Variation of the electorate: Veto and purge

In the paradigm social choice problem, there is a fixed set of alternatives and a fixed set of voters. This essay considers variations of the electorate when some subset of voters has a special voice on some subset of alternatives. We formalized such a situation by means of the veto function. We focus on stable veto functions, exhibit a stable liberal social choice function and promotion mechanism, and investigate a notion of stability for groups whose membership itself is the social state.     

Toward general principles of managerial fairness

The present study identified the principles employees use for judging a broad range of managerial actions. A cross-sectional sample of 44 executives were asked to describe recent fair and unfair treatment in seven areas of management responsibility: planning, staff development, delegating, motivating, coordinating, daily activities, and representing the organization to the public. These responses were coded to yield 16 rules guiding judgments about perceived managerial fairness. Aggregation of these rules yielded six major clusters of fairness concerns. The paper describes these clusters in detail and highlights their potential usefulness to a broader understanding of the complex nature of procedural fairness judgments in organizations.     

Of Anti-Zionists and Antideutsche: The Post-War German Left and Its Relationship with Israel

The semicentennial anniversary in 2017 of the 1967 Middle East War is an occasion to reflect on the impact of a war that brought dramatic changes to the Middle East and beyond. One of the ramifications of the Israeli victory in 1967 was the growing criticism of the Jewish state among the European Left—a movement that held largely positive attitudes regarding Israel up until the so-called Six Day War. These shifting sentiments also affected the relations between the Jewish State and the emerging “New Left” of the young Federal Republic of Germany—a country that would become one of Israel’s most important allies. This article examines the relationship between the German Left and Israel over five decades. It proceeds chronologically by tracing the shifting view toward Israel occasioned by the 1967 war, before examining the evolution of that relationship to the current era. We conclude with a discussion of the drivers behind the complex and uneven relationship, and we argue that these sentiments are closely connected to perceptions of self-identity among members of the German Left.     

Regulation or revenues? An analysis of local business licences,with a case study of the single business permit reform in Kenya

Licensing of businesses by local governments is a common practice in many countries. While business licensing has its origins in regulation, it is often seen as little more than a revenue source for local government. This article reviews the potentially conflicting objectives of regulation and revenue generation, and outlines the various forms which local taxation of business has taken in a number of countries. In practice, the regulatory aspects of local business licensing in many developing countries are ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst, and there are pressures to sweep away most local business licences as part of deregulatory reform. Yet local governments in many countries are in dire need of revenue sources in order to finance local service provision. The article analyses the reforms that have been introduced to business licensing in Kenya. There, traditional business licences have been replaced with a Single Business Permit, with the twin objectives of increasing local revenues and reducing regulatory compliance costs on businesses. Initial results suggest that, while there have been some initial start‐up problems, both these objectives are being achieved. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

欧盟模式对世界治理的启示

作为法国前总理,米歇尔·罗卡尔先生在这篇文章中阐述了法国在欧盟和世界格局中的协调作用,认为从法国和欧盟的经验来看,当今世界的许多问题和矛盾都可以且应该用对话的方式解决。文章批评美国在反恐斗争中的单边主义立场,并且对美国的伊朗问题政策提出警告。文章还对中国建设“和谐社会”表示赞赏,认为和谐的、非军事的对话对于亚洲和世界都是很重要的。     

The empirical relationship between carbon emission and energy use of BRICS nations

In literature, there has been a large number of empirical research to examine the impact of CO2 emission on economic activity popularly known as the Environmental Kuznets curve having an inverted U shape relationship. The increasing environmental problem and environmental degradation are global phenomena due to increasing economic activities. In order to verify this relationship empirically in the context of BRICS nations, the present study intends to investigate the importance of energy use in the estimation of carbon emission while controlling GDP, industry value added and trade openness using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Fixed Effect (FE) Models. Our findings have confirmed that the relationship between CO2 emission and GDP confirmed inverted U‐shaped of the EKC. The direction of the relationship between squared LNIVA and LNCO2P further reinforce the inverted U‐shaped EKC. The relationship between LNEU and CO2P also satisfied the inverted U‐shape of the EKC. This may be due to the practice of energy efficiency and energy conservation measures in industrial sectors in BRICS nations. However, BRICS nations should also emphasize renewables and policies need to be aligned accordingly to keep CO2 emission at a lower level so that global warming could be kept to below 1.50°C, which is the target given by Paris Agreements.     

Influence of bleaching on the enantiomeric disposition of amphetamine-type stimulants in hair

The aim of this work was to study the influence of hair bleaching on the enantiomeric ratios of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), including amphetamine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine. Hair specimens from 14 STA users were treated with a commercial bleaching product during 40 min. After alkaline digestion and solid-phase extraction of bleached and non-bleached hair, the STA enantiomers were derivatised with an in-house synthesised chiral reagent, the (2S,4R)-N-heptafluorobutyryl-4-heptafluorobutoyloxy-prolyl chloride. The diastereoisomers were quantified by GC/MS-NCI. The results showed that the concentrations of all enantiomers decreased in bleached hair in comparison with the non-treated hair (median values between 20 and 39%). The enantiomeric ratios of the STA in bleached hair were not significantly different from those determined in non-treated hair. Our findings pointed out that bleaching treatments decrease concentrations of STA in hair without influencing their enantiomeric ratios.