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Entertainment media, propaganda, and popular support : evidence from China
Get PDFIs it possible to form “soft authoritarianism” that manages citizens by taking away their sense of resistance? Taking China as a case, this dissertation suggests that the rise of entertainment media in authoritarian states enables the rulers to maintain their resilience through a soft approach, thereby avoiding costly heavy-handed measures. Such a soft approach can work because entertainment media, like “fictitious pleasure drugs,” undoes audiences’ sophistication so that people are susceptible to official propaganda.
We provide two pieces of evidence that the Chinese authorities may use entertainment media as a subtle means to manage society. First, analyzing the Weibo posting corpus of the Chinese Communist Youth League, the youth wing of the ruling party, we find that it keeps a close relationship with pop idols on social media platforms, thereby attracting these idols’ fans who are liable to be influenced by nationalistic propaganda. Second, based on a provincial-level panel data set, statistical results indicate that a one percentage point increase in the ratio of variety shows in television broadcasting time is associated with the decrease in the expenditure of public security by roughly 110 million Yuan. In other words, entertainment is used to some extent as an alternative to heavy-handed means.
The causal relationship between entertainment consumption and popular support for the current regime in the Chinese context is also empirically supported. By analyzing a national data set, via instrumented regressions, we show that a one standard deviation increase in people’s interest in entertainment media is associated with an increase of almost 20% in both their satisfaction with the current regime and their anti-Western hostility. Furthermore, the findings indicate a positive relationship between people’s entertainment consumption and their acceptance of indoctrination by state media.
This research contributes to the existing authoritarian resilience literature by proposing the soft authoritarian model and illustrating the model based on the Chinese context. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that such a soft pattern will not totally take over the hard one, especially when the authorities perceive an increase in latent threats or instability
Critical review of the enactment of the minimum wage on poverty alleviation in Hong Kong since 2011
Get PDFThe academic discussion on the minimum wage law\u27s effect is controversial and continuous. Given that Hong Kong is one of the free economies worldwide with the most competitive labour market, it is one of the best natural laboratories for testing how minimum wage law influences the labour market.
This study aims to answer four important research questions:1.What are the effects of statutory minimum wage legislation and its adjustment level?2.Which groups of employees will mostly benefit or suffer, and to what extent?3.Can Hong Kong’s minimum wage law achieve its policy goal of reducing poverty?4.How could Hong Kong’s minimum wage policy re-enter the government’s policy agenda?
In sum, the first of the four research questions asks the effect of statutory minimum wage legislation and the extent to which it has been adjusted. Under my research, the answer is that minimum wage law has, to a greater extent, no positive or negative effect on unemployment.
The second research question asks which groups of employees benefited and which suffered. The answer is that elderly and youth benefit the most, and no particular group of employees could suffer from implementing the minimum wage law.
The third research question is whether a minimum wage law can reduce poverty in Hong Kong. The answer is that Hong Kong’s minimum wage law cannot improve income distribution nor reduce poverty.
The last research question considers how Hong Kong’s minimum wage policy could re-enter the government’s policy agenda. Applying Kingdon’s multiple stream framework has indicated that the policy window for change is open, and the minimum wage policy should change
The Book of Poetry : Marriage poems
Get PDFMany of the 160 guofeng or airs of the states are poems depicting lovers both true to their partners and false. “On the mountain is the thorn elm” seems to depict a relationship gone bad. It is followed by one of the most famous marriage poems, “The Peach Tree Tender,” in which a village singer outside the family praises the selection of a new bride
The Book of Poetry and Diplomacy : Who is the boss?
Get PDFThis episode uses two scenes of reciting odes to explore the struggle for hegemony. The first shows how a fugitive Jin Prince declare his ambition despite his precarious and dependent position. The second features a Jin leader pushing back against the hubristic self-aggrandizement of a Chu prince
工時有幾長？貧窮新一代的就業與貧窮報告
Get PDF近年，社會出現有關年輕人「躺平」的討論，指年輕新一代不願找工作、不願勤奮加班、不規構未來。教育局局長楊潤雄亦曾在網誌撰文表示憂慮，批評「躺平這種消極的人生心態，長遠會窒礙社會的進步」。
不過，根據香港政府統計處2021年收入及工時按年統計調查報告， 2021年5月至6月，15至24歲及25至34歲受訪者每周的工作時數中位數分別為44.3及42小時，比亞洲其他國家要高；而2022年4至6月，20至24歲及25至29歲的勞動人口參與率分別為53.5%及87%，後者更是所有年齡組別中第二高（僅次於30至34歲年齡組別），反映年輕人並沒有不願意長時間工作和就業，與成年人無異。
另外，根據中大亞太研究所於本年四月進行的一項調查，超過半數受訪者認為香港社會並沒有足夠機會與年輕一代向上流動，更有六成半受訪者認為，現時香港向上流動的機會比過去10年要少。
在是次研究中，發現有不少手持大學文憑的畢業生甫踏入社會，便從事三行、保安、飲食業等藍領工種，以體力勞動換取更高薪酬。文職的工作機會雖不算難找，但對於畢業生來說，待遇多不及前者；初入職場的年輕人便要忍受長工時以換取較可觀的薪金，更因長期體力勞動及工作環境惡劣，導致工傷或患上職業病，造成不可逆轉的傷害；選擇白領工作的年輕人則花空餘時間研究創業路向，望有天可擺脫低工資、長OT的工作常態。
年輕人是社會重要的群體，促進社會不同面向的發展和進步。勞工議題，正正就是影響年輕人最深遠的問題。不過，社會一般會把青年遇到的問題視為過渡性現象，隨著他們成長而消失。坊間少有深入討論，以致一般年輕人以為工作的沉重是理所當然，對自身的勞工權益鮮有認識。
上述所提及的年輕人工時長的狀況，窒礙他們在成長階段的探索，因長工時影響反心健康、無法進修、交結朋友、和家人相處及了解自我。工時長等問題在港是老生常談，卻是待解決的重要議題。香港人多年來一直受長工時的困擾，回顧香港的工時政策，卻未見突破。由勞顧會於2018年宣布推出「11個行業工時指引」，距今已4年，仍未見進展。更何況，指引的條文亦不適用於大部份長工時的打工仔女，例如只保障月薪不超過1.1萬元作為界定工資較低的基層僱員的工資線等規定。可見，像過往一樣，政府及商界等對標準工時並不持開放態度。
誠然，參考不同地區及國家的工時政策，香港則顯得相當落後。中國、日本、台灣、韓國及新加坡均有明確法例規管工時，如超時工作的補水機制、每天工作8小時作為標準工時等。如香港政策要推行工時相關的政策，大有參考例子。本報告亦整合及分析了上述地區的工時政策，有助了解其他地區的勞工法例。
是次研究探討了現行的工時政策下香港年輕僱員的工作現況。透過深入訪談及問卷調查，發現長工時與生理、心理、社交及家庭關係的影響，以及就研究結果提倡相應的政策改革，讓社會大眾及年輕人自身了解他們的勞動現況，剖析處境並提出有效的改善方針。https://commons.ln.edu.hk/ccrd_report/1002/thumbnail.jp
Does information about economic inequality affect opportunity beliefs? Results from survey experiments
No full textSocial structures in contemporary societies have undergone significant changes over the last few decades. In advanced economies, there has been an increase in socioeconomic inequality and pressure to dismantle the welfare state. At this juncture of institutional change, understanding preferences of the causes of inequality becomes crucial, as these attitudes are critical for supporting or impeding policy reforms. The present investigation aims to contribute to the understanding of the effect of information about dimensions of socio-economic inequality on individuals’ beliefs, through an experimental study. Specifically, the study assesses how information about changes in the social structure of Chilean society affect the perception about the importance of structural and individual factors in “getting ahead”. Drawing on studies that focus on beliefs about inequality and opportunity rather than redistributive preferences, this model proposes that perceptions of increasing economic inequality generates skepticism about the existence of economic opportunities in the society. Furthermore, we evaluate the direction of perceptions’ updates to identify heterogeneity among participants in the experiment
The Sounds of the Tang Poetry (5) : Regulated poetic forms & modes of thinking : Sonnet and Lüshi
No full textGoing beyond the technical issues of tonal patterning, this episode discusses how the regulated poetic forms of Shakespearean sonnets and Chinese regulated verse embody the Western dualistic and Chinese yin-yang worldviews, respectively. Shakespeare’s sonnet 18 and Du Fu’s “Spring Scene” are compared, in both form and content, to illustrate the fundamental differences in the Elizabethan and traditional Chinese thinking about nature and humanity
從《宣驗記》論六朝佛家思想和文學價值
Get PDF劉義慶《宣驗記》是中國志怪小説之一，被魯迅評為釋氏輔教之書。中國人本身深受儒家和道家思想影響，佛教能立根中國，為中國人所認識，實有賴社會環境和佛教徒的努力，社會也漸漸出現信奉佛教的作家，他們創作小說時會加入佛教思想。另外，《宣驗記》中的佛教故事不但能宣揚佛家思想，對後世創作也帶來巨大影響。然而，現在大部分有關六朝志怪小說研究的學術文章主要分析小說中的佛家思想或其分類，但缺少全面的研究，如︰佛教發展興盛的原因和佛教故事帶來的影響。
故本論文先概述佛教在六朝的發展和原因。其次分析《宣驗記》小說故事內容與其佛家思想，進一步佛教在六朝社會傳播的情形、六朝社會狀況和民眾佛教信仰的情況。最後分析《宣驗記》中的佛教故事在宗教和文學上作出什麼貢獻
淺析余華90年代長篇小說的小人物書寫 : 以《在細雨中呼喊》、《活著》和《許三觀賣血記》為例
Get PDF「小人物」是余華小說中的重要核心，他們樸素而鮮活，充滿旺盛的生命力。在他的筆下，小人物具有迥然不同的生命形態和個性表達，這些書中人物無疑體現作家的情感以及展露其精神走向，透出對社會的人文關懷。
本文選取並討論余華90年代的三篇長篇小說《細雨中呼喊》、《活著》和《許三觀賣血記》，並探討小說中的小人物書寫。文章分四部分：引言部分簡略介紹余華，然後闡述論文研究背景、方法及概況；正文部分主要介紹小人物在文學上的重要性，以及所選三部作品中小人物的特點；之後重點分析余華筆下的小人物之形象轉變，以及探討余華三部作品如何善用不同的視角達到寫作目的，來呈現作品的人物角力之轉變，最後總結全文
你，作為小說拼圖的一塊
Get PDF你就要開始閱讀〈你，作為小說拼圖的一塊〉。倒不是你期待從這這篇畢業論文獲得什麼，它只是茫茫小說中的其中一本，你聯想到閱讀經驗中那些偉大的小說，覺得它絕不會比他們優勝。所以你坐在屏幕前，以抽離、隨意的目光展開閱讀，懶洋洋地搜索論文中的一絲價值。
而當你一如既往，淡然地讀著小說開頭，你很快就糊塗了。嘮叨的敘述者聲音、任由作者擺佈的人物、唐突的觀點轉換，無一不在告訴你——故事是被人虛構的。作者想表達些什麼？我又為何必須置身小說當中？你再次翻開小說，但今次的目光，變得稍為不一樣