Imitating the West? Evidence on Administrative Reform from the Upper Echelons of Chinese Provincial Government

This article explores the attitudes of officials in the upper echelons in Chinese provincial and local government toward the origins of administrative reform. The authors examine the somewhat dichotomous argument that reform imitates the West or is indigenous and contend that both influences are present. Data drawn from a survey of party cadres and government officials show that cultural factors (time in government, overall knowledge of administrative reforms, together with familiarity with the move from a planned system of government to a market economy) and structural variables (upper echelon and familiarity with business management techniques) are correlated with learning from the West. Cadres and officials who spend more time managing outward and those who are familiar with performance assessment do not learn from the West. The theoretical and research implications of these findings—that learning from the West is an important influence on the adoption of administrative reforms in China—are discussed.     

Constitutional Pluralism Revisited

This essay revisits the theory of constitutional pluralism. This theory was first developed in the EU context as a way of understanding and defending the absence of a broadly agreed source of final authority in the relationship between national and supranational (EU) legal systems and their respective appellate courts in the context of the significant increase in supranational jurisdiction around the time of the Maastricht Treaty 25 years ago. The essay argues that the theory of constitutional pluralism remains relevant today, in particular offering better explanatory and justificatory accounts of the EU than any of the singularist (or monist), holist or federalist alternatives. Its continuing relevance, however, depends on a more explicit focus on the political underpinnings of the legal and judicial dimensions of constitutional pluralism than has typically been the case in the literature, and on more detailed consideration of the preconditions, forms and limits of constitutional initiative in the contemporary phase of unprecedented challenge to the legitimacy of the EU.     

Regulating ethics in financial services: Engaging industry to achieve regulatory objectives

This article addresses the issue of renewing a sense of vocation in finance. Drawing on experiences in the UK, Australia, and Ireland, three common law jurisdictions at various phases of developing “an ethical esprit de corps” to professionalize the banking industry, it argues that adopting some aspects of a profession, a “trajectory towards professionalization” of the banking industry, could serve, at least to some extent, to improve the industry-wide norms that influence firms' cultures and individual behaviors. It contends that professionalization could help to develop bankers with a professional, pro-social identity, in which there is a recognition of broader obligations to society, that exists independently of the profit-driven nature of banking and the hierarchy of their own firms. This analysis is informed by an integration of regulatory theory, which casts doubt on the utility of sanctions except as a last resort, behavioral science, which offers insights into how ethics and culture, not just law and markets, can constrain irresponsible behavior in the financial services sector, and criminological theory, which emphasizes that particular types of controls, including individual attachments to groups, build “stakes in conformity” which encourage law abiding and responsible behaviors.     

Modern Families,Modern Family Justice: Supporting Family Relationships in Fast‐Changing Socio‐Political‐Economic Climates (Summary of the Report of the Consultation at St George's House,Windsor, February 12–13, 2018)

This summary relates to the consultation held at St George's House, in Windsor, England, on February 2018. The attendees came from across Europe and from the United States, and they discussed a range of initiatives designed to address the challenges in modern family justice and the changes in the social, political, and economic environments that are impacting family life across the globe. Although the challenges are very similar, the approach to resolving them varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The attendees concluded that there is much we can learn from each other, and that greater cooperation between family justice professionals across geographic boundaries would be highly beneficial.     

Estimating actual foot size from a static bare foot print in a White British Population

In forensic intelligence-gathering it would be useful to be able to estimate the size of a perpetrator's foot from a standing bare footprint found at the scene of crime. Currently, the advice is to add a fixed amount to the length of the footprint (typically 1.5 or 2.0 cm), but there is little evidence for this approach. This study used measured footprint and actual foot lengths from 146 participants from the white British student population of a University in the UK. Data were analysed using multiple regression with foot length as the dependent (outcome) variable and footprint length and sex as the independent variable/factor respectively. Sex was not a significant predictor. The regression equation for the best estimate of the foot length is 19.89 + 0.95 × print length ± 8 mm.     

Dr. Death? Professionalism,Virtue, and U.S. Physician Participation in the Death Penalty

In the United States at present, the death penalty is a possible sentence in 31 out of 50 states, as well as within the military and for federal cases. In the U.S., numbers of executions are declining, in part due to moratoriums in place and challenges to execution by lethal injection. Participation by physicians in lethal injection executions has been steadfastly viewed by professional medical organizations as contrary to their ethical standards. However, physicians have participated in lethal injection executions, and the morality of the death penalty itself is a matter of intense social and political debate. Medical ethics commentators and professional organizations have typically held that the prohibition on physician participation in the death penalty is independent of the ethical status of the death penalty itself. This article argues that this view is untenable, and that it is tied to a view of professional role virtue that is similarly untenable. At the same time, it argues that, given the morally uncertain status of the death penalty, it is plausible that virtuous physicians may either refuse or choose to participate in some aspects of the death penalty.     

Rapid screening for the detection and differentiation of γ-hydroxybutyrate using ion chromatography

The analysis of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is problematic because it is hygroscopic, it lacks a good UV chromophore, and it undergoes heat-induced cyclization. This paper presents a new method utilizing ion-exchange chromatography (IC) with conductivity detection. The simple sample preparation, rapid analysis time, and inorganic anion detection capabilities are all advantages over the current methods. The detection of inorganic salts (formed during GHB synthesis) gives insight into the synthetic route utilized and can aid in drug seizure comparison. The developed method has a detection limit for GHB anions of 0.57 mg/L and chloride of 0.22 mg/L. A comparison of this technique with a current gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique is presented, and a t-test found that the two methods' results are not statistically different at the 99.9% confidence level demonstrating the merits of this fast, simple, and informative IC method as a routine screening tool.     

Prevention of money laundering and the role of asset recovery

The purpose of this paper is to examine the increasing emphasis of the UK anti-money laundering (AML) legislative framework, on the financial arrangements of criminals. Our qualitative study engaged key stakeholders from the AML environment through a series of focus groups. This included law enforcement; accountants; prosecutors; bankers and, importantly, ex-offenders. We argue that the inclusion of the views of a traditionally hard to reach group of ex-offenders, adds significantly to knowledge and understanding about effectiveness of AML. The research findings suggest that, at first glance, the focus on asset recovery has been successful. However, our respondents shared with us areas of tension and inconsistencies in application of the law, in particular between police and the courts. For example, whether it was better to prosecute the predicate offence  separately or in addition to the offence of money laundering; or whether to pursue criminal or civil recovery. We further find that criminals have been able to use their knowledge to circumvent the system, suggesting that greater effort is needed to promote cooperation, rather than competition, in successfully detecting and prosecuting offenders.     

My Pantheon of Chinese Teachers

正On my Chinese language learning journey,I have encountered several invaluable teachers. When I first started learning Mandarin in my native United States, I took classes at an international language center near my home.My first teacher was Fiona, an immigrant from China’s Taiwan. Fiona made it her mission to fine-tune our ears to the phonetic pitfalls of Chinese. She had a beautiful soprano voice and taught us the Chinese phonetic alphabet song.The sheet music to the song had a cartoon of a little horse clutching a microphone and singing karaoke.