社区分化-整合运动一般规律探讨

社区是社会的子系统,其运动发展极其复杂。本文借助系统理论中描述系统运动发展的一对概念-分化与整合建立起社区分化和社区整合概念,并通过从社会层面、区域层面、空间连续分布的相邻社区层面分析影响社区分化一整合的外部因素和社区分化一整合的基本内容及其相互关系,探讨社区运动发展的一般规律,最后结合我国社区发展的实际概况论述了社区分化一整合运动规律在我国的特殊表现。     

SOCIAL NETWORKS AND THE CONVERGENCE OF POPULATION ATTRIBUTES: A GENERALIZATION

ABSTRACT.  Analysis of social interactions has recently become an important area of economic research, and the focus of researchers in this area has increasingly shifted toward dynamic models. In one recent contribution, Brueckner and Smirnov (2007) analyze the evolution of population attributes in an exceedingly simple model, where an agent's attributes at time t are equal to the average attribute value among his acquaintances. The pattern of acquaintances in the population is determined by the social network, and Brueckner and Smirnov (BS) explore the effect of network characteristics on the convergence of population attributes over time. They show that some simple sufficient conditions on the network structure ensure convergence to a "melting-pot" equilibrium where attributes are uniform across agents. The present paper provides a generalization of BS's analysis, allowing for a more general form of the rule governing the evolution of population attributes. The analysis shows that BS's previous conclusions continue to hold under this generalization, while also providing a result that can be applied more generally to other models.     

TOIL AND TROUBLE: THE REFORM OF THE LABOR LAW

Reform of the labor law has been proposed to alleviate allegedly defective procedures and remedies in the present law. In spite of the fact that numerous violations and abuses of the existing law have taken place over the last several years and that the provisions of the existing law have been inadequate to prevent these violations and abuses, Congress has been unable to pass meaningful reform measures to deal effectively with those inadequacies. The present law allows for long delays in the settling of cases involving alleged unfair labor practices and has become, in the minds of many, a sham which does not protect the rights of workers and, indeed, allows employers to engage in unfair labor practices with very little fear of the consequences. Proponents of labor law reform argue that changes are needed to furnish adequate guarantees that the existing labor law will be effective. The lively debate in Congress over the issue of labor law reform demonstrates that it is one of the most controversial and important questions facing the nation today. Some argue that unless effective reform measures are adopted, workers will continue to labor under the existing ineffective system.     

A SIMPLIFICATION AND GENERALIZATION OF THE EXCLUSION THEOREM: A TECHNICAL NOTE

Several researchers have proven that for the integrated production-location problem on the Weberian triangle, intermediate points on the edge of the triangle can never be optimal locations. Authors of previous proofs of this result have used cumbersome trigonometric arguments. We present a much simpler algebraic proof of the result, and present it in terms of the more general n -input model, where the feasible location space is a convex polygon rather than a triangle. In addition, the result generalizes immediately to other cases, such as (1) multifacility production-location problems, (2) stochastic versions of one-facility and multifacility production-location problems, and (3) comparable pure location problems (e.g., the Weber problem).     

PTOLEMAIC CAMEOS OF THE SECOND AND FIRST CENTURIES BC

Cameos were devised some time in the Hellenistic period, and they were used in a decorative manner. In terms of style and subject matter they follow developments in the making of intaglios and other glyptic products as well as coinage. This paper examines two related series of cameos which seem to have been produced in Alexandria of the later Hellenistic period, and under direct Ptolemaic patronage. Their study is held in view of a reappraisal of the Tazza Farnese, and the presentation here of a further argument in support of this Grand Cameo's dating in the first century BC.