Personal vote‐seeking in flexible list systems: How electoral incentives shape Belgian MPs' bill initiation behaviour

It is well known that different types of electoral systems create different incentives to cultivate a personal vote and that there may be variation in intra‐party competition within an electoral system. This article demonstrates that flexible list systems – where voters can choose to cast a vote for the list as ordered by the party or express preference votes for candidates – create another type of variation in personal vote‐seeking incentives within the system. This variation arises because the flexibility of party‐in‐a‐district lists results from voters' actual inclination to use preference votes and the formal weight of preference votes in changing the original list order. Hypotheses are tested which are linked to this logic for the case of Belgium, where party‐in‐a‐district constituencies vary in their use of preference votes and the electoral reform of 2001 adds interesting institutional variation in the formal impact of preference votes on intra‐party seat allocation. Since formal rules grant Belgian MPs considerable leeway in terms of bill initiation, personal vote‐seeking strategies are inferred by examining the use of legislative activity as signalling tool in the period between 1999 and 2007. The results establish that personal vote‐seeking incentives vary with the extent to which voters use preference votes and that this variable interacts with the weight of preference votes as defined by institutional rules. In addition, the article confirms the effect of intra‐party competition on personal vote‐seeking incentives and illustrates that such incentives can underlie the initiation of private members bills in a European parliamentary system.     

Analysis of enamel rod end patterns on tooth surface for personal identification--ameloglyphics

Ameloglyphics is the study of enamel rod end patterns on a tooth surface. Our aim was to study the in vivo analysis of enamel rod end patterns on tooth surfaces for personal identification. In this study, the maxillary left canine and 1st premolar of 30 men and 30 women were included. The cellulose acetate peel technique was used to record enamel rod endings on tooth surfaces. Photomicrographs of the acetate peel imprint were subjected to VeriFinger Standard SDK v5.0 software for obtaining enamel rod end patterns. All 120 enamel rod end patterns were subjected to visual analysis and biometric analysis. Biometric analysis revealed that the enamel rod end pattern is unique for each tooth in an individual. It shows both intra- and interindividual variation. Enamel rod end patterns were unique between the male and female subjects. Visual analysis showed that wavy branched subpattern was the predominant subpattern observed among examined teeth. Hence, ameloglyphics is a reliable technique for personal identification.     

Personal identification by the comparison of facial profiles: testing the reliability of a high-resolution 3D-2D comparison model

Identification from video surveillance systems is frequently requested in forensic practice. The "3D-2D" comparison has proven to be reliable in assessing identification but still requires standardization; this study concerns the validation of the 3D-2D profile comparison. The 3D models of the faces of five individuals were compared with photographs from the same subjects as well as from another 45 individuals. The difference in area and distance between maxima (glabella, tip of nose, fore point of upper and lower lips, pogonion) and minima points (selion, subnasale, stomion, suprapogonion) were measured. The highest difference in area between the 3D model and the 2D image was between 43 and 133 mm(2) in the five matches, always greater than 157 mm(2) in mismatches; the mean distance between the points was greater than 1.96 mm in mismatches, <1.9 mm in five matches (p < 0.05). These results indicate that this difference in areas may point toward a manner of distinguishing "correct" from "incorrect" matches.     

Population displacement in the baltic region in the twentieth century: from ‘refugee studies’ to refugee history

This article explores how Baltic migration, and particularly the experience of forced migration, relates to broader comparative and methodological issues and debates in the emerging field of refugee history. Attention is given to the impact of two world wars and their aftermath in the Baltic, with particular emphasis on the ways in which refugees from the Baltic and elsewhere have related their experiences. The article concludes by drawing attention to the multiple readings of population displacement that historians need to entertain.     

民间高利贷的泛刑法分析

近年来,民间高利贷被作为非法经营罪追究刑事责任的判例频频出现。究其原由,源于中国人民银行办公厅与最高人民法院刑事审判第二庭就武汉的涂汉江案所为的两个复函。然而,这两个复函关于民间高利贷属于国务院《非法金融机构和非法金融业务活动取缔办法》所列非法金融行为的解释均属无权解释,因此,有关民间高利贷构成非法经营罪的所有判例,均无法律依据。事实上,在现有法律框架下,民间高利贷因不违反任何法律与行政法规而不具有构成非法经营罪的非法性要件。同时,民间高利贷虽有伴生犯罪之弊,但其更有产生的必然性,也有存在的合理性,因此,对其也不应通过修改刑法而将其入罪。     

我国个人所得税改革历程和目标设想

个人所得税作为现行税制中唯一能通过累进税制实现纵向公平的税种,在调节收入分配、缩小贫富差距的政策选择中被寄予厚望,成为当下中国社会普遍关注的焦点。我国的个人所得税制度自1980年随着第一部《个人所得税法》的颁布而正式确立以来,经历了不断调整完善的改革过程。现行的个人所得税制度符合当前我国经济社会发展的实际,对调节收入分配、改善民众福利、促进经济发展有积极的作用。但与社会转型相适应,个人所得税依然面临着改革的压力。兼顾公平和效率、兼顾经济规律与社会文化、兼顾流量与存量的职能调节、兼顾短期与长期调节是改革的原则,为此,需要加强对高收入群体的管理,增加个人所得税管理的透明度,建立居民个人信息共享系统和个人所得税信息化管理平台,建立综合与分类相结合的制度体系直至建立完全意义上的综合个人所得税征收模式,配套完善自然人税收制度和管理,完善税制设计。     

多元法律背景下的苏丹冲突法

苏丹是一个多元法律体制国家.在多元法律体制下,苏丹的冲突法与属人法交织在一起,只不过属人法在冲突法三个领域的地位和表现各不相同.在管辖权方面,苏丹的属人法管辖权规则对苏丹的冲突法管辖权规则没有产生影响,但在某些个别方面,冲突法的管辖权规则让位于属人法管辖权规则;在冲突法的第二阶段即法律适用过程中,属人法的影响非常明显,特别是在婚姻、离婚、继承等方面;在冲突法的最后一个阶段即外国判决的承认和执行中,主要涉及如何判断作出判决的外国法院对案件是否具有管辖权,苏丹法院基本上是根据冲突法而不是属人法的概念作出分析.     

谈公安执法中保障人权与人身自由权的限制问题

“人权”与“人身自由权”密不可分，公民人身自由权只能是由公安机关按严格的执法程序执行，体现了公安机关在执法中对人身自由权的保障；需要剥夺公民的人身自由时。也必须由公安机关依法定程序进行。目前，公安执法中还存在不履行法定职责、侵犯公民人身权利的违法现象。需要在依法行使职权、履行职责中引起足够的重视，以期进一步的改善。     

教学管理人才的培养与使用

高等院校教管人才在学校管理系统中的地位和作用十分特殊,工作中表现为既是管理者,又是执行者,其协调、谋划、工作能力与自身的综合素质是分不开的。如何培养出高素质的教管人才,是院校领导机关应当重视的课题之一,也是院校发展的必然要求。     

试论农村居民人身损害的平等求偿权

本文以两个典型案例作为切入点,分析阐述了我国现行法律关于人身损害赔偿的规定中存在着城乡二元标准,而以户籍为依据的二元赔偿标准是典型的身份歧视,应予取消。城乡居民人身损害赔偿应一视同仁,在建设社会主义新农村的大背景下,农民的这一底线权利应得到法律的保障。