Incumbency advantage in multi-member districts: Evidence from congressional elections in Chile

Do parties enjoy an advantage to incumbency in multi-member districts? In this paper we answer this question by adapting a regression-discontinuity design to multi-member districts in congressional elections in Chile. The electoral system in place generates discontinuities in the number of elected representatives from each coalition at the 1/3 and 2/3 thresholds of the two-party vote share. Regression-discontinuity estimates indicate that, by holding two seats as opposed to holding only one, the left-leaning coalition obtains an extra 4.5% vote share in the next election and increases by 28 percentage points the probability of electing two candidates again. These results are in line with those obtained in previous studies in the U.S. but contrast with results obtained in developing countries which find a negative advantage to incumbency.     

Open versus closed primaries and the ideological composition of presidential primary electorates

Many journalists, political reformers and social scientists assume that electorates in open versus closed primaries are distinctive, especially in terms of their ideological orientations. Because voting in closed primaries is restricted to registered partisans, voters in this setting are assumed to be more ideologically extreme. Independents voting in open primaries are seen as moderating the ideological orientation of these primary electorates. However, our research demonstrates that the ideological orientations of voters in these two primary settings are quite similar. Prior research demonstrates the influence of primary laws on voters’ self-identifications as partisans or independents. We expand upon this research to show how this influences the number and ideological positions of partisans and independents as they vote in presidential primaries held under differing participation rules.     

Responses to Salduz: Procedural Tradition,Change and the Need for Effective Defence

This article examines the responses of national courts to the ECtHR's decision in Salduz v Turkey that suspects be provided with access to a lawyer before they are first interrogated by the police. It argues that harmonious application of human rights standards in criminal proceedings should build upon common values underpinning the procedural traditions of member states. ECtHR success in gaining acceptance for the principle of access to a lawyer during police interrogation, anchoring it in the privilege against incrimination, is contrasted with resistance towards giving the defence any active role during criminal investigations. It is argued that this resistance can be overcome by an appeal to safeguards that have long dominated the trial process. As the investigation phase increasingly determines the outcome of criminal proceedings, standards of fairness traditionally reserved for the trial process should be applied also to this phase in order to provide suspects with an effective defence.     

建构主义学习理论大学英语教学设计和教学模式范式研究

建构主义学习理论既强调学习者的认知主体作用,又不忽视教师的指导作用。建构主义学习理论教学设计是与学生的学习环境相适应的全新的教学设计;与建构主义学习理论教学设计范式相适应的目前已开发出的、比较成熟的教学范式为：支架式教学、抛锚式教学和随机进入教学。     

警察开枪射击的适法情形与最小武力原则——德国的制度逻辑与借鉴意义

何时开枪、开枪限度如何是警察枪支使用制度中的核心议题。对此,德国法不仅通过“开枪目的”和“行为罪质”(重罪或轻罪)来限定准许开枪的适法情形,还根据射击动作的各个环节动态地分解最小武力原则。德国制度设计的内在机理为解决我国警察实践中不敢用枪、过度用枪问题提供了有力的理论支撑。其一,《人民警察使用警械和武器条例》第9条列举的14种开枪适法情形应在与刑法关联的意义上理解,即应将相对应的犯罪构成要件导入到枪械使用的要件判断中去。其二,可以开枪的适法情形包括但不限于上述《人民警察使用警械和武器条例》第9条明文例举的14种情形。根据立法者本意,该条兜底条款“法律、行政法规规定可以使用武器的其他情形”,是指所有为《刑法》所规定,最低刑在3年以上的犯罪。其三,中德制度之比较为全面理解我国落实最小武力原则的相关制度以及多个关键的不确定法律概念提供了广阔视角与智识资源。     

Civil Society,the Economy,and Educational Assistance in Former Soviet Republics

Abstract

Liberal democracies throughout the world are committed to civil society in support of market economics and democratic politics. Through educational assistance programs, the U.S. government demonstrates this commitment by attempting to reinvigorate civil society in former Soviet republics and Eastern European countries in support of their economic and political reform efforts. Of particular interest are the Community Connections and Partners in Education programs conducted by the U.S. Department of State for interns from the former Soviet republics or now Eurasia, who participate in business and other professional internships in various locations in the U.S., including Northern Alabama.     

Centring development: Education centres supporting rural development

Abstract

Since the 1950s various paradigms of development have aimed to improve living conditions in the developing world (Africa, Asia and Latin America). Globalisation has increased the gap between information and technology haves and have-nots, and development practice (born out of the paradigms developed over the past fifty years) now seeks to address issues such as access to information communication technology (ICT) and the need for developing countries to participate in the global economy. This article examines the first year of the joint venture between the Media in Education Trust (MiET) and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education (KZNDE) to develop Education Centres Supporting Rural Development in KwaZulu-Natal, and how these centres address a crucial aspect of development – the question of access.     

Geographical access to treatment for sex offenders under community supervision in Kentucky

Abstract

As sex offenders are probated or paroled into the community, sex offender treatment and monitoring is often a condition of their release. In Kentucky, sex offenders are required to participate in community-based treatment for two years or more. However, some sex offenders are disadvantaged in accessing mandated treatment. This is a result of decisions concerning the placement of treatment programmes, the sex offenders' preference to return to communities where they can rely on family and other indigenous support networks, and some statutes (e.g. sex offender registration and residency restriction laws). This study utilises spatial methodologies, including an origin–destination (OD) matrix, to determine the time, in minutes, that sex offenders travel to sex offender treatment providers and non-spatial ordinary least squares (OLS) regression techniques to determine the association between family, neighbourhood and community characteristics on sex offenders’ travel time to treatment. Findings suggest that there is substantial disadvantage in treatment access, measured by travel time, for sex offenders who live in impoverished rural communities.     

Opening up government data for Big Data analysis and public benefit

Governments around the world are posting many thousands of their datasets on online portals. A major purpose of releasing this data is to drive innovation through Big Data analysis, as well as to promote government transparency and accountability. This article considers the benefits and risks of releasing government data as open data, and identifies the challenges the Australian government faces in releasing its data into the public domain. The Australian government has ambitious aims to release greater amounts of its data to the public. However, it is likely this task will prove difficult due to uncertainties surrounding the reliability of de-identification and the requirements of privacy law, as well as a public service culture which is yet to fully embrace the open data movement.