How to Define Legislative Turnover? The Incidence of Measures of Renewal and Levels of Analysis

This article analyses different standard measures of legislative turnover. Two main concerns are discussed: (1) the very definition of turnover: incoming MPs versus first-term MPs; and (2) the level of analysis: the whole chamber versus political groups. To illustrate this discussion, turnover in the French lower chamber, the Assemblée Nationale, is studied. It is shown that the choice of a particular measure is not trivial since empirical results are affected by the definition adopted. If the distinction between incoming and first-term MPs does not greatly modify results, the choice of the level of analysis leads to contradictory results. It is shown that the very logic of electoral contests leads to renewal mostly among those who lost previous elections, while incumbent majorities that lose elections hardly experience renewal. As both these phenomena coexist for every single election, aggregate measures of turnover do not account for these contradictory tendencies and tend to concentrate on alternation rather than turnover.     

Democracy,social capital and school governing bodies in South Africa

Critics of school governing bodies (SGBs) – both on the left and on the right – tend to rely upon arguments that ignore significant portions of the act that created SGBs – the South African Schools Act (SASA) – the exact nature of the changes to SGBs wrought by amendments to the act and the manner in which the courts, in interpreting the act, have both reinforced the autonomy of SGBs at the same time as they have set limits on those powers. The authors’ reading takes seriously all of the provisions of SASA, its amendments and various court constructions of SASA's provisions. This close reading of the South African Constitution, SASA, SASA's amendments and the case law reveals the lineaments of a fourth level of democratic government. Even with their uneven success as a fourth tier of democratic government, SGBs reflect, in many respects, the most important interactions that citizens have with the state. The authors contend that SGBs provide a vehicle for popular political participation that is quite real, and that participation is made no less real by the strictures imposed upon them by South Africa's constitutional and regulatory order. Despite concerns about their lack of capacity, SGBs enjoy popular acceptance and participation across class and language divides. The legal status of SGBs does not merely enhance various forms of local democracy, SGBs also maintain and create effective social networks that generate new stores of social capital. The ability to provide new forms of democratic participation and to create new stores of social capital suggests that SGBs have the makings of a great, new and rather unique ‘South African’ political institution.     

《行政许可法》对地方立法的影响

行政许可法颁布和施行的意义不仅仅局限于行政法治这一领域,而且以独特的视角为地方立法今后的发展提供了难得的参考。在地方立法理念上的变化体现为:平衡公益和私益,追求效益,立法应务实创新;对地方立法体制及立法技术的影响表现为:地方对行政许可设定具有很强的局限性,地方立法主体需重新认识和定位,注重以立法事项的性质确定立法主体,在权限上既赋予地方一定的专有立法权,同时对地方立法权进行一些具体的禁止作为补充,健全地方立法的具体内容,完善地方立法技术。即便如此,行政许可法仍对地方立法可能造成以下负面影响:首先是借行政许可法留下的可观的立法空间,扩大地方立法权;其次是由于行政审批改革与立法同步,立法中部门利益将会反弹。     

地方蛋鸡群中A亚群禽白血病病毒的分离与全基因组序列分析

利用DF1细胞培养、ELISA和多聚酶链式反应(PCR)从地方蛋鸡群中分离并鉴定了1株A亚群禽白血病病毒(ALV-A),命名为AH10。依据GenBank中已发表的序列分段扩增获得AH10株的全基因序列。序列对比分析发现,AH10株基因全长7 458 bp,其中gp85与国内另一蛋鸡A亚群SDAU09C3株同源性最高,氨基酸同源性达到96.5%。此外,AH10株在非编码区5′-LTR区域存在蛋鸡群A亚群禽白血病所共有的19个碱基的插入突变。研究结果进一步完善了我国地方蛋鸡群中禽白血病的流行病学信息。     

社会救助非政府主体参与机制研究——社会救助需要多元化发展

本文运用公共物品私人提供理论与公共服务市场化理论,从社会救助非政府主体参与的必然性和可能性上探讨社会救助主体的多元化发展,进而探讨非政府主体参与机制的建立,从而推动社会救助制度的完善与发展。     

A new strategy for the discrimination of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups in Han population

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup discrimination is interesting not only for phylogenetic and clinical but also for forensic studies. We discriminated the mtDNA haplogroups of 570 healthy unrelated Han people from Zhejiang Province, Southeast China, by comprehensive analysis mutations of the hypervariable segments-I sequence and diagnostic polymorphisms in mtDNA coding region using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which was compared with the widely used PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The results showed that in superhaplogroup M, haplogroup D was the most common haplotype within this assay to 24.6%, and in the other superhaplotype N, haplogroup B and F were the most common groups. Samples re-identified by PCR-RFLP showed the consistent results that were got with RT-PCR. In conclusion, the RT-PCR strategy appears to be an accurate, reproducible, and sensitive technique for the discrimination of mtDNA haplogroups, especially for mass screenings quickly and economically.     

Length of Shift,Work Outcomes,and Psychological Well‐Being of Nursing Staff

Abstract

This research examined the relationship of three work shift characteristics (length, working more than 8 hours, working double shifts) to work outcomes, indicators of psychological well‐being and perceptions of hospital functioning during a time of considerable hospital restructuring and downsizing. Data were collected from 744 hospital‐based nursing staff survivors of these changes. About 60% of the respondents worked shifts that were 9 hours or longer and 20% had worked two shifts back to back. Younger, less experienced nurses worked longer shifts. All three shift characteristics were significantly related to frequency of nursing errors and injuries.     

Popular evaluations of election quality in Africa: Evidence from Nigeria

Despite the important consequences of citizens' election quality perceptions on political behavior and political attitudes, very little is known about how citizens formulate their perceptions of election quality. In this paper, I assess the correlates of citizens' perceptions of election quality. I suggest that the performance of election-related institutions is an important correlate of citizens' election quality perceptions. However, citizens' experience with electoral irregularities, and partisan affiliation also matter. I test these hypotheses in the context of the 2007 Nigerian general elections using survey data from Afrobarometer and International Foundation for Electoral Systems. The findings provide robust support for the hypotheses. Most importantly, the results indicate that the performance of electoral management bodies is associated with citizens' assessment of election quality in Africa and that citizens demand electoral management bodies with impartiality and professionalism.     

The application of geographic information systems and spatial analysis to assess dumped and subsequently scattered human remains

This study utilizes geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial analysis (SA) technology to address the problems associated with prediction of location and effective recovery of dumped and scattered human remains in Louisiana. The goals are to determine if a selective bias exists in Louisiana as to where and when human remains are dumped and to assess whether or not geographically specific patterns exist in the dispersal of human remains. We hypothesized that a positive relationship exists between postmortem interval (PMI) and dispersal distance, and that there are negative relationships between PMI and dispersal direction and between dispersal direction and distance. Our results indicate that, in Louisiana, remains are more often dumped in rural areas away from a structure, and are found within (1/4) mile of the nearest road. For Louisiana, no seasonal bias was found in the analysis of when remains are dumped. Furthermore, with the exception of the relationship between PMI and the shortest distance remains were dispersed, no geographically specific patterns were detected in the analyses of dispersal distance, dispersal direction, and PMI.     

PCR-RFLP法分析北方汉族人群HLA-B基因多态性

目的建立以PCR-RFLP法分析HLA-B基因多态性的方法,并对105名北方汉族人群酶切片段类型、频率进行调查,为其法医学应用奠定基础。方法酚/氯仿抽提法抽提样本DNA;PCR扩增HLA-B基因的外显子2,3;NlaIII酶切PCR产物;聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳和银染技术检测酶切结果;DNA测序确认酶切位点。结果HLA-B特异性扩增片段长度为943bp,以NlaIII酶进行酶切时在北方汉族人群中获得了14条片段,20种谱带类型,观察到了6个酶切位点。结论仅应用一种内切酶对HLA-B基因进行PCR-RFLP分析即可获得多条片段,多态信息含量大大提高,该法可以应用于法医学亲子鉴定和个人识别等。