Impressions of ineffectiveness: exploring support partners’ attitudes toward sex offender registration and notification

ABSTRACT

The present study utilized in-depth qualitative interviews with 38 people who provided formal social support to registered sex offenders to explore their attitudes toward sex offender registration and notification (SORN). Findings revealed that there were three primary areas of perceptions that these support partners had concerning SORN laws. These themes – incapable of adequately raising public awareness, unable to impact sex offender recidivism, and inappropriate for most sex offenders – suggested that such policies were ineffective strategies for sex offender management. Limitations, directions for future research, and corresponding policy implications are discussed.     

我国刑事诉讼中意见证据规则适用的实证分析

实证研究表明，我国法官在刑事诉讼中运用意见证据时存在标准不统一的问题。其主要原因在于，刑事诉讼法针对意见证据采用的“原则＋例外”的体例，使得例外的表述过于笼统。通过实证分析，并借鉴域外意见证据规则的规定，本文主张，只有建立在亲历感知基础上所作出的推断、评论或者猜测，才有可能被采纳为证据使用。因此，应当进一步完善我国现有的刑事意见证据规则。     

三十年来日本满铁研究现状述评

满铁是近代日本设于中国东北最大的殖民统治机构。日本通过满铁攫取中国的政治、经济、社会和文化等情报,控制中国交通,掠夺资源,以此达到对华殖民统治目的。日本战败后,满铁大部分文献资料留存于中国,分散于国内数十家图书馆。这批规模巨大、卷帙浩繁的满铁文献资料,是研究中国东北地方史、近现代中日关系史和东北亚国际关系史极为珍贵的第一手资料。近30年来日本学界对满铁资料及满铁史的研究取得了令人瞩目的成果,但也存在一些问题需要引起我们的重视。     

“邻避运动”在澳门的兴起及其治理——以美沙酮服务站选址争议为个案

由选址问题引发的邻避运动是一个世界性的现象。自回归后第二个五年来,具有邻避特征的公共设施选址争议在寸土寸金的澳门日益增多。本文以澳门美沙酮服务站选址争议为个案,从风险认知和决策模式两方面分析了社区居民反对政府选址政策的原因,进而提出在社区层面引入参与式治理,期冀从源头上应对邻避抗议运动。本文的研究价值在于:第一,对邻避运动的关注,能够拓展澳门既有的抗议研究;第二,对邻避运动的治理,能够为参与式治理的社区实践提供契机。     

Patient perceptions of schizophrenia in forensic and general adult psychiatry

This study explores the illness perceptions of patients with schizophrenia in forensic settings and contrasts their views with those of a general adult psychiatry sample. It was hypothesised that forensic psychiatric patients would have more negative illness beliefs than general adult patients. A cross-sectional survey was used. Forty forensic patients and 32 general adult patients with schizophrenia were recruited. They completed the Illness Perception Questionnaire for Schizophrenia (IPQS), a valid and reliable measure of illness perceptions in mental health problems. Forensic patients perceived their illness to be less chronic, less cyclical, and had a lower negative emotional response to illness. Our results did not support our original hypothesis and possible reasons are explored. Acknowledging patient’s views when formulating management plans could permit more effective individually tailored treatment.     

论服务器标准的局限

在我国信息网络传播权的侵权判定中,服务器标准虽然基本是司法实践的"主流",但它却未必始终符合国际条约和我国著作权法的规定。从发展的角度看,服务器标准只是对应着早期互联网的一种侵权界定标准,已不能涵盖所有的技术可能性或作品提供行为。在当前互联网技术环境下,把作品等客体提供于开放的服务器只是构成向公众提供作品行为的充分条件,而非必要条件,更非充分必要条件。固守服务器标准可能导致信息网络传播权法律适用背离技术中立原则,偏离立法目标,产生法律适用困境。司法裁判者应抛弃服务器标准,采用符合法律规定和更为合理的侵权界定标准。     

The Charismatic Body Politics of President Putin

Vladimir Putin's image and brand make sophisticated, culturally embedded use of his biography, martial arts expertise, and idiolect, with his physical self strongly privileged in the modes of his self-presentation. As a politically marketable product, his public persona enjoyed broad appeal among Russian voters in the period 2000–2011, when he and his United Russia party operated in an electorally uncompetitive environment. Since the urban protests of 2011–2012, Russia's political scene has become much more dynamic. Having initially configured himself as a charismatic leader whose very body symbolized a new and confident Russia, during his third presidential term, which began in 2012, Putin finds himself facing new presentational challenges that he may or may not be equipped to meet.     

Morality and Competence in Shaping the Images of Political Leaders

Psychological models of forming impressions about other people assume that this process is strictly connected with social categorization. Therefore, it is clear that the results of many studies show that the evaluations of other people are based on two crucial and separable criteria: morality and competence. Obviously morality and competence are two fundamental and distinct dimensions of the perception of politicians. These dimensions substantially influence voters’ behavior toward politicians and are clearly visible both in the preelection polls as well as in the scientific analyses concerning forming the images of politicians. The evaluations of politicians on the morality and competence dimensions are central in forming the interpersonal attitudes in which the dominant elements are affect and respect toward the evaluated person. Consequently, affect and respect are crucial factors in establishing the support of candidates for political offices. The morality and competence dimensions trigger the causal structures in the voter's mind in which formed attitude creates affect and respect, which determine voting behavior.     

Western Media Exposure and Chinese Immigrants’ Political Perceptions

Using evidence from an original survey experiment among 3,032 Chinese student immigrants in the United States, I examine how exposure to Western media changes their evaluations of the Chinese government’s performance and their trust in official discourse. My findings suggest that reading Western reports on China shifts immigrants’ perceptions of government performance in different directions, depending on how similar reports are censored in Chinese media. On issues that are strictly censored, immigrants exposed to Western reports became more critical of their home government’s performance and decreased their trust in official discourse. Conversely, on issues that are relatively open to independent reporting, immigrants did not become more critical of government performance, and their trust in official discourse maintained after being exposed to Western information.     

Media influences and effects on experiences of uncertainty and fear in urban public spaces

From the point of a normative idea of equality, all citizens are entitled to equal access to the cities public spaces. In the public debate, the media have often been blamed for contributing to people＇s fear and insecurity and the avoidance of public places, especially after dark. In this paper, the author addresses the question of how and to what extent experiences of risk and threats in the media, perceptions of crime coverage in the media and third-person-effects of risk and threats influence the degree of avoidance of public places and the variation in people＇s experiences of the sensation of feeling fear and insecurity in public places. The main results presented here are primarily based on survey data from a well known regional survey （Western SOM） performed in 2001-2007 on approximately 3,000 inhabitants in the local region of Gothenburg, Sweden. Experiences of risk and threats through the media are of minor importance for the independent effect on the experiences of the sensation of feeling fear and insecurity in public spaces. The main role of the media is through the perceptions the respondents have on media coverage on crime and media influence on their own and others experiences of threats and risks. Those that believe that media coverage on crime is understated have to a greater extent avoided public places and experienced the sensation of feeling fear and insecurity than those that believe that media coverage of crime is coherent with reality or overstated. The third-person-effects that occur also have consequences. Those that believe that media influence experiences of threats and risks have to a greater extent experienced the sensation of feeling fear and insecurity than those that don＇t believe in media influence （on both others and themselves）. The main conclusion presented in this paper is that the avoidance of public places and variation in people＇s experiences of the sensation of feeling fear and insecurity in public places is more related to people＇s perceptions of media content and media influence regarding risk and threats than experiences of risk and threats through the media. This, however, doesn＇t mean that the experience of risk and threats through the media doesn＇t matter. Experience of risk and threats through the media matters, but do so through reinforcing personal and social experiences of risk and threats.