Going, going, gone: the effects of aid policies on graduation at three large public institutions

This paper exploits uniquely detailed data and cross-institution variation in aid for three large public universities to identify the effects of aid on the probability of college graduation. The results indicate that need-based and merit-based aid both increase graduation rates at large public institutions, but primarily through the types of students that ‘select’ these institutions. Merit-based aid facilitates an institution attracting students who have higher observed academic ability that raises the probability of graduation. Need-based aid enables an institution to attract students with non-academic attributes such as social and cultural networks that, while often unobserved, improve graduation success. Broadly, our results suggest that recent aid policy that has moved away from need-based aid for low-income students (reducing their ability to find the best institutional match) and toward merit-based aid (that alters the distribution of high ability students across colleges) could foster stagnant graduation rates even with rising enrollment rates that have been observed over the last three decades.

Ethnic Riots in Kosovo: What Went Right?

The world was shocked when deadly riots broke out in Kosovoduring March 2004, after nearly five years of involvement andfinancial support by NATO and the United Nations. But, despitethe widespread nature of the rioting, violence did not spreadinto communities of return that had benefited substantiallyfrom direct international financial aid and interventions inthe same way that riots infected the wider province. This wasthe experience of communities assisted by at least two internationalNGOs, both of which used the ‘Do No Harm’ methodologyof enhancing ‘connectors’ while minimizing ‘dividers’between ethnic groups. American Refugee Committee's programmeis described and displacement data are presented. In those communitiesassisted by American Refugee Committee, 85 per cent of the returneesdid not flee during the riots. It is concluded that communitiesof return succeeded in thwarting violence because they had astake in peace.     

从《刑事诉讼法修正案》看监狱法律援助工作

对在押服刑人员开展法律援助,符合法律援助为维护处于贫弱地位公民的合法权益的根本目的。这不但有利手提高服刑人员的改造质量,也有利于维护监管安全大局,体现了社会主义法治的公平与正义。如何正确认识监狱法律援助现存的各种问题,并提出可行性实施策略,对监狱法治建设意义重大。     

我国检察机关量刑建议机制研究

量刑建议制度是当前我国量刑制度改革的一个重要组成部分,量刑建议权也是公诉权不可或缺的一项权能。量刑建议对于实现量刑公正、提高效率、加强人权保障等方面都有不可替代的作用。文章通过考察量刑建议在我国司法实践中的推进历程,分析量刑建议的定位,从量刑建议的适用范围、类型、提出、审批、结果监督等方面,系统构建了一个完整的量刑建议运行机制,并对相关配套机制的建立与完善进行阐释,力求实现制度合理高效的研究目标。     

COMRADES OR CULPRITS? DONOR ENGAGEMENT AND BUDGET TRANSPARENCY IN AID‐DEPENDENT COUNTRIES

Budget transparency has come to be considered a key aspect of governance. Over the past decade, donors have invested increasing resources in strengthening processes through which budget transparency in developing countries can be enhanced. According to the 2008 Open Budget Index (OBI) Report, however, aid dependency and budget transparency appear to be inversely correlated. This article looks at the role of donor agencies in promoting or preventing budget transparency in aid‐dependent countries. It looks at significant correlations across the whole sample of 84 countries covered in the 2008 OBI, and analyzes more specific data for a sub‐sample of 16 aid‐dependent countries, before selecting six countries for which more detailed findings are then presented. All of these countries have implemented reforms aimed at enhancing budget transparency, with substantial donor support. These, however, often had only limited success, partly because they were not well adapted to the local context, and partly because donors put limited emphasis on improving public access to budget information. Donor efforts were also often offset by other characteristics of donor interventions, namely their fragmentation, lack of transparency, and limited use of programme aid modalities such as budget support and pooled sector funding. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中国司法鉴定救助制度的实证研究

我国司法鉴定救助制度运作虽时日不久,但却积累了较为丰富的经验。实践中的典型案例和一些鉴定机构、法律援助部门的统计数据表明：目前规模性的鉴定救助兴起于2006年,并主要发生于民诉领域;同时,司法鉴定救助的对象大多是因交通事故、工伤等引发伤残鉴定的农民或农民工等弱势群体。毋庸置疑,鉴定机构与法律援助部门在推动我国司法鉴定救助方面起了重要作用。鉴定救助的现状是与当前司法鉴定制度改革背景、法律援助的多年经验,以及其它特殊条件共同促动的,虽然存在不少问题,但其探索启示了进一步的发展之路。     

结果导向型援助及其超越 ——兼论中国国际发展合作与全球发展话语权

援助是一国外交政策的重要工具。冷战期间,美苏对外援助的主要目的是争夺盟友,对援助成效的评估主要是以过程为导向,其标准是援助的投入是否成功使受援国留在本方阵营。冷战后,西方国家内部出现援助预算的合法性危机,对援助成效的讨论也逐渐从过程导向转向结果导向。进入21世纪,联合国千年发展目标和2030年可持续发展目标为发展援助的结果评估提供了重要参照。结果导向型援助提高了中国对外援助的可见性,但其存在的弊端和南北垂直援助特征需要中国制定超越援助的新时代国际发展合作战略。联合国2030年可持续发展议程吸收了结果导向型援助的积极因素,但这也为超越该理念奠定了基础。新时代中国国际发展合作与2030年议程的深入对接为中国突破西方战略围堵和实现中华民族伟大复兴提供了重要机遇。全球发展倡议与"一带一路"倡议、人类命运共同体理念和生态文明思想共同构成中国全球发展话语权的基础,并逐步超越了结果导向型援助,为落实2030年议程指明了方向。     

对行政指导行为不属于行政诉讼受案范围之质疑

行政指导行为在现代行政中广泛存在,在取得较好行政效果的同时,也存在大量的行政指导不当或错误从而造成行政相对人损害的情况,但理论与立法却将其排除在行政诉讼受案范围之外,从而使行政相对人在受到损害时得不到司法救济,明显违反公平、公正的法律原则和精神。本文从行政指导行为的属性及在实施过程中对行政相对人可能造成损害等三方面探讨了其被纳入到行政诉讼受案范围的理论依据、事实依据及归责依据。并从诉讼法的角度作了进一步的阐述,以期提供有益参考。     

Evaluation of canine training aids containment for homemade explosive and components by headspace analysis and canine testing

While canines are most commonly trained to detect traditional explosives, such as nitroaromatics and smokeless powders, homemade explosives (HMEs), such as fuel–oxidizer mixtures, are arguably a greater threat. As such, it is imperative that canines are sufficiently trained in the detection of such HMEs. The training aid delivery device (TADD) is a primary containment device that has been used to house HMEs and HME components for canine detection training purposes. This research assesses the odor release from HME components, ammonium nitrate (AN), urea nitrate (UN), and potassium chlorate (PC), housed in TADDs. Canine odor recognition tests (ORTs) were used with analytical data to determine the detectability of TADDs containing AN, UN, or PC. Headspace analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with solid-phase microextraction (SPME) or online cryotrapping were used to measure ammonia or chlorine, as well as other unwanted odorants, emanating from bulk AN, UN, and PC in TADDs over 28 weeks. The analytical data showed variation in the amount of ammonia and chlorine over time, with ammonia from AN and UN decreasing slowly over time and the abundance of chlorine from PC TADDs dependent on the frequency of exposure to ambient air. Even with these variations in odor abundance, canines previously trained to detect bulk explosive HME components were able to detect all three targets in glass and plastic TADDs for at least 18 months after loading. Detection proficiency ranged from 64% to 100% and was not found to be dependent on either age of material.