The Effects of Local Government Consolidation on Turnout: Evidence from a Quasi‐Experiment in Switzerland

In the last decades, municipal mergers have been one major element of local government reforms in Switzerland and beyond. In this article, we describe and analyze the political effects of this development. We use a quasi‐experimental setting to test the impact of municipal mergers on electoral participation. We find that in merged municipalities, the decrease in turnout is significantly stronger than in non‐merged municipalities. Further, the effect is more pronounced in relatively small localities. There is a temporal dimension to this effect—that is, turnout drops mainly in the first election after the first merger, but not so much after the second or third merger. Hence, the study provides a skeptical yet differentiated perspective on the democratic consequences of municipal mergers and points to further research avenues to develop a more comprehensive understanding of local government consolidation.     

The Impact of Child‐Parent Psychotherapy on Child Dependency Court Outcomes

Although parental compliance with court orders in child welfare cases is key to achieving physical parent‐child reunification and successful case closure, little research has examined how parent‐child relationship‐focused rehabilitative services uniquely influence case outcomes. This project fills this gap by investigating links between court ordering of and parental participation in Child‐Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) with court outcomes. Data were obtained from court records of 448 court‐involved parents. Hierarchical regressions revealed that greater participation in CPP led to reunification and successful case closure but not faster case closure. Courtroom professionals should consider parent‐child relationship‐based therapies as tools for achieving child welfare goals.     

洪大容和“古杭三才”的友谊与东北亚文化

洪大容和"古杭三才"的儒家"益者三友"思想,是东北亚文化交流的组织基础;以追求真正学问之道为文化取向;他们的友谊和文化交流为东北亚文化的发展和东北亚精神家园建设在历史上产生了积极影响。洪大容作为朝鲜的实学家在北学中国,接受西方文化中,确立了"学问的多元化",追求着自主意识,他为东北亚文化在朝鲜的个性发展所作的贡献恰恰丰富了东北亚文化的精神家园,并在历史上起到了承前启后的作用,为东北亚各国各民族的自觉、自立、自信、自强一直产生着积极的影响。     

Did Jamie Oliver Really Put School Dinners on the Agenda? An Examination of the Role of the Media in Policy Making

Healthy eating is high on the government's agenda in current times and to all intents and purposes the media appears to have played a crucial role in putting it there. While media focus is no doubt intense and playing a vital role in public education (take Jamie Oliver's 2005 Channel 4 documentary, ‘School dinners’, for example), the question that lies at the heart of this article, is whether the media has led the government agenda on healthy eating and school dinners as appears to be the case. A close examination of the evidence suggests otherwise: government policy was already well set before the media began to show a concerted interest and hence its influence on policy‐making is more limited than might be expected. Rather than setting agendas per se, the media's role has been to refine and energise existing policy areas and to facilitate implementation.     

Ordering Disorder – On the Perplexities of the Partnership Literature

The literature on public‐private partnerships (PPP) has proliferated in recent years. However, confusion about the actual meaning of PPP still abounds. As a consequence, contradicting findings and statements about PPP flourish in the literature. This article reviews the literature, and argues that there are different streams of PPP research which operate with qualitatively different notions of the PPP concept. Accordingly the literature is divided into four different PPP ‘approaches’. By doing so the article offers some clarification concerning an increasingly complex concept. The article concludes that an authoritative definition of PPP – one that can encompass all the different variations of the concept currently in use – is not logically possible.     

数字图像处理技术的优势

随着计算机应用软件多种类的开发 ,利用计算机来处理图像已成现实。计算机图像处理技术(也称数字图像处理技术)相对于传统的暗房技术 ,不但具备传统暗房技术制作影像的所有的技巧 ,而且还有许多传统暗房技术不可比拟的优势。数字图像处理技术是摄影艺术再创造的技术 ,可制作完美无暇的照片 ,照片质量比传统暗房技术制作的质量更高,对环境无污染 ,出片速度快、省时、省财、省力、省地方。数字图像处理技术必将取代传统的暗房技术     

中国共产党人认识真理、改造世界的新成就——江泽民“七一”讲话提出的十大创新问题

江泽民“七·一”讲话是新时代的中国共产党宣言。它从概括党的历史经验、揭示“三个代表”重要思想、解放思想实事求是的科学内涵、研究和把握基本规律的新观念等十个方面阐述了我党在一系列重大理论和实践问题上形成的新认识。     

基层民警应正确处理好"三种关系"做贯彻落实"两个最大限度"的践行者

公安工作的一个显著特点就是与人打交道,从一定意义上说,就是处理人与人之间关系的工作。因此,要遵照公安部提出的,在公安工作中要"最大限度地增加和谐因素,最大限度地减少不和谐因素"。要求特别是基层民警应紧紧抓住"三基"工程建设的大好机遇,正确处理好三种关系,把"两个最大限度"的要求落实到实处,以实际行动促进社会的和谐稳定,激发社会的创造力。     

浅谈基层基础建设中应处理好的几个关系

抓好“三基”工程建设,必须与各项公安工作特别是中心工作、重点工作有机结合,相互促进,协调发展。为此,在加强基层基础建设工作中,应正确处理好全局工作、打防建设、科技强警、群防群治、队伍建设等工作之间的关系。     

加强刑侦"三基"工程建设提升打击犯罪整体水平

公安部将2006年定为“基层基础建设年”,要求全国公安机关“抓基层、打基础、苦练基本功”,打牢公安事业长远发展的基石,提高公安工作和公安队伍建设的整体水平。如何把握这一机遇,深入开展刑侦“三基”工程建设,真正实现“固本强基”的根本目的,是当前各级公安机关特别是刑侦部门亟待思考和解决的问题。笔者认为抓好刑侦“三基”工程建设,应重点在深化认识上下功夫,切实增强抓刑侦“三基”工程建设的积极性和主动性;在科技强侦上下功夫,不断提高侦查破案的科技含量;在信息导侦上下功夫,努力培育新的破案增长点;在刑侦专业基础上下功夫,增强破案打击的发展后劲;在教育培训上下功夫,努力适应新的执法环境。