The impact of court errors on liability sharing and safety regulation for environmental/industrial accidents

We focus in this paper on the effects of court errors on the optimal sharing of liability between firms and financiers, as an environmental policy instrument. Using a structural model of the interactions between firms, financial institutions, governments and courts we show, through numerical simulations, the distortions in liability sharing between firms and financiers that the imperfect implementation of government policies implies. We consider in particular the role played by the efficiency of the courts in jointly avoiding Type I (finding an innocent firm guilty of inappropriate care) and Type II (finding a guilty firm not guilty of inappropriate care) errors. This role is considered in a context where liability sharing is already distorted (when compared with first best values) due not only to the courts’ own imperfect assessment of safety care levels exerted by firms but also to the presence of moral hazard and adverse selection in financial contracting. There is also not congruence of objectives between firms and financiers on the one hand and social welfare maximization on the other. Our results indicate that an increase in the efficiency of court system in avoiding errors raises safety care level, thereby reducing the probability of accident, and allowing the social welfare maximizing government to impose a lower liability [higher] share for firms [financiers] as well as a lower standard level of care.     

Gendered Responses to Serious Strain: The Argument for a General Strain Theory of Deviance

This paper expands and builds on newer avenues in research on gender and general strain theory (GST). I accomplish this by focusing on serious strains that are relevant for males and females, including externalizing and internalizing forms of negative emotions, and including multiple gendered deviant outcomes. Using the Add Health dataset, I find strong support for the impact of serious strains on both types of negative emotions and different forms of deviance for males and females. However, the experience of serious strain, emotionally and behaviorally, is gendered. Depressive symptoms are particularly important for all types of deviance by females. Including multiple types of deviant outcomes offers a fuller understanding of both similarities and differences by gender. These results support the utility of GST as a theory of deviance in general and support greater connections between GST, feminist theorizing, and the sociology of mental health.     

The Pains of Imprisonment Revisited: The Impact of Strain on Inmate Recidivism

Recent research suggests that imprisonment may increase subsequent levels of offending, but it is not clear why this is the case. Drawing on general strain theory (GST), this study examines whether exposure to the strains associated with imprisonment affects recidivism. These strains include direct victimization, the perception of a threatening prison environment, and hostile relationships with correctional officers. Consistent with GST, data from a sample of 1,613 recently released inmates in Ohio suggest that certain types of these strains do increase the likelihood of recidivism. These results challenge specific deterrence theory and claims by public officials that painful prisons will reduce reoffending.     

Governance through government networks: The G8 and international organizations

As an informal grouping without headquarters, permanent staff or legal powers, the world’s major industrialized countries must rely on other actors, in particular international organizations, to manage global problems. This article examines how the Group of Eight contributes to global governance by cooperating with international organizations in the cases of debt relief and the fight against terrorist finance. It shows that the G8 draws on international institutions with the aid of government networks and argues that this cooperation is stronger, the greater the Group’s concentration of relevant power and the more important it considers the institutions’ resources.     

犬瘟热病毒TN野毒株核蛋白基因的克隆与序列分析

根据GenBank中收录的犬瘟热病毒(CDV)Onderstepoort株核蛋白基因(N)序列,设计了1对特异性引物,用该引物对分离的TN野毒株进行了RT PCR扩增;将扩增得到的PCR片段纯化后与pGEM T质粒连接,得到重组质粒pTN。经核苷酸序列测定,CDVTN株N基因的ORF全长1569bp,编码523个氨基酸;将TN野毒株与GenBank中收录的其他CDV毒株进行比较,N基因核苷酸序列的同源性为94%～99%,推导的N蛋白氨基酸序列的同源性为97%～99%。TN株与Onderstepoort疫苗株氨基酸序列的差异主要集中在N端(17～159位)和C端(408～519位),中间的区域则高度保守。此外,在CDVN蛋白N端281～289位上也发现存在与麻疹病毒(MV)N蛋白完全相同的Y P A L G L H E F9肽序列,推测可能是诱导CTL活性的靶蛋白的抗原表位之一。氨基酸组成分析发现,推导的N蛋白氨基酸序列中亮氨酸、丝氨酸和异亮氨酸所占比例很高,提示该蛋白具有高度螺旋和缠绕的分子结构。     

Anwendbarkeit von Bestimmungen des MRG bzw WGG

§ 20 Abs 1 WGG idF des 2. W?G stellt klar, welche Normen des WGG welche Bestimmungen des MRG in Geb?uden, die durch eine gemeinnützige Bauvereinigung errichtet worden sind, verdr?ngen. Für bis zum 28. 2. 1991 verwirklichte Sachverhalte ist danach noch altes Recht anzuwenden, für danach verwirklichte ohne Rücksicht auf den Zeitpunkt des Vertragsabschlusses das neue Recht des § 20 WGG. Die WRN 1999 dehnte den Anwendungsbereich des WGG auch auf Geb?ude aus, die von einer gemeinnützigen Bauvereinigung in gro?em Umfang saniert wurden. Für in solchen Geb?uden aufrechte Mietverh?ltnisse, die dem MRG unterliegen, hat ein automatisches Einpendeln in die Bestimmungen des WGG nicht stattgefunden, dieses setzt vielmehr das Vorliegen der Voraussetzungen des § 20a WGG voraus.     

Surrogate Motherhood and the Morality of Care

The celebrated case of Baby M focused public attention on the practice of surrogate motherhood. This paper examines the judicial and legislative responses and the public policy implications of surrogate parenting contracts from the perspective of a morality of care. This perspective, which owes much to the pioneering work of Carol Gilligan, elevates the bond between mother and child over the rights conferred by contract. Working with this perspective, several arguments are advanced against the granting of specific performance of surrogate parenting contracts.     

担负起民族振兴的神圣职责——费希特关于“学者的使命“引发的思考

社会转型时期呼唤"人文精神",在这个意义上,学者的社会意义和时代意义就更加凸显,因为学者的使命就是帮助人们完成人的使命,即人的彻底的自我实现和整个社会的共同完善.     

A Latent Variable Analysis of General Strain Theory

Strain theory has returned to the forefront of criminological theory and research, due primarily to the general strain model developed by Robert Agnew. Agnew posits that a broad range of negative social relations comprises strain and that these straining mechanisms lead to delinquent behavior and other maladaptive functioning. Moreover, strain has its strongest effect on delinquency when certain coping strategies are attenuated or when delinquent peers reinforce perceptions of strain. Although several studies have now shown the utility of general strain theory as an explanation of delinquency, they have relied mainly on cross-sectional effects or two-wave panel designs using methods that fail to consider measurement error or autocorrelated errors. In this study we extend these analyses by estimating a latent variable structural equation model that examines the effects of strain—operationalized as negative life events—on conventional attachment and delinquency over a 3-year period. Furthermore, we directly assess Agnew's coping strategies hypotheses by stratifying the models by self-efficacy, self-esteem, and peer delinquency. The results indicate that significant longitudinal effects of strain on delinquency emerge during year 3 but that these effects are not conditioned by self-efficacy or self-esteem. Changes in strain also affect changes in delinquency, but only among those who report no delinquent peers. We do find, however, that over the initial 2 years strain has a negative effect on delinquency among those high in self-efficacy, self-esteem, or delinquent peers. The findings are discussed in terms of Agnew's theory.     

From Victimization to Criminalization: General Strain Theory and the Relationship Between Poly-victimization and Delinquency

Although it is well established that victimization and delinquency are related, it is not clear how this relationship works, and victims and offenders are still often studied and treated as two distinct groups. General strain theory views victimization as a form of injustice, which can give rise to anger and eventually lead to delinquency. The authors examine victimization, in particular polyvictimization, as a criminogenic factor. Based on a sample of 1,400 youths 12–17 years old in Quebec (Canada), they examine polyvictimization in relation to delinquency as well as negative emotions that can result from victimization namely anger, depression, and posttraumatic stress. The findings show support for general strain theory and highlight the importance of anger for the relationship between victimization and juvenile delinquency.