Preferences,Knowledge, and Citizen Probability Assessments of the Terrorism Risk of Nuclear Power

How does the American public assess risk when it comes to national security issues? This paper addresses this question by analyzing variation in citizen probability assessments of the terrorism risk of nuclear power plants. Drawing on the literature on how motivated reasoning, selective information processing, and domain‐specific knowledge influence public opinion, we argue that heterogeneous issue preferences and knowledge of nuclear energy and homeland security have important explanatory power. Using original data from a unique 2009 national survey in the United States, we show that Americans are divided in their probability assessments of the terrorism risk of nuclear power plants. Consistent with our theoretical expectations, individuals who support using nuclear power to meet rising energy demands, who are generally less concerned with terrorism, or who are more knowledgeable about terrorism and nuclear security tend to provide lower assessments of the likelihood that nuclear power plants increase terrorist attacks, and vice versa. The findings have implications for the literature on public opinion, risk assessment, energy policy and planning, and homeland security.     

公共教育财政的社会适应性与地区调控要求

公共教育应当适应地区发展定位,融入地区经济社会发展规划。而义务教育作为公共产品要打破地区发展水平的限制实现均等化;高等教育作为准公共产品要契合地区发展方向实现特色化发展。由此,公共教育与地区发展的适应性则需要依靠财政调控实现,财政预算和转移支付是公共教育经费供给主要渠道。另外,还应完善公共教育财政资金使用管理和监督机制,保障公共教育财政调控目标的实现。     

国外高校助学帮困工作及对我国的启示

高校家庭经济困难学生的助学帮困工作,是关系到教育公平和社会稳定的一个重大问题。目前我国已经基本建立起奖、贷、助、补、减有机结合的多元一体的家庭经济困难学生资助体系。然而,高校具体的资助工作中仍然存在着一系列的难题。借鉴国外高校学生资助政策中的相关经验,对于解决当前我国高校助学帮困工作中存在的具体问题,改进我国高校的经济困难学生资助政策有所助益。     

公司治理一体化走向的制度发生学解释——以结构融资为中心展开

从制度发生学的角度观察,公司治理一体化走向的出现是结构融资等制度要素合力作用的必然结果,属于进化理性主义而不是建构理性主义的产物。我国应在加强金融监管的前提下鼓励、培育和引导结构融资,而不是因噎废食地抑制、阻却甚至扼杀结构融资。公司法应当积极回应结构融资的制度诉求,进行规则的调适与变革,进而强化其时代适应性品格。     

房地产的财税法调控研究

对房地产调控的税收措施相对比较完善,但"土地财政"却消解了部分税收调控作用。要改革财政体制,在体制内增强地方财力,改变地方对"土地财政"的依赖,取消对个人自住房产免纳房产税的规定,强化土地增税清算、完善并严格执行"二手房"交易相关税收政策,降低房产交易价格,抑制投机购房,发挥财税制度对房地产的调控作用。     

“分税制”与“土地财政”——我国土地征收问题之诱因分析

在我国,土地征收已经演化为严重的社会问题。若仅从土地征收制度本身的设计缺陷来研究这些问题,并不能触及根本,因为这些问题根植于整个国家的财政制度体系。分税制改革之后造成的地方财政赤字严重,并且由此引发的土地财政,是土地征收问题难以根治的重要诱因。     

Review and Analysis on UN Security Council＇s Anti- Terrorism History

联合国宪章为安理会采取包括动用武力在内的强制行动打击国际恐怖主义提供了隐含的法律依据,如果国际恐怖主义达到危及国际和平与安全的程度,安理会就可以采取包括动武在内的强制行动介入反恐斗争。事实上,安理会已多次采取强制行动来打击国际恐怖主义。从法理方面分析,安理会可以授权以武力打击国际恐怖主义。打击国际恐怖主义与人权的国际保护并不矛盾;而保护人权,正是反恐的主要目的之一。     

反恐刑法的基本理念及立法完善研究

刑法是防控恐怖主义犯罪的最后一道防线.而当下我国无论是对反恐刑法的基本认识,还是刑法的相关规定都存在着许多值得反思和商榷之处.为扭转被动局面,实现对恐怖主义犯罪的有效规制,有必要创新恐怖主义犯罪刑法管控的基本理念,充实、完善其制度内容.唯有如此,才能增进恐怖主义犯罪防控的科学性、针对性和有效性.     

Mismeasuring Militias: Limitations of Advocacy Group Data and of State‐Level Studies of Paramilitary Groups

The errors associated with measuring the number of militia and patriot groups may cast doubt on conclusions drawn from prior studies of the spatial variation of these movements. Most studies of militias have been qualitative investigations of a single group, state, or region. A growing number of studies, however, have used quantitative techniques to assess the hypothesis that the number of militia groups by state covaries with structural and cultural forces. We outline a number of concerns with the validity of the counts, conducted by the Anti‐Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, used by these studies. We re‐estimate models from previous studies using the four alternative measures of these groups employed in prior studies. We find that many inferences drawn for identical theoretical models differ based upon the measure used. These discrepancies apply not simply to tangential control variables but to indicators of key theoretical constructs. In other words, the decision as to whether or not a particular theoretical framework receives empirical support often depends upon which measure of the dependent variable is used. This suggests that the inconsistent findings in prior research may be due to measurement error and makes it difficult to assess the validity of the conclusions drawn from these studies. It is important to be aware of these weaknesses since scholars studying political crimes and related phenomena often use information from similar sources, making this specific example relevant to a more general area of research.     

A Stone’s Throw from the Metropolis: Re-Examining Small-Agency Homeland Security Practices

Police agencies nationwide have enhanced their homeland security preparedness capacity since the 9/11 attacks. Evidence suggests that departments have not uniformly adopted measures to prepare for and respond to critical incidents. Rather, larger agencies are more likely than their smaller peers to take such steps. Small agencies do not constitute a homogenous group; some experience geographic isolation while others are near major metropolitan areas. Unclear is whether small agencies (25 or fewer full-time sworn personnel), those that are commonly found to be less prepared, benefit from proximity to large-agency peers. This study examined whether physical and relational proximity to large departments contributed to homeland security preparedness in over 300 small departments. A structural equation model revealed that interactions with large agencies facilitated preparedness but physical proximity had no direct effect. Increasing geographic isolation from large-agency peers indirectly affected preparedness by stifling the level of inter-department interactions.