The Impact of Accrual-Based Public Accounting Harmonization on EU Macroeconomic Surveillance and Governments’ Policy Decision-Making

This article sheds more light on the possible advantages (and the critical aspects) of introducing accruals accounting for governments in the context of European macroeconomic surveillance. This would add more balance to the discussion about accrual accounting, which tends to focus on the resource costs involved. The research it describes would, inter alia, show the impact on sensitive policy areas using a statistical analysis from EU countries’ official Government Finance Statistics. It also draws some conclusions on a suggested roadmap for public accounting in the European context.     

Electoral system effects re-examined using the largest vote share variable

In the search for a less controversial pattern between electoral systems and party systems, especially the institutional conditions for multipartism, this article develops and analyses a complete post-war dataset on largest parties’ vote shares. In contrast to the vague wording in the Duvergerian literature, it defends a strong proposition that majority parties are almost always a result of disproportionality. With some rare exceptions, they are either manufactured (without a majority of popular votes) or, less frequently, held together by heterogeneous groups (indicated either by a large number of swing voters or an exceptionally restrictive system) through strategic voting. I explain the phenomenon using a theory on politicians’ incentive for office turnover and voters’ demand for party accountability, and also theorize why South Africa and Namibia are the only two outliers to the pattern.     

Professionals’ Experiences With and Perceptions of Children Exposed to Severe and Homicidal Violence in Sweden

The present study aimed to examine professionals’ experiences, perceptions, and knowledge regarding violence-exposed children in order to clarify the status and opportunities these children have in the Swedish legal system. A questionnaire was distributed to 63 professionals, representing police, prosecutors, social personnel, and treatment personnel. Findings revealed several problems that hindered effective work. Routines and guidelines were lacking and knowledge gaps regarding these children were found among all professions. Perceptions that children remember and tell were widely held, although conditions enabling sufficient reports are seldom met. Results can be used to guide necessary changes in national routines and guidelines to ensure recovery and maintaining of societal rights of this group of psychologically abused victims.     

‘So that my soul may have time to grow’: Joy and Happiness in Elizabeth von Arnim’s The Solitary Summer

Abstract

This article discusses the Romantic and Transcendentalist roots of Elizabeth von Arnim’s joyful retreat from the world in The Solitary Summer (1899). By exploring how von Arnim incorporates themes and ideas from William Wordsworth and Henry David Thoreau, it situates von Arnim’s concepts of joy and happiness in the Aristotelian tradition of eudaemonia and shows how the practice of mindfulness turns Elizabeth’s garden into an ongoing project of self-cultivation.     

Bargaining in legislatures,portfolio allocation,and the electoral costs of governing

What motivates political parties in the legislative arena? Existing legislative bargaining models stress parties’ office and policy motivations. A particularly important question concerns how parties in coalition government agree the distribution of cabinet seats. This article adds to the portfolio allocation literature by suggesting that future electoral considerations affect bargaining over the allocation of cabinet seats in multi-party cabinets. Some parties are penalised by voters for participating in government, increasing the attractiveness of staying in opposition. This ‘cost of governing’ shifts their seat reservation price – the minimum cabinet seats demanded in return for joining the coalition. Results of a randomised survey experiment of Irish legislators support our expectation, demonstrating that political elites are sensitive to future electoral losses when contemplating the distribution of cabinet seats. This research advances our understanding of how parties’ behaviour between elections is influenced by anticipation of voters’ reactions.     

Representations of intergenerational care on BBC children’s television

This paper contributes to research on media representations of care with a textual analysis of BBC children’s television. As a public service broadcaster, the BBC is tasked with the fostering and sustaining of citizenship. This paper argues that representations of care are an important way by which the BBC can potentially meet its remit and inform children’s perceptions of informal care. It takes a focused look at the portrayal of grandparent–grandchild relationships of care in three programmes: Mr Alzheimer’s and Me, Katie Morag and Topsy and Tim. All three programmes show narrative moments which map onto Tronto’s concept of good care, including attentiveness, responsibility, competence, responsiveness, solidarity and trust. Grandparents and grandchildren are shown to be caring for each other. However, programmes do not challenge the inequalities which continue to structure the realities of informal care work. Neither the inequalities of power between carers and care receivers, nor the lack of public and government support for carers is addressed, and adult informal care is gendered. This paper argues that while BBC children’s programmes provide important opportunities for children to learn the meaning of good care, in order for it to meet its public service remit, it should also provide opportunities to learn about the relationships of power that structure informal care.     

习近平生态文明思想的理论内涵与时代价值

习近平生态文明思想是着眼于人类文明形态转换的历史视野的一种文明观,它涉及经济社会发展全局以及人类社会发展的总体性方向,具有深刻的理论内涵,主要包括"人与自然和谐共生"的生态自然观、"绿水青山就是金山银山"的生态发展观、"五位一体"的生态社会观、"环境就是民生"的生态民生观。习近平生态文明思想具有巨大的时代价值,它为新时代中国特色社会主义生态文明建设指明了实践路径,极大地推动了我国经济社会的全面发展;把环境需要纳入人民的美好生活需要之中,极大地拓展了人民美好生活的内涵;把人与自然的生命共同体纳入人类命运共同体之中,为全人类的生态文明建设提供了中国智慧和中国方案。     

“官员问责”的法律困境与路径选择

改革开放以来,随着行政体制改革的不断深入和发展,我国＂官员问责＂方式也呈现出一种新的发展趋势,但由于面临种种法律困境,如行政法律方面的规定有缺陷、行政问责的依据不统一、行政法律的规定没有得到很好的执行等,使得＂官员问责＂实践步履维艰。因此,＂官员问责＂要步入法制轨道,必须尽快健全和完善行政组织法体系;尽快制定符合我国国情的《行政问责法》;落实行政法律,尽早实现行政异体问责。     

加强广西民族团结法制宣传教育工作的实践与思考

维护民族团结、祖国统一、社会稳定是各民族的根本利益和共同责任所在。当前,对广西开展民族团结法制宣传教育工作提出了更迫切、更高的要求,广西要在坚持民族团结法制宣传教育工作特色的基础上,针对问题和不足,在开展"六五"普法时,大力加强民族团结的法制宣传教育。     

习近平法治思想中的法治学学理

习近平法治思想是马克思主义法治理论中国化的最新成果,是内涵丰富、论述深刻、逻辑严密、体系完备、博大精深的法治思想.习近平法治思想引领中国法学研究从法律主题向法治主题转换,蕴含着系统化的法治学理论,开辟了法治学学科新领域.新时代的法学研究应当以习近平法治思想中的法治学学理为依据,加快推进形成科学完备的法治学学科体系,实现...