解构与重构——监狱文化的深度解读

在后现代语境中,中国监狱正从“农本监狱”走向“都市监狱”、从“政治文化监狱”走向“知识文化监狱”、从“人治监狱”走向“法治监狱”。中国监狱文化的重构以“现代化文明监狱”为主题文化话语,在人的发展与监狱的进步、文化精神的突变与裂变、日常生活模式和价值观念的巨变与悖论、技术理性的超级霸权等深层次的文化范式上进行话语分析,并选择争夺话语权、建构监狱文化霸权、关注监狱大众文化、张扬自由主义理念等重构策略。     

Are there really two cultures? A pilot study on the application of qualitative and quantitative methods in political science

In their 2012 publication A Tale of Two Cultures, Gary Goertz and James Mahoney argue that empirical research in the social sciences aiming at causal inference can be differentiated into a qualitative and a quantitative methodological culture. The two cultures differ fundamentally in how researchers approach and implement empirical studies. The argument is well laid out and comprehensively illustrated, but the empirical validity of the two cultures hypothesis has not yet been evaluated systematically. This note introduces a research project that aims to test the two cultures hypothesis via an empirical analysis of how qualitative and quantitative methods are applied. To determine whether there is a qualitative and quantitative method culture, the researchers initially sampled 30 articles from three journals (Comparative Political Studies, European Journal of Political Research, World Politics) in the 2008–2012 period. Based on this dataset, no evidence was found for the existence of coherent systems of methods practices in political science.     

Measuring Local Autonomy in 39 Countries (1990–2014)

Local autonomy is a highly valued feature of good governance. The continuous efforts of many European countries to strengthen the autonomy of local government show the importance given to decentralization and the transfer of far-reaching competences to the lowest units. Measuring and comparing local autonomy, however, has proven to be challenging. Not only are there diverging ideas about the core elements of local autonomy, there are also considerable difficulties applying specific concepts to different countries. This paper outlines a comprehensive methodology for measuring local autonomy. It analyses 39 European countries and reports changes between 1990 and 2014. A network of experts on local government assessed the autonomy of local government of their respective countries on the basis of a common code book. The 11 variables measured show an overall increase of local autonomy but significant variation between the countries. The variables also add up to an overall measurement of local autonomy.     

Ideological contestation and disciplinary associations: An autoethnographic analysis

An autoethnographic and self-reflexive theorised analysis of aspects of the South African Communication Association reveals that its internal tensions mimicked wider contradictions both during and after apartheid. The historical role played by the association is critically examined in relation to issues of governance and naming, and with regard to its shaping of the South African scholarly community as it negotiated different paradigms, constituencies and historical-political-economic contexts. The analysis is embedded in a critique of neoliberalism and how this condition has impacted the management procedures of the association.     

Understanding differences in crime reporting practices: a comparative approach

Despite a large body of literature detailing crime reporting practices, scant research examines the correlates of the crime reporting decision in developing nations with newer democracies, newer economies, or developing economies. Using a sample of 23 nations from the 2000 International Crime Victimization Survey (ICVS), this study tests the generalizability of correlates of robbery and assault reports to the police in a non-US sample to determine whether there are national differences in reporting practices. Based on this analysis emphasizing the developing world and countries in transition, an expanded model, integrating incident, demographic, police-related, and national variables, is developed that will enhance our understanding of differences in reporting practices in developing and developed nations. Results identified both similarities and differences in crime reporting practices between developed and developing nations. Although the findings reinforce the importance of incident and demographic characteristics on reporting crime to the police, they also suggest that national variables, reflecting economic and social context, should not be excluded from studies examining reporting practices.     

From chasing populists to deconstructing populism: A new multidimensional approach to understanding and comparing populism

This paper challenges some widespread theoretical assumptions and practices in the study of populism and proposes a new multidimensional approach to generate and analyse data on this latent construct. Rather than focusing on categorising subjects as populists or not, it recommends reaching a better understanding of what populism is, the salience and relative weight of its attributes and how they interact creating an inner populist logic. Despite the increasing media and academic attention, historical discrepancies in how to conceptualise and operationalise populism have hindered cumulative progress in the literature. Initially most efforts were devoted to the study of specific movements, without a clear comparative angle, and the concept of populism was often conflated with that of nationalism. When the literature started to pay more attention to the analysis of the attributes associated with populism serious disagreements emerged concerning its true essence. Populism has been conceptualised as an ideology, a cynical strategy, a performative style and a discursive logic of articulation. The disputes between these competing interpretations have arguably slowed down the generation of comparative data. Although this article is meant to be a critique of the current state of the field and a call to make it pivot into a slightly different direction, it does not adopt an iconoclast stance and largely tries to reconcile the different existing research traditions – ideational, discursive, performative and strategic. It shows that their efforts are to a great extent complementary but mostly operating on different rungs of the ladder of abstraction. This paper argues that shifting from minimal definitions into a multidimensional approach may stimulate the generation of comparative data on a wider range of attributes and facilitate the identification of degrees and varieties within populism. This paper develops a new analytical framework which deconstructs populism into five dimensions: (1) depiction of the polity, (2) morality, (3) construction of society, (4) sovereignty and (5) leadership. These dimensions, that synthesise the most influential conceptualisations of populism, are empirically and theoretically interconnected and encompass ideational, discursive and performative attributes suggested in the literature. These dimensions are in turn composed of lower order attributes forming a multilayered network structure. This multidimensional framework provides a heuristic template that can be adapted and operationalised in diverse ways depending on the hypotheses, type of data and subjects of the analysis. Some examples of how to turn these dimensions into variables to capture supply- and demand-side populism are introduced. Future empirical research could help map and better understand the network of interactions and intersections among these dimensions and attributes. This could be the key to settle some of the current conceptual debates about populism and its varieties.     

FAMILY DISPUTE RESOLUTION: CHARTING A COURSE FOR THE FUTURE

This article summarizes ideas for future directions in the field of family dispute resolution, as discussed by legal experts, social scientists, and other participants at the Indiana University–Bloomington conference on family dispute resolution. Five major categories of future directions were discussed: (1) clarifying differing goals for work in this field; (2) recognizing, understanding, and assessing for heterogeneity among couples and families facing divorces, break ups in adult relationships, and reconfigurations of adult relationships with the children ("relationship dissolution"); (3) testing our assumptions and commonly held beliefs about relationship dissolution; (4) empirically testing the efficacy of interventions for families experiencing relationship dissolution; and (5) disseminating research findings to those on the frontline.     

CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS: THE NEED FOR SYSTEMS‐LEVEL OUTCOME ASSESSMENTS*

Child custody evaluations need to be studied systemically as a human service system. There is little research on the history, caseload dynamics, economics, delivery systems, or impact of custody evaluations. This article identifies five systems‐level questions about custody evaluations and examines one, outcomes assessment, in detail by developing seven outcome hypotheses. The article concludes that such research could improve the practice and use of child custody evaluations.     

浙江遂昌“昆曲十番”音乐形态探析

遂昌“昆曲十番”是全国罕见的一种用民间乐器演奏传统名剧昆曲曲牌的器乐演奏形式。它的起源与明万历年间汤显祖在遂昌任知县积极传教昆曲和创作《牡丹亭》有着密切的联系。“昆曲十番”经历代艺人的不断传唱衍承,已有400多年的历史,具有极高的文化研究价值和可观赏性,可谓是一项民间艺术瑰宝。本文从“昆曲十番”的起源、艺术特征、研究价值、生存状况及保护传承等方面加以探析,以期更好地保护这一传统音乐文化,使之能健康地延续和发展下去。     

羁押场所巡视制度研究报告

作为一种程序外的酷刑预防机制,羁押场所巡视制度通过邀请社会公众不定期地、未经事先通知地访问看守所,巡视看守所的羁押条件、羁押执法活动是否符合我国法律、法规的相关规定,有效地提高了看守所被羁押人的待遇、促进了监管机关执法的规范化。制度的试行还向社会公众传递了看守所规范执法的积极信息,增强了公众对看守所的了解与信赖。该试点研究通过比对试点前后的相关数据,包括衡量看守所条件、权利保障状况的指标得出了上述结论。