Beyond the property debate: animal welfare as a public good

Abstract

Animal protection is socially constructed through laws specifying which animals should be protected and how. Most jurisdictions codify animal abuse by specifying the legal protections granted to animals. While these vary between jurisdictions, western legal systems generally provide for better levels of animal protection by incorporating animal welfare and wildlife crime laws into criminal justice systems. UK legislation has long held that animal welfare is a public good, thus animals should be protected in the public interest. However, despite the protective provisions of animal protection laws they generally fall short of giving animals actual rights, protection exists only to the extent that animal and human interests coincide. Animals’ legal status as property dictates that much anti-animal abuse and wildlife crime legislation is about allowing animal exploitation commensurate with human interests. However, UK legislation in the form of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 subtly shifts this position in respect of domestic animals by imposing a duty of care towards companion animals. This paper argues that by requiring owners and responsible persons to give active consideration to the needs of individual companion animals, the Animal Welfare Act provides animals with a level of protection that amounts to a form of legal rights.     

Victimless venison? Deer poaching and black market meat in the UK

Abstract

The British Deer Society places the number of poached deer in the UK as high as 50,000 each year whereas only 335 incidents were reported to the police in 2009. This article explores deer as invisible victims of green crime and the motivations behind this poaching, drawing on the typologies of wildlife crime offenders developed by Nurse in 2013. In particular, the traditional profit-driven motivation of offenders is explored by attempting to uncover if there is, as suspected, a black market in venison. In order to do this, online questionnaires were sent to wildlife crime officers and gamekeepers asking questions about the scale and scope of deer poaching, who the perpetrators are and what is happening to the meat. From these data, it is hoped that a more detailed picture of deer poaching can be developed to further inform wildlife law and poaching prevention. This article also draws attention to the plight of poached deer and the potential danger to people of a black market in venison.     

Relationship between job satisfaction and customer satisfaction in public sector using a structural equation model

The role of the customer in modern public administration has changed from a passive and subordinate function to that of an active user and partner in the management of society as a whole. This kind of customer not only demands an administration that responds correctly and on time, but also expects quality, user-friendliness and other requirements. Meeting these demands has led public administration to measure and improve its performance and to introduce targeted change policies. The authors present the development of so-called C-LOPE model. C-LOPE model attempts to develop a structural model to determine relationships between leadership, organisational climate, performance, e-administration and the level of customer satisfaction with public administration services. Measurable parameters are defined for each of the four factors, enabling the model to be applied in practice.     

论我国限制商品过度包装立法的完善

如何规制商品过度包装问题已经引起世界各国的高度重视,德国、日本、美国等国家已有成熟完善的法律体系和运行机制。我国《循环经济促进法》关于商品过度包装的相关规定不具有可操作性,应借鉴国外的先进立法经验,形成比较完善的包装法律体系,建立界定过度包装行为的判断标准,建立生产者责任制,借鉴“欺骗性包装”的概念,保护消费者权利、明确执法机构等。     

市场化进程提升了环境规制的有效性吗?——基于绿色技术创新视角的“波特假说”再检验

利用2000-2016年中国省级面板数据,识别了市场化进程、环境规制与绿色技术创新的非线性关系。结果显示:环境规制的绿色技术创新效应在规制类型、规制强度与绿色技术类型方面存在显著的差异性,因此“波特假说”未能得到完全验证;环境规制总体的绿色工艺创新与绿色产品创新效应受到了市场化进程的正向调节。市场激励型环境规制的绿色工艺创新与绿色产品创新效应受到了市场化进程的正向调节,命令控制型环境规制的绿色工艺创新效应受到了市场化进程的正向调节,市场化进程提升了环境规制的有效性,这意味着“波特假说”是“有条件的波特假说”。研究结论说明,各级政府的环境规制政策与规制强度选择,必须与各地区的市场化进程动态适应。     

Do Pilot and Demonstration Projects Work? Evidence from a Green Building Program

Pilot and demonstration (P&D) projects are commonly deployed to catalyze early adoption of technology but are poorly understood in terms of mechanism and impact. We conceptually distinguish unique functions of pilots and demonstrations, then examine whether they accelerate adoption in the case of green building technology. To identify effects on adoption, we develop a difference-in-difference-in-differences strategy, exploiting variation in timing, location, and technologies of green building P&Ds. Results indicate local quarterly green building adoption rates double following completion of a P&D project. Further analyses examine mechanisms driving this effect. The results suggest green building demonstration projects create learning externalities, proliferating technology diffusion in local markets and through building owner networks. Together, these results suggest that investments in P&D projects by public and private actors can lower costs for subsequent adoption.     

社会工作“绿色转向”的本土思想资源——对费孝通相关论述的考察

面对日益严重的环境危机,西方社会工作发生了“绿色转向”,并对我国产生了一定影响。中国社会工作在接受西方影响的同时,也要关注相应的本土思想资源。费孝通围绕“天人合一”“消遣经济”“人文生态”所作的论述,对于推动中国社会工作的“绿色转向”具有重要意义。首先,费孝通从差序格局的角度对“天人合一”所做的社会学解读,有助于我们走出西方社会工作“绿色转向”中的潜在张力。其次,作为一种源自本土的经济态度和生活方式,费孝通所说的“消遣经济”为我们探寻有别于消费主义的生活方式和另类社区发展道路提供了本土经验参照。最后,从费孝通对“人文生态”的强调中可以看到,在当前的社会处境下,“发展”仍然是中国面临的重要任务,保护自然环境并非放弃发展以及对自然的开发利用,而是将自然生态保护与人文生态建设结合起来。     

Organizational Structure,Work Involvement,and Job Performance of Public Servants

The purpose of this study is to understand the predicting role of organizational structure on job performance. Work involvement is tested as a mediator in the hypothesized link. The study presents the results of a cross-sectional survey of 256 public servants in public service departments and agencies in Malaysia. The research results have provided marginal support for the key theoretical propositions. The significant and positive impact of job codification indicates the importance of this factor in predicting job performance of public servants. The empirical link is mediated by work involvement, which suggests that there is an indirect influence of job codification on job performance. This study aims to provide additional empirical evidence on the influence of organizational structure and job performance in the public sector.     

Analyzing the Link Between Job Satisfaction and Performance in Educational Institutions

The relationship between job satisfaction and organizational performance has been one of the most controversial issues in organizational management. This study examines how job satisfaction affects organizational performance analyzing the panel data collected from educational institutions in Korea. The results demonstrate that teachers’ organizational satisfaction is likely to improve students’ performance in standardized tests, whereas their work satisfaction is negatively related to it. Private school teachers showed higher organizational satisfaction than public school teachers and produced higher students’ test scores. No significant difference in work satisfaction between public and private school teachers was found.     

Are Reemployment Services Effective? Experimental Evidence from the Great Recession

We examine an experimental‐design reemployment program implemented in Nevada during the Great Recession that required Unemployment Insurance (UI) recipients to: (1) undergo an eligibility review to confirm they were qualified for benefits and actively searching for work and, if deemed eligible, (2) receive job‐counseling services. Our results show that the program expedited participant exit from UI, produced UI savings that exceeded program costs, and improved participant employment outcomes. Analyses of program effects on the UI exit likelihood show that the program's effects are partly associated with increased participant exit up through the time when program activities were scheduled, reflecting voluntary exit of participants from UI to avoid program activities and disqualifications of participants who failed to meet eligibility requirements. In addition, the program induced substantial participant exit from UI in the period after participants fulfilled requirements and their interactions with the program had ended, suggesting that the job‐counseling services offered by the program may have helped participants to conduct more effective job searches. Our findings provide evidence that reemployment programs that combine an eligibility review with mandatory participation in job‐search services can be effective during recessions.