Issues and Paradoxes in the Development of Iranian National Cinema: An Overview

Contemporary Iranian cinema has enjoyed wide success on the international scene—winning awards at film festivals, receiving praise by critics, and being screened in many countries around the world. But this success has another side to it: at home in Iran, the movie theater attendance is in decline and a range of players, including individuals, policymakers and government entities continue to meddle in shaping its future. Throughout the twentieth century and during the two decades of post-revolutionary successes abroad, Iranian cinema developed its own unique style and aesthetic. A cinema which was sometimes nurtured and financially encouraged by the government, yet at other times censored or banned by it. This paper provides a brief survey of the history of Iranian cinema since the 1900s in order to reveal the paradoxical issues both propelling and bedeviling its development and the role of principal actors involved in fashioning an Iranian national cinema.     

Recreational Fishing in Australia: Review and Policy Issues

Recreational fishing, otherwise known as angling, is both a significant resource use and a leisure activity in Australia. It has not received much scientific or policy attention, having been perceived as unimportant relative to commercial fishing and characterised by poor social, biological and economic data. Attention is increasing, however, as the ecological, economic and social significance of the activity is realised. The article briefly reviews recreational fishing and discusses the reasons why the activity has traditionally been ignored by policy-makers and researchers. Current policy issues are identified, and a generalised framework suggested for policy and research.     

A Preamble to Family Policy: Issues of the Past and Present

The subject of family appears appropriately related to social policy, since family functions interface with society so closely. Moreover, U.S. families have been changing rapidly enough in this decade to warrant new attention to policy development. Public and political interest in family policy has been growing. Yet, historical barriers to government targeting family issues for policy development abound. While some intellectual, organizational, and bureaucratic mobilization has occurred, producing broad family policy declarations, interest groups are in the process of positioning themselves differentially, and disagreement about the value of explicit family policy is on the increase. The author believes that family policy will develop slowly in the D.S., and that comprehensive and cohesive family policy can better be considered a goal rather than a readily implemented public activity.     

建国初期党的"劳资两利"政策评析

基于对新中国建国方针的认识、对社会主要矛盾的判断和利用私营经济发展生产力的考虑,建国初期党和政府把“劳资两利”确定为处理私营企业劳资关系的基本政策。它包括保障私营企业工人的权益、保障资本家的正当权益、努力构建和谐的劳资关系三方面内容。这一政策体现了以毛泽东为核心的第一代中央领导集体勇于探索、开拓创新的伟大精神,极大地丰富和发展了马克思主义劳资关系理论,为构建当代中国非公有制企业和谐的劳资关系提供了有益的借鉴。     

Slave Ships and Maritime Archaeology: An Overview

This contribution collates information about wrecked slaving vessels discovered or sought by maritime archaeologists since 1972. To date, only a handful of firmly identified, active slave ships have been subject to excavation, but additional work has been carried out on wrecks of former slaver ships and possible slavers. The impending 200th anniversaries of the abolition of the British and US slave trades (2007 and 2008, respectively) appear to have stimulated a new wave of interest in slaver wrecks, and these new initiatives are also discussed.     

Structural Change,the Social Policy Environment and Female Employment in Turkey

Since the 1970s, a series of demand and supply related changes have led to significant labour market transformations which have brought about a sustained increase in female employment throughout the world. While similar transformations have also been underway in Turkey, the country appears to be one of the rare exceptions to worldwide trends. During the last two decades both female labour force participation and female employment rates have declined at national level. In this article, two sets of questions are posed to explore the factors likely to influence female labour force participation. One set of questions pertains to the society‐specific dynamics of structural change in employment patterns in Turkey, with particular reference to the level and composition of employment in the service sector. A second set of questions is posed to examine labour market relations and the social policy environment in Turkey, and their impact on the demand for and supply of female labour. Current changes in the prevailing policy environment are considered to highlight a certain contradiction in the attitudes of decision makers who seem to be faced with a trade‐off between continuing adherence to conservative patriarchal values and the objectives of increasing labour force participation and combating poverty.