Prevention science,drug abuse prevention,and Life Skills Training: Comments on the state of the science

There has been tremendous growth in the field of prevention science over the past two decades. The defining features of contemporary prevention science are high quality empirical research using rigorous and well-established scientific methods, careful hyphothesis testing, and the systematic accumulation of knowledge. One area where substantial progress has been made is in our understanding of the etiology and prevention of tobacoo, alcohol, and illicit drug abuse. In this paper, we review the growth in prevention as a scientific enterprise, discuss advances in drug abuse prevention research, and review the effectiveness of one approach to the problem of adolescent drug abuse, the Life Skills Traning (LST) program, and the methodological strengths of the LST evaluation research. In addition, we provide a response to criticism regarding two types of data analysis in evaluation research, and show that these analyses can help address a number of important research questions with implications for theory and practice. First, the analysis of high fidelity subsamples can address research questions about the importance of program implementation fidelity; and second, composite measures of concurrent tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use (i.e., polydrug use) are useful in testing research questions about program effects on more serious levels of drug involvement. With an increasing number of ramdomized controlled trials underway, the field of prevention science is contributing to a new generation of evidence-based approaches and policies that, if widely utilized, offer the potential of reducing the mortality and morbidity associated with a number of major health and social problems.     

中国法制史课程多元化教学方法探析——以《宋代法律制度》一章的教学为例

尽管中国法制史教育具有重要的现实意义,但从目前的教学实践来看,中国法制史课程未得到应有的重视。为改变这种状况,应采用多元化教学方法,即除了采用传统的讲授教学法外,还有必要引入案例教学法、比较教学法和多媒体教学法,从而增加课程的趣味性,激发学生的学习兴趣,培养学生独立的法律思维能力。本文以《宋代法律制度》一章的教学为例,探析多元化教学方法在中国法制史教学中的应用。     

环境犯罪证明方法研究

环境犯罪行为迥异于一般的犯罪行为,尤其是对于污染型环境犯罪行为,确定犯罪行为与损害结果之间的因果关系相当困难。对此,国外产生了推定因果关系存在的各种理论与学说。我国现行法律规定的犯罪证明方法在环境犯罪的认定上存在着缺陷,针对我国环境犯罪案发率高但因果关系证明难度大这一现实矛盾,有必要借鉴国外相关立法,对环境犯罪适用的因果关系确定推定方法,以彰显刑法对环境资源、人身权及财产权的保护功能,实现人类社会的可持续发展。     

试析三岩社会的农牧二元经济

为克服土地资源的不足,三岩峡谷历史地形成了农业与牧业两种生产方式并存的经济结构。农牧并举的二元经济结构也在很大程度上影响了三岩峡谷内部的社会及文化。与土地相关的一系列技术与文化成为当地的文化核心,而其他的文化要素都根源于三岩人使用土地的技术。由此导致三岩的二元结构并没有与社会的阶序化相结合,也没有形成人群之外的二元划分,而是始终依附于特定生态与自然环境以及与此相适应的血缘群体。     

Survey Research in International Political Economy: Motivations,Designs, Methods

The use of surveys and survey experiments by international political economy scholars is increasing, adding to the ability to study a broad array of topics. In doing so, many scholars in international political economy draw on—and are contributing to—insights and arguments from American politics and comparative politics (Milner 1998), substantive fields with a history of using surveys and survey experiments. In this article, I review motivations for using surveys and survey experiments, the research designs, and analysis strategies in light of this issue’s contributions. I contrast these motivations and their accompanying designs and discuss the pros and cons of ways to approach the data generated by these research designs. The goal of this commentary is to situate surveys and survey experiments—especially those within the special issue—within a larger discussion about research motivations, design, and analysis techniques.     

法官受制定法约束的理论谱系及其评价--基于德国法学方法论视角的考察

自19世纪以来,法官受制定法的约束问题成为法学方法论研究的主要问题之一。概念法学的理论追求是将法官视为"涵摄机器";自由法学理论则强调法官具有造法的权力,将法官视为"法官王";纯粹法学理论提出了"可能框架"模式,法律规范只是为法官的裁判提供一个可能的框架范围。评价法学理论将"法官受制定法的约束"转变为"法官受价值约束"的"价值导向"模式;在20世纪末,法律论证理论提出了一种"理性商谈"模式,尝试解决这一     

河北省未成年人犯罪基本情况调查及原因分析

采用艾森克个性问卷及自编基本情况调查表对395名未成年男犯进行调查,结果显示,未成年男犯在文化程度、作案地区、家庭结构及家庭教养方式等方面存在新的变化趋势,犯罪原因集中在家庭、学校、社会及个人心理因素等各方面。     

Talking about radicalization

ABSTRACT

This article seeks to build a bridge between the criminological tradition of research on hard-to-reach groups and sensitive topics and the tradition of critical research on radicalization. As a result of the hard-to-reach character of so-called radicals themselves, the article analyzes interview experiences with ‘professionals’ working within the prevention of radicalization and other actors. This article discusses the experiences connected to the preparation and unfolding of the interviews on the sensitive topic of radicalization and illustrates how interviews and questions designed to gather knowledge about radicalization processes among Muslims in Denmark often became a discussion about the concept of radicalization itself. This article shows that making use of the concept of radicalization is problematic in interviews as it is embedded in the Danish political discourse on immigration, Muslims and Islam. This article reflects on researcher positionality and how being a white ethnic Danish researcher might have caused an underestimation of how problematic the concept is to people directly involved with it, and that speaking from such a researcher positionality also can make the concept of radicalization seem even more problematic.     

Development of an instrument for assessing the quality of forensic evidence and expert testimony from three feature-comparison methods: DNA,voice, and fingerprint analysis

In a context of rising violence and long-lasting impunity, in 2008, Mexico's criminal justice system underwent a radical change from an inquisitorial model to an adversarial one, to make it more effective, transparent, and expeditious. The new system tasked judges with publicly determining the admissibility of forensic evidence, as well as assessing its technical quality and probative value—tasks for which they currently receive little to no training. With the aim of contributing to the consolidation of the adversarial model, a comparative framework—in the form of a checklist—of the analysis of fingerprints, DNA samples, and voice recordings was created. To do so, a review of the academic literature, published reports, and guidelines was performed. The collected data were synthesized and submitted to a panel of Mexican judges, who provided feedback on its adequacy. The framework focuses on the steps on which quality assurance of forensic evidence depends, organized in five discrete stages that span from the collection of samples at the scene of a crime to the presentation of evidence at trial, specifying the main technical criteria experts should state to allow a decision maker to examine its accuracy and reliability. Differences and commonalities among the three methods were identified, particularly in terms of how qualitative and quantitative analyses are performed in each. Besides its potential usefulness as an aid for judicial decision-making, the checklist could be a valuable resource for training programs aimed at judges, as well as quality assurance programs.     

Pathways of democratisation to human development in post‐communist countries

The article investigates the consequences of post‐Cold War regime transitions on human development in the former Soviet bloc. Relying on a mixed‐methods research strategy that combines econometric and qualitative comparative analysis, it proceeds through three consecutive steps. First, there is a discussion of how democratic institutions may solicit governments’ attention toward social issues. Second, the relationship between democratisation and human development in 21 post‐communist countries is tested. Third, democracy in its core attributes is unpacked, and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is used to identify a few alternative institutional configurations favouring human development. The analysis reveals that not only full democracies, but also some hybrid regimes, have been successful in this task.