United in diversity? The convergence of cultural values among EU member states and candidates

The European Union (EU) is considered to be a unique economic and political union that integrates most European countries. This article focuses on the cultural aspect of European integration, which has been increasingly debated over the course of deepening and widening integration and in the context of the legitimation crisis of the EU. Among the main goals of the EU is to promote certain values, which raises the question of whether it has been efficient in (or enabled) reducing cultural value gaps among the participating countries. World polity and institutional isomorphism theories suggest that cultural values may trickle down in a vertical manner from the institutions of the EU to its member states and candidates. Furthermore, hybridisation theory postulates that values diffuse horizontally through intensified interactions enabled by the EU. These two perspectives imply the possibility of cultural convergence among countries associated with the EU. By contrast, the culture clash thesis assumes that differences in cultural identity prevent value convergence across countries; growing awareness of such differences may even increase the pre-existing cultural value distances. To test these different scenarios, distances in emancipative and secular values are compared across pairs of countries using combined repeated cross-sectional data from the European Values Study and the World Values Survey gathered between 1992 and 2011. This study finds that the longer a country has been part of the EU, the more closely its values approximate those of the EU founding countries, which in turn are the most homogenous. Initial cultural distance to the founders’ average values appears irrelevant to acquiring membership or candidacy status. However, new member states experienced substantial cultural convergence with old member states after 1992, as did current candidates between 2001 and 2008. Since 1992, nations not participating in the integration process have diverged substantially from EU members, essentially leading to cultural polarisation in Europe. The findings are independent of (changes in) economic disparities and suggest the importance of cultural diffusion as one of the fundamental mechanisms of cultural change. This empirical study contributes to the literature on European integration, political and sociological theories of globalisation, and cross-cultural theories of societal value change.     

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.     

提升高校教师教与学的领导力(英文)

Learning and teaching in universities in higher education plays a very important role.In order to improve the quality of learning and teaching for teachers to cope with the reform and challenge nowadays,leadership can help to handle with the difficult situation.The more important is to arouse the teachers’ awareness.This assignment reviews the leadership’s several aspects and raised some suggestions for discussion based on the challenge coming from the work place.     

台湾加入WTO《政府采购协议》的背景、动机与影响

加入＂政府采购协议＂（GPA）是台湾继加入WTO之后在扩大国际经济空间上的又一重大收获。这一举措的动机并非为获得GPA所带来的政府采购市场机会,而更多是出于扩大国际参与度的考虑。这也决定了其谈判过程多次波折。从谈判结果来看,加入GPA对台湾本身的经济和贸易发展影响不大,但对两岸关系以及祖国大陆加入GPA谈判却有一定的潜在影响。     

反不正当竞争法“权利”与“利益”双重客体保护新论

"权利一元保护"与"利益一元保护"是学界对反不正当竞争法(反法)保护客体的一般概括,且建基于反法"利益一元保护"通说之上的知识产权法往往具有适用上的优先性。但是,从反法的历史血统、利益与权利的转化程式以及现行反法的规范实践来看,利益与权利双重保护更符合反法的客观实际:在历史演化层面,反法虽从民法中分离,但本质上却承继了传统民法中权利与利益双重保护的血统;在转化程式上,反法伴随着"利益—法益—应然权利—法定权利"的转化路径而形成一种"随动关系",既为这一"过程利益"提供保护,又将作为"转化节点"的具体"法益"和"权利"以实定法的方式确立下来;在规范实践方面,作为法益保护的经营者利益以及社会公共利益、作为应然权利的商誉权、作为从应然权利向法定权利成功转型的商业秘密权,以及作为法定权利的消费者知情权等客体均得到了反法的实际承认。在双重客体保护论的基础上,反法中的诸多疑难问题均可获得进一步释明。     

再论《奉俄协定》

《奉俄协定》是苏联政府为了落实其在《中苏协定》中关于共管中东铁路权益,与以张作霖为首的奉系集团所签订的协定.该协定的签署不仅开了苏联与中国地方当局订立协约的先河,同时对中苏关系乃至整个远东地区形势的发展产生了重大影响.奉直两个军阀集团之间的关系走向直接影响了奉苏交涉谈判进度和《奉俄协定》的签署,但该协定作为主权国与地方当局签订的协约有违于国际法的规定.     

Trade Measures and Climate Compliance: Institutional Interplay Between WTO and the Marrakesh Accords

This article examines the potential of trade measures to induce more climate-friendly policies, focusing on the relationship between global trade rules and the Kyoto climate regime. At the core of this interplay is the normative consistency of trade-related rules in the two regimes and any hierarchical relationship between them. The stronger clout of the WTO and its compulsory dispute settlement system suggest that issues involving competing claims would be referred to WTO bodies. Such bodies have so far been restrictive regarding the exceptions in WTO agreements to the general ban on embargoes and discrimination. The normative compatibility of the two regimes will also depend on their participatory interplay, specifically how they differentiate groups of actors as to rights and obligations. Non-members of WTO receive the least protection, and their vulnerability to climate-related trade measures is largely determined by their interdependence with states that consider employment of such measures. Among WTO members, the findings of a dispute settlement body would presumably differ depending on the status of the target under the Kyoto Protocol. A non-complier with Kyoto commitments would be more shielded than a non-party, because by joining the Kyoto regime a non-complier has exposed itself to regime-internal and less trade intrusive measures that should be exhausted first. A third dimension of interplay is linkage, or efforts to influence the regime interplay. To date there has only been moderate cross-agency coordination, but considerable attention is paid within each regime, including in the Millennium Round of trade negotiations, to the desirability of avoiding conflict between them.     

技术性贸易壁垒中贸易和环保的平衡

技术性贸易壁垒的合法、合理、适度使用已经成为当今WTO框架内涉及贸易自由化和环保平衡的重要问题之一。GATT第XX条为部分涉及环保的技术性贸易壁垒实施设立了条件和要求。《TBT协定》为涉及环保的技术性贸易壁垒的实施设立了指导原则和判断标准,但这些原则和标准的适用则是一个复杂的技术和法律的冲突和协调过程,贸易保护之目的和效果都会影响技术性贸易壁垒实施过程中贸易自由和环保措施之间的平衡。     

中国(上海)自由贸易试验区知识产权保护研究

中国(上海)自由贸易试验区的建立对推进国内改革与世界市场开放具有里程碑式的意义。我国的自由贸易试验区属于自由贸易园区(FTZ),不同于自由贸易协定下的自由贸易区(FTA),也不同于传统保税区,具有"境内关外"和"一线放开、二线管住"的特征。自由贸易试验区的贸易便利化举措必然使其成为知识产权侵权避风港的可能性急剧上升。但由于相应制度的缺失和认识的偏差,自由贸易试验区可能成为知识产权海关执法的模糊区甚至空白区,同时我国目前的知识产权保护体系与自由贸易试验区寻求的便捷、高效的知识产权市场监管模式和纠纷解决机制相距甚远。从相关国际条约的立法和国内外自由贸易园区的实践来看,在自由贸易园区内实施更加严格的知识产权保护是现在和未来国际知识产权保护的必然趋势。因此,在自由贸易试验区内应加强知识产权海关保护、建立知识产权市场监管体系、完善知识产权纠纷解决机制。     

对高校教育侵权的反思——以大学自治为切入点

由高校教育侵权引发的高校涉讼现象，是大学自治与司法审查“博弈”的结果：而大学法治精神的欠缺是高校教育侵权的诱因。目前，对“司法介入与大学自治”范围的确定已成为解决高校教育侵权问题的两种不同进路。以“司法介入”为中心的进路，虽能在功能上满足对学生权利提供司法救济的目的，但面临着理论体系的众多挑战。故而，应以“大学自治”为切入点，将高校管理事项分为大学自治事项与高校行政管理事项。