Improving evaluation of anti-crime programs: Summary of a National Research Council report★

This article summarizes a report of the National Research Council: Improving Evaluation of Anti-crime Programs. It is based on a workshop, held in September 2003, in which participants presented and discussed examples of evaluation-related studies that represent the methods and challenges associated with research at three levels: interventions directed toward individuals; interventions in neighborhoods, schools, prisons, or communities; and interventions at a broad policy level. The article, and the report on which it is based, is organized around five questions that require thoughtful analysis in the development of any evaluation plan: What questions should the evaluation address? When is it appropriate to conduct an impact evaluation? How should an impact evaluation be designed? How should the evaluation be implemented? What organizational infrastructure and procedures support high quality evaluation? The authors highlight major considerations in developing and implementing evaluation plans for criminal justice programs and make recommendations for improvement of government funded evaluation studies.     

The Importance of Ecological Context for Correctional Rehabilitation Programs: Understanding the Micro- and Macro-Level Dimensions of Successful Offender Treatment

The resurgence of support for offender rehabilitation has led to an increased emphasis on correctional program integrity. Treatment programs are now being evaluated and tailored in accordance with the principles of effective intervention, which are rooted primarily in methods of individual behavior modification through a social learning approach. The problem with this exclusive focus on the individual is that it fails to recognize the importance of certain ecological factors that have been shown to be significant predictors of recidivism. The purpose of the current research, therefore, is to examine the impact of structural characteristics on both treatment program quality and effectiveness of halfway house programs in Ohio. Our results reveal that ecological context influences the magnitude of program treatment effects largely indirectly though its influence on program quality. The implications of these findings for correctional theory and practice are discussed.     

Experiential training for real-life professional impact: the formation of professional identity in trainee solicitors through a discrete intervention course on ethics and lawyering skills

The apprenticeship model of solicitor training in Ireland is split between time spent in the law firm and time spent in professional education at the Law Society of Ireland. Learning in law is a process of shaping identity and becoming part of a community, and professional socialisation is a key aspect of this professional development. However, many trainees arrive at the vocational training stage with little or no understanding of how their personal morals and ethics will impact on their future roles as lawyers. This article relates to an intervention study in the Law Society of Ireland with trainee solicitors at professional legal education level in the form of a two-month course entitled “Certificate in Legal Ethics and Lawyering Skills”. This intervention embraces an experiential learning approach and a wide view of ethics that moves beyond a defensive rule-based approach and supports trainees in grappling with ethics and negotiating within the more rigid and collectively based moral discourses which are a necessary part of constructing professional identity. The course framework embraced a variety of pedagogic approaches for effective teaching and fostering ethical professional identity such as role-play, small group discussion, video and online discussion forums and mixed method assessment.     

Addressing the National Academy of Sciences' challenge: a method for statistical pattern comparison of striated tool marks

In February 2009, the National Academy of Sciences published a report entitled "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward." The report notes research studies must be performed to "…understand the reliability and repeatability…" of comparison methods commonly used in forensic science. Numerical classification methods have the ability to assign objective quantitative measures to these words. In this study, reproducible sets of ideal striation patterns were made with nine slotted screwdrivers, encoded into high-dimensional feature vectors, and subjected to multiple statistical pattern recognition methods. The specific methods employed were chosen because of their long peer-reviewed track records, widespread successful use for both industry and academic applications, rely on few assumptions on the data's underlying distribution, can be accompanied by standard confidence levels, and are falsifiable. For PLS-DA, correct classification rates of 97% or higher were achieved by retaining only eight dimensions (8D) of data. PCA-SVM required even fewer dimensions, 4D, for the same level of performance. Finally, for the first time in forensic science, it is shown how to use conformal prediction theory to compute identifications of striation patterns at a given level of confidence.     

法治思维视阈下科技伦理教育观完善探析——基于当下科技发展中学术道德失范行为现象的思考

学术瑕疵类、学术垄断类失范行为之所以普遍存在,与科技伦理教育观密切相关。当前,我国的科技伦理教育主要存在法治意识淡薄,忽视培养具有法治思维的科技伦理专业人才,以及缺乏法治化制度保障等问题。然而,法治思维作为社会治理的核心思维,具有将其引入科技伦理教育的必要性和可行性。为实现规制学术道德失范行为以净化科技伦理生态的道德理想,需要在科技伦理教育的过程中中融入法治思维并凸显法治作用,从而构筑起坚不可摧的法治屏障。所以,法治思维视域下科技伦理教育观的完善应从德法并重,严重的学术道德失范行为应以法律规制为主,且科技伦理教育中亟待重视法治思维的培育等方面着力;法治思维视域下,高等院校与科研机构对于科研人员科技伦理教育观的培育应从增设科技法和知识产权法课程,强化警示教育,且在对于学术道德失范行为的学术研究和立法规制等方面努力。     

国家监察体制改革的法学关照:回顾与展望

有关国家监察体制改革和国家监察立法的理论研究,是我国2017年以来持续聚焦的一个学术热点,一系列学术论著相继发表或出版。大批法学研究者围绕监察体制改革的宪法设计,监察权的配置、属性及行使,监察对象的范围界定及权利保障,监察体制改革中的刑事诉讼问题,监察体制改革对司法体制的影响,以及监察制度的比较与借鉴等议题展开探讨,为此项系统工程的有效推进提供了相对全面的理论支撑和知识储备。随着各级监察委员会的运转和《监察法》的施行,监察法学研究仍有较大的提升空间和拓展领域,例如,合署办公与党规国法衔接、《监察法》的配套立法、《监察法》与相关法律的衔接,以及国家监察体制与治理现代化的关系等问题。同时还应注重实现研究方法的多元化,特别是基于《监察法》条款的法教义学分析,及以监察案例和事例为素材的社科法学研究。     

The European Court of Justice and the Annulment of the Tobacco Advertisement Directive: Friend of National Sovereignty or Foe of Public Health?

In Case C-376/98 Germany v Council the European Court of Justice annulled a Directive which banned the advertisement and sponsorship of tobacco. The judgment sanctions regulatory policy-making at the national rather than the Community level. The paper examines the legal basis of the annulment, its effect on economic efficiency and the implied role of the Court in the formulation of public policy in Europe. Within the institutional limits of the judicial power to determine policy, the Court focused on whether or not disparate national laws restrict free movement and distort competition and affirmed the primacy of the nation state to regulate economic activity.     

The 2D:4D Ratio as a Predictor of the Risk of Recidivism after Court‐mandated Intervention Program for Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators

Differences in aggressive behavior could be partially explained by differential prenatal exposure to testosterone (T). A peripheral marker of prenatal T exposure is the 2D:4D ratio, which has shown a negative correlation with self‐reported aggression in violent men. This study tested the direct association of the 2D:4D ratio with anger expression and the risk of recidivism in intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators after psychotherapeutic intervention program. The sample consisted of IPV perpetrators, whose 2D:4D ratio was measured before the intervention. Moreover, after the intervention, anger expression and risk of recidivism in IPV were assessed. Smaller 2D:4D ratio, especially of the right hand, was related to higher anger expression and risk of recidivism in IPV perpetrators. The contribution of this prenatal marker together with other psychobiological variables could play a key role in the propensity to react aggressively when coping with environmental demands.     

Translating police research into policy: some implications of the National Academies report on proactive policing for policymakers and researchers

ABSTRACT

In February 2018, the U.S. Committee on Proactive Policing published its report on the evidence regarding the effects of different forms of proactive policing, particularly on crime and disorder. In this essay, we explore three obstacles to evidence-based policymaking in policing, some of which were raised by the Committee, but we take occasion to develop here: (1) the mistrust of science; (2) the paucity of cost-efficiency analyses; and (3) the challenge of managing competing values. For each of these we describe the nature of the problem before identifying some possibilities for mitigating or overcoming it. Our goals are two-fold: (1) to provide some considerations that police leaders might take into account when making decisions about proactive policing; and (2) to illuminate avenues for future research.     

国家治理体系和治理能力现代化的未来研究方向:精准契入社会关切——基于相关研究图谱的分析

本文运用UCINET软件对在中国知网和国家图书馆中检索到的1217篇文献进行了计量分析,描绘并诠释了国家治理体系和治理能力现代化研究图谱,试图为国家治理体系和治理能力现代化研究精准契入社会关切提供动力。探讨中发现,目前国家治理体系和治理能力现代化研究尚存一些空位,说明该领域仍具有很大的研究空间和很好的研究前景。在未来的研究中要继续巩固、完善和发展现有的理论成果,在此基础上深入开展讲好中国国家治理故事、汇聚中国国家治理智慧的实证研究。     

人与人格分离技术的形成、发展与变迁——兼论德国民法中的权利能力

人格是特定社会的准入条件,因而生物人与法律人的分离,乃是法律人格制度的基本模式。这个模式中核心的要素,就是法律人格的“适格判断”的标准。在法律文明的早期,血缘、地域、财产等身份要素,充当着法律人格的判别标准,由此所引起的身份人格必然带有不平等的色彩。近代法律人格的基本特点,就是个人的伦理属性成为了法律人格的适格标准,由此奠定了近代法律人人平等的基础。《德国民法典》上的“权利能力”概念,是由实定法所界定的法律人格的适格条件,这一实定法上的概念,仍然是建立在关于人的伦理性判断的基础之上的。     

智慧法治:国家治理能力现代化的时代宣言

国家治理能力现代化,必须要求法治现代化。算法能力的不断提高,大数据的深度应用,人工智能科技的飞速发展,成为国家智慧法治的重要科技手段。科技方法的综合运用,可以不断提升国家的治理能力,拓展法治的重要实践路径,有利于实现国家的长治久安。通过智慧法治进一步稳固执政党的执政能力,提升政府的治理能力,形塑公民的主体思维,以及整合国家与社会的关系,是新时代国家治理必然面临的重大社会变革,也是国家治理能力现代化的时代宣言。国家治理是现代科技应用的重要场所,不断深入整合现代高端科技,塑造国家治理的科技路径,使之成为有效提升国家治理能力的科技引擎,演绎现代法治发展的重大历史篇章。     

Delfi AS v Estonia: The Liability of Secondary Internet Publishers for Violation of Reputational Rights under the European Convention on Human Rights

In October 2013, the European Court of Human Rights in Delfi AS v Estonia upheld a decision of the Estonian Supreme Court to impose liability on the owners of an internet news portal for defamatory comments which had been posted on their website by anonymous third parties. This note suggests that the decision is important in the context of publications with a ‘public interest’ element to them, because it appears to afford more protection to the right to reputation (deriving from the Article 8 right to privacy) and less to freedom of expression than was formerly the case. It is further argued that the Court's emphasis on the positive obligation of states to protect this right to reputation may mean that the existing English law in this area, including, potentially section 5 of the Defamation Act 2013, is inconsistent with the ECHR jurisprudence.