Poverty and Support for Militant Politics: Evidence from Pakistan

Policy debates on strategies to end extremist violence frequently cite poverty as a root cause of support for the perpetrating groups. There is little evidence to support this contention, particularly in the Pakistani case. Pakistan's urban poor are more exposed to the negative externalities of militant violence and may in fact be less supportive of the groups. To test these hypotheses we conducted a 6,000‐person, nationally representative survey of Pakistanis that measured affect toward four militant organizations. By applying a novel measurement strategy, we mitigate the item nonresponse and social desirability biases that plagued previous studies due to the sensitive nature of militancy. Contrary to expectations, poor Pakistanis dislike militants more than middle‐class citizens. This dislike is strongest among the urban poor, particularly those in violent districts, suggesting that exposure to terrorist attacks reduces support for militants. Long‐standing arguments tying support for violent organizations to income may require substantial revision.     

The Non-Resident Parental Role for Separated Fathers: A Review

Ideas about the role of fathers in the separated family havechanged over the last few decades. The prevalent legal constructof ‘co-parenting’ implies that children should beable to maintain contact with a non-resident parent, usuallythe father, if they wish, except in cases where there has beenabuse or violence. Research in several disciplines has soughtto explain the processes of contact by examining the behaviourof separated fathers, their relationships within the family,and the separated family as a whole. Quantitative studies haveexplored levels of involvement, the father–child relationshipand the inter-parental relationship as factors affecting children’soutcomes, while an expanding body of qualitative work has soughtto map the practice of co-parenting through identifying thediversity of separated parenthood and the perspectives of non-residentfathers in particular. The contributions of these diverse approachesto current debates on non-resident fathers are reviewed in thisarticle.     

基于公务员监督的混合战略博弈分析

以委托—代理理论和信息经济学中的监督模型为基础,通过对政府和公务员二者在完全信息静态博弈下的混合战略分析可见,租金的高低、政府监督的成本和对寻租的公务员惩罚的力度是影响公务员寻租的三个主要因素。我们应通过健全社会舆论与群众监督机制,提高公务员的道德水平,加大对公务员寻租行为的法制惩罚力度,加大对寻租者的物质惩罚力度,健全社会主义市场经济体制,消除租源等措施来防止公务员寻租。     

一种必要转化：从一般行政理念到具体法律制度——以湿地保护与合理利用为参照

改进政府管理需要法律制度的保障,而且,一般行政理念只有转化为具体法律制度,被具体法律条文所承载,才能对行政机关及其工作人员的行为产生刚性约束力.本文针对政府湿地管理行为,从研究问题的角度拟定了湿地保护专门立法的一些条款,内容包括管理规划、行政协调、行政协助、信息共享、人员管理、绩效评估、决策失误责任追究等.本文的目的是引起立法者的共鸣,促进一般行政理念到具体法律制度的转化.     

Policing and Crime Act 2017: Changes to pre-charge bail and the impact on digital forensic analysis

Following the enactment of the Police and Crime Act 2017, subsequent amendments to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 have seen a ‘cap’ placed on the length of time a suspect can be released on bail; a process commonly referred to as ‘police bail’ or ‘pre-charge bail’. Whilst designed to instil consistency and certainty into bail processes to prevent individuals being subject to lengthy periods of regulation and uncertainty, it places additional pressures on forensic services. With a focus on digital forensics, examination of digital media is a complex and time-consuming process, with existing backlogs well documented. The need for timely completion of investigations to adhere to pre-charge bail rules places additional stress on an already stretched service. This comment submission provides an initial analysis of new pre-charge bail regulations, assessing their impact on digital forensic services.     

血痕特异性mRNA标记研究

血痕是案发现场尤其是命案中比较常见的生物物证,而血痕的正确组织来源推断是当前鉴定工作中急需解决的问题。随着法医物证学的不断发展,以mRNA(messenger RNA)为基础的体液斑迹组织来源鉴定技术作为一种不同于传统血痕免疫学检测的新型方法,已经越加显示其独特的优越性。在该技术的基础上,实现共同提取生物物证的RNA与DNA的目标,建立体液斑迹鉴定与DNA分型兼容的方法,有利于现场重建,提高生物物证的证据效力,完善证据链。本研究建立了一个包括血痕总RNA提取、逆转录、荧光特异引物扩增、遗传分析仪电泳检测分析等步骤的血痕来源推断技术平台。实验共采集制备了40份的中国人群(女性)外周血、16份月经血样本,筛选了5个外周血标记:HBA、HBB、GYPA、SPTB、ALAS2,2个月经血标记:MMP7、MMP11,构建了一个囊括外周血、月经血特异标记的荧光复合扩增体系。结果显示mRNA技术为基础的鉴定血痕来源的方法是可行的,并且建立了血痕RNA检验的遗传分析仪结果判读方法。     

Financial management conservatism under constraints: tax and expenditure limits and local deficit financing during the Great Recession

This paper investigates the relationship between tax and expenditure limits (TELs) and local government deficit financing decisions following the recent recession. Cities under the resource constraints are hypothesised to practise conservatism in financial management decisions and thus less likely to deficit finance during difficult times. Using data from 2005 to 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports of the 50 largest US cities, this paper finds that cities subject to a binding TEL are more likely to control expenditure growth from pre-crisis years to years following the recession; these cities are also less likely to increase deficit financing following the recession, as indicated by a relative increase in their net assets. Although continuous deficit erodes fiscal sustainability and is an undesirable management practice, deficit financing during recessions may be needed for smoothing expenditure and sustaining service provision. The management conservatism associated with the fiscal rules may contribute to the cyclicality of local spending.     

The effect of stakeholder culture on managers’ perceptions of stakeholder attributes in Australian not-for-profit organizations

We examine the relation between stakeholder culture and managers’ perceptions of stakeholder attributes of power, legitimacy, and urgency in Australian not-for-profit (NFP) organizations. Examination of this relation is important because managers’ perceptions of stakeholder attributes determine how stakeholder relationships are managed, which affects (positively or negatively) the ability of NFP organizations to fulfil their social mission. Data were collected through a survey of top managers of 478 NFP organizations. Our results show that the stakeholder cultures of altruist and instrumentalist, manifesting different moral values, differentially affect NFP managers’ perceptions of the three stakeholder attributes for clients and government. Specifically, an altruist stakeholder culture affects managers’ perception of client legitimacy, while an instrumentalist culture affects managers’ perception of government power. We also investigate the mediating effects of power and legitimacy on the relation between stakeholder cultures and urgency. We find that managers’ perceptions of power and legitimacy act as crucial cues for managers to perceive stakeholder urgency. Our study contributes to the stakeholder management literature and has important implications for managers of NFP organizations in managing stakeholder relationships in the contemporary environment.