Hardening foreign corporate accountability through mandatory due diligence in the European Union? New trends and persisting challenges

The negative externalities of global commodity chains and existing governance gaps have received wide scholarly attention. Indeed, many sectors including forest-risk commodities (FRCs) like soy and beef from Brazil remain largely unregulated. This article analyzes ongoing policy-making processes at European Union level to adopt new regulations for reducing accountability gaps: one regulation of FRCs and one general, cross-sectoral directive on human rights and environmental due diligence. This article draws on and aims to contribute to previous research into foreign corporate accountability, therein analytically distinguishing between input, output, and surrogate accountability. This study shows that new policies will likely be more comprehensive than previous supply chain regulations, while their specific institutional design and stringency are highly contested. More in general, we argue that for hardening corporate accountability, due diligence politics will need to confront important governance challenges that have limited the potential of previous regulations, such as a lack of consequentiality of reporting obligations, weak state monitoring, limited stakeholder involvement, and difficulties to establish legal liability.     

Local government reforms: between multifunction and single-purpose organisations

The paper argues that, in ‘revisiting’ the referred-to article published back in 2004, the concept then guiding the analysis would need to be modified particularly on three scores. For one, in order to achieve a more adequate comparison the country selection should be expanded beyond the earlier sample (UK, France, Germany and Sweden) to also capture Southern and Central Eastern European countries. Second, the ‘developmental’ (‘over time’) analysis of the pertinent institutional changes should be further accentuated and complemented by proceeding ‘by (developmental)stages’ instead of ‘country by country’. Third, while still deeming the distinction between ‘multifunction’ and ‘single-purpose’ organisations fruitful to guide a ‘government versus governance’ analysis and interpretation, the distinction between ‘political rationality’ and ‘economic rationality’ should be added with the former (ideal-typically) identified with elected (local) government and the latter seen characteristic of many of the actors in the governance-typical actor networks.     

白族“本主崇拜”的定位问题综论

有关白族本主崇拜或本主文化的宗教形态、社会-文化功能等方面的诸多讨论,其关键和焦点都是本主崇拜的定位问题.这个问题既牵涉到宗教学和民族学的理论,又跟民族意识和国家民族政策的实施密切相关,对它的几个重要侧面做深入的定性分析,具有重要的学术意义.     

执行结构转换下的权力互动——宁波市审批制度改革的政策过程分析

在宁波市审批制度的改革过程中,削减审批事项和规范政府行为的审批制度改革(以下简称审改)是如何展开的,有哪些变量影响审改政策执行的成功与失败,这些变量之间又有着什么样的逻辑关系,通过对宁波市审改的政策过程分析,运用执行结构转换理论,对宁波市审改政策的执行过程进行了解释.认为审改政策执行是政策执行结构不断转换的过程.在审改政策的执行过程中,改革决策团体和执行团体之间是权力互动的.执行结构转换和权力互动过程是影响审改政策执行成败的因素.在宁波市审改的案例中,削减审批事项的执行结构从"有限分权"模式开始,逐渐向"有限分权与关系主导互动"模式转换;在规范政府行为时,政策执行结构又从"有限分权与关系主导互动"模式开始,逐渐向新的"有限分权"模式转换.在不同的执行结构模式下,审改决策团体和执行团体运用各自的权力资源讨价还价、策略互动的方式是不同的,从而影响到审改政策的执行结果.     

侗族大歌的符号学解读

根据符号学理论,音乐是一种特定社会以及文化的符号,音乐符号形式成为人类认知和参与社会活动的意向。侗族大歌作为音乐形式是一种原声态符号,在侗族的社会生活中有其独特的文化价值和社会功能。它不仅是音乐、语言和生态环境符号的结合体,也是侗族文化、历史、生态、社会规约、道德准则等的载体,是侗族社会不可缺少的具有社会凝聚力的民族符号。     

论罪犯心理矫治中感情势能的消解对策

罪犯感情势能的形成和积累,给罪犯带来各种各样的情感困扰,使罪犯产生心理问题,不仅对罪犯自身的服刑改造产生影响作用,而且对罪犯的身心健康也有着极大的影响作用。因此,防止罪犯感情势能在罪犯体内形成和积累,让罪犯学会及时宣泄自己的不良情绪,使心理恢复平衡,把握宣泄不良情绪、情感的方法,有效地、科学地把消极情感"零存整取"地排解出去,是保持罪犯身心健康的有效手段。     

采用高效液相色谱-串联质谱法检测鲫鱼组织3-甲基喹(噁)啉-2-羧酸残留量

将待测鱼肉和鱼皮匀浆样品经碱水解、液-液萃取后,采用HPLC-TMS方法对其中的3-甲基喹(噁)啉-2-羧酸(MQCA)残留量进行了检测.结果,此方法的最低检测限为1.16μg/kg,市售鲫鱼样品中MQCA的含量低于检测限.结果表明,HPLC-TMC灵敏,易操作,能满足鱼组织内MQCA残留量检测的要求.     

蟾酥对产气肠杆菌抑制作用的方差分析和相关分析

把采自中华大蟾蜍的蟾酥用蒸馏水稀释成4、6、81、0 mg/mL共4种浓度,作为因素A,用LB液体培养基将活化的产气肠杆菌原液按1∶104和1∶105稀释,作为因素B,采用二因子(A和B)方差分析观察了蟾酥对产气肠杆菌抑菌圈直径的影响,并分析了蟾酥浓度与抑菌圈直径之间的相关关系。结果显示,蟾酥浓度与抑菌圈直径之间存在显著正相关(r=0.988~0.997);不同浓度的蟾酥溶液对产气肠杆菌均有抑制作用;且随着蟾酥浓度的升高,抑制作用加强。     

酒后驾车血液呼气中乙醇检测方法评价

回顾了乙醇中毒检测的一些重要事件和发展趋势,对此领域内的一些先驱及其主要贡献略加介绍,并对血-气乙醇检测方法的原理、优缺点作了说明。血液检测方法包括湿化学方法、酶法、气相色谱法,呼气检测方法包括湿化学方法、电化学方法、气相色谱法和红外光谱法。欧洲血液检测方法进行地比较早,且较深入,北美则对呼气检测方法有比较透彻的研究。