Examining fatal and nonfatal incidents involving the TASER

Research Summary According to TASER International, nearly 10,000 police departments in the United States have deployed the TASER as a less lethal force alternative in some capacity. Despite the TASER's increasing popularity, serious questions have been raised about the device's physiological side effects; in particular, Amnesty International has reported that more than 300 people have died after being subjected to the TASER. Although a growing body of research has examined the physiological effects of the TASER on animals and healthy human volunteers in laboratory settings, there has been virtually no empirical analysis of “real‐world” fatal and nonfatal TASER cases simultaneously. This article examines all media reports of TASER incidents from 2002 to 2006 through a comprehensive review of LexisNexis and New York Times archives. We compare TASER incidents in which a fatality occurred to TASER incidents in which a fatality did not occur and then employ multivariate analyses to identify the incident and suspect characteristics that are predictive of articles describing TASER‐proximate deaths. Policy Implications Several suspect factors were significantly associated with the reporting of a fatal TASER incident, including drug use (but not alcohol), mental illness, and continued resistance. Multiple deployments of the TASER against a suspect was also associated with the likelihood of the article describing a fatality—especially if the suspect was emotionally disturbed—which raises the possibility that the risk of multiple shocks might not be uniform for all suspects. More research is needed to explore the relationship between mental illness, drug use (illicit or therapeutic), continued resistance, and increased risk of death. In the meantime, police departments should develop specific policies and training governing the use of multiple TASER shocks against individuals who could be in these vulnerable physiological and psychological states.     

车辆碰撞护栏事故车速分析的方法

车辆碰撞护栏是高速公路上常见的一类事故,主要有两种常用的车速分析方法,即法向弹性恢复系数法和切向摩擦系数法。但是由于高速公路上,车速较快,经常有车辆冲出道路,在此情况下,提出一种基于护栏变形能量的车速分析方法,用来计算车辆碰撞护栏时的最低速度,并通过实例进行了验证。     

A real-time multiplex SNP melting assay to discriminate individuals

A method that quickly and inexpensively differentiates crime scene samples from multiple donors would expedite casework analysis by allowing the selection of probative items requiring comprehensive testing. This new method need not be perfectly definitive nor give a complete 13 locus short tandem repeat (STR) profile; it simply must be able to differentiate between most victim and suspect samples. We describe the development of multiplex, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to fulfill this need. Dual probes, one fluorescently labeled and the other labeled with a quencher, are monitored during a melt analysis to reveal an increase in fluorescence, which allows the assessment of the two SNP alleles. Two alternate 6-plex assays (with and without gender determination) have been developed for the six-color RG6000 real-time instrument (Corbett Robotics, Inc.) and one seven SNP plus gender assay (performed as two 4-plex assays, one with gender the other without) have been developed for use in four/five color real-time instruments. This technique can discriminate between 95% and 99% of samples from different individuals. This assay is fast (approximately 2 h), much less expensive than STR analysis, and uses a real-time PCR instrument which is found in most forensic and molecular biology labs.     

Politics and Corporate‐Sector Environmentally Significant Actions: The Effects of Political Partisanship on U.S. Utilities Energy Efficiency Policies

This study assesses the direct, indirect, and total impacts of political partisanship on state‐level utilities' investment in energy efficiency. This subject is of utmost importance because energy efficiency improvement has become a linchpin in worldwide efforts to combat climate change and other environmental challenges. Analysis of data on 51 electric utilities nested within 31 U.S. states indicates that political partisanship influences utilities' energy efficiency policies. There is strong evidence that electric utilities in states dominated by the Republican Party are less likely to invest in energy efficiency than those in states governed by the Democratic Party. This finding suggests that political partisanship may be shaping the policy and regulatory frameworks put in place by state governments to incentivize or compel the participation of private‐sector entities' in environmental management and/or resource conservation.     

The More Assertive and Pragmatic New Energy Policy in Putin’s Russia: Security Implications for Northeast Asia

The article examines Russia’s New Energy Policy (NEP) and its impact on Northeast Asian security and the development of the Russian Far East. In contrast to analyses highlighting competition between China and Japan for Russian resources, to the contrary it is argued here that greater cooperation among consumer states in Northeast Asia would be beneficial for Russia. Although the NEP has resulted in changes in the composition of foreign investors in Russian energy projects, the author suggests that Moscow is interested in multinational cooperation in the energy sector because it would help diversify the regional energy market and contribute to the development of the Russian Far East and eastern Siberia.

日本民用核能法律制度创新对中国的启示

日本于1955年正式公布《原子能基本法》后,经历了两大发展阶段,形成了较为系统的民用核能法律体系,却以福岛核事故为转折点暴露了诸多问题。此后日本根据多重防护理论进行构建,以新建立的原子能规制委员会为核心,依托民用核能损害赔偿为主的民事诉讼与"定期检查许可证交付"为主的行政诉讼的司法实践,辅之以《电气事业会计准则》为基础的民用核能特别会计准则制度,建立起了一套以理论建构、制度架构、司法实践为主,财务会计制度等为辅的日本特色民用核能法律制度体系。鉴于我国推进"一带一路"进程中民用核能合作高速发展以及《核安全法》问世,民用核能法律制度亟需受到高度重视。日本民用核能法律制度发展的新理论、新框架及创新内容,为中国民用核能发展提供了在决策机制、透明度设计等方面多层次、宽领域的启示。     

普京的俄罗斯石油战略及我国应采取的对策

随着经济的高速发展,我国的石油需求快速增长,2003年,我国已经成为世界上仅次于美国的第二大石油消费国和仅次于美日的第三大石油进口国,石油短缺成为我国未来时期能源安全的主要矛盾。中俄两国石油合作互补性强,俄罗斯石油的总储量约为200亿吨,而我国从俄罗斯和中亚的进口只占7.5%[1]。两国石油合作具有广阔前景,但也存在许多波折和问题。通过对普京两任总统期间的石油战略分析,可以对中俄石油合作的前景进行理性的预测,以便采取切实可行的合作对策。     

Understanding Russia’s energy turn to China: domestic narratives and national identity priorities

This study investigates whether, as part of a broader “Asian Energy Pivot,” Russia’s energy giant Gazprom refashioned its export strategy away from Europe, and what impact such a reorientation might have on the EU–Russia gas relationship. It uses four empirical cases to emphasize the domestic movers underlying Russia’s eastward shift in energy trade, developing a constructivist theory rooted in the dynamics of Russia’s dominant public narrative and the contours of domestic politics. It argues that Russia’s national interests changed as a result of how Russian policy-makers interpreted and reacted to the stand-off with Europe, in response to what they perceived as Europe’s attempt to isolate it economically and geopolitically. Russia’s Eurasianists, who had advocated the notion of a necessary turn to the East for a long time, positioned themselves as norm entrepreneurs and their new interpretation of the preexisting material incentives shaped the future course of action.     

能源大部制改革的历史分析与启示

以1988年至1993年第七届中央政府时期的能源部改革为案例,运用分析性叙述的方法,深入描述这次改革的背景、方案、运行、结果及影响。在分析能源部改革历史逻辑、总结改革失败教训的基础上,提出三个有关行政体制改革的观点:(1)大部制并不能针对性地解决部门协调的问题,仅仅提供了协调的机会和可能性;(2)以简政放权为目的的大部制改革难以实现部门协调的目标;(3)在对行政改革进行评价时,必须重视改革文化的培育与维护。     

我国合同能源管理的立法现状及前瞻

合同能源管理是在西方发达国家发展起来的一种基于市场运作的全新的节能机制,我国政府运用了大量的政策工具来推动合同能源管理机制的应用,但该机制仍然欠缺硬法的保障,这成了制约其发展的最主要的原因。有必要对此单独立法,设计出符合我国国情的法律规范,对节能服务企业实行资质管理,并通过立法明确能源管理合同当事人及参与人的权利义务关系,明确必须节能的部门和行业,完善相关的税收、能耗奖惩等制度和政策,为合同能源管理机制服务。