Social and Political Cultural Effects on the Outcomes of Mediation in Militarized Interstate Disputes

The article investigates the relationship between cultural similarities and differences on the part of the representatives of contending states and mediators, and outcomes of mediation efforts in militarized disputes. A distinction is made between social culture, defined primarily in terms of religious identity, and political culture, defined according to the state's political system. Analysis of 752 mediation attempts in militarized disputes occurring between 1945 and 1995 yields support for the hypothesis that mediation is more likely to succeed when the parties are from similar social cultures. The results, however, suggest that the relationship is more complex than that suggested by a simple categorization of states based on Huntington's "clash of civilizations" thesis. We also find that mediation is more likely to succeed when the parties share democratic political cultures, a finding that is consistent with the cultural/normative explanation for the democratic peace.     

适应新形势探索新途径--关于石油石化企业党建工作创新

党的十六届五中全会提出,要“着力自主创新”。按照突出“体现时代性、把握规律性、富于创造性”的总要求,企业党建工作应着力工作机制、方式方法和保障体系等方面的创新,进一步巩固和扩大先进性教育活动成果,努力把党组织建设成为促进企业发展的政治核心和坚强堡垒。一、体现时代性,创新党建工作机制1.创新党组织功能发挥机制。一要增强党组织政治引导功能。加强党的政治领导,贯彻落实党和国家方针政策,参与重大问题决策,通过会议沟通、及时提醒、制度约束等办法,规范生产经营行为,把握改革发展方向,确保国有资产保值增值。二要增强党组织…     

E-Discovery of electronically stored information in commercial litigation

Much of corporate and business information is today created and stored in electronic format. Emails, software source codes, word processed documents, metadata, spreadsheets and other forms of electronically stored information (ESI) are easier than paper documents to manage, store, search and transfer. This has led to overwhelming volumes of ESI being produced and potentially discoverable in commercial litigation than is the case with paper documents. With the explosion of ESI, the law on discovery must stay abreast with new technology. Electronic discovery (e-discovery) is an evolving field giving rise to unique challenges. This paper discusses how Singapore has responded to these challenges through updated rules of discovery and recent court decisions. These latest significant developments reflect consistent efforts to keep pace with modern technology and global trends on e-discovery in commercial litigation.     

Rapid and nondestructive analysis of lipstick on different substrates using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and chemometrics

Lipstick can be an important piece of evidence in crimes like murders, rapes, and suicides. Due to its prevalence, it can be an important corroborative evidence in crime reconstruction. The analysis of such evidence can provide an evidentiary link between the suspect, the victim, object, or the crime scene. We report the use of nondestructive ATR-FTIR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics for the classification of 10 brands of lipsticks with nine samples each. Chemometric method of partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) has been employed to interpret the data and classify the samples into their respective classes. The PLS-DA model provides an AUC figure above 0.99 in all brands except one; for which it is slightly less at 0.94. We have also tested the traces of these lipstick samples on different substrates treating them as unknowns in the already trained PLS-DA model. 100% of the samples on nine substrates viz. a cotton, nylon, plastic, dry tissue, denim (blue jeans), wet tissue, nitrile gloves, white paper, and polyester were correctly attributed to their source brand. In conclusion, the results suggest that ATR-FTIR combined with the chemometrics is a rapid, nondestructive, and accurate method for the discrimination and source attribution of lipstick. This study has potential for use in actual forensic casework conditions.     

Management and safety of a medical mission: occupational hazards of volunteering

Medical aid missions involve travel to conflict or danger zones, posing safety risks in addition to the usual occupational risks arising from daily medical work. The note reports on a volunteer mission, using personal reports, anecdotal experiences, and the formal annual report to undertake an assessment similar to worksite assessments for hazards and control measures. Hazards were found to be prevalent, including physical noise and heat, infectious exposure from patients and local vectors, poor water sanitation, and psychosocial stress from unfamiliar environments and large patient numbers with limited means. Implementable preventative measures include increasing awareness with appropriate protective equipment usage and safety guidelines. Mission planning and management should also involve occupational health input.     

日本温室气体排放权交易制度及启示

1998年日本颁布了第一部专门应对全球气候变暖问题的法律——《地球变暖对策推进法》。为实现《京都议定书》所规定的减排目标,让日本国内企业积累温室气体排放权交易的相关知识与经验,日本政府提供补贴,鼓励企业自愿参与国内温室气体排放权交易。这种不采取命令控制模式(command-and-control),而是以自主参加与补贴为主的温室气体排放权交易制度,有效地降低了减排温室气体所需的管制成本。目前,我国虽然不承担减排义务,但我国政府提出了自主减排的目标。为了实现这一目标,有必要借鉴日本这种柔性立法范例。     

认真履行政府责任 积极开展法律援助——北京市法律援助工作纪要

法律援助,是由政府设立的法律援助机构,组织法律援助人员和社会志愿人员,为经济困难的公民或特殊案件的当事人提供免费的法律服务,以保障其合法权益得以实现的一项法律保障制度。法律援助作为政府的责任,体现了"法律面前人人平等"的宪法原则。文章记录了北京市法律援助工作十余年的探索之路。     

整合业务流程管理实施模型研究

整合业务流程管理是当前企业管理发展的趋势。从管理体系、信息支持、岗位支持、知识体系、绩效体系等方面进行流程管理的整合,是提高流程效率、发挥流程职能的基础和关键。建立以业务流程为核心的整合流程管理体系,将会使企业的经营运作更好地面向客户需求,发挥流程的价值和创造作用,从而促进企业效率的提高,增强企业凝聚力与核心执行能力。     

对建立我国法律援助律师制度的探讨

建立法律援助律师制度是法律援助制度发展进程中的重要举措。在中国目前法律服务市场不很发达和法律援助需求日趋增长的状况下,如何建立符合中国国情的法律援助制度,促进法律援助事业健康协调发展,促进律师制度的完善,是一项具有挑战性的任务。     

Accounting for Taiwan's economic policy toward China

This article explores the ideas, institutions, and interests in which Taiwan's economic policy toward China is embedded. The authors indicate that the ideas behind Taiwan's economic policy toward China are as vibrant as ever, the political foundation for a coherent and feasible policy is eroding, and commercial interests are digressing from the Taiwan government's policy goals. Political forces around ideas have strong hearing on the formation of Taiwan's economic policy toward China. The truthfulness or falseness of the security argument is of intrinsic value to Taiwan's decision makers. The authors also point out that in order to have a complete picture of cross‐Strait economic relations, we need to specify how trade and investment with China influence Taiwan's distribution of political interests.