The Credit Rating Agencies and Their Contribution to the Financial Crisis

The credit rating agencies that dominated the ratings of mortgage‐backed securities were Moody's and Standard & Poor's. The two agencies rated some 4.3 trillion dollars of bonds as triple AAA, yet within a period of 18 months these same rating agencies downgraded these bonds to below investment grade. This paper seeks to show that the ratings agencies business model, the issuer pays approach, led to major conflicts of interest with both the ratings agencies unable to walk away from a rating. The evidence given by analysts to Congressional Inquiries confirms a cultural revolution within the rating agencies, with analysts feeling unable to question the quality of a rating. Analysts who were described as being awkward by issuers were removed from the rating process. In the meantime, the income for the rating agencies increased from 3 billion dollars to 6 billion dollars, with the CEOs of the rating agencies receiving incomes comparable to the incomes to the CEOs of investment banks.     

The Changes and Realistic Functions of the Blang Ethnic Group＇s Traditional Beliefs

With the development of society, the Blang ethnic group＇s traditional beliefs have changed a lot. However, some traditional beliefs and manners and customs still exist. Based on the findings from survey and interviews, it is found that low productivity in the history leads to the Blang ethnic group which is difficult to understand and withstand all kinds of natural disasters. Then, the primitive religious concepts such as ＂natural worship＂ and ＂totem worship＂ are resulted. The ＂Jie mu long＂ ceremony of Shidian County, the ＂Ji long＂ ceremony of Shuangjiang and the belief of Theravada＇s Sthavira are the real reflection of those concepts. Nowadays, the existence of some ritual activities in the Blang ethnic group has lost the practical significance. However, some traditional beliefs and manners and customs still have been inherited in real life of the Blang ethnic group, this is mainly because they can satisfy Blang people＇s requirements, and they have these functions： regulating mind, ecological protection, and integrating society.     

Interest groups in the media: Bias and diversity over time

A prominent presence in the news media is important for interest groups. This article investigates the development in the diversity of interest group media attention over time. The analysis draws on a dataset of 19,000 group appearances in the Danish news media in the period 1984–2003. It demonstrates how diversity has risen continually over time, leading to a media agenda less dominated by labour and business and more by public interest groups and sectional groups. This development is related to the increasing political importance of the news media and the decline in group integration in public decision‐making processes. The article also shows how the development of group appearances is closely related to changes in media attention towards different policy areas.     

虚假广告致害与侵权行为致害的异同——兼论法律对信赖利益的保护

广告业的发展参差不齐,虚假广告尤为明显,由虚假广告致害的个体逐渐增多。此类问题的解决需要首先从虚假广告致害与侵权行为致害的不同入手分析,再分析虚假广告的严重性,然后提出虚假广告所侵犯的是消费者的信赖利益及信赖利益的保护。     

思想政治教育利益协调价值及其实现途径探析

需要和利益是人类实践活动的目的之一。社会资源有限,社会群体利益需求不尽一致,必然造成不同群体间的冲突。思想政治教育作为社会管理的一种软性手段,具有重要的社会价值。其中,利益协调价值是思想政治教育社会价值的一种表现,其主要功能是：（1）营造良好的氛围,为不同利益群体提供利益表达机会;（2）帮助利益群体克服认识和心理偏差;（3）设置新目标,激发利益主体追求更大利益的动力。思想政治教育者可以通过加强思想政治教育工作、发挥利益群体主体性等多种途径,实现思想政治教育利益协调价值,维护社会稳定。     

孙子“势”域中的群体性事件现场控制

孙子＂势＂论是其军事思想的重要组成部分之一。孙子＂势＂论在具体的作战中表现为将帅运用主客观条件所造成的态势和敌我力量对比。处置群体性事件具有政治要求高,敏感性强等特点。孙子＂势＂论可以作为群体性事件现场控制谋略的来源,使警方更加有效地进行力量配置和认识群体性事件现场控制要素。公安机关在群体性事件现场控制过程中,要善于从多维角度认知现场,在重视战机的巨大作用和示＂形＂造＂势＂的同时,还要善于超＂势＂。     

团体成员身份与环保消费行为——基于社会参与和社会教育视角的分析

基于社会参与和社会教育视角,文章利用日本综合社会调查数据实证分析了团体成员身份对环保消费行为的影响。结果表明,除了人口统计学和环境意识变量之外,团体成员身份也是预测个体环保消费行为的重要变量。另外,文章也发现不同团体的作用不尽相同,志愿者团体、市民运动团体和消费者团体成员身份变量显著正向影响环保消费行为,而政治团体和宗教团体成员身份对环保消费行为则不显著。     

The liability of website owners for defamation in Israel: A challenge yet to be solved?

From the end of the twentieth century to the present we have witnessed the effects of technology on the way we consume and distribute information. The print media, which in many ways was the natural product of the printing revolution, has given way to the electronic media with websites providing the new “town squares” in which the public discourse is held on political, economic and social issues among others. The Israeli legal system, like the legal systems in other countries, faces a variety of challenges and complex ethical and legal issues when required to regulate (often retrospectively) the manner and processes through which the discourse will be conducted in the virtual “town hall”. In essence, this article focuses on one of the many questions occupying the Israeli legal system and that is whether website owners should be liable in defamation for speech published by third parties on the Internet (through blogs, tweets on Twitter, posts on Facebook,¹ uploaded video clips on YouTube and the like) when no connection exists between the third party and the site owner apart from the fact that the third party has used the website as a platform to publish the offensive speech. The issue of the liability of the website owner has ramifications for the injured party's capacity to institute an action for defamation against the website owner, as often only the latter will be in a position to compensate the injured party (financially) for the offensive speech. The Israeli legal system, which in many ways furnishes a unique and interesting framework for examining the question posed above, as we explain in the body of the article, presents a fascinating example of how the Israeli legislature and the courts have dealt and continue to deal with claims filed against website owners for damage to reputation as a result of speech published by third parties. The article offers a comprehensive review of the status of the right to freedom of speech, anonymity and the right to reputation in Israel, the considerations for and against the imposition of liability on website owners and the latest case law on these questions.     

上市公司现金分红制度的自治与强制——以股利代理成本理论为逻辑基础

控制股东与小股东之间的利益冲突是我国上市公司中存在的主要问题。我国股利分配失衡问题归根究底在于公司内部缺乏适当的权利制衡机制,存在内部人特别是控制股东侵害小股东合法利益的问题,这是公司治理机制不完善不健全的结果。我国与再融资行为相挂钩的上市公司现金分红制度具固有缺陷。依据股利代理成本理论,公司现金分红是小股东利益保护机制的结果,只有小股东利益保护机制得以有效执行,我国上市公司的股利分配失衡问题才能迎刃而解。应当尊重公司自治原则,通过契约设计和制度创新来增强公司股东对现金分红决策的参与度,对大股东权利的行使形成有效的制衡;同时,强化特定情形下控制股东的诚信义务,发展股东强制股利分配之诉,对上市公司控制股东滥用控制权侵害小股东利益的行为进行责任追究是我国解决股利分配失衡问题的必然出路。     

论环境民事公益诉讼的适格原告

2012年新修改的《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》第55条规定,“法律规定的机关和有关组织”可以对“污染环境等损害社会公共利益的行为”向人民法院提起诉讼,由此揭开了我国环境民事公益诉讼的新篇章.但是,新修改的《民事诉讼法》并没有进一步明确“法律规定的机关”和“有关组织”的范围.通过对环境民事公益诉讼司法实践的考察和分析,环境保护行政机关应该作为环境民事公益诉讼最适格的原告、检察机关可以作为环境民事公益诉讼的适格原告,二者应当属于“法律规定的机关”的范围;“有关组织”宜界定为以环境保护为主旨,经依法登记或者免予登记的非营利性社会团体、民办非企业单位、基金会等提供环境公益性服务的组织.