The African renaissance and the Caribbean

In May 2010 South African President Jacob Zuma will have been in office for one year. During this time, the Zuma administration has been far less ambitious in its foreign policy than previous administrations. However, South Africa is not in a position where it is able to withdraw from foreign engagement, as regional issues — such as Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Swaziland — continue to demand attention. The Zuma administration's approach in the future, in terms of both substance and style, will need to be informed by lessons from past engagement, including South African peacekeeping efforts in countries such as the DRC and Burundi, and South African mediation efforts in countries such as Angola, Côte d'Ivoire and the Comoros. Certainly, South Africa's record of success in taking on international responsibilities over the past 10 years has been mixed, but there is scope for past experience to shape future engagement positively. Indications of this can be seen, for example, in Zuma's efforts to redress former President Thabo Mbeki's clumsy mediation efforts in Angola by deciding to make his first state visit as South Africa's president to Luanda. Zuma's approach to Zimbabwe could build on the foundation set by Mbeki's long engagement with that country.     

Challenges of the pan‐African parliament

It must be enabled to receive representation by individuals and associations whose interests have been affected by international or continental public policies or practices. In turn, it must be able to intervene decisively to protect rights in member states. By doing this, the parliament can deepen its credibility and relevance to African peoples struggling with poverty and injustice across the continent.     

Security Sector Reform in Liberia: An Uneven Partnership without Local Ownership

Abstract

The security situation in Liberia is currently quite good, and at a glance the peacebuilding process seems to be moving ahead. However, the root causes of the conflict have not been adequately addressed, but have in fact become more interlinked in the aftermath of the civil war. Instead of addressing local perceptions of insecurity the international community made plans for Liberia without considering the context in which reforms were to be implemented. The peace in post-conflict Liberia is therefore still fragile and the international presence is regarded as what secures the peace. Still, the UN is supposed to start its full withdrawal in 2010—indicating that the international community will leave the country without addressing the root causes of conflict.     

地方政府投融资平台运营模式问题研究

在我国现代化、工业化和城镇化建设过程中,地方政府投融资平台发挥了基础性的作用,有力地推动了地方经济社会的跨越式发展,但同时也暴露了诸如举债融资规模膨胀过快、制度缺失、机制运行不够规范等问题。在已有的研究成果中,对地方政府投融资平台运营模式的研究相对较少,文章通过对当前主要模式存在的问题和成因进行梳理,基于“多中心场域治理”的理论基础,构建了“地方政府投融资平台多中心合作型运营模式”。     

金融操作风险及其治理

金融操作风险虽然形式多样,但在我国,却主要表现为金融业高管腐败的日趋严重、金融业违规操作的日益严峻、金融违法犯罪的日益猖獗和操纵证券市场的屡禁不止。而监管体系结构的失衡、监管治理机制的薄弱和监管规则的相对滞后等多种因素的综合影响和交互作用,则是根本的症结所在。总之,我国金融操作风险的有效防范和金融业核心竞争力的提高,不仅需要进行监管制度创新,统一金融监管权威,建立存款保险制度,而且应当健全金融法规体系,发展金融同业公会,以构建政府掌舵——市场约束——社会参与的新型金融监管体系。     

Efficiency evaluation of a police operation to fight the drug plague: distribution unit weight as an objective index

Lod, a city near Tel-Aviv, is considered the main drug distribution center in Israel. A major police undercover operation in Lod, lasting close to a year, was terminated in May 2003. The success or failure of such an operation is frequently measured by the number of arrests made, the hierarchical level of the dealers arrested, the number of drug stations closed down, and the decrease in heroin seizures following the operation. In this work we suggest using an additional parameter, which has a scientific, objective basis, namely, comparing the changes in the average user weight unit ("dose") before and after the operation. We found that prior to the operation the average weight per unit was 1.1 g. Three months after the operation terminated the average weight per unit had decreased to 0.8 g and remained there for at least 4 months before rising again.     

刑事辩护障碍的观念之维

我国刑事立法观念、司法观念、律师观念远远落后于我国现行刑事辩护制度,因此造成了辩护制度与法律观念之间的"不兼容"现象,这种"不兼容"现象使得我国刑事辩护制度裹足不前。所以,刑事诉讼观念的相对滞后是我国刑事辩护障碍的最深层次的原因。     

中国企业国际化进程中的组织结构问题

组织结构与战略不匹配是中国企业国际化经营业绩不佳的主要原因之一。本文以战略与结构理论为分析工具,基于中国企业在国际化经营过程中多数选择市场开拓型战略的实际,认为参与国际化经营的中国企业,要实现既面向市场,又能有效整合企业全球资源的目标,必须进行组织结构再造,并且应该选择以分部结构为基础的国际业务部结构类型。     

专门用途英语教师网络学习共同体运行机制研究——以公安专业英语教师Sharing&Improving网络学习共同体为例

高校教师的专业素养水平和科研能力决定着高校的核心竞争力,这与教师的终身学习、持续研究和常态反思息息相关。SharingImproving网络学习共同体正是基于上述思想构建。"共享·进步群"的宗旨是共享优秀资源,不断完善自我。它的运行由多元发散型互动机制、资源共享机制和协作讨论评价机制构成。网络化协作学习能够敦促教师进行及时反思、科学对比和创造性思维,即对自我学习过程和教学实践的深入思考,从而获得新的认知,步入教学、研究新境界。     

Events Data as Bismarck's Sausages? Intercoder Reliability,Coders' Selection,and Data Quality

Precise measurement is difficult but essential in the generation of high-quality data, and it is therefore remarkable that often so little attention is paid to intercoder reliability. It is commonly recognized that poor validity leads to systematic errors and biased inference. In contrast, low reliability is generally assumed to be a lesser concern, leading only to random errors and inefficiency. We evaluate the intercoder reliability of our recently collected data on governance events in UN peacekeeping and show how poor coding and low intercoder reliability can produce systematic errors and even biased inference. We also show how intercoder reliability checks are useful to improve data quality. Continuous testing for intercoder reliability ex post enables researchers to create better data and ultimately improves the quality of their analyses.