Dispelling myths about conventions: ministerial advisers and parliamentary committees

There is a tension between a key principle underpinning liberal democratic governments and the associated political practice. Responsible government demands that the Executive is responsible to the Legislature. Governments, however, are generally inclined to evade or limit their accountability to Parliament wherever possible. In addition, ministerial advisers have thus far been excluded from the accountability framework of responsible government. This has led to an accountability deficit in terms of ministerial advisers appearing before parliamentary committees. Indeed, Ministers in the Australian Commonwealth and State of Victoria have claimed that there is a constitutional convention that ministerial advisers do not appear before parliamentary committees. This article challenges this claim and argues that there are no strong grounds based on precedent, reason, and the beliefs of political participants to conclude that there is a constitutional convention preventing ministerial advisers from appearing before parliamentary committees.     

Value chains,business conventions,and market adaptation: A comparative analysis of Norwegian and Icelandic fish exports

Business transactions’ value chains can constrain their capacity to maximize market value from limited resources. Seafood markets exhibit a strong demand for fresh, high‐quality seafood yet empirical studies show large variations in value chains’ adaptation and exploitation of market opportunities. This article presents a comprehensive model that identifies the main drivers and constraints in value chains for wild harvested seafood that generate differences in market adaptation. The model is built on theories of value chains, business conventions, competitive behaviour, governance conventions, legal regulation, and direct ecological and economic constraints. The model is applied in a comparative case analysis of market adaptation by value chains for North Atlantic cod products in Norway and Iceland, which explains why business conventions in Iceland are more consumer market adapted than those in Norway.     

Adaptive separation of regular and irregular magnetic activity for K indices

A numerical data adaptive separation method is developed for the discrimination of quasi-regular magnetic variations from the irregular variations for the determination of the K indices. The method is based on a pattern comparison and discrimination technique using harmonic analyses and is more objective than the hand-scaling method. The wave characteristics of a quiet regular or reference day are compared with those of the disturbed day being examined. The harmonic components that are consistent with those of the reference day are determined by a cosine weighting function. The Fourier coefficients are calculated from these modified harmonics and are then transformed back to the time domain. This ‘regular variation’ is subtracted from the data before the ranges are determined for the semi-logarithmic K scale. The method is tested on digital data from the Canadian magnetic observatories Victoria, Meanook and Ottawa over a 4 month period. The data are at a 10 s sampling interval and encompass the full range of K values (0–9). These K values are compared and checked with hand-scaled values, which were carefully and independently determined from reconstructed magnetograms from the same data. The two methods were found to agree ∼ 97% of the time, with most errors occurring during very irregular periods. This is comparable with values carefully determined by highly skilled observers. It is proposed that the method is suitable for use on a regular basis.     

敦煌文献的写本特征

敦煌文献以写本为主体,具有写本文献的特征,了解和认清其特证,是正确整理和研究敦煌文献最基础的环节,本文从敦煌文献分券不定、符号不定、内容不定、用字不定、文多疏误等五个方面,论述了敦煌文献的写本特征。     

李鸿章幕府的形成及其主要特色

曾由幕府出身的李鸿章受命招募淮军伊始即开始建立自己的幕府,此后随着其政治地位的不断提高,幕府班子也越来越庞大,30余年间一直常盛不衰。家庭背景、个人出身、入幕方式等方面的不同显示了李鸿章幕府的庞杂性。以1870年8月调任直隶总督为界,前期李鸿章幕府以履行军事职能为主,主要由其同乡、同学、亲属、朋友、原曾国藩幕僚和上海官绅组成,基本上是以传统的旧式人才为主的,不少人在思想观念上仍属于守旧派;后期李鸿章幕府的职能转向以行政事务为中心,为此而延揽一大批具有办理工矿企业、海防、教育、外交等方面专长的近代人才,旧式幕府成员也有一部分受西学影响而发生转化。甲午战争以前,李鸿章幕府可以说是中国当时独一无二的近代人才库。     

Auto-production systems in Japan: organisational and locational features

Through their highly controlled production systems Japanese auto-makers have succeeded to a considerable degree in extending the basic principles of modern factory production–specialisation and timing–to regional space. Thousands of firms, large and small, hierarchically connected in subcontracting layers supply a myriad of parts and engineering services to the auto-makers. Automakers minimise the level of stocks of parts at their plants by requiring their direct suppliers to make frequent deliveries. These firms function as extensions of the auto-maker's plant with the result that the regional production system functions with precision approaching that of a single well-organised factory.     

孙中山先生报刊宣传思想的形成及其传统文化特色

孙中山先生在长期的革命斗争中始终注重报刊宣传工作,先后领导过数十份革命报刊的创办、改组工作。形成了自己非常独特的舆论宣传和报刊工作思想。其最大特点在于：将报刊和宣传工作的重要性放在比军队奋斗更重要的位置上加以强调。同时认为新闻出版事业应为国家建设服务,是与人民衣食住行具有同等重要性的最基本的民生实业。其独特的报刊宣传和新闻观的形成深受祖国传统化的影响,蕴含着中国传统化中的积极因素。     

清代满文的文字特色及音韵、音变特点

1599年努尔哈赤命臣子根据蒙古文字的构造方式创制了老满文。17世纪,达海受命改进老满文,改进后的新满文较之老满文发生了很大的改变。新满文不但书写形式楷化,最重要的是它在音位标音时运用了增点加圈的方法,有效地解决了满语辨认、读音混乱问题。新满文运用的是一母一音的标音原则,所以它的音韵呈现出两个特点:一是它严格遵守元音和谐律和元辅音的发音协同规律,二是它能将满语当时的实际语音真实地转写出来。满文的音变表现出三种鲜明特点:一是元音和谐律的松式化音变;二是切韵清字的连续省略式音变;三是入关定鼎后重音前移的弱化、脱落式音变。清代满文作为中华民族语言文字宝库中的瑰宝之一,曾在历史上起到了重要的政治文化作用,因此研究它的创制历程及其独特的文字音韵特色具有重要的意义。