Search for the Hidden Punishments: An Alternative Approach to Studying Alternative Sanctions

Objectives

Most existing studies of sentencing focus on the decision of whether or not to incarcerate a convicted individual. However, many cases do not involve incarceration, and there is a considerable amount of freedom to mete out alternative sanctions as part of a sentencing decision. This study addresses this gap in the literature by investigating the patterns of sentences among those individuals not sentenced to prison.

Methods

This study used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify unobserved “classes” based on packages of sentences, which may involve both jail and non-incarceration alternative sanctions imposed on defendants not sentenced to prison. This study also demonstrates the potential use of LCA by (1) comparing and contrasting the results of LCA and the sentence severity scale approach, and (2) investigating how class membership could be explained by legal and extralegal characteristics of the cases.

Results

LCA identified four latent classes among individuals who were not sentenced to prison, two of which could not be differentiated by the severity scale approach. Regression models demonstrated that legal variables were better at explaining the incarceration decision, whereas extralegal variables were better at explaining some of the margins between the classes.

Conclusion

Compared with the incarceration models and severity scales, LCA revealed variations that could not be detected by either of the approaches. LCA also has the potential to be a helpful tool in future analysis of sentencing decisions utilizing large-scale, administrative datasets.

     

环境权新探

环境权是一项基本人权,无需许可,不能剥夺,不可让渡,而环境开发利用权属于一种财产性权利,通常需经许可而取得,其行使须遵循特定程序,因此环境开发利用权不属于环境权的内容。由于后代人具有范围和时间上的不确定性,不宜将后代人纳入环境权的主体范围,但视后代人环境权利为一种道德权利则是可取的。同时环境权利与环境义务在环境法律关系中的错位以及权利与义务在主体间分配的不均衡性表明环境权不能既是权利又是义务,环境权主体并非环境权利和环境义务的统一体。     

Environmental Liability Transfers: An Alternative Approach to Transferring Risk in a Post-Environmental Cost-Cap/Stop-Loss Insurance World

During the 1990's and early 2000's, guaranteed fixed price remediation (GFPR)/Cost Cap insurance contracts offered by national environmental engineering firms and supplemented with environmental cost cap insurance policies offered by the major insurance providers was in its heyday. Engineering and insurance firms formed alliances that secured hundreds of millions of dollars in GFPR/Cost Cap contracts that enabled owners of legacy industrial properties and developers to define and secure the fixed dollar amounts for remediation of known environmental conditions at their properties enabling more accurate estimations of return on investment and facilitating real estate transactions. However, the impact of the “Great Recession”, dollar losses due to unforeseen site conditions, convoluted project management and regulatory factors caused firms providing these services to exit the marketplace. The demand for environmental risk transfers has not diminished and continue afford many benefits to the environment and to a growing local and national economy.     

Powdered Activated Carbon: An Alternative Approach to Genomic DNA Purification

Forensic evidence samples are routinely found as stains on various substrates, which may contain substances known to inhibit polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The goal of this study was to evaluate post‐Chelex^®100 purification using powdered activated carbon (PAC). Mock crime scene DNA extracts were analyzed using quantitative PCR and short tandem repeat (STR) profiling to test the DNA recovery and inhibitor removal using PAC with those of the Amicon^®Ultra 100K. For extracted bloodstains on soil and wood substrates, PAC and Amicon^®Ultra 100K generated similar DNA yield and quality. Moreover, the two methods significantly decreased the concentration of humic substances and tannins compared to nonpurified extracts (p < 0.001). In instances where extracts contained indigo dye (bloodstains on denim), Amicon^®Ultra 100K performed better than PAC due to improved amplifiability. Efficient adsorption of humic substances and tannins, which are common inhibitors, indicates PAC's potential application in the purification of high‐template DNA extracts.     

中国企业财务重整的一种可选择方案——辅助性的财务重整法律制度

引言 在过去的十多年里,大约有30个发展中经济转型国家制定了新一般意义上的破产法.     

Integrative Regulation: A Principle-Based Approach to Environmental Policy

This article builds on recent field research to articulate a principle-based approach to environmental regulatory design that is applicable to a wide variety of circumstances, irrespective of political and social particularities. At its core, this approach recognizes that an excessive reliance on "single-instrument" policies is misguided, because all instruments have strengths and weaknesses, and none is sufficiently flexible and resilient to successfully address all environmental problems in all contexts. A better strategy is to harness the strengths of individual mechanisms while compensating for their weaknesses by the use of additional instruments. That is, in the large majority of circumstances, a mix of regulatory instruments is required, tailored to specific policy goals. The article identifies a series of regulatory design principles that sequentially address the problems and opportunities arising from the application of multi-instrument mixes and engaging a variety of first-, second-, and third-party participants in the regulatory process. The importance of choosing inherently complementary instrument combinations is also highlighted, with practical guidance provided to policymakers. Although the focus of the article is on environmental regulation, the general principles articulated should also be applicable to other areas of social regulation.     

死刑替代位阶上无期徒刑的改良

死刑替代措施就是在不适用死刑的情况下应该采取的、用来代替死刑的刑罚方法。死刑替代措施应以现行刑罚体系为基础,以废除或限制死刑实际适用为前提进行考察,选择能够直接担当"最严厉"法定刑角色,保持足够的威慑力的刑种。死缓不是刑罚种类意义上的死刑替代措施;不得假释的终身监禁不符合"人总是可以改造的"的基本理念;无期徒刑是中国刑罚体系中仅次于死刑的刑种,蕴含有较强的威慑力,通过适当改良,能够产生足够的类似于死刑的威慑力。作为替代死刑的方法,设置无期徒刑先予关押期是上乘选择。考察无期徒刑在有期徒刑与死刑中的衔接地位,借鉴国外实际执行无期徒刑的经验,确定10年的先予关押期较为适宜。     

An Alternative Method to Using a Mandibulometer

Mandibular length, mandibular angle, and maximum ramus height measurements used during forensic evaluation of skeletal remains require use of a mandibulometer. This study presents a new method of taking these measurements from images, so that practitioners without access to an expensive mandibulometer or those working with 3D models (e.g., CT scans) can collect and utilize these measurements. Ten trials performed on a sample of 45 mandibles were used to compare measurements collected from photographs and images extracted from 3D surface scans to those collected with a mandibulometer, including intra‐ and inter‐observer analyses. All technical error of measurement (TEM) values were less than 2 mm regardless of observer, trial, or method. Relative TEM values were less than 2% for all except mandibular length (2.10%) and ramus height (2.32%) for the right versus left photographs. Results are comparable with mandibulometer error rates, indicating that the proposed method is accurate and reliable.     

走向文明的批评：现实与诗性之间——论埃·威尔逊的批评观

美国20世纪著名文学和社会批评家埃德蒙·威尔逊以不辍笔耕的半个世纪向公众展示了他独特的文学批评观.从早期的批评代表作品《阿克瑟尔的城堡》到后期的《走向芬兰车站》,威尔逊坚持认为文学批评是对一个民族文明发展轨迹的综合把握,这种综合是指文学批评的诗性、社会性和公共性的统一.只有这样,文学批评才能保持长久的生命力,才能更为有效地完成诠释文本、触动公众和服务社会的使命.     

An Approach to Speaker Identification

This presentation will provide standards upon which any attempts to meet the challenge of identifying speakers by voice should be based. It is organized into a model based on (i) application of a rigorous research program validating the system, (ii) an upgrading of the organization of the SI area, and (iii) exploitation of new technology. The second part of the presentation will describe an illustrative speech/voice approach to SI development. This effort is also based on an extensive corpus of research. It is suggested that application of the cited standards, plus the illustrative model, will permit reasonable progress to be made. Finally, a number of procedural recommendations are made; they should enhance the efficacy of the proposed approach.     

Arts Marketing Performance: An Artistic-Mission-Led Approach to Evaluation

Marketing in the arts sector has evolved during the past decades from a functional tool to a business philosophy. At the same time, a relational view of art as experience has emerged in contemporary arts philosophy, highlighting the role of arts consumers in the creation and reception of arts. As a consequence, arts consumers have gained a central position within the artistic mission of arts organizations, posing new challenges to the role of arts marketing both as a practice and as an academic discipline. Against this background, financial figures and audience numbers are insufficient indicators of the contribution that arts marketing makes to the functioning of arts organizations. This article suggests evaluating the performance of arts marketing based on the contribution made to the achievement of the arts organization's artistic mission and proposes a model based on Kaplan and Norton's Balanced Scorecard to guide the artistic-mission-led evaluation of arts marketing performance. By paying attention to the new strategic role of arts marketing within the emerging relational view of the arts and by integrating recent literature on performance management in nonprofit organizations, we make a theoretical contribution to the body of knowledge on arts marketing performance evaluation.     

The Series Hazard Model: An Alternative to Time Series for Event Data

An important pursuit by a body of criminological research is its endeavor to determine whether interventions or policy changes effectively achieve their intended goals. Because theories predict that interventions could either improve or worsen outcomes, estimators designed to improve the accuracy of identifying program or policy effects are in demand. This article introduces the series hazard model as an alternative to interrupted time series when testing for the effects of an intervention on event-based outcomes. It compares the two approaches through an example that examines the effects of two interventions on aerial hijacking. While series hazard modeling may not be appropriate for all event-based time series data or every context, it is a robust alternative that allows for greater flexibility in many contexts.     

执法检查:立法程序外完善法律的制度途径

在执法检查实践中,全国人大常委会创新性地将这一监督平台嫁接到为完善法律服务这一立法任务之中,从而在立法程序之外建立其一个有助于适时监控和提高立法质量的强大信息收集系统。迄今为止,这一制度功能尚未得到充分和有效的发挥,依然存在较大的完善空间。但这个制度创新的过程则充分表明全国人大常委会已经成长为一个比较成熟的政治系统和立法机关。