Investment Treaty Law and the Fear for Sovereignty: Transnational Challenges and Solutions

This article addresses the vagueness, and the interpretative challenges associated with, international investment agreements (IIAs) and develops a new normative framework for interpreting these treaties. It focuses on the historical embedding of investment protection as a means of facilitating economic development as well as upon its synthetic public law nature. The analysis shows that a teleological approach to interpretation imposes boundaries on the meaning of substantive IIA provisions. The article then elaborates how the transnational dimension of IIAs provides a benchmark, which is the level of protection offered to economic actors against interference by the state in countries with the highest rule of law standards. The article then shows how the resulting challenges of comparative public law could be addressed through the methodology of re‐ and pre‐statement of transnational uniform ‘principles’: sophisticated and detailed rules striking the proper balance between private economic interests and the public regulatory interest, so as to provide more legal certainty for both investors and host states.     

Ancestry and BMI Influences on Facial Soft Tissue Depths for A Cohort of Chinese and Caucasoid Women in Dunedin,New Zealand

This study measured and assessed facial soft tissue depths (FSTDs) in adult female Chinese and New Zealand (NZ) Europeans (Caucasoids). Ultrasound was used to obtain depths at nine landmarks on 108 healthy subjects (51 Chinese, 57 NZ European), erect positioned, of same age group (18–29 years). Height and weight were also recorded. Statistical analysis focused on comparison of tissue depth between the two ancestry groups and the influence of Body Mass Index (BMI) (kg/m²). Results showed mean depth differences at Supra M2 and Infra M2 landmarks significantly greater for Chinese than Caucasoid women for all three BMI Classes (BMI <20, 20 ≤ BMI < 25, 25 ≤ BMI < 30), even BMI <20. For both groups BMI positively correlated with FSTD values at all landmarks except Labrale superius. This study enabled ancestry and BMI influence on FSTDs to be observed and compared for two distinct groups. Results add to knowledge about facial tissue depth variation.     

支持理论下民事诉讼当事人法律意识的实证研究

传统研究重视"法的供给"视角,致力于创设"良法良制"。通过转向"对法的需求"视角,本研究基于支持理论和法律意识理论,访谈了142名四类常见民事诉讼案件的当事人。本研究发现,当事人对司法的信赖分为"特定支持"和"普遍支持"两个维度。负面的诉讼经历仅会降低当事人对主审法官(法院)的评价(特定支持),尚未削弱他们对法院系统及司法制度的评价(普遍支持)。此外,当事人可以被进一步分为"门外汉"和"入门者"。前者不信赖法院的根本原因在于其法律意识与司法制度间存在巨大的冲突和矛盾;"入门者"的意识则限定于法律体系内,只在意法官的审判质量。随着司法系统的日渐完善,"入门者"对司法的信赖有望逐步提升。但"门外汉"则需要通过"知情(法)受益"这一过程先转化为"入门者"。     

法医学二代测序STR分型准确度与测序深度的关联性评估

目的利用实验数据对法医学二代测序STR分型测序深度与分型结果准确度的关联性进行评估。方法使用商业化基因组DNA制备单一来源和混合的DNA样本,以Thermo Fisher公司的25重早期测试试剂盒进行目的STR片段扩增,每种扩增产物分别使用4种不同的序列标签平行建库,并控制标记每一种序列标签的文库上机量依次占一张Ion 318芯片的1/4、1/8、1/16、1/32。经Ion PGMTM基因测序仪测序,以及Ion Torrent SuiteTM软件进行数据分析;同时对庞敬博等人发表的基于相同试剂盒和测序仪检测的95名中国汉族无关个体的6928条等位基因、影子峰和噪音序列进行测序深度统计分析,寻找测序深度与STR分型准确度的关联性。结果各基因座测序深度随文库上样量减少而呈明显下降趋势。对于单一来源样本,每张芯片上样不超过8个均一化文库可实现全部基因座的完整分型;对于1∶20比例的混合DNA,每张芯片上样不超过4个均一化文库时,未发现微量组分的等位基因丢失。人群数据测序深度统计显示,该体系基因座间存在不均衡性,有必要针对各基因座分别设定分析阈值参数。结论测序深度与法医学STR分型结果的准确性密切相关,各基因座最低测序深度与平均测序深度的比值可作为设定分析阈值的重要参考指标。本研究确定的单张芯片上样数量仅适用于本实验体系,但相关实验设计和方案可供其他实验体系开展类似工作参考。     

Evaluating the cross-national comparability of survey measures of political interest using anchoring vignettes

Making cross-groups comparisons by using survey instruments has raised substantial scholarly concerns due to the potential risk of incomparability resulting from differential item functioning (DIF). However, not every survey item necessarily suffers from DIF. In this paper, we argue that, unlike many other survey items (e.g., political efficacy), the usual question used to measure political interest is likely to be largely immune to DIF. Our theoretical argument centers on the relative specificity of the item and a corresponding cultural homogeneity (at least in advanced democracies) in what it means to be politically interested or not. Utilizing the anchoring vignettes technique (King et al., 2004; King and Wand, 2007) in our original surveys in the UK, France, and the Netherlands, we demonstrate the size of DIF is small for the standard political interest question.     

特定公权异化的内生性根由和现实性语义诠释

特定公权异化是在特定阶级国家中,特定公权利和特定公权力的相互异化。它具有内生性根由,在不同的社会历史发展阶段存在动态表现,主要体现为生产力水平的先决作用和生产关系的直接决定作用。特定公权异化的内在结构共分为合法异化、异化风险、隐性异化、异化入罪四个层次。从哲学范畴分析特定公权异化的成因主要有三个方面,即微环境外在性诱导、公共职能主体意识缺失、群众联系秩序链断裂,这是对特定公权异化的现实性语义诠释。     

Age,period and cohort analysis in a comparative context: Political generations and political participation repertoires in Western Europe

This paper presents a method for studying age-period-cohort effects in a comparative context where repeated cross-sectional data are available covering a suitably long period of time. The method consists in the application of multi-level models with country as the higher level of analysis and random coefficients to model variables which vary at the country-level. Additionally, the application of generalized additive models (GAMs) and generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) provides robust empirical tests of cohort categorizations applied in this and previous studies to estimate otherwise collinear effects. To illustrate the method, I derive and test the theory that generations will be differentiated in their patterns of participation based on the ascendancy of certain repertoires in the era of their political socialization.     

Multinational-firm responses to an Asian-crisis comeback: evidence from European transnationals

Abstract

Despite many predictions to the contrary, the Republic of Korea (ROK) is currently one of the countries with most pro-American attitudes. We investigate what is behind the extraordinary resilience in US popular standing in an allegedly least likely setting. Using survey data from 2002 and 2007 and a novel methodology, Classification and Regression Tree models, we test whether US standing is: (1) a matter of interests, i.e. a reward that the USA receives because it either provides security or international public goods; or (2) whether it is a matter of image, i.e. the recognition that the USA is a role model to emulate. We find that across a large number of predictors, the Korean public mostly liked the USA because they liked American ways of doing business, which gives support to the image hypothesis. Security interests played a secondary role in shaping US standing, while the provision of international public goods had no impact in the popular assessment of the USA in the ROK.     

扒窃司法适用新论——以两高最新司法解释为视角

公共交通工具是扒窃场所的注意性规定;对随身携带应作限缩性规定,仅包含贴身范围、可控制范围,排除不可控制范围;扒窃的财物体积应当较小;扒窃存在着未遂的犯罪形态;携带凶器不是扒窃的基本构成要件,但可作为量刑情节来考虑。     

Investigation on the genetic-inconsistent paternity cases using the MiSeq FGx system

Mutations might challenge the paternity index calculation in forensic identification. While many studies have focussed on the autosomal short tandem repeats (A-STR), the mutation status of sex chromosomes and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) remain blank. Next generation sequencing (NGS), known as high throughput and large sequence polymorphism, is a promising tool for forensic genetics. To describe the mutation landscapes in the paternity cases with genetic inconsistencies, a total of 63 parentage confirmed paternity cases contained at least one mismatched locus have been collected. The mutations were subsequently evaluated using Verogen’s MPS ForenSeq^TM DNA Signature Kit and a microsatellite instability (MSI) detection kit. The result showed 98.41% (62/63) of the cases had no additional autosomal mutations even when the number of A-STRs increased to 27. As for the sex chromosomes, about 11.11% (7/63) of the cases exhibited either X-STR or Y-STR mutations. D2S1338, FGA and Penta E were the most frequent altered STRs, which suggested they might be the mutation hotspots. In addition, a male with sex chromosome abnormality was observed accidently, whose genotype might be 47, XXY, rather than MSI. Nearly 56.90% of the STR loci possessed isoalleles, which might result in higher STR polymorphisms. No Mendelian incompatibility was detected among the SNP markers, which indicated that SNP was a more reliable genetic marker in the genetic-inconsistent paternity cases.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2021.2009631 .