On new forms of government

The article by Ganghof, Eppner and Pörschke discusses the concept of semi-parliamentarism. This concept is very useful and will be used in future empirical studies. This short commentary provides a constructive critique of the concept, noting that only two countries currently meet the definitional criteria for the concept, that normative criteria should be avoided when defining regimes, that the definition introduces new criteria for classifying regimes, and that when it is applied empirically scholars should be careful not to introduce subjective judgments about which countries should be classed as semi-parliamentary.     

公信力的概念辨析

公信力研究是信任理论研究的重要内容之一。目前,在研究中存在的问题主要是对基本概念研究不足。从已有的概念来看,主要有“信用”观、“资源”观、“能力”观、“信任”观。这些观点分别从某一侧面揭示了公信力的内涵。综合这些研究,对公信力可以作出这样的定义:公信力是指公共权力领域与公民社会领域中以组织形态存在的行动者(公共机构)及具有“公共性”的抽象存在物(主要包括语言、制度、权力、货币、真理等)因赢得公民的普遍信任而拥有的权威性资源。     

Middle-power definitions: confusion reigns supreme

Renewed interest in middle powers since the late 2000s has seen a surge in research. Yet an agreed definition is more elusive than ever. This compromises the ability to pursue meaningful research programs, communicate practical policy advice, and instruct future generations. Why is an agreed definition so elusive and how can this challenge be overcome? The author contends that the definition of the term ‘middle power’ has evolved to be less about discovering either ‘the meaning of a word’ or ‘the nature of a thing’ in the pursuit of knowledge, and more about persuasion, influence, coercion and, ultimately, the exercise of power. An alternative approach to definition offers the best hope to address this challenge. With this objective, the author first looks into the nature and criteria for definition in the social sciences. Second, he looks at the structure of contemporary attempts to redefine the term. Third, he analyses definitional ruptures to shed light on the rhetorical import of contests. Finally, the author turns to rhetorical theory to offer an alternative approach to the definition of the term ‘middle power’.     

20世纪训诂学学科名称定义的争论

训诂学在我国有悠久的历史。但是作为一门学科,乃是从20世纪前期开始的。关于学科名称定义的讨论主要经历两个阶段,即20世纪20年代至40年代学科研究的发轫阶段,以及70年代末直至今天的学术锐进和日趋兴盛阶段。在这两个阶段,主要有“字义学”、“语义学”、“解释学”和“语义学加解释学”等几派观点。通过分析各派具有代表性的21家研究者的观点。可以发现,“训诂／学即解释学(注释学)”的观点较为科学,其中尤以冯浩菲先生的定义最为完备、科学。     

中日关于“以上”和“以下”等概念的界定

在汉语和日语中,经常使用表示数量和程度范围的“以上”、“以下”、“不满（未满）”、“超过”等词汇。这些词汇来自中国汉语,但日本比中国界定明确,使用规范。我国汉语应该从中吸取有益的养分,这对于规范地使用汉语和丰富汉语具有重要的现实意义。     

对剩余价值范畴的重新界定

传统政治经济学对剩余价值范畴的定义在其存在的条件、来源和剩余价值的分配等方面均过于狭窄,且界定时采用了非经济的标准,这既有悖于马克思的有关论述,也与当前的实际情况不完全吻合.本文以马克思的有关经典论述为依据,并结合经济生活的实际,对传统剩余价值范畴进行深入思考,以澄清人们的模糊认识.     

国内外旅游城镇化研究进展

作为一种特殊类型的城镇化,旅游城镇化已成为新型城镇化的重要抓手,同时也是旅游地理学研究的重要课题。本文在对国内外相关文献综合梳理的基础上,对旅游城镇化的概念内涵、驱动因素、特征与影响进行研究对比与综合评述。通过对上述问题的系统回顾,展示旅游城镇化的发展历程及研究价值,辨明旅游城镇化研究的核心问题,以期为该领域的深入研究提供有力支撑。在当前中国旅游城镇化的消费特征、社会阶层、主客关系、身份认同、城市与文化表征亟需深入探索与案例研究的背景下,国外有关旅游城镇化发展模式与特征的研究成果,对我国未来的旅游城镇化具有重要的指导与借鉴意义。     

近年来关于人的本质问题研究述评——兼论究竟如何界定人的本质

近年来,人的本质问题研究一直是人学领域的热点问题。学术界进一步挖掘了马克思的思想,包括劳动是人的本质、人的本质是一切社会关系的总和,特别是重点研究了“人的需要即人的本质”的思想。学术界围绕马克思的三个命题,对究竟如何界定人的本质做了一些新的探索,出现了社会本质说、双重本质说、三重本质说、四层结构本质说、“社会性实践”本质说、整体本质说等不同观点。本文的结论是“历史生成”本质说,人的本质可以界定为:人基于某种需要在一定的社会关系中、在所从事的实践活动过程中不断丰富的历史生成物,即为我的、自觉的、社会性的实践活动过程中的生成物。     

Defining “Talent”: Insights from Management and Migration Literatures for Policy Design

Taking the case of defining “talent,” a term that has been widely used but its definitions differ by discipline, organization, policy sector, as well as over time, we demonstrate how the basic definition of a policy subject may affect policy design and the assessment of policy outcomes. We review how “talent” is defined in two sets of literature, talent management and migration studies, and find that definitions fall under one of two categories: binary (“talent” as qualities) or composite (“talent” as a relational concept). The implications of our findings are epistemological and ontological; the findings point to diverse epistemological effects of definitions through developments of indicators, as expected, and they also reveal the policy designers’ ontological starting points. Ontological perspectives are significant because they ultimately determine whether the policy assessments carried out differ in degrees or in kind. In the case of defining “talent,” this means determining which objectives the designers would set (e.g., recruiting vs. cultivating vs. introducing competition), the policy instrumentation for achieving the goals (migration measures vs. education vs. lifelong learning vs. human resource policy), and the type of assessment for measuring policy outcomes (single vs. multiple indicators, qualitative vs. quantitative).     

A Micro Model of Problem Definition and Policy Choice: Issue Image,Issue Association,and Policy Support of Power Plants

Past research on problem definition and public policy primarily focuses on the macro-system level. In this study, we propose a micro model of problem definition and policy choice at the individual level. We argue that while individual citizens' problem definitions and policy preferences are rooted in and filtered through their predisposition characteristics (such as socioeconomic status, political orientation, and informational base), their policy choices also strongly depend on how they define public issues, particularly how they perceive the image of an issue at hand and how they associate the issue with other public issues. Our empirical analyses, based on data from a national public survey on energy and power plant issues, support the key propositions derived from our theoretical model. Key contributions to and implications for policy studies are discussed in conclusion.