How interest groups influence public opinion: Arguments matter more than the sources

Through what mechanism do interest groups shape public opinion on concrete policies? In this article, three hypotheses are proposed that distinguish between the effect of the arguments conveyed by interest groups and the effect of interest groups as source cues. Two survey experiments on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TIPP) and the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change allow the testing of these hypotheses. The resulting evidence from several countries shows that, with respect to interest groups’ attempts at shaping public opinion, arguments matter more than their sources. This is so even when accounting for people's trust in the interest groups that serve as source cues and for people's level of information about a policy. The finding that interest groups affect public opinion via arguments rather than as source cues has implications for the literature on elite influence on public opinion and the normative evaluation of interest group activities.     

Policy Narratives across Two Languages: A Comparative Study using the Narrative Policy Framework

The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) focuses on the role of narratives, drawing from a rich scholarship in narrative, language, and culture. Despite the understanding that narratives are constructions of language and that narrative construction differs across languages, NPF studies have not focused on policy narratives in languages other than English. Language characteristics of narratives are important to assess the stability of policy narratives when there are multiple dominant languages in a political system. This study investigates the use of narrative elements in policy narratives in agricultural biotechnology policy in India across Hindi and English media coverage to examine the NPF assumption that narratives have generalizable narrative elements irrespective of variation in linguistic context and, specifically, tests the transportability of narrative elements. Findings validate the transportability of narrative elements in Hindi narratives, indicate variation in the use of narrative elements over time, and have implications for applying NPF across languages.     

Venue Preference and Earthquake Mitigation Policy: Expanding the Micro‐Model of Policy Choice

Seismologists have reported that a majority of recent earthquakes in Oklahoma have been triggered by the activities of oil and gas companies. Despite this fact, there is evidence of strong opposition toward earthquake mitigation policy. In this article, we argue that how individuals define issues affect their policy choice. Furthermore, we incorporate the concept of venue shopping from the literature on macro theories of the policy process to investigate the effect of problem definition in shaping individual venue preference for policy choice. Using unique survey data, we find that problem definition, particularly issue causality and issue image, is strongly related to individual support for earthquake mitigation policy. However, a more nuanced relationship between individual problem definition and venue preference is observed. Our findings contribute to scholarly endeavors to understand the politics of problem definition at an individual level, which may be the precursor of understanding policy choices at the institutional level.     

Automated DNA casework workflow: A retrospective study of the first implementation of FIDL at the Netherlands Forensic Institute

FIDL is a fast and automated DNA identification line which represents a series of software solutions automating the process from raw capillary electrophoresis data to reporting. This retrospective study provides insight in the numbers of cases, turnaround time, results compared to the standard workflow and the benefits automation has in a large volume workflow.     

肌肉电导率和pH两指标联用推断死亡时间

目的探讨肌肉浸渍液电导率(electrical conductivity,EC)、pH两指标联用在PMI推断上的意义。方法 SD大鼠处死后,保存在25℃环境中,于不同PMI提取大鼠后肢肌肉制备匀浆液,测定浸渍液EC和pH。分析EC、pH两指标联合使用推断PMI的意义。结果 EC、pH两指标随PMI均呈现阶段性变化:1d内,pH明显下降,EC无明显变化;2~3d,EC、pH均快速增大;4~10d,EC继续增大,而pH变化不明显。EC、pH联合使用,有助于划分PMI时段,以及特定时段内指标的优化:1d内,选择pH最佳,2~3d,EC、pH联用最佳,4~10d,选择EC最佳。结论 EC、pH联用有助于提高PMI推断的准确性。     

Analysis of off-farm work decisions among smallholder farm households in Burkina Faso

This article investigates off-farm work decisions by smallholder farm households. Using data on 1,101 households from Burkina Faso, it demonstrates that in addition to the usual household socio-demographic characteristics, remittances, access to information and beneficiary of specific training affect off-farm work decisions, as well as rainfall factors and idiosyncratic health shocks. Community characteristics such as accessibility and number of inhabitants are also key factors. While suggesting that off-farm work is less likely to be undertaken for accumulation purposes, these results have important policy implications. In particular, policy measures should consider each segment as a separate entity.     

当前国际投资促进机构运行的特征与走势

后金融危机时代,各国为从金融危机中尽快复苏经济普遍加强了投资促进工作,国际投资促进机构运行呈现新特征。通过深入研究新特征,密切关注其走势及采取的积极应对措施。为进一步理顺我国投资促进体制机制、创新投资促进方式、推动扩大内需、提升投资服务质量、提高投资促进效益提供启示,深化我国投资促进工作,提升国际竞争力。     

阿姆斯特丹大学治理结构剖析及启示

目前国内研究尚少的阿姆斯特丹大学是荷兰最大的综合性研究型大学,其治理结构具有六个显著特点：有效的政府监管和影响方式、大学行政的集体领导、精简的行政及服务保障部门、松散联合中的权力实体、学术权力和行政权力融合的决策辅助委员会、师生代表组织参与的共同治理。该大学的经验和做法对于我国现代大学制度建设具有重要的启示和借鉴意义。     

唾液酯酶多态性在个体识别中的应用研究

目的 探讨唾液酯酶（ Set）多态性在法医学亲权鉴定和个体识别方面的应用价值。方法 应用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶盘状电泳及固蓝 RR染色方法,调查了 114名中国人 Set的表型分布及基因频率,用χ 2检验进行统计学分析。结果 中国人酯酶表型频率 Set F 22.81％, Set FS 50.88％, Set S 26.31％ ;基因频率为 SetF 0.482 5, SetS 0.517 5;非父排除机率为 0.187 5,个体识别率为 0.619 9。结论 Set有较高的父权排除率和个体识别率,可作为法医学亲权鉴定和个体识别的重要标记系统之一。