Recreational Participation Among Ethnic Minorities and Immigrants in Canada and the Netherlands

Abstract

In this paper, we compare the community engagement of minorities as measured by group recreational activity in Canada and the Netherlands—two countries with high immigration intake and high levels of ethnocultural diversity. Using logistic regression, we ask questions concerning the determinants of recreational participation, focussing on the degree to which differences are a product of minority status or of more general socioeconomic status. We also compare rates of participation in the two countries to see if there is an underlying difference, which can be explained by socioeconomic and demographic status. We find that sociodemographic characteristics are generally much stronger predictors of participation than characteristics associated with minority status, regardless of country.     

Two Faces of Media Attention: Media Storm Versus Non-Storm Coverage

A media storm is a sudden surge in news coverage of an item, producing high attention for a sustained period. Our study represents the first multi-issue, quantitative analysis of storm behavior. We build a theory of the mechanisms that drive media storms and why the “anatomy” of media storms differs from that of non-storm coverage. Specifically, media storm coverage should change less explosively over time, but be more sharply skewed across issues, compared to non-storm coverage. We offer a new method of operationalizing media storms and apply our operationalization to U.S. and Belgian news. Even in these two very different cases, we find a common empirical storm anatomy with properties that differ from those of non-storm coverage in the predicted fashion. We illustrate the effects of media storms on the public through discussion of four key examples, showing that online search behavior responds strongly to media storms.     

Constraining political corruption: an empirical analysis of the impact of democracy

The present article addresses the relationship between democracy and political corruption. Extending past studies, this article introduces important refinements that respond to theoretical and methodological concerns. The theoretical framework proposed here is developed based on an electoral conception of democracy, which makes it possible to avoid the potential endogeneity problems associated with substantial definitions of democracy. I argue that despite the influence of other important aspects of democracy, elections and inter-party competition per se help to constrain political corruption. The article examines two analytical dimensions of democracy, the current level of democracy and its degree of consolidation over time. Unlike previous studies, a cross-national empirical analysis of a sample of more than 100 countries reveals that when tested together, the level of democracy and its degree of longitudinal variation are both significantly related to the control of corruption. The level of democracy affects corruption in a non-linear way. Hybrid regimes that are more autocratic than democratic show a lower level of corruption control than democracies, near-democracies, and closed dictatorships. The analysis also confirms that, despite having adopted different measures, more consolidated democracies are more powerful in constraining corruption.     

Japanese political studies: where are we? How did we get here? Where are we going?

Abstract

We offer a historically grounded analysis of major works in the study of Japanese politics with a focus on the period since the Second World War. The article traces an evolution from early assessments of Japanese democracy and modernization through the focus on the political economy of high growth to the current disciplinary-based emphasis on narrower but more empirically defensible research. We close with a call for future research to take greater risks at synthetic analyses of Japanese politics broadly considered.     

中国政府公共产品供给的国际比较研究

中国政府公共产品供给的国际比较研究具有重要的理论与实践意义。进行中国政府公共产品供给的国际比较研究 ,首先要建立科学全面的政府公共产品供给指标体系。根据政府公共产品供给指标体系 ,我们可以对中国政府公共产品供给的状况进行国际比较 ,由此评估中国政府公共产品的现状与不足之处 ,并提出科学的行政改革措施。中国的行政改革应该重在提高政府公共产品水平 ,使政府能以充足优质的公共服务满足社会公共需求。     

Comparative Analysis of the HV1 and HV2 Regions of Human Mitochondrial DNA by Denaturing High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract:  Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) was evaluated as a sequencing-independent means of detecting the presence of sequence differences in pair-wise mixtures of nonconcordant amplicons of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). A total of 920 pair-wise combinations of HV1 and HV2 mtDNA amplicons from 95 individuals were assayed by DHPLC for sequence concordance/nonconcordance. For the 72 combinations of amplicons from different individuals who shared identical DNA sequences, DHPLC assays consistently indicated sequence concordance between the samples. This was in 100% agreement with sequencing data. For the 849 combinations of amplicons which differed in sequence, DHPLC detected the presence of sequence nonconcordance in all but 13 assays to yield 98.5% concordance with sequencing. Thus, DHPLC can be used to detect a diversity of sequence differences (transitions, transversions, insertions, and deletions) in the mtDNA D-loop. Accordingly, DHPLC may have utility as a presumptive indicator of mtDNA sequence concordance samples, as a screen for heteroplasmy/situational mixtures, and as a means for the physical fractionation of the individual contributors to an mtDNA mixture prior to sequencing.     

环境侵权民事诉讼举证责任分配之比较研究

在环境侵权民事诉讼中,举证责任分配的合理与否关系到环境法目的的实现和环境诉讼程序价值的发挥.但传统举证责任分配理论对环境诉讼而言具有不适应性.因此,两大法系对环境诉讼都发展了举证责任分配理论.通过比较考察发现,环境诉讼的举证责任分配应当按照公平正义原则,结合环境诉讼的特点,从举证难易程度、环境立法宗旨、平等保护和环境侵权纠纷的多样性等因素来综合衡量.相比之下,我国环境案件举证责任分配的慕本规则还存在诸多缺陷,因此应规定较为开放的举证责任分配制度原则.     

国际私法中的比较法学派:从实然走向应然

比较法学派是国际私法中继普遍主义与特殊主义学派之后的第三大学派。比较法学派的科学立场和研究方法使它既避免了普遍主义学派的那种脱离现实中的各个国家的法律制度而在抽象的真空中进行理论推测的不足,也避免了特殊主义学派的那种仅仅站在本国立场上,对先前国内司法判例和个别法官观点进行纯粹实证主义分析的缺陷。因此,比较法学派客观地认识到了国际私法的实然性与应然性之间的矛盾,并以化解这一矛盾为契机,促使国际私法从实然走向应然,使之成为沟通普遍主义与特殊主义的一座桥梁。     

基于文化视角的英汉成语翻译比较研究

成语在英语和汉语中都占有很大比例,其意义不能只从该成语的字面上理解,而应该从其民族文化内涵的深层次上进行分析。对英汉成语在形式和出处等方面的异同进行剖析,透视两种语言的文化渊源,才能更好地在翻译中理解和使用英汉成语,以减少或避免文化隔阂,增强跨文化交际能力。     

The Fight Against Organised Crime in Europe: A Comparative Perspective

This article provides an overview of the measures and actions taken by the Member States of the European Union in their fight against organised crime and transborder crime. The Action Plan to Combat Organized Crime adopted by the Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs during the Dutch EU Presidency, submitted some 30 recommendations with respect to greater harmonisation regarding the fight against organised crime in the EU Member States. The author gives a concise summary of the most relevant changes and the structural characteristics per Member State, paying attention to developments in the specific countries and the organisations involved. One of the conclusions reached is that few or no reforms within national investigative and prosecution authorities may be directly traced back to the regulatory impulses of the EU. Although the EU Action Plan has not yet realised a convergence of the systems, the European process of integration has increased the mutual transparency and knowledge of one another's systems.