论担保物权实现的程序

《物权法》规定了抵押权人可以向法院请求拍卖和变卖抵押财产,但是如何申请、具体适用何种程序申请未予明确,使实体上的权利无法获得司法程序的保障。域外立法关于担保权实现的程序主要有诉讼裁判、申请拍卖和非讼裁判三种模式。现阶段我国采用非讼裁判模式具有必要性和可行性,符合程序正当和高效的要求,也具备相应的理论基础。同时,根据我国强制执行程序的现状,应当在裁定程序中强化对债务人的程序保障。     

作为行政强制执行手段的违法事实公布

针对行政强制执行体制之争,《行政强制法》作出了维持现状的选择,创新执行手段随之成为破解行政强制执行难的务实路径。作为一种间接强制手段,违法事实公布业已在我国价格监管、环境监管及计划生育等多个具体行政领域得到适用。行政任务多样性与执行手段有限性之间的矛盾、间接强制优于直接强制理念的落实,以及信息社会确保行政法义务履行的实效性,为违法事实公布成为间接强制执行的新手段提供了正当性依据。为了防止对行政相对人合法权益的侵害,应当从法律依据、适用条件及程序设置三个方面实现对违法事实公布手段的法律控制。     

Mixing Habermas with Bayes: Methodological and Theoretical Advances in the Study of Deliberation

Two challenges stand out in the study of deliberation: the development of appropriate methodological tools and the development of more unified analytical frameworks. On the one hand, analysing deliberative processes is demanding and time‐consuming; hence we tend to have only few and non‐randomly selected cases at the group or context level. In addition, the real world of deliberation presents us with a complex matrix of nested, cross‐classified, and repeated speakers. This article shows that Bayesian multi‐level modelling provides an elegant way to tackle these methodological problems. On the other hand, we attempt to enrich comparative institutionalism with individual characteristics and psychologically relevant variables (such as group composition). Focusing on Swiss and German parliamentary debates we show that institutional factors ‐ in particular, consensus systems ‐, the gender composition of committees and plenary sessions, and age matter for the quality of deliberation. Furthermore, we also show that partisan affiliation ‐ government or opposition status of MPs ‐ affects deliberative quality and can refine institutional arguments. We conclude that a multi‐level approach to deliberation focusing on contextual and actor‐related characteristics and using Bayesian hierarchical modelling paves the way toward a more advanced understanding ‐ and methodological handling ‐ of deliberative processes.     

When is Growth Not Growth? The Curious Case of Mental Health Budgeting in New York

This article argues that the adverse impact of Medicaid on state budgets alleged in various public debates has been overstated, in some measure because of the inaccurate and misleading manner in which Medicaid expenditures are appropriated in state budgeting systems. Data on Medicaid and mental health spending in the state of New York is used for analysis. The first section provides a Medicaid spending and budgeting background. The second section discusses Medicaid and mental health in New York. The third section describes actual budgeted spending for mental health in New York, and the final section provides a discussion and concluding comments.     

“The China problem” in the eyes of the China‐watchers

This research is a survey study of the opinions of one group of China scholars in the U.S.—scholars teaching Chinese politics in American universities—on issues concerning the People's Republic of China. Our findings suggest that despite some new developments in the Sinologist community in the U.S., China scholars continue to favor more generous and more pragmatic approaches toward China. They are more concerned with practical issues such as regional stability and economic ties with China and do not want the U.S. to be highly moralistic in dealing with China.     

PREDICTING STATE ABORTION LEGISLATION FROM U.S. SENATE VOTES: THE EFFECTS OF APPARENT IDEOLOGICAL SHIRKING

The recent Supreme Court decision in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services giving more discretion to states to regulate abortion has led to speculation concerning which states might move to limit abortions. Medoff (1989) attempts to predict how state legislatures might vote on state-level abortion legislation by examining the 1983 Senate vote on the Hatch/Eagleton Amendment. We expand upon Medoff's analysis by incor- porating recent developments in agency theory as it applies to the political agents (i.e., Senators) in the empirical model. The results demonstrate that accounting for Senatorial "shirking" and state ideology substantially im- proves the predictive ability of the model for the Senate abortion vote. The predicted votes of the state's Senators, after eliminating the effects of apparent Senatorial shirking, are used to infer the likelihood of state-level legislation substantially restricting abortion. We compare these results to a base model that ignores the issue of shirking and find increased predict- ability and several differing results.     

A FEMINIST CASE AGAINST NATIONAL FAMILY POLICY: VIEW TO THE FUTURE

This paper examines the goals of current family policy proposals from a feminist perspective. It reveals the fundamental pronatalist values that are inherent in such proposals. It reviews recent research that raises questions regarding the actual impact of Scandinavian family policies (which are often used as a model), in terms of actually achieving the stated objective of enhancing equality between the sexes. It briefly explores the family policy that already exists in the United States, having been judicially enacted by the Supreme Court, and finally, it shows how most current family based policy proposals serve to maintain inequality rather than to promote equality, both in society and the home.
The paper attempts to raise issues that policymakers need to consider in order to establish a long range policy goals that will truly benefit women and their families.