive to those elements responsible for successful development in economically more‐advanced societies.