Managing Social Risk in China Local Administration: An Examination of SSRA Initiative

Social Stability Risk Assessment (SSRA) sponsored by the local administration is perceived as a socially defined risk-coping initiative since it became mandatory in China. This article observes and unravels SSRA practices by selecting Xuzhou municipality as a sample case. Findings show that local SSRA is operated by the tridimensional mechanism and antecedents of its effectiveness in enforcement are linked with multiple elements of administrative supports. The findings contribute to a full understanding of SSRA in mainland China where there is no electoral democratic regime, and provide implications for developing countries alike. Some recommendations are proposed as a potential driver of these results.     

涉众型经济犯罪案件 追缴与退赔执行的困境及对策

涉众型经济犯罪的复杂性、特殊性决定了其判后追缴、退赔工作的难度,在"重人身、轻财产"的刑事司法理念影响下,涉案财产的性质与权属不明、查控与保全滞后、裁判主文表述不明等问题都未能给判后执行创造良好的基础和条件,且容易造成审判与执行的脱节。对此,应及早保全涉案财物并妥善保管,构建正当的审理程序,落实实体审理内容并规范制作裁判文书,为后续执行奠定正当性的实体基础和物质基础。     

Changing classes,changing preferences: how social class mobility affects economic preferences

Abstract

While many studies have identified an association between social class and economic preferences, we know little about the implications of changes in class location for these preferences. This article assesses how social class and intra-generational class mobility affect economic preferences drawing on longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey. In doing so, the article adopts a post-industrial perspective that considers horizontal and vertical class divisions. Even when time-invariant characteristics of individuals are kept constant (through fixed-effects estimation), it is found that both vertical and horizontal class location explain economic preferences. Thus, these estimations suggest that social class moulds preferences, even when accounting for factors that can lead to selection into classes. Moreover, people who change classes hold different economic preferences than their peers in the class of origin, but do not completely assimilate into their class of destination. This implies that growing intra-generational class mobility could undermine the class basis of political conflict.     

Lost in space? the role of place in the delivery of social welfare law advice over the telephone and face-to-face

ABSTRACT

Advice that is provided exclusively over the telephone has been promoted by government as more convenient and accessible than face-to-face appointments. The resulting push towards telephone-only provision, as implemented by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, challenges the long history of association between social welfare law advice and local delivery within disadvantaged communities. This article reports on qualitative research comparing telephone and face-to-face advice which uncovers the continuing relevance of place in the dynamics and mechanics of social welfare law provision. Familiarity with the geographical location, knowledge of local policies and procedures, relationships with opponents and allies, and an understanding of the ‘local legal culture’ mean that face-to-face advisers are often able to conduct their legal casework more effectively. Conversely, local knowledge is unlikely to be available to Community Legal Advice telephone advisers. This research suggests that, in addition, telephone-only advisers may be developing a more narrow understanding of the essential qualities of casework. These findings are particularly significant in view of the likely future expansion of remote methods of delivery in legal aid work.     

Psychologists as ‘the quiet ones with the power’: understanding indeterminate sentenced prisoners’ experiences of psychological risk assessment in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences in the United Kingdom do not know when or if they will be released from prison. Release and progression decisions are determined by the risk the ISP presents of reoffending. This makes the assessment of risk a high stakes business for ISPs. Whilst there is a large body of literature focused on prisoners’ general experiences of prison, there is an absence of specific empirical exploration of prisoners’ experiences of risk assessment. This paper aims to address this gap by reporting the results of a qualitative exploration of ISPs’ experiences of psychological risk assessment. Interviews with 10 ISPs were conducted and analysed using Grounded Theory methods. Analysis indicated that prisoners experienced the prison environment as characterised by violence, volatility and suffering. Psychological risk assessment is embedded within this emotionally and physically challenging context but also contributes to the experience of suffering. Within this context, prisoners felt stuck, powerless and out of control in relation to risk assessment, and experienced psychologists as untrustworthy yet powerful. Understanding prisoners’ experiences is the first step in resolving some of the long-reported difficulties in working relationships between psychologists and prisoners as well as making the process more procedurally just.     

State transformation and cross-border regionalism in Indonesia’s periphery: contesting the centre

Abstract

This article examines how the decentralisation and fragmentation of the Indonesian state and resultant central–local dynamics affect cross-border regionalism in Indonesia’s periphery. It argues that cross-border regionalism projects are best understood as sites for scalar contestation over regulatory control between central and local government. Moreover, scalar contestation around cross-border regional projects is characterised by the struggles to control relationships with transnational capital between elites operating at different tiers of the state. When elites at different scales have conflicting interests and strategies, this can cause policy incoherence, inhibiting the development of cross-border regionalism. Conversely, when they align, and intersect with the interests of transnational business, cross-border regionalism can succeed. To illustrate the argument, this article utilises the comparative case studies of the Batam free trade zone and West Kalimantan–Sarawak cross-border cooperation.     

The Statecraft Effect: Assessment,Attitudes, and Academic Honesty

Abstract

This article uses a multimethod research design to compare Statecraft to non-Statecraft assignments and courses along three dimensions: student engagement, political attitudes, and academic honesty. The results indicate that Statecraft increased student engagement and academic honesty. In terms of political attitudes, students generally remained on the left side of the political spectrum, but shifted toward the right and became more hawkish by the end of a semester. Changes in attitude are more strongly associated not with playing Statecraft, but taking a political science class by the coauthor, or some other external variable. Statecraft, however, did reduce support for pacifism.     

西北地区住房保障水平测度及其比较研究。

该文使用住房保障水平测算模型，通过估算西北各省经济适用房支出和廉租房支出，对西北五省住房保障水平进行测度。然后把西北各省住房保障水平与其年均GDP结合起来，用以考察各省的住房保障水平与经济发展水平的适应性，分析找出经济实力相对较好、住房保障水平相对较高的省份，这对推动西北各省科学制定住房保障政策及合理安排住房保障财政支出结构有重要作用和意义。     

经济全球化背景下的中国自由贸易区之路

在经济全球化背景下，除世界贸易组织外，区域经济一体化已产生越来越重要的影响。文章介绍、分析了具有代表性的世界主要自由贸易区和中国发展自由贸易区的现状和特点，提出了中国发展自由贸易区的具体建议。     

走向跨界的妇女学和妇女史研究——杜芳琴先生学术贡献述略

自20世纪80年代中期至今,杜芳琴先生在中国古代妇女/性别史、妇女学理论的本土探索与学科建设等领域进行了广泛深入的研究,取得了丰硕成果。考察杜芳琴先生的学术贡献,不仅可以窥见中国女性学者从事学术研究的艰辛、执着与收获,也可窥探中国大陆妇女/性别史研究发展的历程,对于总结妇女/性别史研究中的利弊得失、展望妇女/性别史研究的未来也不无裨益。