Establishing a Teacher Performance Evaluation System Geared to the Cultivation of Character:With a Reflection on New Public Management Theory

Since New Public Management theory,which seeks to promote public management reform with the techniques used to catalyze economic development,was introduced into the field of education,it has led to the implementation of education accountability measures and reforms focusing on performance-related pay for teachers.Performance-related pay was meant to improve teacher performance,and has played an important role in providing teachers with incentives and raising educational quality.In practice,however,problems have emerged that deserve serious attention.For example,the evaluation indicators based on this theory have distorted the direction of public management due to their over-emphasis on instrumental rationality and neglect of value rationality.Further,they highlight the interim goal of"instilling knowledge"at the cost of the fundamental aim of"cultivating talent,"thus producing results opposite to those intended.On the basis of the value rationality of education and China’s reality,this paper suggests that educational institutions should shift from"New Public Management"to a"holistic and decentralized governance"approach,fostering an environment dedicated to cultivating talent and introducing this feature intothe evaluation of teacher performance.The core socialist values need to be integrated into teacher policy and internalized by teachers as their emotional identity and customary behavior.

New Perspectives in the Comparative Study of East Asian Culture

Historically,Chinese characters were used throughout the East Asian region,giving rise to a common cultural sphere.Since early modern times,the written languages of East Asia have developed in a diversity of ways,shaped by nation,geography and culture,among other factors.Strengthening research on the long-term history of East Asian cultural development is thus very necessary.Komine Kazuaki has long been engaged in the study of medieval Japanese literature.Over the past two decades,he has projected a holistic academic approach to the study of culture in East Asia,conducting comparative research on the classical East Asian cultures.This paper takes a methodological approach to the discussion of the subjects,methods,techniques and goals of such research.In the study of East Asian cultural exchange,comparison enables us to undertake holistic investigations;it is not simply a tactic for unilateral studies.The study of texts and of images can be mutually enhancing;for example,the Japanese emaki is a medium that mixes literature and painting.Methods of researching environmental literature provide new insights for re-interpreting classical and modern literary works.Lastly,we need to examine the value of classical East Asian literature from the standpoint of East Asia as a whole;this is an urgently needed direction in contemporary research in this field.

The Roots of Great Power Competition:An Analysis Based on the Increasing Returns Mechanism

Geopolitics,technology and international institutions are three major areas of great power competition.In the analysis of great power relations,both the balance of power theory and the hegemony theory rely on the assumption of diminishing returns and ignore the possibility of increasing returns.Increasing returns play an extensive role in geographical location,technological evolution and institutional change;accordingly,the increasing returns mechanism in great power relations is reflected in the geopolitical competition,technological competition and international institutional competition of great powers.The rational expectation that initial advantages will be transformed into long-term advantages through the mechanism of increasing returns drives great powers into competition whether they are rivals or allies.As specific mechanisms leading to increasing returns,coordination effects operate in geopolitical competition,technological competition and international institution competition;learning effects are found in technological competition and international institution competition;and adaptive expectations play a part in international institution competition.Various cases,ranging from the Anglo-Dutch rivalry over maritime hegemony in the 17th century to the current US-European competition over international investment arbitration regimes,show that great power competition derives from the logic of increasing returns.

Technology and Culture in the Digital Era

Digital technology has significantly facilitated the development of the cultural industry,and the cultural industry has also become one of the most important fields to which digital technology is applied.Conducting an analysis of how digital technology empowers consumers,creators,producers,social interaction and cultural communication can help us understand how it has improved the efficiency of the cultural industry,propelling digital contents into becoming the mainstay of the cultural industry and making digital communication the principal channel of cultural transmission.Digital technology has reshaped the structure of the cultural industry,leading to marked changes in the structure of cultural consumption,cultural production,the cultural market,and the proportion of domestic to foreign culture.However,whether this powerful digital technology will result in impressive technological results but lackluster cultural content remains a question.In fact,creative people's pursuit of cultural content and consumers'desire for such content will constantly give rise to outstanding cultural works with rich connotations and lasting influence in the digital era.The integration of digitization and technology can not only foster an open cultural plain filled with diverse and vibrant cultures,but can also create cultural peaks that will exhibit profound thought and superb artistic expression.

On the “International Law-Based International Order”

In recent years,some countries have advocated a“rules-based international order.”However,they have not explicitly defined the“rules”here as“international law”and thereupon elaborated on their view of the rules for the international order.In fact,a series of legal practices implemented by these countries indicate that what they pursue is largely a view of rules that prioritizes domestic law over international law and regional international law over universal international law,and that politicizes international law.This view of rules undermines the role of international law in the international order and violates the requirements of the times for improving global governance and promoting the establishment of a more just and reasonable international order.To correct the view of rules pursued by these countries through the advocacy of a“rules-based international order,”China proposes an“international law-based international order.”The view of rules embodied in the“international law-based international order”recognizes that international law based and centered on the UN Charter is the authoritative system of rules governing international relations,while not excluding the role in the international order of other rules that do not violate international law.

The Feudal Contract and the Monarchy in Medieval England

In interpreting the feudal contract between kings and nobles in medieval Western Europe,Western historians have tended to elaborate on its interaction,equivalence,and even equality,with an emphasis on the resulting restrictions on the king's authority.However,this was not the case in England during this period.After the Norman Conquest,“imported feudalism”became a strong support for the English monarchy.On this basis,the feudal contract between kings and nobles evolved from an oral to a textual contract and from“personal commitment”to“collective negotiation,”in a process strongly marked by the coercion and inequality bestowed on such contracts by hierarchical feudal roles.In the course of this process,the English kings ceaselessly consolidated their power by breaking down the feudal customs reflected in agreements between the two sides.Although the Magna Carta,as a text-based feudal contract,made explicit provision for feudal customs,it failed to effectively constrain royal power.History shows that if we seek to elaborate on the reciprocity and even equality of the feudal contract from the perspective of modern social contract theory and thus exaggerate the nobles'right to resist the king,we will inevitably construct a mythical“feudal contract determinism.”

From Function to Structure: A Reverse Solution to the Mind-Brain Problem

Starting from the tension and integration between cognitive neuroscience and cognitive psychology, this paper analyzes the waxing and waning of physicalism versus mentalism over the last century and defends an anti-reductionist ontology of the mind. It first argues that “function logically precedes structure” and then refutes two classic arguments about the mind-brain problem. The paper shows that if structure is treated as the logical premise of function, discussions of the mind-brain problem will inevitably lead to dualism or reductionism. Structure cannot explain its own occurrence;instead, if function, which logically precedes structure, is taken as the starting point of the explanation, then the principle of the “ladder of explanation” will be satisfied. A higher-level theory can explain lower-level observed facts, and lower-level observed facts are the cognitive starting point leading to a theory through induction. We conclude that function logically precedes structure;therefore, logically, “the mind shapes the brain.” The logical sequence from function to structure represents a reverse strategy for solving the mind-brain problem.

The Path to Common Prosperity:Rising Social Construction and Livelihood Expenditure

Since 2000,China has undergone a“golden age”of livelihood security construction similar to that of the Western industrialized countries in the 1960s to 1980s.Nowadays,China has built up the world's largest social security and housing support systems;the coverage of compulsory education has reached the average level of high-income countries;and the main health indicators are generally better than the average of middle-and highincome countries.Obviously,China is nolongera“low-welfare”country.Livelihood expenditure,with a share of GDP close to the level of developed countries around 1980,has become the principal part of public expenditure,and the central government is also playing an increasingly prominent role in ensuring people's livelihoods.China is building a new livelihood security system with responsibility shared among multiple levels of government.

National Capacity for Good Governance:Why Has the Social Project for Poverty Eradication Been Successful?

The absolute poverty eliminated by China has been a chronic affliction of human society.In the course of modernization,China has completed the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects,thus embarking on a path of Chinese-style modernization that is committed to poverty eradication and common prosperity.Eradicating poverty and its root causes is a social project that transformed human society,creating a miracle on earth.The current and continuing success of this project lies in China’s unique national capacity for good governance,including its national capacity for mobilization,organization,transformation,development,and integration.This capacity is determined by the nature of the socialist system;the“sacred mission”of the Communist Party of China(CPC)provides it with inexhaustible impetus and a fundamental institutional guarantee.The national capacity for good governance is a specific manifestation of China’s institutional strengths.