When to Tell? : Disclosure of Concealable Group Membership,Stereotypes, and Political Evaluation

Although their group membership is normatively irrelevant to vote choice, members of politically underrepresented groups (e.g., women, nonwhites, and gays and lesbians) are often evaluated through the prism of their group memberships and related stereotypes when competing for elective office. Because membership in groups defined by gender, race, or ethnicity is easily perceptible, women and nonwhite candidates may have little control over the political effects of their group membership. Membership in groups defined by a candidate's sexual orientation is concealable, in contrast, and thus potentially gives gay and lesbian candidates some control over the impact of their homosexuality and accompanying stereotypes on voters' responses. Using an experimental design, I examine the relationships between timing of group membership disclosure, group stereotypes, candidate sex, and political responses to gay and lesbian candidates for office—taking into consideration voters' attitudes toward homosexuality and their sex.     

FAMILY MATTERS: EFFECTS OF FAMILY MEMBERS’ RESIDENTIAL AREAS ON CRIME LOCATION CHOICE*

According to crime pattern theory, offenders are likely to select crime locations within their awareness space. Previous studies have shown that offenders often commit crimes within their current and former residential areas and in areas they previously targeted. However, offenders’ awareness spaces obviously consist of more locations that potentially influence their crime location choices. This study examines the importance of the residential areas of offenders’ family members. Most offenders visit their families at least occasionally and consequently get familiar with the areas in which their families live. It is hypothesized that family members’ residential areas are at increased risk of being targeted. Unique data were used to reconstruct residential histories of the parents, siblings, and children of 7,910 offenders who committed 19,420 offenses. The results of discrete spatial choice models showed that residential areas of family members are indeed at increased risk of being targeted. Current familial residential areas had stronger and more consistent effects than had former familial residential areas. Effects were strongest for the residential areas of offenders’ children compared with those of their parents and siblings. The residential areas of male and female family members affected the crime location choices of male and female offenders equally.     

论民事诉讼审前程序的模式转变

民事审前程序的改革是势在必行的,改革应当贯穿当事人主义和集中审理主义两项基本原则,同时应当确立证据交换、争点整理、审前会议等各项制度和程序。     

论《海牙选择法院协议公约》的适用范围

《海牙选择法院协议公约》是2005年海牙国际私法会议通过的第一个关于管辖权和判决承认与执行的国际公约。公约仅适用于当事人签订有排他性选择法院协议的国际性民事或商事案件,同时也附加有多种例外情况。研究公约的适用规则可以为我国加入和适用公约提供参考。     

价值取向与解释的选择

法律解释活动中,法官选用不同的解释方法会带来不同的解释结果,但法官对解释方法的选用不是任意的,法官的选择受自身价值取向的支配。法律解释中存在价值取向是由一系列的原因决定的,而且价值取向对法律解释活动产生多方面的影响。法官需要做的是依据价值取向对法律的意义进行选择,实现个案正义与社会正义的统一。     

中外协议管辖制度之比较

与美、法、德等国的协议管辖制度相比,我国协议管辖制度在协议管辖范围、明示协议管辖和默示协议管辖等方面尚存在一些具体问题。应当借鉴国外相关制度中的合理成分,完善我国的协议管辖制度,协调法院职权与当事人处分权之间的矛盾,适应司法实践的需要。     

21世纪低碳经济发展潮流与道路选择

人类社会正在面临有史以来最严重的气候变化困境。发达国家工业化进程中大量排放的二氧化碳等温室气体,导致全球气候变暖,给社会经济可持续发展带来巨大的负面影响。低碳经济是以低能耗、低污染、低排放为基础的经济发展新模式。发展低碳经济、减少二氧化碳排放是应对全球气候变化的有效途径。我国正处于重要的历史发展时期,转变经济发展模式,调整产业结构,优化能源配置,选择低碳经济发展道路,将为我国在全球新一轮经济竞争中赢得发展的先机。     

Drugs Prices and Systemic Violence: An Empirical Study

This study proposes an empirical analysis of the relation between the prices of illegal drugs and the use of violence to administrate the markets of illegal drugs. The study hypothesizes that the prices of illegal drugs affect the level of violent crime, since changes in profitability of the drugs’ markets affect the offenders’ expected utility of using violence to operate in these markets. An increase (or decrease) in prices would raise (or reduce) the offenders’ expected utility of making use of violence, for instance, to solve disputes over drugs, to conquer more market shares, to defend ones own market share, in short to make use of systemic violence (Goldstein, P.J. Journal of Drug Issues, 39:143–179, 1985). The study will analyze the relation between the dynamics of cocaine and heroin’s prices and systemic violence in the United States of America and in Europe over two decades. The correlational and inferential analyses do support the hypothesis for certain offenders’ profiles and certain murders’ circumstances.

欧盟在中美之间的艰难选择——基于“蛋糕主义”视角的分析

在中美战略竞争的背景下,美国要求欧盟国家与其联手遏制中国,抵制中国在欧洲的基础设施建设和投资。欧盟陷入两难境地,一边是为欧洲诸国提供安全保障的传统盟友美国,另一边是给欧洲带来经济利益的合作伙伴中国。大多数欧洲国家和欧盟实际上在实施一种“蛋糕主义”的平衡策略,即在中美之间“不选边站队”,保持一种矛盾和摇摆的立场,同时它们也希望能够避免因得罪任何一方而遭受重大利益损失。欧盟国家非常清楚这种策略只是一种权宜之计,只有进一步加强战略自主,从根本上提升欧盟的防务能力和外交自主权,才能拯救欧洲,并在此基础上发展欧洲。中国需要认识到欧盟目前的骑墙状态无法长期持续,因为美国如果加大对欧盟的施压力度或者对欧盟作出更有利的安全承诺,欧盟国家大概率会回归美国的怀抱,进而联手应对中国。对中国来说,应该鼓励欧盟“不选边站队”,因为总体上让欧盟偏向中国是不现实的,欧盟能够保持中立对中国来说在理论上是一种次优选择,在现实中也可能是最优选择。今后的中美欧三边关系存在较大不确定性,欧盟的战略空间可能会缩小,需要在中、美两强之间艰难地维持平衡。