Two dimensions of democracy and the economy

Does democracy influence economic policymaking and outcomes? Our study investigates the implications of Dahl's two dimensions of democracy (‘polyarchy’): contestation/competition and inclusion/participation. We hypothesize that increases in democratic competition inspire policy incrementalism, thus lowering growth volatility and generating fewer deep crises. Meanwhile, increases in substantive democratic inclusion – genuine political voice, or democratic participation in the presence of a minimum of contestation – should increase the political weight of relatively poor voters, who have a differentially strong aversion to deep growth crises. A statistical analysis of 149 countries for 1961–98 finds greater democracy associated with fewer years of sharply negative growth (‘crisis’), with both democratic contestation and substantive inclusion contributing to this outcome. Our conclusions question the wisdom of designing economic policy institutions that are intentionally insulated from the democratic process.     

The policy adoption-implementation spiral

The “Policy Adoption-Implementation Spiral” is an exploration of the policy-making process that begins at the national level and proceeds through the labyrinth of administrative interpretations, court decisions, and judicial decrees before it is finally implemented at the state level. This analysis is based on the premise that policy adoption and policy implementation are not two separate steps in the policy-making process. The adoption/implementation process may be more clearly thought of as a continually narrowing spiral with each inward band of the spiral representing a further specification, refine- ment, clarification, or interpretation of a piece of public policy.

Equal Employment Opportunity policy is the content area used in this analysis. A case study is used which follows EEO policy from the National level down to its implementation in the area of employment opportunities for state jobs in the State of Alabama.     

俄加入世贸组织过渡期黑龙江省对俄经贸合作对策

俄罗斯于2012年8月正式成为世贸组织成员国。加入WTO后,俄必须遵守WTO规则要求,投资环境进一步趋好,市场准入扩大,将为黑龙江省推进对俄经贸合作提供难得发展机遇。但这并不意味着对俄合作风险已完全消除,黑龙江省对俄合作仍将面临诸多挑战,在俄加入WTO过渡期,应主动适应新形势,推动对俄经贸合作实现又好又快发展。     

语言潜能的开发与女性参与社会发展

女性参与社会发展,语言潜能的开发非常重要。女性先天具有语言优势,女性应开发这种潜能并利用这一优势积极参与社会发展。同时,社会各部门以及女性自身要重视语言能力,女性应在不断学习中提高语言能力。     

中国传统"德治"思想及其现代伦理价值

“德治”思想是中国古代儒家学派提出的治国理论,是中国封建社会政治伦理化的产物。“德治”思想重视君主和最高统治者的道德品质、道德修养;注重对人民的道德教化;主张以德选官、实施仁政。批判地继承传统“德治”思想,挖掘其现代伦理价值,对我们落实“十六大”报告精神,贯彻“以德治国”的思想,具有现实意义。     

法律语言研究之我见

法律语言随着法律制度的产生、变革而逐步繁荣起来。人们研究法律语言也从不自觉到自觉、经历了漫长的历史发展过程。目前 ,我国对法律语言研究的成果 ,虽不及英美等西方国家 ,但近十多年也有长足的发展。成果主要是 :研究人员多、形成自己的学科体系、研究论著多。但也存在一些不足 :应用研究薄弱、研究内容呆板、研究方法单一。     

汉语语法研究与“赵元任传统”

两千余年的汉语语法研究史可以概括为三大传统:小学传统、马建忠传统和赵元任传统.小学传统是汉语语法研究的根基所在;马建忠传统借鉴西洋语法学框架,初步建立起汉语语法学体系;赵元任传统借鉴结构主义语言学方法,使汉语语法研究更加精密化、科学化.融合三个传统,吸纳西方语言学最新成果,建立成熟的汉语语法学体系,是21世纪的艰巨课题.     

Identification and isolation of male cells using fluorescence in situ hybridisation and laser microdissection, for use in the investigation of sexual assault

In cases of sexual assault involving an azoospermic assailant, vaginal swabs taken from the victim may fail to provide an autosomal DNA profile with which to search a suspect database, as the signal from any male cells present would be masked by that from the overwhelming number of female cells collected on the swab. Here, we describe a method of visually identifying diploid male cells in such samples using fluorescence in situ hybridisation, and selectively harvesting them by means of laser microdissection. This combination of techniques was tested on 26 post-coital vaginal swabs taken at a range of times after intercourse; the collected cells were then subjected to a simple lysis procedure and DNA was amplified using the AmpFlSTR^® SGMPlus^® multiplex under low copy number conditions. Useful DNA profiles were generated from samples taken up to 24 h after intercourse.     

The Case for a Rational Reconstruction of Consent in Criminal Law

This article argues for consistency in criminal law and the need for 'rational reconstruction' of the law where necessary to achieve this. It focuses Parliament's failure to respect the need for consistency by passing a statutory definition of consent in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which appears to apply only to sexual offences. As a result, the law on consent risks being a patchwork of statute and ad hoc case law, without any overarching principle to deal with new situations and different offences. The consequent lack of certainty, accessibility, predictability and fairness is compared to the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights. The statutory definition of consent in the context of the sexual offences is assessed critically as a model which could be used in offences against the person and property offences. The article concludes that until Parliament responds to the need for certainty and consistency by legislating on consent, there can be no rational reconstruction of consent under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.     

不断认识和把握中国先进生产力发展的基本规律--学习江泽民"三个代表"重要思想的一点体会

认识和把握中国先进生产力发展的基本规律 ,必须认识和把握中国生产力与生产关系相互作用的矛盾运动规律 ,中国生产力自身发展的矛盾运动规律 ,如何使先进生产力发展适合中国国情的矛盾运动规律。