An Economist's Comment on Philosophico-Economic Relationships

In this journal, Welch and Mueller (WM) (2001) demonstrated a classificatory method for conceptualizing relationships between religion and economics. No judgement can be drawn from WM as to which of their four classifications might be a, or the, correct one. They conclude that the relationships are “both complex and controversial”, and that before any assessment can be apprehended adequately of how the two fields interact, “the permutations and subcategories implied by the system” used need to be identified and explored more thoroughly. This paper pursues that path, but argues that a more determinate verdict than WM's is possible. Here, an alternative interpretation of the relationship between religion and economics is investigated, in which WM's categories are assessed. In the alternative, WM's four classes are not taken to possess equal intellectual merit, as they appear to be. Using more current and comprehensive definitions of religion than WM's, a case is constructed that three of their four categories possess greater intellectual value than the remaining one. These three are here collapsed into one new mega-category regarded as that most validly describing the relationship between religion and economics.     

Religious identity in the workplace: A systematic review,research agenda,and practical implications

We conducted a systematic review of relevant literature to address how religious and occupational identities relate to each other in the workplace. We identified 53 relevant publications for analysis and synthesis. Studies addressed value differences associated with religion and occupation, identity tensions, unmet expectations, and the connection of religious identity to well-being and work outcomes. Key variables in the connection between religious and occupational identities included personal preferences, the fit between religious identity and job-related concerns, and the organization's policies, practices, and expectations. We highlight the personal and organizational consequences of being able to express religious identity at work and the conditions that promote high congruence between religious identity and its expression in the workplace. From these findings, we develop a research agenda and offer recommendations for management practice that focus on support for expression of religious identity at work while maintaining a broader climate of inclusion.     

Veblen,Veblenian Social Practices,and Prosperity Theology

Abstract:

At the turn of the twentieth century (1910), Veblen published an essay which explored the relationship between Christianity and capitalism by focusing on the interaction between the two institutions as they evolved. Veblen’s analysis begins by detailing the evolution of Christianity prior to the age of industrialized capitalism, after which he explores the evolutionary interplay between the two. Just over ten years prior to the publication of this essay (1899), Veblen published the Theory of the Leisure Class while over ten years after the publication of the essay (1923), Veblen dissected the sales efforts of Christianity in a note titled “Salesmanship and the Churches.” Nearly 100 years later, these three works together explain a modern and distinctly American religious movement—Prosperity Theology. This research argues that Prosperity Theology as practiced in the United States over the past nearly half century embodies and integrates all three of these works by Veblen and proposes the conceptual term “Veblenian Social Practice.”     

Net entry behaviour in Greek manufacturing: consumer, intermediate and capital goods industries

This research explores the nature and causes of net entry of firms in three groups of Greek manufacturing industries–consumer, intermediate and capital goods. The research questions whether or not the determinants of net entry rates across sectors are different. Econometric analyses reveal that, indeed, there are significant differences in the determinants of net entry rates across industry groups, but also there is strong within-group correlation across sectors.     

古城设计思想运用于地域化校园设计的探索与实践——以南京审计学院新校区设计为例

结合南京审计学院新校区的设计实践,文章对如何借鉴古都的设计思想,设计地域化的校园空间,提出了一些设计策略。     

Memories of Kenneth E.Boulding

The forty-year friendship between the author and Kenneth Boulding was cemented by three affinities. (1) an intense common interest in the system-theoretic approach to the philosophy of science, especially its “organismic” direction; (2) shared feeling that in its development the scientific outlook largely bypassed the introspective mode of cognition; (3)an uncompromising rejection of violence especially of its sanctioned, rationalized type, organized by power elities (war). The wide divergence of out attitude toward religion had no effect on the intimacy and intensity of the friendship.     

《宋代民众祠神信仰研究》评介简

《宋代民众祠神信仰研究》一书通过考察宋代祠神信仰存在、演变的真实状况，重点探讨了其与社会其他部分，如政治权利、社会群体、经济力量、交通网络等要素之间的互动关系。综观全书，作者试图在“唐宋大变革”这一背景下勾勒出宋代祠神信仰的演变轨迹及其发生的带有规律性的变化。该书作为一部较为深入研究宋代祠神信仰的专著，进一步丰富了宋代民间信仰的研究，具有非常重要的学术价值和现实价值。