Child characteristics and successful use of housing vouchers: Estimates from the moving to opportunity demonstration

Abstract

Voucher‐based programs have become the most common form of housing assistance for low‐income families in the United States, yet only a slim majority of households that are offered vouchers actually move with them. This article uses data from 2,938 households in the Moving to Opportunity demonstration program to examine whether child characteristics influence the probability that a household will successfully use a housing voucher to lease‐up.

Our results suggest that while many child characteristics have little bearing on the use of housing vouchers, child health, behavioral, and educational problems, particularly the presence of multiple problems in a household, do have an influence. Households with two or more child problems are 7 percentage points less likely to move than those who have none of these problems or only one. Results suggest that such families may need additional support to benefit from housing vouchers or alternative types of affordable housing units.     

The Evolution of Low‐Income Housing Policy, 1949 to 1999

Abstract

The evolution of low‐income housing policy during the past 50 years can be divided roughly into two segments: the first running from 1949 to the 1973 Nixon moratorium on subsidized production programs and the second from 1973 to the present, marked by a diminished federal leadership role and an increased state and local role. After tracing the rise of the federal leadership role represented in the Housing Acts of 1949 and 1968, this article focuses on the development of three important policy instruments that mark the devolution of housing policy: housing vouchers, housing block grants, and the Low‐Income Housing Tax Credit.

The three‐pronged strategy of vouchers, block grants, and tax credits has achieved reasonably good results and attracted an unusual degree of political consensus. A steady expansion of all three offers the most promising path to the “realization as soon as feasible” of the national housing goal.     

宪政审查中法院与民主的矛盾及解决方式评析——一种比较法的视角

法院与民主之间的矛盾是实行宪政审查制度的国家面临的共同问题,本文从三个方面阐述矛盾的存在:对议会立法进行审查的必要性,由独立的司法性质的机构——法院作为审查主体的正当性和宪政审查实践中存在的法院与民主之间的紧张关系;从比较法的角度对解决矛盾的方式——修宪和法院的自我约束进行了评析,以期对我国的宪政建设有所帮助。     

论舆论监督法治化语境下的新闻自律

新闻自律是舆论监督法治化语境下对新闻工作者提出的基本要求。即正确的角色认知是新闻自律的自觉性前提；合理的道德价值取向是新闻自律的伦理基石；科学的新闻职业精神是新闻自律的内在动力。     

Comment on James E. Rosenbaum,Linda K. Stroh,and Cathy A. Flynn's “Lake Parc Place: A study of mixed‐income housing”

Abstract

Rosenbaum, Stroh, and Flynn confirm existing community leader perceptions that this model mixed‐income development in the predominantly low‐income South Side of Chicago has produced a positive residential environment. Increased tenant voice, not role modeling, seems to be a factor in producing increased resident satisfaction with the building and a strong sense of commitment to the mixed‐income alternative to exclusively low‐income housing projects. The extra resources invested in physical improvements and the extraordinary media attention paid to this model project may have created a “Hawthorne effect,” which also produced higher levels of satisfaction. The existence of this successful model is not sufficient to provide more housing alternatives; community‐based advocacy for more mixed‐income developments is needed.     

Expanding housing choices for the sector popular: Strategies for Mexico

Abstract

By the year 2000, some 40 million people in Mexico will live in settlements commonly called the informal sector. Most will live in houses that they have constructed themselves and that have some infrastructure deficit. To meet their needs, the authors propose a set of demand and supply strategies. Emphasis is placed on the increased use of small group savings programs, the provision of progressive infrastructure, and the creation of housing‐related employment. The supply of low‐cost land must be increased, which will necessitate reforms in the ejido land tenure system. Examples of locally derived, non‐government‐supported betterment programs are presented.

The article concludes by calling on the federal government to create stronger links with the informal sector and to reestablish its role as the supporter of social housing in Mexico.     

RTC's affordable housing program: Reconciling competing goals

Abstract

Congress gave the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) authority to sell modestly valued housing at below‐market prices and with concessionary financing to enable lower income families to become homeowners and to expedite sales. Nonprofits and public agencies seeking to buy properties for occupancy by lower income people also qualified for these favorable terms. Setting a precedent for future housing policy initiatives, Congress conditioned access to this special program on the imposition of permanent low‐income use and affordability restrictions.

This paper considers whether the RTC can reconcile its mandate to maximize preservation of affordable housing with its duty to maximize return on assets and minimize negative impacts on local markets. This issue is addressed through a comparative review of property disposition programs administered by three other federal agencies. The author concludes that the RTC's three goals can be harmonized and suggests criteria for evaluating the RTC's performance in meeting its affordable housing mandate.     

浅议刑事责任年龄

随着社会的发展，虽然未成年人无论在体格上还是在智力上以及对问题的分析，对是非的判断都似乎达到“成人水平”，但受刑事责任年龄的限制，未成年人所受刑罚与其所实施的危害社会的行为不符，削弱了法律的合理性和法律的正义性。但是受世界刑法的发展趋势的影响：一个文明的国度不应丧失对未成年人犯罪教育抢救的信心，不应扩大对未成年人危害社会行为的刑事惩罚。主张降低刑事责任年龄者实质上是迷信刑罚万能，与刑罚目的相悖，是在推卸国家、社会、家庭所应承担的对未成年人教育的责任。     

论建构低碳数字艺术文本的必要性与可能性

当下数字艺术德性整体呈现负值,主要因为高碳数字艺术文本的盛行对接受者的身心健康造成了严重危害.大力建构低碳数字艺术文本,带给接受者更多强烈而健康的自由情感是遏制高碳数字艺术文本侵蚀、促进人类幸福事业的不二法门.而自然生活的改变阻碍了创作者精神层次的提高和灵感的产生,但如果创作者用心倾听,依然可以从广阔的社会生活中获得素材,抚慰人的创伤,表达人性关怀,构建低碳数字艺术文本.     

Recovery of human DNA profiles from poached deer remains: A feasibility study

Poaching is a crime that occurs worldwide and can be extremely difficult to investigate and prosecute due to the nature of the evidence available. If a species is protected by international legislation such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora then simply possessing any part of that species is illegal. Previous studies have focused on the identification of endangered species in cases of potential poaching. Difficulties arise if the poached animal is not endangered. Species such as deer have hunting seasons whereby they can legally be hunted however poaching is the illegal take of deer, irrespective of season. Therefore, identification of deer alone has little probative value as samples could have originated from legal hunting activities in season. After a deer is hunted it is usual to remove the innards, head and lower limbs. The limbs are removed through manual force and represent a potential source of human touch DNA.We investigate the potential to recover and profile human autosomal DNA from poached deer remains. Samples from the legs of ten culled deer were obtained (40 in total) using minitapes. DNA from samples was extracted, quantified and amplified to determine if it would be possible to recover human STR profiles.Low quantification data led to the use of an extended PCR cycling protocol of 34 cycles. Samples from seven deer amplified, however some samples were excluded from further analysis due to ‘drop in’ alleles or the low level of successfully amplified loci. Samples from five deer could be further analysed and gave match probabilities ranging from 6.37 × 10^{− 3} to 9.53 × 10^{− 11}.This study demonstrates the potential of recovering human touch DNA from poached animal remains. There is the potential for this test to be used in relation to other species of poached remains or other types of wildlife crimes. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that human STR profiling has been successfully applied to touch DNA in regards to simulated wildlife crime.