“The Spectacle of Fearsome Acts”: Crime in the Melting P(l)ot in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gangs of New York</Emphasis>

This paper explores the multi-layered representations of violence and crime in the recent Hollywood film Gangs of New York [Scorcese (2003) Miramax]. We use our exploration of this film to suggest that popular culture, even through its most mainstream products, can be seen as a critical criminological space where alternative views of law, crime and the state are made available. Rather than understanding Hollywood movies simply as vehicles for disseminating conventional mores, we suggest that they can furnish critical (and complex) points of view on law and crime and that the project of a critical criminology can be strengthened by engaging more forthrightly with these ubiquitous cultural forms.     

当前推行行政执法责任制中存在的主要问题及对策研究

近年来各级人民政府、各行政执法部门广泛建立了行政执法责任制,对规范行政行为、提高执法质量、维护群众权益起到了积极的作用,但在执行中也暴露出一些问题。本文分析了一些突出问题的深层次原因,并对顺利推行行政执法责任制提出对策建议。     

从控制论视阈看文化在社会发展中的作用

作为特殊意识形态的自然科学技术,无论从社会演进的宏观动力机制看,还是从其微观动力机制看,都对社会发展具有决定性作用。社会意识形态虽然在宏观动力机制上处于从属的地位,但从微观动力机制上考察,对历史进程发展的迟速则具有决定性意义。     

批判性思维和创新思维——时代呼唤什么样的思维方式

批判性思维和创新思维是紧密相关的。批判性思维和创新思维的基本特征是整合而不是拒斥各种各样的思维方式与方法。因此，研究批判性思维和创新思维，合适的做法是把它放到一个比逻辑思维更为广阔的思维领域去进行。我们时代呼唤的思维方式。乃是批判性思维和创新思维。     

Explore China-Latin America Multiple Cooperation Under the Framework of Globalization

Development and enhancement of bilateral economic and trade cooperation constitutes the foundation of a country's external economic relations,which is also one of the important tasks of all the countries for developing and consolidating bilateral relations in an era of peace and development.     

The challenge of institution-building in Asia and its implications for Asia-Europe relations

  East Asia, including Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, has developed tightly-linked production/distribution networks through globalizing corporate activities. The vertical chain of production in East Asia has been even more sophisticated than economic integration in East Europe or Latin America. However, the political environment of East Asia for trade and investment has been far from borderless. The integration effort at the policy level has been very much limited so far, due to the historical background as well as geopolitics surrounding East Asia. The Asian currency/financial crisis provided these countries a historical turning point. After the burst of the crisis, East Asians realized that they have to take care of themselves in their difficulties, not depending on outside forces. A natural choice for them was to step into the realm of regionalism. In 1998, Japan and Korea officially announced that they would discard the long-lasting GATT/WTO-only approach and adapt the multi-layered approach, including both regionalism and multilateralism. The ultimate goal of regionalism would be a region-wide integration including ASEAN+3. As a steppingstone, Japan signed the Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement (JSEPA) in January 2002. In a parallel move, the ASEAN and China Leaders announced in November 2001 the establishment of an ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) within 10 years. This article will follow up the most recent advancement of regional institutional building in East Asia with the emphasis on peculiar characteristics of economic integration in the region and discuss its implications for Asia-Europe relations. This paper is heavily drawn from Kimura (2002, 2003).     

S&;T Parks and business incubators in middle-sized countries: the case of greece

This paper links the policy context regarding S&T parks to the objectives and characteristics of the established parks and incubators in a relatively small, converging European country. S&T parks and incubators in Greece during the past decade and a half have gradually shifted in terms of ownership and management from university/research institute to the private sector and in terms of financing from public to private funds, also involving the provision of seed capital and access to venture capital. This gradual shift toward more private engagement has created a variety of models out of which, it is hoped, successful innovative companies will emerge in larger numbers than in the past.

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A comparison of the Russian 13% flat rate PIT evasion stratified contributions and the US tax schedule

This paper reviews the existing literature on consumer credit reporting, the most extensively used instrument to overcome information asymmetry and adverse selection problems in credit markets. Despite the copious literature in economics and some research in regulatory policy, the legal community has paid almost no attention to the legal framework of consumer credit information systems, specially within the context of the European Union. Studies on the topic, however, seem particularly relevant in view of the establishment of a single market for consumer credit. This article ultimately calls for further legal research to address consumer protection concerns and inform future legislation.      

The European airline industry: law and economics of low cost carriers

This article offers an analysis of the European airline industry in order to understand the new dynamics of the competitive field. The liberalization process did not lead the entrance of competitors similar to incumbents, but a new organizational model has been developed, the one of low cost carriers. The incumbents’ reaction to the liberalization process coupled with the entrance of low cost companies into the sector are hence considered. Two theories are analysed: the contestable markets theory, to understand the theoretical vision that has influenced the liberalization process, and the core theory, a modern approach to the concept of destructive competition that, according to some authors, is a recurring problem in the sector. While numerous barriers to entry still exist, the paper examines how the organizational model of low cost companies has helped new entrants to overtake these obstacles. By the same token, the application of the core theory does not seem to justify strategic alliances taking place in these years. The competitive framework is definitely clearer if we analyse sector changes in a different way, from the point of view of low cost companies considered as new market actors.