Eliciting preferences for land use alternatives: A structured value referendum with approval voting

This article discusses an experimental application of the Structured Value Referendum (SVR) with approval voting. The decision context is selecting the best land use for an undeveloped area of publicly owned suburban land in Richmond, British Columbia. Subjects were a random sample of 200 registered voters, selected in a "mall‐intercept" format. Subjects reviewed relevant information, completed a ballot, and then completed a survey about their satisfaction with the approval voting format. The results are of substantive interest for the land use decision, and show a high preference for an approval voting format. The results show ease in understanding the task and information provided, as well as a belief that this approach could be useful in guiding public policy. © 1999 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Structural discrimination and social stigma among individuals incarcerated for sexual offenses: Reentry across the rural–urban continuum

The stigma associated with a felony conviction can impede the reentry process, and emerging research findings indicate that one's community can amplify or temper the mark of a criminal record. Researchers examining criminal stigma have focused on individuals living in urban areas, overlooking the experiences of persons outside these communities. Using qualitative data collected from a sample of men and women paroled for sexual offenses in Missouri, we contrast how social and structural stigma alter the reentry experiences for participants living in communities along the rural and urban continuum. The results show that the stigma of a sex offense conviction was a near‐universal experience and residence restrictions stymied efforts to find housing. Residents of urban areas and some large cities felt that the community offered relative anonymity from stigma but the stress of their status being discovered was omnipresent. Participants in rural areas and small cities had less social privacy and reported being shunned in the community, although strong social ties did mitigate some of the consequences of stigma. The results highlight the importance of considering place when studying reentry and have implications for designing correctional policies to address the needs of residents returning to non–metropolitan locations.     

JUDICIAL ROTATION AS CENTRIPETAL FORCE: SENTENCING IN THE COURT COMMUNITIES OF SOUTH CAROLINA*

Courts as communities theory emphasizes the sentencing differences that can arise between localities within a single state. The results of published studies have highlighted how local differences emerge based on informal sociological and political processes defined by the communities perspective. The findings from recent quantitative studies from South Carolina have revealed notably less county variation in sentencing than has been observed elsewhere. I use qualitative interviews with 13 South Carolina trial judges to investigate sentencing processes and to shed light on these findings. The interviews explore the state's legal structure and culture, including the practice of circuit rotation in which judges travel among counties holding court. The results suggest rotation serves as a centripetal force of sentencing culture, homogenizing what might otherwise be a more varied collection of county‐specific norms. Rotation leads to increased uniformity through judge shopping and the cross‐pollination of ideas and norms. Defendants can strategically judge shop and plead in front of a lenient judge—a process that gives rise to the term “plea judge,” which is a label for the most lenient judges who sentence a large number of defendants. Rotation also increases the interactions among judges and prosecutors, expanding networks and grapevines, and leading to cross‐pollination and the sharing of ideas.     

The role of respect in interactions with police among substance-using African refugee young people in Melbourne,Australia

Racialized policing and substance use are major issues faced by African young people in Australia. In-depth interviews with 18 refugee young people who use alcohol and/or drugs examined interactions with police. Status respect and human respect played important roles in interactions with police. Participants felt unfairly targeted by police and reported that they were disrespected by police through the use of discriminatory language, failing to differentiate between individuals leading to a sense of loss of self-identity, and stereotyping. Development and implementation of programs focusing on building mutual understanding and respect is needed to improve relations between refugee-background youth and police.     

中国宪法学方法论反思

政治宪法学过度强调不成文宪法、政策及利益的重要性,而规范宪法学存在对规范性一词的误解。宪法学作为理解的科学,既非纯粹的、逻辑严密的价值学,也非纯粹的实证主义科学或纯粹描述事实的社会学。宪法中的价值源自宪法规范与社会现实的结合。必须面向时代精神价值,通过具有整合性的宪法解释将宪法的规范含义与不断变化的现实结合起来,既保持变通性又不失安定性,这是中国宪法学面临的迫切任务之一。     

事实与规范之间:当代中国刑法立法方法论批判

在我国刑法立法中,事实中心主义立法方法论长期以来以潜在的方式发挥作用。然而以此为方法论指导提出的立法议案、设定的特定刑法制度却现实地存在诸多困境,这说明此种立法方法存在缺陷。从根本上讲,事实中心主义立法方法论忽视了作为刑事立法选择的有效规范指引。鉴于此,事实与规范二元平衡刑法立法方法应该得到提倡。     

邓小平民族理论的发展思路与思维特色

邓小平民族理论是在民族工作实践中逐步形成和发展起来的,经历了始创、形成和不断完善的发展阶段,特别是在改革开放新时期,确立了中国特色民族理论的主体文化精神,使党的民族政策落实获得了良性发展的结构,形成了具有鲜明特色的民族理论方法。     

从《说文解字·叙》看许慎的汉字学理论及其方法论意义

《说文解字》是汉字学的奠基之作,而《说文解字·叙》则是汉字学的纲领,它集中体现了许慎先进的汉字学理论和科学的语言学观点:首先,他对汉字的起源、内部结构的发展和形体演变的看法具有发展的观点;其次,许慎对汉字构造的分析及编排体例具有系统的观点;再次,许慎能够从社会实践的需要来看待语言文字的问题,具有联系的观点.总之,《说文解字》是语言文字学理论和实践相结合的典范作品.     

A Statistical Validation of the Individuality and Repeatability of Striated Tool Marks: Screwdrivers and Tongue and Groove Pliers*

Abstract: Tool mark identification relies on the premise that microscopic imperfections on a tool’s working surface are sufficiently unique and faithfully transferred to enable a one‐to‐one association between a tool and the tool marks it creates. This paper presents a study undertaken to assess the validity of this premise. As part of this study sets of striated tool marks were created under different conditions and on different media. The topography of these tool marks was acquired and the degree of similarity between them was quantified using well‐defined metrics. An analysis of the resulting matching and nonmatching similarity distributions shows nearly error‐free identification under most conditions. These results provide substantial support for the validity of the premise of tool mark identification. Because the approach taken in this study relies on a quantifiable similarity metric, the results have greater repeatability and objectivity than those obtained using less precise measures of similarity.     

法律方法与几个相关概念的比较

在我国法学研究中,法律方法、法学研究方法、法学方法论、法律方法论等概念经常被混淆。文章通过比较法律方法与法学研究方法、法律方法与美国的法律方法课程、法律方法与法学方法论(法律方法论)等概念及其所对应的研究领域,阐明我国的法律方法研究,与世界各国法学界与法律界所关注的法律方法,都是围绕法律人实施法律的工作技艺与思想方法而展开的,重点是研究和探讨法律实施中的各种有效且有益的具体制度与思想方式,这一特点决定了它不同于更为宏观的法学研究方法与法学方法论(法律方法论);同时,由于我国开展法律方法研究迫切需要解决的是与我国法律实施相关的问题,因此,我国的特殊性,决定了我国有关法律方法的研究,主要是针对我国法治建设所面临的具体问题,故而,又不同于美国的法律方法课程。正是在与相关概念的区别中,展现出法律方法研究独特的价值。