构建民族国家：辛亥革命前后的中国边疆

本文着重从民族国家构建的角度探讨辛亥革命前后蒙、藏等边疆地区的政治变迁。辛亥革命使“五族共和”、“中华民族”学说从思想变成了政治实践,实际上成为梁启超政治思想、价值体系的代行者。可以说,因辛亥革命而昌盛的“五族共和”、“中华民族”观念作为民国初期政府整合中央与边疆地方的意识形态,对边疆地方的民族国家之认同影响极深。     

强化公共服务——我国博物馆追求国际化与中国特色的双重呼唤

把强化公共服务明确定位为当前和今后中国博物馆学理论与实践的战略重点与发展方向,是关乎我国博物馆能否与时代和谐共进、可持续发展的一个重大而紧迫的问题.根据对博物馆功能演变历史与现实的回顾与考察,以及世界博物馆最新发展趋势乃至我国的有关国情研究,可知无论追求国际化还是中国特色,我国的博物馆都必须大力强化公共服务.     

宁镇地区夏时期的考古学文化结构——兼谈江淮地区的文化变迁

在龙山文化时代,江淮地区河南龙山文化王油坊类型、山东龙山文化、江淮土著遗存以及环太湖流域的良渚文化对宁镇地区产生了影响。夏时期,二里头文化、岳石文化南下成为影响宁镇地区的重要历史事件,催生了本地土著文化因素,同时还传承了部分良渚文化传统,构成了点将台文化的主体。此外,点将台文化中还保留了龙山文化时代的部分遗存,从而表现出了宁镇地区夏时期复杂的考古学文化结构。     

临沂洗砚池晋墓出土漆器考议

临沂洗砚池晋墓是近年山东地区汉晋考古的一次重要发现.在大量的珍贵文物中,漆器显得尤为受人关注.本文结合考古资料,对这批漆器的器形种类、制作工艺、铭文以及产地等相关问题,进行了分析和探讨.     

1609—1615年长江下游地区梅雨特征的重建

根据明代李日华的《味水轩日记》和项鼎铉的《呼桓日记》中有关浙江嘉兴地区的夏季天气、感应记录,重建了1609-1615年夏季嘉兴地区的降水序列,并确定其梅雨期的入梅和出梅时间。据此,对上述年份梅雨进行了分类,其降水在雨期开始、结束日期和持续时间等特征上与现代浙江北部地区的梅雨特征均存在一定差异。进而根据地方志中的旱涝灾害情况,分析了梅雨特征与长江中下游地区旱涝的关系,二者虽然有密切关系,但不是完全意义上的契合,甚至有些年份完全相反。这对于了解小冰期前期的梅雨活动和特征以及与长江中下游地区旱涝状况均具有重要意义。     

改革开放以来中国社会福利制度的嬗变

过去的30多年,有着鲜明计划经济烙印的社会福利制度随着经济转轨经历了从初始的起步探索,到后来逐渐转型和步入正轨的艰辛的改革历程。职工福利分解、社会福利社会化推进、社区服务普及、农村社会福利重构、适度普惠型福利探索等凝结为改革成果,初步形成了新型社会福利体系,但这些改革在社会福利的目标模式上是初级的、不全面的和不平衡的。面对变化的国情,处理好发展与公平的关系,构建适度普惠型社会福利制度,是中国社会福利的目标选择。     

The Service Sector in the Chinese Economy: A Geographic Appraisal

A U.S.-based economic geographer and observer of China's economy examines the rapid expansion of the country's largely overlooked service sector, at both the national and regional levels. A particular focus of the author's research is on identifying regional variations in the development of services within the country and exploring some of the more important contributing factors. Based on the findings, the paper also discusses structural shifts that occurred in China's regional economies, disclosing inter alia that inequality in the contribution of services to GDP did not follow the same trajectory as that of employment in services. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: L800, O180, P230. 6 figures, 4 tables, 82 references.     

Restructuring of Beijing's Social Space

Four China-, U.S.-, and UK-based senior specialists on the urban geography of Beijing team up to present the results of their investigation of the change in the city's social landscape on the basis of restricted subdistrict-level data covering the period from 1982 to 2000. Adopting a factor ecology approach, the authors seek to identify the extent to which factors that shape urban social landscapes in Western countries have played a role in Beijing during a period of economic transition (e.g., from administrative toward market allocation of housing). Similarly, they investigate the relative strength of processes of social differentiation vis-à-vis mixing accruing from the restructuring of Beijing's physical space (e.g., housing cost differentiation and accelerated in-migration that lead to the emergence of concentrated areas inhabited by migrants and/or minorities, and of relatively low density suburbs) revealed by the 2000 Census. The paper includes a section on developments since 2000, citing data (through 2006) on population, scarcity of affordable housing, traffic congestion, and industrial and residential relocation, relating in part to the forthcoming Olympic Games in 2008. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: I31, O15, O18, P20. 6 figures, 7 tables, 93 references.     

The Effects of Inter-generational Support on the Mortality of Older People in Rural China

As inter-generational support is the primary source of support for the Chinese elderly in rural areas, such support is likely to affect their physical and psychological health. This paper investigates the effects of four types of inter-generational support on the mortality risk of the elderly in Anhui Province. Results showed that mortality risk was influenced significantly only by receiving household support. Financial support and personal care had no effect. Results also indicated that household and emotional support were effective in reducing mortality when delivered at closer proximity, suggesting that quality of support may be enhanced by co-residence and ready access to children. Conclusions about the health benefits of tangible forms of support need to be tempered by an understanding that poor health predisposes inter-generational co-residence, and that the quality of household assistance and emotional support may be sensitive to the geographic distance between older parents and their adult children in rural China.     

The 2012 acid mine drainage (AMD) crisis in Carolina's municipal water supply

ABSTRACT

There are growing concerns in South Africa about the threat that acid mine drainage (AMD) poses to local natural water resources in many of the country's mining areas. Since the beginning of the 21^st century, the toxic water has been responsible for pollution in parts of the country. Government and operators in the country's water sector have actively been working in recent years at addressing the problem. This article deals with a contemporary history of an AMD crisis in the coalmining town of Carolina, in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa, and explains how the matter was eventually resolved. The discourse focuses on how people of Carolina responded to the contamination of the municipality's water supply system and eventually chose to follow the path of active protest. The water crisis even made a detour to the high court, with a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) actively supporting the cause of local residents. Although by September 2012 the town's water supply was restored, the community remained distrustful of the local authority's ability to secure a consistent supply of good quality water. The authorities took some measures to restore trust. People had been traumatised and sound relations had to be restored in the aftermath of the crisis. The Carolina crisis of 2012 is contemplated from the perspective of the current threat that AMD poses to South Africa's finite water resources and the danger of mining in sensitive areas.