Effect of Choice of Measure on the Size of a Racial Disparity

In criminological studies of racial disparities the effect of race on outcomes is assessed after statistical controls for other variables. There is no universally accepted measure of size of disparity after controls in the most common type of disparity study: the study of binary outcomes. Some such studies use a measure that lends itself to interpretation in terms of the proportional reduction in error (PRE). Most use a non-PRE measure of association. This study investigates the effect of choice of measure on conclusions about the size of a disparity after controls. For illustrative purposes the study analyzes data on the awarding of sentence reductions to drug traffickers. After controls, blacks are found to be substantially less likely than whites to receive a reduction according to a type of non-PRE measure: an odds ratio derived from a logit model. But using the same data and model, PRE measures obtained from an ROC analysis indicate that, after controls, there is hardly any difference between the races in their likelihood of sentence reduction. Results illustrate the study's thesis: that the choice of measure can powerfully affect conclusions. The findings' implications—for policymakers and for researchers who conduct racial disparity studies—are discussed.     

The Economic Evaluation of Policing Activity: An Application of a Hybrid Methodology

This paper advances a hybrid police cost function that synthesises the proactive/preventive and response/reactive methodologies from the criminology literature. The model presents a coherent estimation process that can help in the allocation of scarce resources to police forces and also enable economists, government organisations and criminologists to assess the scale and technical efficiency of forces. This hybrid model uses response survey data for a sample of English and Welsh police forces in which relative efficiency rankings are contrasted with relative performance measures produced by the Audit Commission. We find that there are considerable divergences in police force's scale and technical efficiency during 1997/98 and 1998/99 utilising non-parametric techniques.     

A Selection of Empirical Socio-Economic Research with Respect to the Functioning of Legal Rules and Institutions in Belgium and the Netherlands

In this paper some studies with respect to empirical socio-economic research which has been undertaken in Belgium and the Netherlands concerning the functioning of legal rules and institutions are discussed. The paper focuses on the domains of criminal law, civil procedure, liability and insurance. The paper argues that contrary to the overwhelming economic literature on liability and insurance, the empirical results in that domain are poor. More research is undertaken in the area of criminal law and apparently it is overwhelming in the area of civil procedure. The latter studies are, however, mainly undertaken by socio-legal scholars and less by economists. The general conclusion of the empirical studies discussed seems to be that while the empirical literature on the effect of changes in the decision making environment on rational actions in the legal system is rich and provocative, there is much less empirical testing of the effects of legal rules as such on allocational outcomes. The paper argues that much more effort should be devoted to the latter issue.     

社区老年高血压病患者的中医体质类型及相关危险因素分析

目的 探讨社区老年高血压病患者中医体质类型分布和相关危险因素,为高血压病的防治提供参考。方法 根据《中国高血压防治指南（2010）》,将5 582例社区老年志愿者分为高血压病组及非高血压病组。采用中医体质调查问卷,对其进行中医体质及危险因素分析。结果 5 582例老年人中,高血压病患者占55.2%,非高血压病者占44.8%;高血压病组平和质562例（18.2%）,偏颇体质2 521例（81.8%）,非高血压病组平和质467例（18.7%）,其余共2 032例（81.3%）。进一步分析发现,高血压病组偏颇体质主要是痰湿质,非高血压病组偏颇体质主要是气虚质,两组之间体质分布差异具有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。Logistics回归分析结果显示：在高血压病与中医体质类型关系的模型中,痰湿质为独立危险因素;在高血压病与中医体质类型及相关因素关系的模型中,谷氨酸氨基转移酶（alanine transaminase, ALT）、痰湿质、同型半胱氨酸（homocysteine,Hcy）、血脂异常、年龄及血糖为危险因素。结论 本社区老年高血压病患者体质分布以偏颇体质多见,痰湿质、气虚质、阳虚质是较为常见的体质类型;ALT、痰湿质、Hcy、血脂异常、年龄及血糖是高血压病的危险因素。在社区慢性病管理中,根据不同中医体质类型制定相应的防治干预方案,积极调整偏颇体质,倡导健康的生活方式,加强对高血压病高危人群的干预,对社区老年高血压病的防治具有指导意义。     

Integrity verification of user space code

We present a novel approach for the construction and application of cryptographic hashes to user space memory for the purposes of verifying the provenance of code in memory images. Several key aspects of Windows behaviour which influence this process are examined in-depth. Our approach is implemented and evaluated on a selection of malware samples with user space components as well as a collection of common Windows applications. The results demonstrate that our approach is highly effective at reducing the amount of memory requiring manual analysis, highlighting the presence of malicious code in all the malware sampled.     

老旧小区加装电梯的冲突分析及解决:基于协商式角色模拟的研究

随着我国老龄化社会的来临,老旧小区加装电梯成为备受关注的社会问题,各地政府也陆续推出相关支持政策,然而加装电梯之路并不平坦。对于这一典型的公共冲突,协商式角色模拟方法为分析和协调不同相关方之间的利益冲突、寻求冲突解决之道提供了新的思路。老旧小区加装电梯中的冲突化解,不仅要探索具体的解决策略,还应从以下三个方面完善相关政策:适当放宽业主同意原则;确定相关技术规程及利益补偿依据;地方政府加快制定加装电梯行动指南。     

灸刺督脉治疗气虚血瘀型缺血性脑卒中临床观察

目的 观察评价灸刺督脉疗法治疗气虚血瘀型缺血性脑卒中的临床疗效。方法 将气虚血瘀型缺血性脑卒中患者41例,随机分为对照组（20例）和治疗组（21例）。两组均予以基础病管理,对照组采用脑卒中气虚血瘀型常规针刺治疗,取穴为顶颞前后斜线、极泉、尺泽、内关、委中、足三里、三阴交、气海、血海;治疗组在常规针刺治疗基础上加用灸刺督脉疗法,取通督七穴（水沟、神庭、百会、风府、大椎、命门、腰阳关）,其中百会艾灸,大椎刺络,其余腧穴予以针刺治疗。治疗周期为14 d。疗程结束后以美国国立卫生研究院卒中量表（National Institute of Health stoke scale,NIHSS）及改良Rankin量表（modified Rankin scale,MRS）评分结果评价两组的临床疗效。结果 两组患者治疗后NIHSS及MRS评分均较治疗前显著降低（P<0.05）,治疗组NIHSS及MRS评分差值与对照组比较,差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05）。两组临床疗效分布比较,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结论 灸刺督脉疗法治疗气虚血瘀型缺血性脑卒中临床疗效确切,优于常规针刺治疗。     

专利制度的效率分析

从经济学角度分析,每一部法律制度均有其自身的事前效率目标和事后效率目标,并力求实现二者之间的均衡.专利制度的事前效率目标是实现对创新的最优激励,事后效率目标是达到价值最大化的使用,它通过创设一种具有排他性和可转让性的权利机制,旨在实现激励创新的事前效率和推广使用的事后效率之间的均衡.     

甲基苯丙胺稀土荧光试纸条的研制

目的建立一种检测尿液中甲基苯丙胺物质的高灵敏度检测方法。方法以稀土荧光纳米颗粒为标记物,采用反应杯+试纸条的反应模式,建立了免疫层析法,用于尿液中甲基苯丙胺的定性检测。结果用所制备的试纸条检测尿液中的甲基苯丙胺,肉眼和仪器判读的敏性均为100ppb,与吗啡、亚甲二氧基苯丙胺、氯胺酮、苯丙酮、可卡因等无交叉反应;将制备的反应杯和试纸条置于37℃7d,试纸条的性能没有明显降低。结论本研究建立的甲基苯丙胺免疫层析法用于定性检测尿液中的甲基苯丙胺,具有较高的灵敏性和较高的应用价值。