Who Pollutes? Ownership type and environmental performance of Chinese firms

What is the relationship between ownership type and environmental performance in Chinese firms? Using a survey of over 1,000 industrial firms in 12 Chinese cities in 2006, this article tests a number of competing hypotheses linking ownership type to environmental performance. The results show that small and medium state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on average spend less on pollution abatement technologies and are less likely to meet national emissions standards, compared to privately owned enterprises (POEs) and foreign invested enterprises (FIEs). However, the environmental performance of the largest SOEs matches that of their private and foreign counterparts. These findings are complemented by qualitative interviews and archival research conducted in 2012.     

关于完善地方立法质量保障体系的思考北大核心CSSCI

地方立法质量在一定意义上决定着地方社会治理的水平,也在一定程度上制约着国家治理现代化的进程。创新和完善地方立法工作,以地方立法引领地方社会治理的改革和进步,是推进地方社会治理现代化的必然选择,也是推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化的必然要求。如何保障地方立法质量从而保障地方社会治理水平,已经成为新时代我国地方立法工作的重大课题。完善地方立法质量保障体系,推进地方立法高质量发展,必须创新地方立法工作理念与规范,进一步明确和恪守科学民主法治总要求;创新地方立法工作体制与机制,进一步健全和完善党委领导、人大主导、政府依托、各方参与的地方立法工作总格局;创新地方立法工作体系与结构,进一步优化和完善地方立法工作总布局。另外,应当进一步加强地方立法与社会守法、党内立规的关系,以高质量的守法和立法立规一体化,推进地方立法的制度优势转化为制度实效和治理效能,从而提高地方社会治理能力和水平,为加快推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化奠定坚实基础。     

新加坡的医疗保障体系

新加坡医疗保障体系以其投入低、效率高为世人所称道。文章介绍了新加坡医疗保障体系的筹资和医疗服务供给系统,并对其进行公平和效率评估,认为新加坡医疗体制的成功实际上并不能归功于医疗个人账户制度,而是源于其内设的对低收入者就医的补贴制度和个人自付费用对医疗服务消费的控制。     

Does price really converge among provinces in Canada？ A study using unit root tests for cross-sectional panels

This paper examines price convergences across different provinces in Canada using 1983-2006 data. We adopt the new panel unit root tests for analysis that can correct for cross-sectional correlation. Our findings are contrary to previous studies and we conclude that intra-national price convergence does not occur. We also briefly discuss the reasons for the absence of convergence within Canada.     

A Randomized Trial of Probation Case Management for Drug-Involved Women Offenders

This paper reports findings from a clinical trial of a probation case management (PCM) intervention for drug-involved women offenders. Participants were randomly assigned to either PCM (n=92) or standard probation (n=91), and followed for 12 months using measures of substance abuse, psychiatric symptoms, social support and service utilization. Arrest data were collected from administrative datasets. The sample (N=183) included mostly African American (57%) and White (20%) women, with a mean age of 34.7 (SD = 9.2) and mean education of 11.6 years (SD = 2.1). Cocaine and heroin were the most frequently reported drugs of abuse, 86% reported prior history of incarceration, and 74% had children. Women assigned to both PCM and standard probation showed change over time in the direction of clinical improvement on 7 of 10 outcomes measured. However, changes observed for the PCM group were no different than those observed for the standard probation group. Higher levels of case management, drug abuse treatment, and probationary supervision may be required to achieve improved outcomes in this population.     

Hostility in Homicide–Suicide Events: A Typological Analysis with Data from a Chinese Society, Hong Kong, 1989–2003

As many as one-quarter of uroxicides [Johnson and Hotton (2003) Homicide Studies 7:58–84] and filicides [Wilczynski (1997) Child Homicide, London: Greenwich Medical Media] end in the suicide of the offender. As in homicide- or suicide-only events, homicide–suicide (HS) can arise from a variety of circumstances, ranging from relationship breakdown, to financial and health problems. However, to date our understanding of this disheartening phenomenon remains limited. As an HS event comprises both a homicidal and a suicidal component, the question of whether HS is primarily an extended suicide dominated by weariness or an alternate form of homicide overwhelmed by anger is a contentious topic. This article argues that there are at least two types of HS, with one type being dominated by hostility against the victim, whilst in the other hostility is not apparent. Based on HS events that occurred between 1989 and 2003 in Hong Kong, significant differences are found between these two types of HS in terms of offender and victim characteristics, antecedent, offender–victim relationships, situational factors and modes of killing. This is the first HS typological classification built on the hostility debate that has been validated with empirical data.

Ventilatory and metabolic demands during aggressive physical restraint in healthy adults

We investigated ventilatory and metabolic demands in healthy adults when placed in the prone maximal restraint position (PMRP), i.e., hogtie restraint. Maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) was measured in seated subjects (n=30), in the PMRP, and when prone with up to 90.1 or 102.3 kg of weight on the back. MVV with the heaviest weight was 70% of the seated MVV (122+/-28 and 156+/-38 L/min, respectively; p<0.001). Also, subjects (n=27) were placed in the PMRP and struggled vigorously for 60 sec. During the restrained struggle, ventilatory function (V(E)/ MVV) was 44% of MVV in the resting PMRP. While prone with up to 90.1 or 102.3 kg on the back, the decrease in MVV was of no clinical importance in these subjects. Also, while maximally struggling in the PMRP, V(E) was still adequate to supply the ventilatory needs.