Institutional Arrangements and State and Local Financial Forecasting

Abstract

The articles in this symposium present various consequences that effectively result in changes from adopted budgets during the implementation phase, which derive from institutional structure. The institutional structures referred to include such attributes as internal policy, procedural methodology, longevity in office, and reward and incentive systems related to performance outcomes

For local governments, structural influences studied include changes in leadership in the executive and legislative branches, longevity in office of budget administrators, and differences related to mayor-council vs. council-manager forms of government. Internal policies reported on cover methodology used to forecast revenues such as quantitative methods versus informed judgment, budgetary controls and spending policy related to mandated spending beyond local government control, and procedures for benchmarking within the agency as well as with peer groups and professional standards.

Consortia of governments are referenced regarding performance evaluation as is the process for gaining consensus between the executive and legislative branches, including expert outside opinion. Other influences on performance outcomes reported on are those tied to the risk-reward system built in to the institutional structure, which includes risk tolerance of the individuals who make pension fund investments.     

刑事附带民事诉讼的实践困惑与制度完善

刑事附带民事诉讼在制度价值上值得推崇，诉讼经济、程序便捷、审判集中的优越性是独立的刑事诉讼和民事诉讼所难以比拟的，但现行立法规定过于简单笼统，造成司法实践中遭遇困惑，形成立法理念与执法现实之间的差距。通过对刑事附带民事诉讼模式的比较研究，发现刑事附带民事诉讼的存在有其合理性与必然性，对于该制度存在的一些问题可以通过改进与完善途径加以解决。     

刑事附带民事诉讼制度内容之主体分析

囿于对附带民事诉讼制度理论基础的认识模糊,理论界仍有一种观点,把附带民事诉讼当事人置于纠问客体的地位,漠视其主体地位,这一观点必须予以纠正;同时,从依法保护当事人应享有的诉讼权利的立法精神讲,对司法实践中几类特殊的诉讼主体也应分情况赋予其当事人的主体地位。     

Collateral report of psychopathy: convergent and divergent validity of the psychopathic personality inventory-short form

Psychopathy is a personality syndrome comprised of interpersonal, affective, and behavioral features that has emerged as a correlate of intimate partner violence perpetration. One commonly used self-report measure of psychopathy is the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Short Form (PPI-SF). The current study employed a multi-trait, multi-method approach to test convergent and discriminant validity of the measure in partner-violent couples by comparing males’ self-report of psychopathy to the informant report of their female partner (N = 114). It was hypothesized that the female partner report of the male’s psychopathy would be highly correlated with the male report of his own psychopathy, thus providing evidence for the construct validity and interrater reliability of the PPI-SF. Analyses found that male and female reports were correlated significantly on the two major factors of the PPI-SF. Furthermore, the female report explained a significant amount of variance over and above men’s self-report on PAI scales designed to indicate antisocial personality traits.     

Qualitative Differences Among Rural and Urban Intimate Violence Victimization Experiences and Consequences: A Pilot Study

Relatively little is known about rural women's intimate violence experiences in comparison to urban women's experiences, partly because of the difficulty in accessing rural women. This pilot study used a protective order sample of 23 women (15 urban and 8 rural), which provides an access point that is relatively similar for comparisons across rural and urban areas. The number of participants is low and, therefore, results are preliminary. However, several significant findings emerged. Rural women reported significantly less social support, less education, less income, more physical abuse in the preceding year, more childhood physical and sexual abuse, and worse overall health and mental health, as well as encountering abuse earlier in the relationship. Both groups reported higher rates of illegal drug and cigarette use than those among the general population. The findings highlight some overall important themes in examining rural and urban intimate violence victims by suggesting that rural and urban intimate violence victims have different victimization experiences and service needs. Implications for further research and intervention are discussed.     

刑事附带民事诉讼制度的检讨--从被害人权利保护角度

由于在制度设计上遵循“刑优于民”的立法指导思想 ,刑事附带民事诉讼制度无论在理论上还是司法操作实践上均表现出对被害人权利保护的缺失 ,使得对被害人的个别救济淹没在国家追究、惩罚犯罪的过程中。从对被害人权利保护的角度 ,无疑应该将刑事诉讼与民事诉讼分离开来 ,并进而建立对刑事被害人的国家补偿制度     

中美三个联合公报的条约性质研析——兼论中国的对策

长期以来,中美两国对于中美三个联合公报的法律性质存在着极大的争议:中国认为中美三个联合公报是有拘束力的条约,美国却否认这一点。这种争议的结果既严重损害了中美三个联合公报的权威性,更严重阻碍了中美关系的正常发展。根据国际条约法的基本原则和基本理论,特别是从条约的基本特征、美国国内法关于条约的定性、三个联合公报的履约情况等方面进行的深入分析表明,中美三个联合公报确定无疑是有拘束力的条约。基于此,中国政府应该积极寻求维护中美三个联合公报权威性及其条约性质的法律对策。     

刑事附带民事诉讼调解新路径

刑事附带民事诉讼是指司法机关在刑事诉讼过程中,在解决被告人刑事责任的同时,附带解决因被告人的犯罪行为所造成的物质损失的赔偿问题而进行的诉讼活动。在司法实践中,调解在刑事附带民事诉讼中已被广泛运用,在处理刑事附带民事案件中发挥了特殊的作用。调解作为解决民事纠纷的一种特殊制度,是促使双方当事人和解的一种结案方式和诉讼活动,具有方便、快捷、灵活、成本低廉和对抗性弱的特点。     

刑事附带民事诉讼精神损害赔偿制度之思考

为了切实保障被害人的合法权益,以刑代赔,仅仅给予公法的保护是远远不够的,精神损害赔偿制度已纳入了我国民事法律的调整范围。为了协调法律体系内部的矛盾,也使被害人的利益得到最好的保护,应尽快建立起刑事附带民事诉讼精神损害赔偿制度。     

论我国商业医疗保险中最大诚信原则的适用

目前我国商业医疗保险的发展进入了关键阶段,由于其保险标的的特殊性,决定了最大诚信原则在商业医疗保险中的重要作用,本文就最大诚信原则在商业医疗保险发展中的若干法律问题略抒拙见,以期抛砖引玉。