Trial Advocacy Competence: The Judicial Perspective

The competence of attorneys, and more particularly the competence of trial lawyers, is currently an issue of considerable controversy both within the judiciary and within the legal profession itself. This article addresses the issue of attorneys' courtroom performance as observed by judges. Drawing on data from a survey administered to state and federal judges sitting in trial courts of general jurisdiction, this article explores the relationship of demographic and judicial characteristics to various judicial evaluations of advocacy competence. While it provides important insights into the present state of trial advocacy competence, it also constitutes a systematic examination of the judiciary's perceptions of the trial bar.     

Estimating the impact of state manpower policy: a case study of reducing medical school enrollments

Perceptions of an impending oversupply of physicians have prompted proposals to reduce medical school enrollments in a number of states. Most of these states are also concerned with improving the specialty and geographic distribution of their medical manpower. The present study provides estimates of the effects of reduced numbers of in-state medical school graduates upon the future supply of physicians in Texas, and examines the medical school origin, medical specialty, and practice location of selected groups of Texas physicians. The results suggest that in Texas enrollment reductions would have no significant impact on physician supply over the next 15 years, and might actually prove counterproductive in altering physician distribution. The analysis of Texas data illuminates the unintended consequences likely to accompany a policy option that has been widely embraced by state officials largely on the basis of its intuitive appeal.     

A “concrete” identification in a dismemberment case

Homicide perpetrators can use concrete as a means to conceal their victims. When concrete encasement is encountered in the forensic field, albeit rarely, it is often coupled with postmortem dismemberment. This method of obscuring the evidence presents unique investigative obstacles, specifically related to identification. Various approaches to obtaining fingerprints from decedents encased in concrete have been suggested and implemented over the years. The presented case is that of an initially unidentified 44-year-old male, who was subject to postmortem dismemberment and concrete encasement. Meticulous excavation techniques facilitated preservation of evidence and an anatomical reconstruction of the body. These techniques enabled inspection of the incision sites of the dismembered remains during the postmortem examination. Identifiable jewelry and tattoos were noted at autopsy. Further, the resulting concrete molds could be utilized to obtain fingerprints. These prints were used to ultimately identify the decedent.     

Managing support for social research and development: Research goals,risk, and policy instruments

The purpose of this article is to introduce an analytical framework that addresses several of the shortcomings attributed to the federal “model” for managing social research and development and, more specifically, refocuses attention on the importance of the link between the choice of support instrument and the goals of research funding. In so doing, this framework offers a different view of the function of support instruments and assesses the potential role they might play in improving the relationship between the research provider and the public sponsor of social research and development.     

A DESIGN PERSPECTIVE ON POLICY IMPLEMENTATION: THE FALLACIES OF MISPLACED PRESCRIPTION

Implementation has been used to try to explain too much, particularly that policy formulation should be oriented around implementation. The concentration on implementation has added little to our theoretical understanding of policymaking. Implementation studies have taken either "The Horrors of War" or "The Search for Theory" views. The latter has four major views, none of which is adequate. The best approach is to treat implementation as only one of a number of conditions which must be fulfilled for successful policymaking. The design perspection, explained in the paper, is the best approach for this.     

中国软件专利的现状和特点：基于软件发明的实证分析

由于软件专利比计算机著作权有更广泛的保护范围,软件的专利权保护成为一种新的趋势.目前对软件专利的研究主要基于法律、经济和创新管理三个学科的视角.     

对越南改革以来社会与民生问题的评价

社会与民生问题是越南改革的重点。二十多年来,越南共产党和政府在促进社会发展、保障与改善民生方面做了大量工作,取得了很大成绩。越南改革的成功是由诸多方面的原因促成的,但其中最为明显的,是越南共产党对社会与民生问题所采取的正确决策,以及在遇到困难与障碍时所采取的合理解决措施。本文着重论及三个问题:越南改革的成果与社会、民生政策;经济增长与社会公正问题;社会中农民与少数民族等弱势群体问题。