A Guide to Benchmarking COVID-19 Performance Data

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that policy makers, experts, and public managers need to be capable of interpreting comparative data on their government's performance in a meaningful way. Simultaneously, they are confronted with different data sources (and measurements) on COVID-19 without necessarily having the tools to assess these sources strategically. Because of the speed with which decisions are required and the different data sources, it can be challenging for any policy maker, expert, or public manager to make sense of how COVID-19 has an impact, especially from a comparative perspective. Starting from the question “How can we benchmark COVID-19 performance data across countries?,” this article presents important indicators, measurements, and their strengths and weaknesses, and concludes with practical recommendations. These include a focus on measurement equivalence, systems thinking, spatial and temporal thinking, multilevel governance, and multimethod designs.     

Perception vs. Reality: Slovak Views of the Hungarian Minority in Slovakia

After Slovakia and the Czech lands separated in 1993, concerns arose regarding Slovakia's ethnic Hungarian, or Magyar, minority. There were concerns about the Slovak government's attitude toward its considerable Magyar population as well as worries about the Hungarian government's stance regarding Magyars in Slovakia and the Slovak-Hungarian border. Frequently over the past decade, the topic of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia has been manipulated by politicians. In both Slovakia and Hungary, Slovak and Hungarian politicians alike have tried to expose “injustices” or “excesses” for political gain. Indeed, the maneuvering of national politicians might lead one to perceive that the reality of contemporary Slovak-Magyar relations was tenuous and acrimonious. But politics aside, what does the average Slovak think of the Magyar minority and Magyar-Slovak relations generally? To what extent do the political debates encompass their actual concerns and deeply held views? In June 2002, I visited Slovakia and pursued these questions in a series of informal interviews with an ad hoc sample of natives, aged 28 to 78. Among them were bankers, administrators, educators, small business owners, doctors, tour guides, taxi drivers, accountants, and one retiree. My quest to find out what ordinary Slovak citizens think about Slovak-Hungarian relations explored both long-held perceptions and present-day thinking. Very often I discovered a marked divergence between perception and reality where the Hungarian minority was concerned. Slovakia is home to a variety of non-Slovak cultures and languages, including Czech, Ukrainian/Ruthenian, and Romany (gypsy). But the largest cultural and linguistic minority are the c. 600,000 Hungarians, who comprise 11% of the population overall and up to 87% in certain towns and villages in southern Slovakia. For example, a 1994 report by the British Helsinki Human Rights Group (BHHRG) lists the southwestern Slovak towns of Dunajska Streda and Komarno as 87.26% and 72.27% Hungarian, respectively.     

Mortuary operations in the aftermath of the 2009 Victorian bushfires

On the day of the 2009 Victorian bushfires the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine activated its emergency plan. Within 48 h a temporary body storage facility was constructed adjacent to the existing mortuary. This temporary facility had the capacity to store up to 300 deceased persons. Pathologists, anthropologists, odontologists, police and mortuary assistants responded from all around Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. The existing forensic mortuary and staff were divided into two areas: DVI (disaster victim identification) and "routine operations". A high priority for the mortuary was to ensure the casework of the "routine" deceased persons (those cases which were not related to the bushfires) was handled concurrently and in a timely manner. On admission each set of victim remains was given both a Coroner's case number in addition to the DVI number allocated at the scene. The case was CT scanned, examined by a pathologist, an anthropologist, and odontologist and in some instances a fingerprint expert. Where possible a DNA sample was taken. All processes, samples, labels and paperwork underwent a quality assurance check prior to the case completion. Regular audits were conducted. All of post mortem examinations were completed within 20 days of admission. Occupational health and safety issues of the staff were a high priority; this included correct manual handling, infection control and psychological debriefings. During the operation it was found that some remains were contaminated with asbestos. Procedures were set in place to manage these cases individually and each was isolated to reduce the risk of exposure by staff to asbestos. This overall mortuary operation identified a number of significant challenges, in particular the management of multiple parts of human remains for one individual. A new procedure was developed to ensure that all human remains, where possible, were reconciled with identified deceased persons prior to the release to the funeral director. It also highlighted the need to have well documented plans in place including plans for temporary mortuary facilities.     

Toward a concept of psychosocial maturity

Schools below the college level traditionally have been preoccupied with only one outcome of education: growth in measurable cognitive skills. While there is at present a growing recognition of the school's actual and potential role in promoting personal and social growth, a convincing model of nonacademic objectives is lacking, as is a tool for assessing children's progress toward nonacademic objectives. To this end, the authors construct a model of psychosocial maturity which specifies measurable attitudes and dispositions. The model of psychosocial maturity integrates sociological and psychological views of the person; that is, it takes into account the requirements of societies as well as the healthy development of individuals. The model outlines three general dimensions of maturity which are likely to be relevant in all societies. These are (1) the capacity to function adequately on one's own, (2) the capacity to interact adequately with others, and (3) the capacity to contribute to social cohesion. Nine attributes judged pertinent to these capacities in this society are then defined. The final sections of the paper discuss problems in the measurement of psychosocial maturity, describe the form of an instrument presently being devised, and suggest research uses of the instrument.Preparation of this paper was supported by funds from The National Institute of Education, Contract No. NE-C-00-3-0013.Received his Ph.D. trom Radeliffe College. She is interested in multidisciplinary approaches to the study of personality development and directs a program of research on school, family, and peer influences on attitudinal development over the childhood and adolescent years.Received his Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University. Major interests and current research are in educational sociology, mathematical sociology, and social stratification.     

公安培训法律教学贴近执法实践之设想

公安培训教育是提高在职公安干警业务素质的重要途径之一。然而，目前的公安培训存在着诸如教材内容陈旧、缺乏针对性及理论与实践脱节等不足。要提高培训效果，使公安培训教学更加贴近执法实践的需要，在教材的选择和教学方法等方面，都要针对不同教学对象的特点，围绕提高学员执法能力及法律素质和法律意识的目的，有针对性地组织教学。针对公安教育的特点，对专业课教师实行定期换岗交流制度及选聘高素质的兼职教师，这是提高教学质量的一个重要方法。     

票据伪造的民事法律后果

票据伪造的民事法律后果，是一个比较复杂的问题。它涉及到票据效力、票据权利的效力问题，也涉及到因对票据伪造效力的法律评价，以及所引起的民事权利、义务和责任问题，同时，还涉及到善意当事人之间的利益衡平问题。本文主要讨论票据行为伪造的民事法律后果，涉及有关票据权利与义务的问题和付款人付款行为和真实签章人的票据义务履行的法律后果问题。     

论东北亚区域制度化合作的外部干预与内部制约

区域制度化合作的程度反映区域一体化的水平,同时也反映了各国经济、社会、政治诸多层面的合作状况和合作远景。后冷战时代,国际格局的变化为区域性制度化合作创造了发展的空间。国际组织和制度、跨国公司等一些新兴行为体的作用越来越大,这些行为体对于区域制度化合作发挥了先行的效用。同时,东北亚区域制度化合作存在来自外部与内部的干预,区域制度化合作本身制度遵守与网络形成等方面的障碍。但和平与发展的时代特征将为这一地区制度化合作前景提供契机。