Examining the Impact of Early Childhood School Investments on Neighborhood Crime

This study tested the hypothesis that investments in early childhood schools have short-term crime reducing effects in neighborhoods. Time series data from the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, were analyzed to evaluate the effects of an early childhood school built in the neighborhood of Kendall-Whittier as part of a larger neighborhood revitalization plan, on violent and property crime. Results revealed that after controlling for city-wide crime trends and monthly fluctuations, violent crime declined significantly in Kendall-Whittier. Further analysis indicated that the possible crime-reducing effects of school investments on violent crime spread beyond Kendall-Whittier, and no displacement was found. The results for property crime were mixed. The study demonstrates the use of clustering analysis, a useful tool in neighborhood-level research to identify comparison neighborhoods. The findings shed light on the possibility that investments in early childhood schools can yield results in a shorter term than anticipated, making them a desirable component of urban revitalization.     

Understanding Parental Gatekeeping in Families with a Special Needs Child

Supporting the positive development of a special needs child is especially challenging when parents have separated or divorced. Invariably, there is an increased need for collaborative co‐parenting wherein information is shared and intervention plans can be implemented effectively. In this article, the evolving literature on parental gatekeeping is applied to families with special needs children, as it offers a useful model for understanding the strengths and liabilities of co‐parenting relationships. We describe some of the typical and unique gatekeeping dynamics that occur when children suffer from developmental, physical, and/or psychiatric syndromes that require specific treatment and specialized parenting skills. Examples of both restrictive and facilitative gatekeeping are described as they manifest in these families. Implications for decision making are also discussed.     

A local variance based approach to alleviate the scene content interference for source camera identification

Identifying the source camera of images is becoming increasingly important nowadays. A popular approach is to use a type of pattern noise called photo-response non-uniformity (PRNU). The noise of image contains the patterns which can be used as a fingerprint. Despite that, the PRNU-based approach is sensitive towards scene content and image intensity. The identification is poor in areas having low or saturated intensity, or in areas with complicated texture. The reliability of different regions is difficult to model in that it depends on the interaction of scene content and the characteristics of the denoising filter used to extract the noise. In this paper, we showed that the local variance of the noise residual can measure the reliability of the pixel for PRNU-based source camera identification. Hence, we proposed to use local variance to characterize the severeness of the scene content artifacts. The local variance is then incorporated to the general matched filter and peak to correlation energy (PCE) detector to provide an optimal framework for signal detection. The proposed method is tested against several state-of-art methods. The experimental results show that the local variance based approach outperformed other state-of-the-art methods in terms of identification accuracy.     

罪刑法定与刑法机能之关系

社会保护机能与人权保障机能的统一是刑法的整体价值目标,而不是刑法某一个构成要素的价值目标。认为相对罪刑法定原则具有人权保障和社会保护双重机能的观点,实际上是混淆了刑法的机能与罪刑法定原则的机能,错把刑法的整体机能当成了其构成要素的机能。罪刑法定原则虽然应当服务于刑法的整体价值目标,但是,它却不应该、也不可能直接承载社会保护的价值内容。我国《刑法》第3条从正反两个方面规定罪刑法定原则,将社会保护的内容附加给罪刑法定原则,在一定程度上消解了这一原则的社会法律意义,不利于现代刑法观念的培植。     

试析纪检口供的证据效力

当前,在查办贪污、贿赂、挪用公款等职务犯罪案件中,被告人翻供的情况比较突出。在此情况下,可否以纪检口供直接定案,成为司法实践中十分棘手的问题。通过考证现行立法及有关证据法理论,发现纪检口供并不具有刑事诉讼的证据能力,不能直接作为刑事诉讼证据。要解决这一司法难题,必须对现行反腐体制进行改进。     

论中国古代契约与国家法的关系--以唐代法律与借贷契约的关系为中心

中国古代法律 (如唐代律令 )对契约的规制或指导 ,在总体上是 :部分的民间事务靠习俗调整 ,部分的则由法律调整。国家承认“私契”的地位 ,并承认它的规则。有关借贷契约的法律和契约实践表明 ,契约内容和契约活动是在法律规制下进行的。国家通过受理 (官为理 )、不受理 (官不为理 ) ,表达契约自由的限度 ;并有质物处理、保人责任等程序性的和实体权利义务的设定 ;律令规定往往是相衔接的。但在实践中 ,契约内容对法律又有遵守与抵触两种情形同时存在。在契约的履行方式、利息限制、质物交付与处理、保人代偿等问题上 ,这种冲突都比较明显。契约中还有“抵赦”条款 ,专门应对国家对私人债负的赦免效力问题。     

论我国未成年人监护制度的完善

未成年人监护制度是监护制度的重要组成部分,它不仅关系到保护未成年人的合法权益,而且还关系到社会秩序的稳定。目前,我国监护制度中还存在着监护机构设置不合理、监护人的选任缺乏一定的标准、监护人的职责及权利不明、监护的种类不全等问题。为了更好地保护未成年人的利益,针对上述不足,提出自己的建议。     

我国国际民事程序法"国家本位"秩序价值初探

在目的价值定位方面,我国国际民事程序法存在着"国家本位"秩序观倾向.秩序总是必要的,更具根本性的,但秩序的类型亦是可以多元的.在中外民商法律秩序形成过程中,我国的国际民事程序法除必须体现国家意志之外,理应涵纳更多的当事人自主意思以及国际本位理念的成分,这也是修订我国民事诉讼法、仲裁法等程序法律时所要考虑的一个基本层面.     

论涉嫌犯罪现场勘查的法律性质

涉嫌犯罪现场勘查的法律性质与实现我国打击犯罪和保障人权的刑事诉讼目的密切相关。由于所处的诉讼阶段不同,涉嫌犯罪现场勘查具有双重法律性质。立案前公安机关所进行的涉嫌犯罪现场勘查,是立案前的一般审查措施,而非法定意义上的侦查。立案后公安机关所进行的涉嫌犯罪现场勘查,属于侦查阶段中侦查行为的一部分,是法定意义上的侦查。     

"意境"表现与"意象"召唤--古典园林与少数民族村寨的审美文化比较

中国古典私家园林和少数民族的村寨是两种不同类型而风格迥异的建筑文化.前者讲究"意境"的表现,后者意在"意象"的召唤.每种文化内部最核心和最高的哲学理念都可能通过建筑表征出来.古典园林的意境是古代文人士大夫胸臆中天道体会的投射.侗族村寨的环境安排和建筑营建亦体现了该民族悠远的文化记忆和该民族的宇宙论.侗族村寨的风水、鼓楼、风雨桥、民居的整体奇妙地隐喻和象征着龙的意象.总之,作为一种最物质性的建筑其内在理念却是该文化中最核心的精神.