Territorial Finance and the Future of Barnett

This article traces the changing funding relationships between Scotland and the UK government. Beginning from the Barnett Formula, it examines how the changing support within Scotland for greater political autonomy from Westminster has influenced the mechanisms that have determined Scotland's fiscal structure. Increasing support for the SNP, and then for the Yes campaign in the September 2014 independence referendum, has led to a mixture of new powers being granted to the Scottish Parliament. The Scotland Act 2012 extends the Scottish government's control over income tax and some other small taxes. Although independence was rejected by the Scottish people in September 2014, the ‘Vow’ made by the Westminster parties immediately before the vote is leading to far‐reaching changes in the UK's fiscal structure. This will cause a very substantial change in intergovernmental relations within the UK, which the Barnett Formula may not survive.     

精神病人刑事责任能力评定标准探讨

刑事责任能力直接关系着刑事案件的定性与处理,其评定要件目前倾向认为有医学要件(标准)与法学要件(标准),但对法学要件一直缺乏明确的规定和统一认识,严重影响鉴定结论的一致性与科学性,因此亟待制订刑事责任能力评定的相关行业标准。长期以来,责任能力的评定大多是经验式判断,缺乏客观的评定工具,虽然也强调应该根据法学要件即辨认与控制能力具体分析其责任能力大小,但实践中评定模式仍多是重点考察作案当时行为人的精神状态。我们认为,精神障碍只是责任能力评定的基础,而不是其决定因素,决定责任能力大小的只能是作案时其辨认或控制能力的程度。评定刑事责任能力,首先应考察其精神状态,如果精神状态正常,即可认定为具有完全刑事责任能力;如果患有某种精神障碍,就应该去重点考察其辨认或控制能力受损的程度,再根据这种受损程度的大小相应评定,因为所有的精神障碍的落脚点都是其辨认或控制能力的受损情况。同时,为避免过去经验式判断的主观性,在相关评定标准中应该要求辅以标准化评定工具,以提高评定结果的科学性与客观性。     

湖南省高职院校服务和管理类专业情况调查报告

作者在文中对湖南省高职教育服务与管理类专业情况进行了调研，针对高职管理、服务类专业设置和办学中存在的问题，提出了专业建设改革的新思路。     

The use of multiple informants to assess children's maltreatment experiences

Most researchers rely exclusively on the reports of protective service workers to determine children's abuse history. In this report, information about children's maltreatment experiences is obtained from protective service workers and three supplementary sources of data: parents, medical records, and clinical observations. Fifty-six children from 34 families receiving protective services for verified reports of physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and/or emotional maltreatment participated in the study, with most children known to have experienced more than one type of abuse. The supplementary data provided important information about the range and severity of children's maltreatment experiences. Review of the parent and medical record data led to identification of 28 children who had additional types of maltreatment experiences that were not reported by their protective services workers—nine cases of physical abuse, two cases of neglect, five cases of sexual abuse, and 12 cases of emotional maltreatment. Supplementary data also revealed information about incidents of specific types of abuse that were more severe than those reported by the children's protective service workers in an additional 24 cases. A method was devised to synthesize information provided from the different sources of data examined in this report to derive 0–4 point ratings of four categories of maltreatment experiences: (1) physical abuse, (3) neglect, (3) sexual abuse, and (4) emotional maltreatment. The Kappa reliability coefficients for each of these scales were .88, .73, .83, and .90, respectively. Data demonstrating the relationship between these maltreatment ratings and various indices of the children's socioemotional and cognitive functioning were also presented to provide preliminary support for the validity of these scales. The findings from this study suggest that multiple sources of data should be examined in order to obtain accurate assessments of children's maltreatment experiences, and that independent raters can synthesize discrepant data to obtain reliable and valid estimates of children's abuse history. Clinical and methodological issues relevant to the improved assessment of children's maltreatment experiences are also discussed.     

试论科学考核领导干部政绩

科学的考核领导干部政绩是合理选拔、任用干部的重要依据,因此,党和政府一直对干部考核十分重视。但是,由于现行的干部考核体系存在的一些问题,干部考核在实际操作中出现了一定的偏差。为了解决当前干部考核体系中的问题,应该从坚持科学发展观等几个途径来重建考核领导干部的科学体系。     

论社区矫正的管理制度

社区矫正的目的之一,是使被矫正人员增强社会适应性,成功地重新与社会结合,在社区矫正的适用方式上,是要教育、处遇、监督、管理等多种形式并举。要达到社区矫正目的,就必须有相应的制度加以规范和约束。这里所讲的管理制度,是社区矫正实施过程中所贯彻执行的主要制度。     

关于妨害对公司、企业管理秩序罪执法不力的思考

实务中妨害对公司、企业管理秩序罪的犯罪大量存在 ,但是被宣判的却相当少。导致这种现状的原因在于公司法立法的落伍、自律机制的缺失和社会生活中对私人集团的过度依赖。为了解决这些问题 ,应当抛弃陈旧观念 ,将部分罪非罪化 ;建立健全自律机制 ;通过政治体制改革限制私人集团在社会生活中的作用。     

The differential predictive validity of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory: the role of gender

Most criminogenic risk assessments are developed and empirically validated on samples of boys or samples comprised of mostly boys, and subsequently applied to girls. Using a sample of male (n = 1,267) and female (n = 453) probationers, the purpose of the current study was to examine the potentially differential performance of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) and the instrument’s eight domains for female juvenile offenders. Findings revealed gender differences in the predictive validity of the YLS/CMI in which girls scored significantly higher on the risk assessment, but recidivated at significantly lower rates than boys two years following the administration of the assessment. The predictive validity of the instrument was impacted by these gender differences in which the YLS/CMI total score was a better predictor of recidivism for boys (area under the curve (AUC) = .623) than girls (AUC = .565). The only subscales that significantly predicted recidivism for girls were the family (AUC = .607) and personality (AUC = .572) domains, whereas all of the subscales significantly predicted recidivism for boys. Directions for future research as well as gender-responsive assessment, programming, and policy implications are discussed.     

Seeing is believing: observer perceptions of trait trustworthiness predict perceptions of honesty in high-stakes emotional appeals

Instantaneous first impressions of facial trustworthiness influence the manner in which observers evaluate ensuing information about stranger targets [e.g. Porter, S., &; ten Brinke, L. (2009). Dangerous decisions: A theoretical framework for understanding how judges assess credibility in the courtroom. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 14, 119–134. doi:10.1348/135532508X281520]. In two studies, we examined the association between perceptions of general trustworthiness and honesty assessments in an extremely high-stakes sample – individuals publicly pleading for the return of a missing relative, half of whom had killed the missing individual. In Study 1, observers (N?=?131) provided trustworthiness ratings – either before or after viewing and evaluating the honesty of videotaped or audio-only pleas – for a still image that depicted a neutral expression on the face of each pleader. In Study 2, observers (N?=?220) evaluated the sincerity of audio pleas paired either with an untrustworthy-looking target, a trustworthy-looking target, or no target face. Collectively, our findings indicated that first impressions of trait trustworthiness form the basis of state judgments of honesty, potentially contributing to misguided credibility assessments and miscarriages of justice in the legal system.     

Understanding dynamic risk factors for violence

ABSTRACT

Recent years have seen a consensus emerge regarding the dynamic risk factors that are associated with future violence. These risk factors are now routinely assessed in structured violence risk assessment instruments. They provide a focus for treatment in structured group programmes. However, relatively little attention has been paid to risk-related theoretical issues, whether these dynamic risk factors are causally related or simply correlates of violent offending, or the extent to which they change as a consequence of treatment. More challenging is the lack of evidence to suggest that changes in these dynamic risk factors actually result in reductions in violent offending. In this paper we consider the meaning of the term dynamic risk, arguing that only those factors that, when changed, reduce the likelihood of violent recidivism, can be considered to be truly dynamic. We conclude that few of the violence risk factors commonly regarded as dynamic fulfil this requirement. There is a need to think more critically about assessment findings and treatment recommendations relating to dynamic risk, and conduct research that establishes, rather than assumes, that certain dynamic risk factors are directly related to violence. Some suggestions for advancing knowledge and practice are provided.