Bureaucrats–Enterprise Negotiation in China's Enterprise Reform at the Local Level: case studies in Guangzhou

This article explores the implementation of SOE reform in China at the local level, using case studies in Guangzhou as illustration. It is argued that local government spearheads a reform agenda that puts locally-defined state objectives first, not necessarily favouring enterprise restructuring. A full-fledged negotiation model does not exist in SOE reforms because all enterprises are controlled by the state and have to comply with top-down policies and orders. Government-enterprise relations and the degree of entrepreneurial power depend largely on the economic strength of the enterprise, with the boomers getting a good economic bargain while the laggards fail to gain sympathy from government. Enterprise workers are largely at the mercy of restructuring decisions that come from bargaining and at times collusion between managers and local bureaucrats.     

论我国未成年犯社区矫正的必要性及可行性

当前,我国未成年人犯罪数量快速增长,且再犯罪率很高,这表明传统的未成年犯矫正工作已不适应现在矫正工作的需要。对未成年犯进行社区矫正,是近年来世界各国刑罚执行制度的一个发展趋势。它彰显了人道主义和人文关怀精神,有利于对未成年犯的再社会化,能够有效地克服对未成年犯科以监禁刑罚所产生的弊端。从未成年犯社区矫正的基本概念入手,论述我国未成年犯适用社区矫正的必要性及可行性。     

Reciprocal relationships between symptoms of depression and parental support during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood

This study applies latent growth curve analysis to data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 10,828) and finds that symptoms of depression and social support interact with one another in a dynamic fashion across the transition from adolescence (mean age at Wave 1 = 15.28 years) to young adulthood (mean age at Wave 3 = 21.65 years). Parental support during adolescence is inversely associated with initial symptoms of depression for girls and boys, although adolescent girls with low levels of parental support begin the study period with significantly higher levels of depressive symptomatology than their male counterparts. In addition, adolescents who begin the study period with higher levels of depressive symptomatology report less parental support during young adulthood. Finally, regardless of their initial level of depressive symptoms, girls and boys who experience increased symptoms of depression over time also report lower levels of parental support at the end of the study period.

Parental involvement in adolescent romantic relationships: patterns and correlates

This study examined dimensions of mothers’ and fathers’ involvement in adolescents’ romantic relationships when offspring were age 17. Using cluster analysis, parents from 105 White, working and middle class families were classified as positively involved, negatively involved, or autonomy-oriented with respect to their adolescents’ romantic relationships. Patterns of parental involvement were generally not associated with parent–offspring relationship quality at about adolescent age 13, but earlier parent–offspring relationship quality moderated the associations between parental involvement and adolescent romantic experiences at about age 18. Positive parent–offspring relationship quality buffered the effects of negative parental involvement, whereas poorer parent–offspring relationship quality was a more adaptive context for adolescents of autonomy-oriented parents. Discussion focuses on the importance of parenting practices in adolescent romantic relationships and the emotional climate of parent–offspring relationships as a developmental context for those practices.

Opinion Taking within Friendship Networks

Communication within friendship networks can provide gains in efficiency that help individuals enrich their understanding of politics. Through two panel survey experiments, we demonstrate that the dissemination of an individual's opinion about the hazards posed by public policies can have both durable and significant effects on the policy judgments of friends. These effects are conditioned by both the content of the communication and the recipient's level of political awareness. Opinions emphasizing potential risks carry more weight than those that attempt to alleviate concerns about potential risks. Moreover, opinion transmission is more effective for subjects who are less politically aware when policy issues are salient; but when the political issue is more esoteric, friends who are more politically aware evidence greater opinion change.     

Electronic Funds and Benefits Transfers,E‐Government,and the Winter Commission

This article examines how electronic funds transfers and electronic benefit transfers have become integral components of digital government. These technologies have forwarded many of the principles of the Winter Commission, including the development of lean, responsive government. The greater efficiency and cost savings for the federal and most state governments have not been achieved without encountering and dealing with serious matters related to customer service, contracting, collaboration, management, and implementation. These issues arise in the normal daily use of electronic payment technologies, but they are magnified in crisis situations, as demonstrated by disaster relief operations during Hurricane Katrina.     

Voting on slavery at the Constitutional Convention

This paper provides the first empirical study of delegate voting behavior on issues of slavery at the U.S. Constitutional Convention. We analyze two categories of votes: those related to apportionment and those related to the regulation of the slave trade. Although it is widely believed that delegates voted consistent with the interests of their states on issues of slavery, we find that for votes on apportionment, the effect of state interests was enhanced by both the delegate’s personal interest and his religious background. For votes regulating the slave trade, state interests had a significant effect but only within specific regions.     

The Administrators of Democracy: A Research Note on Local Election Officials

Local election officials are the administrators of democracy, but we know little about their views. This paper draws from two national surveys of local election officials. The authors find that local election officials generally support the goals of the federal Help America Vote Act but are less enthusiastic about the actual impact of the legislation. Implementation theory helps explain their evaluation of federal reforms. Goal congruence with reform mandates, resource availability, and a willingness to accept federal involvement predicts support for these reforms. Federal policy changes have promoted electronic systems, and some of the authors' findings are relevant to research on e-government. Users of electronic voting machines tend to have high confidence in them despite the significant criticism the machines have faced. Local election officials who support e-government generally are more likely to more positively evaluate federal reforms.