国际金融服务贸易的多边法律框架——WTO与金融服务贸易有关的协议评析

就国际金融服务贸易而言 ,WTO的重要性在于将金融服务贸易首次纳入多边贸易体制 ,并制定了一系列与金融服务有关的协议 :GATS、《金融服务附件》、《关于金融服务承诺的谅解》、《金融服务协议》 ,从而构建了国际金融服务贸易的多边法律框架。其主要内容包括 :国际金融服务贸易自由化的规则和纪律 ,影响国际金融服务贸易的国内法规的协调、承认和实施 ,国际金融服务贸易争议的解决。此框架是2 0世纪以来国际金融法领域最重要的制度创新 ,它是具有约束力的国际协议 ,以效率为其基本价值取向。     

Medicare program; coverage of ambulance services and vehicle and staff requirements. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), HHS. Final rule with comment period

This final rule with comment period revises and updates Medicare policy concerning ambulance services. It identifies destinations to which ambulance services are covered, establishes requirements for the vehicles and staff used to furnish ambulance services, and clarifies coverage of nonemergency ambulance services for Medicare beneficiaries. This rule also implements section 4531 (c) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 concerning Medicare coverage for paramedic intercept services in rural communities.     

Pollution and international trade in services

Two central topics in recent rounds of international trade negotiations have been environmental concerns and services trade. While each is undoubtedly important, they are unrelated. In this paper, I show that the services-environment link is small, for two reasons. First, services account for only a small fraction of overall pollution. For none of five major air pollutants does the service sector account for even 4% of total emissions; for three of the five services account for less than 1%. Second, those service industries that do pollute are the least likely to be traded internationally. Those services for which the United States collects and publishes international trade data—presumably those services that are traded internationally—are less polluting than services for which trade data do not exist—presumably because the services are not traded. Even if we limit attention to the services that are traded across borders, the service industries most intensively traded are the ones that pollute the least. The bottom line is simple. International services trade bears little relation to the environment, because services in general contribute relatively little to overall pollution, and those industries that are traded internationally are among the least polluting.     

GATS与我国服务贸易的适度开放及立法完善

根据我国服务贸易的对外承诺及入世后公布实施的新法规 ,论述入世后一段时期内我国服务市场对外开放的程度、主要服务部门及相关立法 ,并在分析市场开放存在问题的基础上 ,提出完善我国国际服务贸易法的措施与对策。     

African American and White perceptions of police services: Within- and between-group variation

Existing research on attitudes toward the police identified demographic variables predicting citizen satisfaction with police services and performance. Common themes in this literature were the disparate rates of satisfaction reported by African American and Caucasian citizens. While it is generally understood that African American citizens express lower levels of satisfaction, the degree to which this reduced satisfaction is consistent among African Americans and the factors causing such variation are unclear. In addition, variation in levels of citizen satisfaction across diverse measures of police services has yet to be considered by race. This study used data from a medium-sized Midwestern community to contrast samples of White and African American citizens to better understand how demographic, experiential, and neighborhood contextual factors shape perceptions of global, traditional, and community police services. Results from this study indicate that there is significant variation in the importance of certain exogenous factors in predicting satisfaction with police services. The differences between perceptions and race are most prominent in the community policing services model.     

关于我国金融法治重构的思考

我国已经初步形成基本适应社会主义市场经济和金融发展的金融法治框架;金融法治建设面临的新态势可以概括为金融服务现代化,其基本特征有金融政策自由化、金融服务网络化、金融企业巨型化和金融服务贸易全球化等;我国金融法治的重构,应以“推动金融服务现代化”为根本任务,并应遵循“法治先行、服务为本。整体设计、重点推进”的方针。     

Interventions with arsonists and young fire setters: A survey of the national picture in England and Wales

Objectives . Arson is a serious problem that has high costs in both financial and non‐financial terms. It is important that effective provision to intervene with arsonists and young fire setters is available. Method . A national survey was conducted of organizations delivering interventions to arsonists and young fire setters. This survey included fire and rescue services, probation areas, youth offending services, forensic mental health units, several government departments, and the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders. The survey was followed by site visits to eight organizations to conduct interviews with relevant staff. Results . The majority of interventions for children and adolescents were provided by fire and rescue services, often in conjunction with local youth offending services. Some forensic mental health units provided interventions, but no specialist provision for arsonists appeared to be available in either the prison or probation services. The site visits and interviews revealed areas of good practice across the organizations visited, and highlighted areas where developments might be made to improve services. Conclusions . The findings are discussed in light of the available literature, and recommendations made for future practice.     

Medicare program; scope of Medicare benefits and application of the outpatient mental health treatment limitation to clinical psychologist and clinical social worker services--HCFA. Final rule

This rule addresses requirements for Medicare coverage of services furnished by a clinical psychologist or as an incident to the services of a clinical psychologist and for services furnished by a clinical social worker. The requirements are based on section 6113 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, section 4157 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, and section 147(b) of the Social Security Act Amendments of 1994 (SSA '94). This rule also addresses the outpatient mental health treatment limitation as it applies to clinical psychologist and clinical social worker services. This final rule also conforms our regulations to section 104 of the Social Security Act Amendments of 1994. Section 104 provides that a Medicare patient in a Medicare-participating hospital who is receiving qualified psychologist services may be under the care of a clinical psychologist with respect to those services, to the extent permitted under State law. In addition, this final rule requires that clinical psychologists and clinical social workers use appropriate diagnostic coding when submitting Medicare Part B claims.     

发展知识产权服务业的关键问题与政策研究

知识产权服务是高技术服务业的重要领域之一,是现代服务业新的增长点.在阐述了发展知识产权服务业的重要意义与知识产权服务业的产业定位,剖析了发展知识产权服务业需要处理的六大关系,包括公益性与商业化的关系,信息资源管理与开放的关系,分析工具的依赖引进与自主开发的关系,人才需求与职业资格的关系,政府扶持与市场培育的关系,统计体系与产业贡献率的关系,并提出了知识产权服务业发展对策,如理顺体制机制、促进基础信息资源建设与开发利用、加强行业管理、拓展服务范围、培育高端服务机构、壮大人才队伍.     

Regulatory Assessment of Investments by Telephone and Electric Utilities*

A utility's investments are included in the rate base if the expenditures can pass the “prudent” or “used and useful” tests. Regulators have a difficult time applying these tests to telephone companies because little is known about the demand for new services. Under current regulatory procedures, telephone companies face an incentive system which rewards the firm for successful entry into new markets, but because of the lack of information about the demand for new services, the cost of failures is absorbed by customers of existing services. We propose a rate-making standard that would insure that existing subscribers of telecommunications services will not subsidize the new services that are being introduced by local exchange telephone companies.     

吉林省基本公共服务均等化存在的问题及推进对策

实现基本公共服务均等化是自＂十一五＂规划以来我国努力实现的发展目标。本文总结、分析了吉林省在推进基本公共服务均等化方面取得的成绩以及存在的问题,提出了推进吉林省公共服务均等化的对策建议：以建设服务型政府为统领,以义务教育均等化为突破口,实现吉林省教育均等化发展,进而提升吉林省基本公共服务均等化水平。     

大学生阅读现状分析及图书馆的导读服务——以广东警官学院学生为调查分析对象

图书馆的读者服务工作是图书馆赖以生存和发展的根本动力,导读服务是图书馆读者服务的重要组成部分,导读工作渗透到读者服务工作的各项活动之中。以《广东警官学院2007年学生阅读情况的调查》为依据,从大学生的人员结构、阅读状况、阅读评价、阅读需求和阅读服务等方面了解广东警官学院大学生的阅读基本情况,为广东警官学院图书馆导读服务工作提供对策。     

Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind and Disabled (SSI) program demonstration project; treatment of cash received and conserved to pay for medical or social services--SSA. Notice

The Commissioner of Social Security will conduct a demonstration project to test how certain altered resources counting rules might apply in the SSI program. The SSI program is authorized by title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). The rules which will be tested are those that apply to the treatment of cash received and conserved to pay for medical or social services. Cash which is received for the purposes of payment for medical or social services is not counted as income to the beneficiary when received. If cash received for medical or social services which is not a reimbursement for these services already paid for by the beneficiary is conserved, it is not counted as a resource for the calendar month following the month of receipt, so long as it remains separately identifiable from other resources of the individual. Beginning with the second calendar month following the month of receipt, cash received for the payment of medical or social services becomes a countable resource used in the determination of SSI eligibility. The Health Care Financing Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is collaborating with the States of Arkansas, Florida, New Jersey and New York and with the National Program Office at the University of Maryland's Center on Aging, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the DHHS, the National Council on Aging and Mathematica Policy Research (the evaluator) on a demonstration project to provide greater autonomy to the consumers of personal assistance services. Personal assistance services are help with the basic activities of daily living, including bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting, and eating, and/or instrumental activities of daily living such as housekeeping, meal preparation, shopping, laundry, money management and medication management. Consumers of personal assistance services who participate in this demonstration will be empowered by purchasing the services they require (including medical and social services) to perform the activities of daily living. In order to accomplish the objective of the demonstration project, cash allowances and information services will be provided directly to persons with disabilities to enable them to choose and purchase services from providers which they feel would best meet their needs. Medicaid is the predominant source of public financing for personal assistance services programs for the aged, blind and disabled. The demonstration which will permit the States of Arkansas, Florida, New Jersey and New York to waive certain requirements under title XIX of the Act to participate in this "Cash and Counseling" demonstration is within the authority granted to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) by section 1115 of the Act. Medicaid beneficiaries who participate in this demonstration will be given cash to purchase the services they need from traditional and nontraditional providers as they deem appropriate. Counseling will be available for these beneficiaries to assist them in effective use of funds allotted for personal assistance services. Many of the Medicaid beneficiaries who participate in the Cash and Counseling demonstration will be SSI beneficiaries or belong to coverage groups using eligibility methodologies related to those of the SSI program under title XIX of the Act. The Commissioner of Social Security wishes to test the appropriateness of current SSI rules which require counting cash received for the purchase of medical or social services as resources if retained for more than one month after the month of receipt. The test will also be used to assist the Secretary of HHS in testing the possibility of providing greater autonomy to the consumers of personal assistance services by empowering them to purchase the services they require (including medical and social services) to perform their activities of daily living. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)     

Physician performance standard rates of increase for federal fiscal year 1993 and physician fee schedule update for calendar year 1993--HCFA. Final notice with comment period

This notice announces the calendar year (CY) 1993 updates to the Medicare physician fee schedule and the Federal fiscal year (FY) 1993 performance standard rates of increase for expenditures and volume of physician services under the Medicare Supplementary Medical Insurance (Part B) program as required by sections 1848(d) and (f), respectively, of the Social Security Act. It also sets forth an "initial" procedure-specific list of surgical and nonsurgical services to be used in applying the CY 1993 updates. These surgical and nonsurgical designations are subject to public comment. The physician performance standard rates of increase for Federal FY 1993 are 10.0 percent for all physician services, 8.4 percent for surgical services, and 10.8 percent for nonsurgical services. The fee schedule update for CY 1993 is 3.1 percent for surgical services and 0.8 percent for nonsurgical services.     

Medicare program; physician fee schedule update for calendar year 1997 and physician volume performance standard rates of increase for Federal fiscal year 1997--HCFA. Final notice

This final notice announces the calendar year 1997 updates to the Medicare physician fee schedule and the Federal fiscal year 1997 volume performance standard rates of increase for expenditures for physicians' services under the Medicare Supplementary Medical Insurance (Part B) program as required by sections 1848 (d) and, (f), respectively, of the Social Security Act. The fee schedule updates for calendar year 1997 are 1.9 percent for surgical services, 2.5 percent for primary care services, and -0.8 percent for other nonsurgical services. While it does not affect payment for any particular service, there was a 0.6 percent increase in the update for all physicians' services for 1997. The physician volume performance standard rates of increase for Federal fiscal year 1997 are -3.7 percent for surgical services, 4.5 percent for primary care services, -0.5 percent for other nonsurgical services, and a weighted average of -0.3 percent for all physicians' services.     

Measuring Electronic Monitoring Tools: The Influence of Vendor Type and Vendor Data

The rise in the use of electronic monitoring tools for management of individuals in both pretrial and post-release correctional stages of the criminal justice system necessitates increased collaboration of criminal justice personnel with private sector companies that provide monitoring services. Given this shift, it is necessary to explore whether agency employees perceive that different vendors are providing levels or quality of services. This study indicates that parole officers perceive very few real differences in the monitoring services, equipment used, and ease of installation and deactivation of such equipment across two different vendors. The primary difference identified was in the costs of such services.     

Testing the limits of freedom of contract: the commercialization of reproductive materials and services

This article examines the cases for and against commercializing, or "commodifying," reproductive materials and services. Using a supply/demand third-party framework, three basic scenarios in which commercial-exchange relationships may be possible--exchange of gametes and zygotes, exchange of gestational services, and exchange of fetal material--and the major parties of interest, or stakeholders, are identified. The study sketches the liberal, essentialist, and radical contingency theories that shape the debate over the commercialization of reproductive materials and services. The article then attempts to derive some basic governing principles that reflect as much common ground as possible amongst these various normative perspectives, while recognizing that complete reconciliation is impossible. Taken together, these principles are designed to reflect a strategy of "constrained commodification," where commercialization or commodification, that is, financial remuneration, plays a relatively neutral role in the utilization of reproductive materials and services. In light of these principles, the article concludes by sketching legal and regulatory regimes with respect to the exchange of gametes and zygotes, gestational services, and fetal tissue.     

Medicare and Medicaid programs: changes affecting hospital and critical access hospital conditions of participation: telemedicine credentialing and privileging. Final rule

This final rule will revise the conditions of participation (CoPs) for both hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs). The final rule will implement a new credentialing and privileging process for physicians and practitioners providing telemedicine services. Currently, a hospital or CAH receiving telemedicine services must go through a burdensome credentialing and privileging process for each physician and practitioner who will be providing telemedicine services to its patients. This final rule will remove this undue hardship and financial burden.     

OTT regulation framework in the context of CJEU Skype case and European Electronic Communications Code

The telecommunications services sector is one of the most dynamically developing segments of the contemporary economy. At the same time, it is undergoing constant change, the result of its adaptation to the needs of modern digital services and the expectations of users. In practice, traditional telecommunications services are being increasingly replaced by those that offer equivalent functionality but are provided via the Internet. Examples of this type of service are VoIP telephony, instant messengers and online chat. This group of services is collectively referred to as OTT.The growing popularity of OTT services not only affects the shape of the telecommunications market, but, from the point of view of legislatures and market regulators, has also led to a number of practical problems. One of them is how to apply a EU regulatory framework established for the electronic communications sector to modern OTT services. Recently, this problem has become an object of interest to both the CJEU and the EU legislature.The purpose of this article is to discuss the effects of the recent Skype adjudication on the regulation of the OTT sector, including the pending entry into force of the European Electronic Communications Code. The analysis considers the technical and regulatory background of issues relating to the judgment, the ongoing legislative work and the importance of the judgment in practice. Ambiguities in interpretation are also identified and discussed, in particular those relating to the attempt to apply the Skype judgment and the entire regulatory framework to OTT services.These aspects will be discussed from the perspective of the protection of users' privacy, an important part of the provision of electronic communications services. The choice of this aspect of OTT services regulation would seem to be particularly apt in light of the ongoing reform of the EU data protection model, which will include the new e-privacy regulation currently being drafted.