Suchergebnisse

Accident prevention is an important prerequisite for achieving sustainable development, and effective crisis learning is a necessary path to it. This article focuses on whether local governments in non-accident areas learn from crises in accident areas, that is "learn from the mistakes of neighbors" and "grow in wisdom." Using panel data from 2006–2017 for 30 provinces in China, our empirical test discovered that there is not a one-to-one relationship between "learning from neighbors" and "growing in wisdom"; it is a U-shaped relationship between the frequency of major accidents and the crisis learning effect of local government. When the occurrence frequency of major accidents is low, the regulatory effect caused by major accidents leads to the effective crisis learning of local governments. However, when major accidents occur frequently and reach a certain threshold, the crisis learning effect will deteriorate due to an excessive deterrent effect. In this non-linear relationship, the impact of political pressure occurs on two fronts, a gentle U-shaped curve and a shift in the inflection point to the left, implying that political pressure plays a dual role in the crisis learning process of local government. Accordingly, local governments should fully seize the window of time to initiate crisis learning with regulatory effects and delegate political authority to supervise local crisis learning with reasonable compliance.

The research on marine ecological compensation is aimed to protect the marine environment and sustainably utilize marine ecosystem services, and is an important institutional instrument for coordination of the relationships among environmental, economic and other social interests. The legal mechanism of marine ecological compensation should be an important way to effectively deal with the contradictions (for examples: the value loss of marine ecosystem services, destruction of marine biodiversity, etc.) in marine eco-environmental protection. This paper firstly introduces the case of the "Sanchi" ship accident, which is regarded as the first collision case of a tanker carrying gas condensate in world shipping history, and also provides a detailed analysis of the "Tasman Sea" ship case which is regarded as the first compensation claim for marine ecological damage in China, and makes some related discussions on marine ecological compensation concerning the two cases. Then, the paper probes into the research theme from four aspects: China's legislative deployment, the legal connotation of marine ecological damage (including the current legal status of compensation claims, subjects of compensation claims, the compensation scope and the evaluation system.), major challenges in legal practice, and remediation of marine ecological damage in China. Finally, the paper provides some suggestions on marine ecological damage compensation for the final settlement in the "Sanchi" case, and tries to explore the future trend of the research theme based on the China's marine strategy.

The internationalisation of Chinese non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) is an emerging phenomenon. As new international development actors, how independent are Chinese NGOs from the Chinese state? Based on interviews with eighteen Chinese NGOs and an analysis of secondary sources, the study finds that the internationalisation of Chinese NGOs is variegated rather than solely state-led. The state is not closely involved in much of the internationalisation processes of a majority of Chinese NGOs. However, all Chinese NGOs with overseas operations avoid overstepping a political boundary that is tacitly understood by both NGOs and the state. To explain the duality of both uniformity and diversity among Chinese NGOs, this study develops an embeddedness framework that disaggregates state influences into a primary layer of systemic regulatory guidance that affects all Chinese NGOs, and a secondary layer of influence over NGOs' operations (initiation, financing, and implementation), within which the varying levels of governmental influence upon different NGOs lie. (JCCA/GIGA)

The internationalisation of Chinese non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) is an emerging phenomenon. As new international development actors, how independent are Chinese NGOs from the Chinese state? Based on interviews with eighteen Chinese NGOs and an analysis of secondary sources, the study finds that the internationalisation of Chinese NGOs is variegated rather than solely state-led. The state is not closely involved in much of the internationalisation processes of a majority of Chinese NGOs. However, all Chinese NGOs with overseas operations avoid overstepping a political boundary that is tacitly understood by both NGOs and the state. To explain the duality of both uniformity and diversity among Chinese NGOs, this study develops an embeddedness framework that disaggregates state influences into a primary layer of systemic regulatory guidance that affects all Chinese NGOs, and a secondary layer of influence over NGOs' operations (initiation, financing, and implementation), within which the varying levels of governmental influence upon different NGOs lie.

The concept of a national flower was an important part of the culture and poetry of the imperial courts of the Tang and Song dynasties. Li Bai and other poets in the Tang period used the tree peony as an icon of the imperial concubine Yang Yuhuan's beauty. Later Tang poetry, however, also includes undertones of disquiet, using this flower-image as a sign of unhappiness at the state of the country. With the advent of the Song dynasty, the poetic focus exalts the plum blossom, a very different kind of flower than the tree peony. I argue that this reflects the Song dynasty's different mentality. Writers of this age emphasized refinement, rationality, and introspection. For example, Lin Bu felt wedded to his plum tree. Su Shi developed a theory of the plum blossom's character. The shift in government from North to South may have also contributed to the shift. The tree peony suited the northern climate; the plum tree thrived in the South.

Wǒnch'ǔk ist allgemein bekannt hauptsächlich als ein Experte für den Yogācāra Buddhismus, der umfangreiche Kommentare in dieser Tradition geschaffen hat, aber er hat auch eine Schlüsselrolle gespielt bei der Förderung der religiös-politischen Ideologie von Kaiserin Wu Zetian 武則天(623-705) in der Zeit zwischen 680 und 696. In seinem frühen Leben war Wǒnch'ǔk anscheinend ein Autodidakt, der keinem bestimmten Lehrer folgte. Er widmete sich dem systematischen Studium der buddhistischen Texte, besonders derjenigen der Yogācāra-Tradition, wie sie von Paramārtha und Xuanzang verfasst wurden. Anstatt Paramārthas Interpretation der Yogācāra-Lehre zu akzeptieren, versuchte Wǒnch'ǔk die Autorität von Xuanzang in der Yogācāra-Tradition Chinas zu etablieren. Das kann aus der Darstellung seiner Klassifikation der (buddhistischen) Lehre in seinem Kommentar zum Jieshenmi jing geschlossen werden. Im Zeitraum zwischen 680 und 696 arbeitete Wǒnch'ǔk intensiv an verschiedenen Übersetzungsprojekten, die eine starke Förderung von Kaiserin Wu Zetian erhielten. Im Verlauf dieser Projekte arbeitete Wǒnch'ǔk mit einer großen Belegschaft von Assistenten, die sechsundvierzig verschiedene Texte in sechs offiziellen Klöstern übersetzten. Da die Kaiserin Wu die Huayan Tradition und die Lehre des Tathāgatagarbha favorisierte, gab Wǒnch'ǔk, um ihren speziellen Interessen zu entsprechen, politischem Druck nach, und änderte die Darstellung seiner Klassifizierung der (buddhistischen) Lehre, indem er neuerlich das Huayan jing, das Lengqie jing und das Lotus sutra der "Dritten Drehung des Rades der Lehre" zuordnete. Bald nach seinem Tode wurden Wǒnch'ǔk sehr unterschiedliche Einschätzungen zugeordnet: Chinesische Autoren beschuldigten Wǒnch'ǔk, ein Dieb und Verräter zu sein, und kritisierten ihn als Häretiker innerhalb der Yogācāra-Tradition. Autoren aus Silla betrachteten Wǒnch'ǔk als wahren Erben und Fürsprecher von Xuanzang. Zusätzlich dazu sahen einige spätere Autoren Wǒnch'ǔk aufgrund seiner Teilnahme an der Übersetzung des Huayan jing als einen Vertreter der Huayan-Tradition an, Diese Dissertation argumentiert, dass alle diese Darstellungen von Wǒnch'ǔk, hervorgebracht von seinen Biographen, weit entfernt sind von der historischen Wahrheit. ; Wǒnch'ǔk is commonly known mainly as an expert in Yogācāra Buddhism who produced voluminous commentaries in this tradition, but he also played a key role in fostering Empress Wu Zetian's 武則天(623-705) religio-political ideology during the period between 680 and 696. In his early life, Wǒnch'ǔk seemingly was an autodidact, not following a particular teacher. He devoted himself to systematically study the Buddhist texts, particularly those of the Yogācāra tradition as introduced by Paramārtha and Xuanzang. Instead of accepting Paramārtha's interpretation of the Yogācāra teachings, Wǒnch'ǔk tried to establish the authority of Xuanzang in the Yogācāra tradition of China. This can be concluded from the exposition of his doctrinal classification in his commentary on the Jieshenmi jing. In the period between 680 and 696 Wǒnch'ǔk intensively worked on various translation projects which enjoyed strong patronage by Empress Wu Zetian. In the course of these projects, Wǒnch'ǔk worked with a large staff of assistants at six official monasteries, translating forty-six different texts. Since Empress Wu favored the Huayan tradition and the Tathāgatagarbha doctrine, in order to comply with her special interests, Wǒnch'ǔk gave in to political pressure and changed the exposition of his doctrinal classification by newly attributing the Huayan jing, the Lengqie jing and the Lotus sutra to the "Third Turning of the Wheel of Dharma". Soon after his death, different images were attributed to Wǒnch'ǔk: Chinese authors blamed Wǒnch'ǔk as being a thief and traitor, and criticized him as a heretic in the Yogācāra tradition. Sillan authors regarded Wǒnch'ǔk as a true heir and advocator of Xuanzang. In addition to this, some later writers regarded Wǒnch'ǔk as an exponent of the Huayan tradition because of his participation in the translation of the Huayan jing. This dissertation argues that all these images of Wǒnch'ǔk as painted by his biographers are far away from historical truth.

Purpose
The increased income and modernity have greatly impacted Chinese consumers' attitudes and purchasing behavior, making them more sophisticated than ever before. The purpose of this paper is to examine the interrelationship among social stratification, materialism, post-materialism, and consumption values contributing uniquely to understanding Chinese consumers in the context of drastic economic and social changes.


Design/methodology/approach
Survey method was used to test the proposed model and answer the research questions. The data were collected in Shanghai, the largest city on the eastern coast of China. A multi-stage random sampling strategy was employed to acquire a representative sample of the population in the city. A total of 2,910 completed questionnaires were used for data analysis.


Findings
The results show that objective social status has a negative effect on post-materialism, whereas subjective social status has a positive effect. Social status does not seem to have a significant effect on materialism. Post-materialism also has a strong positive effect on the consumption orientations of emotional value and social value.


Practical implications
China was chosen as the research context in this study. As a booming emerging market, China provides an intriguing platform to examine social stratification and materialism. At the macro level, China is developing a new social structure due to the drastic social and economic changes. At the individual consumer level, as China moves further into a market-oriented economy, traditional Chinese values have changed rapidly. Western consumption values and phenomena such as overspending and conspicuous consumption have begun to take hold in China, especially among young people. It is critical for business managers to understand the shift of consumption values among Chinese in order to successfully capture this market.


Originality/value
A cursory review of past literature reveals that researchers have examined materialism primarily along two avenues: one puts materialism within a macro framework involving political interest or civic engagement (e.g. Davis et al., 1999; Inglehart, 1990); the other one takes a micro perspective exploring the impact of materialism on consumer attitudes and behavior (e.g. Park and Rabolt, 2009; Xiao and Kim, 2009). However, little research has been conducted linking the two approaches. The present study intends to examine the interrelationship among social stratification, materialism, post-materialism, and consumption values. Hopefully, it will shed some light on the connection between macro environment and micro consumer behavior. Furthermore, the current research provides evidences for the emerging transformation to a post-materialistic marketplace.

AbstractEmpowering the rank and file members in choosing a party leader has become an increasing trend in parliamentary democracies. This study examines the process of adopting more inclusive methods to choose a party leader in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan. The LDP introduced a national primary to elect a leader in 1978. However, this first attempt to open up the party leadership selection was soon replaced by traditional coalition-making politics. In this regard, the LDP is different from most of the Westminster parties that followed a smooth linear process of transferring more power to the rank and file members. This article identifies a 'swing-back' effect between 1980 and 1990 in the democratization process of party leadership selection. Working like a pendulum, the LDP did not resume a primary until 1991. It was in 2003 that a nationwide primary became a regular way. This article argues that the discontinuity of reformist actors caused this uncommon swing-back effect. The reformist split in 1976, the sudden death of Masayoshi Ohira, and Kanemaru mediation in 1984 stalled the reforms. Although one finds a similar trend in democratizing party leadership selection outside Europe, the LDP presented an abnormal inactivity and time-lag differences.