公共交通设施规模对绿色经济效率的影响

公共交通与人们的生产和生活息息相关，是城市经济发展的“动脉”。基于“公交优先”背景，利用2004~2016年中国265个地级及以上城市的面板数据，实证考察公共交通设施规模对绿色经济效率的影响作用。结果表明：公共交通设施规模与绿色经济效率之间存在显著的“U型”曲线关系；相对西部地区，两者之间的“U型”曲线关系在东部和中部地区表现更为明显；相对中等城市，两者之间的“U型”曲线关系在大城市表现更为明显，而在小城市呈“倒U型”曲线关系，且不显著。本研究为交通基础设施影响城市经济发展提供了新的证据和视角。     

The commune's practical wisdom

Although the basic assumptions of scientific management are detrimental to the public policy of the community, they still govern its theorization and implementation. The main reason we continue to conduct our communal policy thinking in terms of scientific management is that we still lack relevant, practical alternative theories, models, and languages, which might serve to ground our thought and behavior. The present paper discusses the implications of the concept of “emancipatory interest” for the public policy of the community. The “practical wisdom” model is proposed to bridge the gap between the theory of emancipation and its praxis. Its usefulness is demonstrated in the context of an intervention study on the crisis within, and transformation of the kibbutz commune.     

Churchman's “anatomy of system teleology” revisited

Churchman's concept of “inquiring systems” and its underlying “anatomy of system teleology” have been a source of inspiration for the development of Peter B. Checkland's Soft Systems Methodology. The author here provides a personal account of the importance that Churchman's approach has had for him. In the spirit of Singerian inquiry, he also offers a few critical considerations with respect to the assumptions and limitations of Churchman's teleological system approach. (Editor)     

Control,organization, and accounting: A genealogy of modern knowledge-power

Much social scientizing tends to be ahistorical, particularly with regard to its fundamental terms and constructs, which are implicitly defined atemporally as simply “being there,” the givens of discourse. The history of two such terms, “control” and “organization,” is investigated here. In an elaboration of Foucault's idea of power-knowledge relations, a two-stage history of the terms is set out linked to the historical emergence of accounting. In the first stage, the initial invention of the terms in the thirteenth century is aligned with the contemporaneous invention of the doubleentry system, with all these innovations embodying a new power of writing. However the constructs only develop their modern significance as forms of knowledge-power at a much later stage, following the establishment of a “disciplinary” power-knowledge nexus post-1800. Under this interpretation, accounting, control, and organization, far from being ahistorical givens of discourse, are constructs which help establish the modern world of “disciplinary,” that site where the power of expert knowledge must operate.     

中国城镇企业职工基本养老保险基金的精算建模

基本养老保险制度是中国养老保险体系最重要的支柱。本文以城镇企业职工基本养老保险制度为例,建立基本养老保险基金收支的精算模型,与已有社会保障基金的测算模型相比,本文模型假设缴费状态和退休时间均为随机变量,根据基本精算原理刻画制度规定的所有现金流,以2005-2008年北京市城镇职工基本养老保险数据为例,测算结果表明,本文模型的预测结果与实际吻合.本文模型全面、客观地刻画了中国基本养老保险制度,可作为基本养老保险基金未来收支测算的规范精算模型.     

The biocybernetic approach as a basis for planning our environment

In this paper, Professor Vester introduces the readers ofSystems Practice to his biocybernetic approach to systems planning, an approach that he has shown to be fruitful both in concrete applications and in many best-selling didactic publications, including children's books and games. Based on this approach he proposes a “cybernetic senstivity model,” a conceptual framework for ecologically sound systems design based on a biocybernetic redefinition of conventional techniques of systems modeling and simulation. The author explains the basic structure of the model and presents eight pertinent biocybernetic principles of good-systems practice. (Editor).     

Earthdream: A critical interpretation

“The Earth is on the verge of destruction” has become a common cry nowadays. This cry embodies “the Earth and its ailments” as a symbol which synthesizes many concerns revolving around modern decadence and the current predicament of human-kind. But what contexts provide full meaning to this symbol? What conditions have made possible the emergence not only of extremely waste-oriented and environmentally dangerous societies but also of a spiritually impoverished world? In the spirit of interpretive systemology, a critical interpretation of the “Earth's ailments” is undertaken in this paper. The interpretive task is cast in the form of a hermeneutical exercise, namely, the exegesis ofEarthdream, a book written by Robert Hamilton. This particular piece of work, upon which the present paper is fully based, is chosen as a vehicle for the critical interpretive inquiry, not only because it summarizes the current debate on the world crisis (thus providing a standard reference for beginning the interpretive inquiry), but also because the argument it develops can be molded within a format which facilitates the critical interpretation to be conducted. Accordingly, two interpretive contexts will be uncovered, and internal and external critiques outlined; to give full meaning to the symbol “Earth's ailments.” Two major interests propel the interpretive task. One relates to the participation of systems practitioners in the current crisis and the need to encourage responsible systems practice. The other interest arises simply from the fact that we are all on the same raft called Earth, and the raft seems to be sinking!     

资本市场开放与企业创新质量——基于中国企业重数量轻质量的“创新陷阱”视角

基于中国资本市场“沪深港通”这一准自然实验，结合不同竞争政策，研究“资本市场开放能否助力中国企业破解重数量轻质量的“创新陷阱”具有重要的学术价值和政策意义。研究发现：资本市场开放显著促进企业创新质量，表现为专利结构逐渐向高质量的发明专利偏移，以及专利引用率的提升，说明资本市场开放的确能够显著破解中国企业重数量轻质量的“创新陷阱”，上述研究结论经过系列稳健性测试后仍然成立。异质性检验发现：资本市场开放对创新质量的促进作用在竞争性行业、境外机构持股比例较高以及融资约束较大、风险承担水平更低的样本组中更显著。研究从“中国创新陷阱”破解视角证实资本市场开放以及反垄断政策的积极意义，为进一步提高资本市场开放程度以及“反垄断政策”提供理论支撑。     

Systems practice in several communities in Philadelphia

Several volunteer community groups in inner-city Philadelphia have been working to improve their blighted neighborhoods. This article describes how they applied Ackoff's interactive planning and Forrester's system dynamics and then details two programs that were implemented as a result. Examples of government efforts and “community development” funding structures are included for contrast. Local and federal government efforts tend to address the symptoms, but not the producers of problems, and are short-sighted because they tend to ignore the context that creates the problem situation. The structures for allocating resources appear to serve the purposes of decision makers who allocate funds, at the expense of the communities that desperately need services. A major point of this article is that such systems approaches as interactive management and system dynamics offer hope for solving seemingly intractable problems that threaten many communities and societies today.     

An evolutionary systems approach to policy intervention for achieving ecologically sustainable societies

This paper describes an approach to policy intervention aimed at achieving sustainable relations between humans and their ecosystems. Following the Introduction, Section 2 defines an ecologically sustainable and economically healthy society, and advances the premise that the achievement of sustainable societies is impossible without the reorientation of social values. Sections 3 and 4 summarize the main principles of the theory of dissipative structures and add an ecosystem basis to this paradigm to develop a conceptual model for the purpose of evaluating alternative forms of intervention to influence the evolution of a society along a sustainable and healthy path. Section 5 outlines a methodology for assessing, evaluating, and tracking the system's transition from its current state to one that is within the acceptable definition of sustainable functioning. The final section proposes application of this approach to policy development problems in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem.     

Strategic ideologies and state hegemony,with empirical illustrations from Japan and the United Kingdom

The idea of constitutive and strategic ideologies reflects the analytical distinction between ideologies as outcomes of an inverted reality and ideologies as conditions for the reproduction of that inverted reality. The paper gives two empirical illustrations (from Japan and the United Kingdom) of strategic ideologies, showing how isolated events, which would have normally attracted little attention, became dramatized out of proportion in the false name of attempting to restore/maintain social order. The paper suggests that such reactionary responses are typical of contemporary social systems when faced with problems of weakening internal hegemony (social integration). Instead of recognizing that such problems potentially stem from structurally inherent system-imperatives, the powers in those social systems uncritically and yet strategically seek explanation and place responsibility upon accidental but opportune “events” deemed external and inimical to the mainstream “life-world.” The paper suggests that the interest of liberating systems theory and practice can be advanced by systematic efforts to unmask the ideological concealments so prevalent in our contemporary social formation.     

When will a Computer Write the Auditor's Report?

Most corporations are required by law to produce annual reports on their financial positions. These financial reports are accompanied by an auditor's report, which is an independent auditor's opinion on the fairness of the financial statements. To formulate their reports, auditors use a “personal-judgement” approach that heavily depends on their experience and expertise. This approach may be (1) ineffective and may lead to (2) different decisions, (3) personal bias, and (4) misleading judgements. These four drawbacks of a human auditor are a source of doubt and hesitation for every corporation. Therefore, the challenging question is: Can a computer do a better job? This paper focuses on the construction and implementation of a knowledge-based system, called the “Auditor's Report EXpert” (AREX), that is capable of formulating the opinion on financial statements, as expressed in the auditor's report. The knowledge used by AREX is acquired from the literature, and from a slate of practicing and academic auditors by means of questionnaires and in-depth interviews. A preliminary validation of AREX indicates that AREX is successful in performing the auditor's report task. Hence, we tentatively conclude that currently a computer program can support an auditor in his/her task. Moreover, in the foreseeable futur's reports that are effective, universal in their decisions, do not show a personal bias, and do not have misleading statements.     

Migration, Ethnicity and Privilege

Representation assumes that those who govern have knowledge of those for whom they govern. It is easy to presume knowledge of the “other”, but as we know this can be based in prejudice, cultural difference, or simply misinformation or simplification. Usually our explorations of this process have focused on populations identified as disadvantaged, disempowered or somehow “non-privileged”. However, the research process outlined here has revealed previously unexplored diversity within a population commonly described as privileged suggesting that good governance requires alertness to presuming to know both the unprivileged and the privileged. The research approach outlined in this paper has used a blend of historical reappraisal and qualitative techniques focusing on a population who have been conceptualized as doubly privileged. This population focus is that of older British; post World War II male migrants in South Australia. These people have been conceptualized as privileged because they are male, and they were part of the preferred ethnic group that Australian politicians and policy makers favoured post WW2. However, review of the historical data and qualitative interviews with some of these men show that the accepted narrative of a homogenous pre-WW2 British origin population is over simplistic. The historical research suggests that the presumption that post WW2 British migrant men were coming into an homogenous, privileging environment in migrating to SA is both ahistorical and crude. Furthermore the belief that post WW2 British migrant men were ethnically homogenous is undermined by the qualitative research, that reveals that their presumed homogeneity is much more fluid and nuanced than dominant conceptualisations have allowed. The impact of core ethnicities that continue to exist and compete in Britain, the social class focus and economic commodification of migrants in the machinations of powerful players in the state of South Australia all confound homogenizing, simplistic knowing of British migrant men in this state. Generically these findings caution social researchers with regard to presuming to know so called “privileged” populations as well as presumed non-privileged groups.     

Putting People First Versus Embedding Autonomy

In this paper the authors undertake a deductive process in which the core of the two concepts (the “democratic developmental state” and Batho Pele) are interpreted and contrasted. The authors highlight some of the critical perspectives on the politics of service delivery; offer practical cases derived from empirical research in which they have been recently involved; and then begin analysing and theorizing based on these. Our argument is that the democratic developmental state has a worm within its rose.     

大数据“杀熟”如何破？基于政府-消费者协同监管的演化博弈

电商市场频频被披露隐性存在的大数据“杀熟”现象,暴露出电商市场存在平台道德风险问题的隐患。以政府监管为主导,建立电商平台“杀熟”定价行为及用户消费渠道选择的演化博弈模型,结果表明：政府的惩罚力度对平台道德风险问题的规避具有决定性的作用,当政府惩罚力度足够大时,系统稳定于（网络消费,公平定价）的理想情形;但如果政府惩罚力度不足,消费者的公平关切水平在一定程度上可以影响电商平台的定价策略,系统均衡结果将趋向于（网络消费,“杀熟”定价）或不存在演化稳定策略,电商市场陷入平台大数据“杀熟”的困境。那么,电商市场应如何破除大数据“杀熟”所造成的信任危机？基于此,建立政府和消费者协同监管机制下的演化博弈模型,研究得到：社会收益与监督成本是影响消费者监督策略的关键因素,社会收益与监督成本的差值越大,消费者选择“积极监督”行为的演化速度越快;而且,当政府惩罚力度不足时,消费者监督带来的舆论压力和声誉损失可以有效约束平台的“杀熟”行为,倒逼平台进行“公平定价”。研究结果对电商市场大数据“杀熟”行为监管机制的设计具有一定的启示。     

A conversation on guidelines for the process of facilitating systemic change in education

The International Systems Institute held its sixth annual conversation at Asilomar on November 14–19, 1993. At that meeting, seven participants self-selected themselves into a conversation group that met intensively over 4 days to develop some guidelines or principles for the process of facilitating systemic change in education. This is a report on how that group functioned and what it produced. The trigger questions addressed included: What are the major stages in the systemic change process? Can you do systems design with only a part of the “system”? How important isscale (e.g., number of people, schools)? What is an educational system? Can you use the same design process in any culture? How can one best create the idealized design? What are the major goals, obstacles, guidelines? Can we design the process without knowing the product? and Are there big differences between working within the system and outside the system? A large portion of the effort focused on guidelines for facilitating the first two phases of the systemic change process: preparing for design and designing the new system.     

官员任期、任期交错与企业环境治理——基于环保厅长和市委书记间任期交错的实证证据

与环保厅长仅受“环境绩效”单一考核目标不同,地级市委书记需要同时平衡“经济增长绩效”和“环境治理绩效”两种目标,因而两者任期长短及其交错程度对辖区企业环境治理可能表现为“交错效应”抑或“协调效应”？以中国2006~2019年非金融类上市公司作为研究样本,使用手工搜集的环境投资数据对上述问题进行实证研究。研究发现：企业环境投资呈现显著的任期周期性规律,表现为环保厅长或市委书记任期时间越长,企业环境治理力度越大;且环保厅长和市委书记之间任期交错程度越小,辖区企业环境治理力度越大,表现为“协调效应”。上述研究揭示了官员任期交错对辖区企业环境治理的具体作用机理,为进一步完善中国环境治理体系的顶层制度设计提供理论证据。     

Feminist Systems Theory: Learning by Praxis

Feminist Systems Theory (FST) is an emerging theory grounded in cultural ecofeminism and critical systems theory. FST’s contribution is in a set of principles that contain implications for community development and social research. FST brings to the fore the importance of valuing and considering the voices of people at the margins of social research and community development projects and is an effort towards a new ontology and language of person and nature to adequately address environmental marginalization. The ‘systems’ theory contribution to FST enriches our repertoires of methods and tools with an emphasis on systems thinking characterised by the use of boundary analysis. FST is ideally situated to enhance systemic intervention practice, an application of action research and participatory research practices. This paper will examine ‘process philosophy’ necessary to understand the nature of boundary analysis and the implications for FST and praxis with relevant examples drawn from case studies of current applications of FST in action research settings; (1) economic analysis and transition pathways; (2) policy analysis of the Close the Gap strategy for Indigenous equality and equity in Australia; (3) a community food distribution system; and, (4) a community health and diabetes prevention program.     

Systemic Approaches to Managing Across the Gap in the Public Sector: Results of an Action Research Programme

This paper tells the story and conclusions of a 1 year research project which took place over the calendar year of 2006. It was undertaken within a local government authority (or Local Authority—LA) in the UK. The specific research question to be answered was: “Can the application of systems methods in the LA aid Authority staff in developing and enhancing their professional practice?” A supplementary question arising was: “Can such learning be of wider value to other sections of the public sector (for example in other regions of local government or the health sector)?” In the process of the year 91 separate action research interactions took place. The research comes to three systemically linked findings: Firstly, LA middle managers are often caught between two realities ... strategic initiatives and operational demands. In the gap between these two realities they experience change in many guises but most critically in terms of government directives, ICT initiatives and restructuring. Despite this complexity managers did not appear to always have adequate tools to deal with issues arising in their context. Secondly, an assessment matrix developed originally at the Open University is a valuable tool for assessing the systemisism and reflective capacities of staff and, thirdly, a new, blended hybrid training programme to develop systemic reflective practitioners able to manage across the strategy/operations gap was developed and pilot tested in 2007. This programme shows signs of providing enhanced professional practice and, at the time of writing, is being further piloted with a view to establishing its wider applicability within the public sector.