Harnessing Market Competition in PPP Procurement: The Importance of Periodically Taking a Strategic View

Public‐Private Partnerships (PPP) procurement is routinely portrayed as offering greater scope for harnessing competitive market forces to secure Value for Money (VfM) than traditional procurement approaches ( OECD 2008 ). The aim of this article is (a) to demonstrate the importance of periodically taking a more systematic and strategic view when assessing VfM in PPP procurement ( OGC 2003 ), and (b) to develop an analytical framework for such an analysis. Road infrastructure procurement in South East Queensland is used as a case study to test the usefulness of the proposed framework, and to show how a narrow focus on individual contracts increases the risk of overlooking overdependence on one supplier ( OGC 2003 ). Discussion focuses on the need to combine detailed analysis of individual contracts with longitudinal analyses of market competitiveness when assessing best VfM.     

The Rudd Government's Employment Services Agenda: Is it Post‐NPM and Why is that Important?

Perhaps the most potent symbol of the Howard government's faith in New Public Management (NPM) was the Job Network. Interrogating the Rudd government's replacement package, this article assesses whether the recent restructuring of employment services constitutes a post‐NPM environment. It is argued that there are major post‐NPM elements, seen most clearly in: the softening of jobseeker sanctions; greater deliberation on policy direction and results; a more inclusive employment super‐ministry and reliance on other ‘horizontal’ governance reforms; and enhanced government resources for multiple‐disadvantage clients. However, categorising these changes as post‐NPM is problematic because the steering mechanism remains the market‐based contract, a central NPM characteristic. Theoretical difficulties in applying paradigmatic concepts to services provide additional barriers to conclusive assessments, though the Rudd government's employment services regime provides a basis for taking stock in the post‐NPM debate.     

令人不适的法医影像对司法心证的影响探微

司法人员在审查案卷时,可能由于一些令人不适的法医影像而影响其客观、公正地履行职责。在现实中法医影像制作的不规范状况扩大了这种负面影响。而对这种负面影响的制约有赖于相应法律规范和证据规则的制定、制作人观念和态度的转变、制作方式的规范,以及司法人员相应素质的提高。     

我国环境影响评价法律制度的不足及完善

2003年9月1日,《中华人民共和国环境影响评价法》正式颁布实施,该法规除对建设项目要进行环境影响评价外,同时要求对有关规划进行环境影响评价,这标志着我国环境与资源立法步入了一个新的阶段——从决策的源头来防止环境污染和生态破坏。随着经济的快速发展,其暴露出来的问题越来越多,尤其在环境影响评价的范围、公众的参与以及法律责任的承担等方面。所以,我国环境影响评价相关法律需要在适当的时机对评价的范围、公众参与等相关规定进行修改,以此来保障经济发展的高质量。     

气候变化对东南亚经济的影响

气候变化成为国际社会关注的重点,各权威机构及学者纷纷研究气候变化及其对经济的影响。本文以斯特恩评论的框架,结合有关研究资料分析东南亚的气候变化,包括气温、降雨量、极端气候事件和海平面的变化及趋势,评介这些气候变化对东南亚经济,包括对水资源、农业、林业、沿海及海洋资源和人类健康等5个方面的影响及发展趋势。     

Quality of criminal responsibility reports submitted to the Hawaii judiciary

This paper is the third in a series of research reports on quality of forensic mental health evaluations submitted to the Hawaii judiciary. Previous studies examined quality of reports assessing competency to stand trial (CST) and post-acquittal conditional release, in felony defendants undergoing court-ordered examinations. Utilizing a 44-item quality coding instrument, this study examined quality of criminal responsibility reports in a sample of 150 forensic mental health evaluations conducted between 2006 and 2010 by court-appointed panels. Raters attained high levels of agreement in training and quality coding. Similar to the previous studies, overall quality of reports was mediocre, falling below the .80 quality criterion score for report elements, regardless of evaluator professional identification or employment status. Level of agreement between evaluators and judicial sanity determinations was “fair” using Cicchetti's (1994) standards for interpretation of intra-class correlations. Level of agreement was lower than previously published findings for CST reports and better than conditional release reports. Reasons for mediocre report quality and “fair” inter-rater agreement are discussed, including the fact that criminal responsibility evaluations are complex, retrospective in nature, and involve significant degrees of inference. In contrast to CST evaluations, assessment of criminal responsibility involves a mental state at the time of the offense evaluation. Threats to reliability in forensic reports are discussed. Suggestions for improvement of report quality are proffered, including standardization of procedures and report format and use of forensic assessment instruments.     

科学的领导干部政绩考核评价体系建设

随着社会主义市场经济体制的日臻完善,公共部门的绩效高低已成为检验一个地方、一个区域核心竞争力强弱的重要标志。与之相适应,构建科学完善的领导干部政绩考核评价体系,对公共部门的业绩、成就和实际工作做出尽可能准确的评价考核,是我们面临的新课题。     

多层螺旋CT及后处理技术在眼眶骨折法医鉴定中的应用

目的探讨MSCT及后处理技术在眼眶骨折法医鉴定中的应用价值。方法采用MSCT对98例法医鉴定者进行薄层扫描并行多平面重建(MPR)和表面遮盖成像(SSD)处理。比较MSCT与常规CT诊断结果。结果爆裂骨折51例(52.04%),直接骨折32例(32.65%),复合骨折11例(11.22%),未见骨折4(4.09%)例。常规CT漏、误诊32例(32.65%)。98例患者经MSCT检查明确诊断。二者诊断结果存在显著统计学差异(χ2=66.00,P<0.001)。结论MSCT及后处理技术在眼眶骨折法医鉴定中具有较高的实用价值。     

社区矫正审前社会调查评估制度之程序构建

审前社会调查评估是人民法院适用社区矫正的一个前置性程序.目前,我国社区矫正审前社会调查评估制度在实践操作中存在着启动程序的随意性、启动主体的单一性、启动时间的滞后性、调查内容不统一、调查报告低质化以及调查评估报告效力上的不确定性等问题.本文认为,社区矫正审前社会调查评估制度的启动程序应强调启动主体的多样性和启动时间的前移,调查程序强调关注被害人的权利,审前社会调查评估报告则由检察机关通过量刑建议、监狱机关通过假释建议的方式使用.     

煤矿一线员工过度劳动评价与影响因素 —— 基于四个省份十二个煤矿调查数据的分析

基于四个省份十二个煤矿一线员工的问卷调查数据,采用相关性分析和多元回归分析的方法, 从个人、家庭、企业、工作四方面,探究了我国煤矿一线员工过度劳动影响因素。研究发现：经济利益、自我发展、 家庭责任、不和谐的家庭关系、考核标准、薪酬制度、企业文化、工作量、工作要求、工作环境对煤矿一线员工 过度劳动的产生具有显著的正向影响,家庭支持对煤矿一线员工过度劳动的产生具有显著的负向影响。不同年龄、 不同工龄、不同收入的员工,过度劳动程度存在显著差异。年龄越大、工龄越长、收入越高的员工过劳程度更高。 总体上看,煤矿一线员工普遍存在过度劳动且较为严重。