The architecture of the Electoral College,the House size effect,and the referendum paradox

Using data from U.S. presidential elections, we show how seemingly insignificant changes to what we call the “architecture” of the Electoral College can cause different candidates to be elected President, even when no one changes how they vote. We consider varying the size of the House of Representatives, the method of apportionment, the number of “Senate” electoral votes cast by each state, and the lower bound on the number of “House” electoral votes cast by each state. We consider, in particular, elections with a “referendum paradox”. In these elections, the electoral vote winner is not the popular vote winner. Our work extends Neubauer and Zeitlin (2003) who analyzed the case of the 2000 election. We give an explanation for the effects that we observe in the data.     

中国与日本“中途之家”比较研究

社区矫正不仅是刑罚制度文明和进步的表现,同时也是世界刑罚制度改革的基本趋势。作为社区矫正的基本模式之一的"中途之家",在社区矫正机制建立与完善中发挥着重要作用。"中途之家"的建立与完善是中国社区矫正制度发展的重要内容。在日本,这类机构被统称为"社区更生保护设施",已有120年的历史。比较两国"中途之家"的历史沿革、管理理念、管理机制及运作,发展中存在的主要问题等,对借鉴他国经验,吸取他国教训,完善年轻的中国社区矫正和"中途之家"制度具有重要的价值。     

'Talking in Fictions': Jennings on Parliament

Sir Ivor Jennings made many ground-breaking contributions to the study of Parliament. Among them are two books written in the 1930s, while Jennings was at the peak of his powers: Parliamentary Reform in 1934, ¹ and Parliament in 1939. ² This essay offers an assessment of Jennings' scholarship on Parliament. It commences with some observations on his method, and this is followed by an outline of the argument in Parliament and an appraisal of the book's originality and ongoing significance. The essay closes with some brief remarks concerning Jennings' Parliamentary Reform .     

公共管理案例：滨海市老城拆迁

“立党为公,执政为民”是我国公共管理和政府工作的核心理念。如何在具体工作中体现这一理念, 案例里的滨海市西区政府在老城整体拆迁过程中作了有益的尝试。通过这一案例,不仅使我们了解基层政府在拆迁工作中的主要做法和工作程序,更有助于深刻理解我国在公共管理实践中如何全方位体现“执政为民”这一核心宗旨。     

A family with unusual Kell genotypes

A family in which kKp^a, kKp^b, KKp^b and K^o are segregating confirms the depressing effect of Kp^a on the products of other Kell genes in cis. The significance of such unusual Kell genotypes in forensic testing is discussed.     

论暴力拆迁的法律责任

从法律上讲,房屋暴力拆迁行为已经构成犯罪或违法,应当依法予以严惩。我国《国有土地上房屋征收与补偿条例》确认了暴力拆迁行为的法律责任。本文认为,对于暴力拆迁行为,应当按照宪法与法律的相关规定追究其刑事责任、行政责任和民事责任等。要保障暴力拆迁行为法律责任的实现,有必要转变执法观念、强化国家机关的不作为责任,明确司法机关适用法律优先的权力。     

Bill Passage Speed in the US House: A Test of a Vote Buying Model of the Legislative Process

This article constitutes a test of central tenets of vote buying theories using data on the number of days it takes to pass important bills in the US House. Survival analyses of a model of bill passage length provide confirmatory evidence of vote buying by presidents and the congressional leadership. Bills that attract buyers of votes to maintain the status quo are shown to pass more quickly than those that do not. Bills on the president's agenda and those that are relatively close to members' ideal points also pass quickly. The analyses furnish some interesting insights into possible efforts to make the legislative process quicker.     

Understanding the workings of interstate cooperation in defence: an exploration into Franco-British cooperation after the signing of the Lancaster House Treaty

Cooperation occurs more often than conflict in the international system. However, its practicalities have been little conceptualised in International Relations. Through an empirical study of the workings of contemporary Franco-British cooperation in defence, this article offers a multidimensional analysis of interstate cooperation taking into account organisational, political, material and cognitive factors. By studying their centripetal and centrifugal effects, this article shows why each factor is relevant for understanding what favours and impedes the emergence and continuation of intergovernmental cooperation. It notably demonstrates how domestic interorganisational dynamics have an impact on relations with foreign partners. This article also shows how bridging the traditional divide between approaches based on interests and approaches based on beliefs allows us to identify the evolutionary dynamic of cooperation.     

Prospects and Concerns of e-Democracy at the European Parliament

Bicameralism remains a common legislative arrangement, providing a classic potential check on political executives. But this potential is not always realised, leading scholars to ask which factors contribute to bicameralism that is ‘strong’. One well-established analysis is that of Arend Lijphart, in his account of majoritarian and consensus democracies. This bases bicameral strength on two dimensions: ‘symmetry’ of the two chambers' formal powers and ‘incongruence’ of their composition. Other theorists reason in similar ways. But recent British developments, backed by evidence from other states, expose flaws in this approach. A more convincing theory must be ‘three-dimensional’, recognising the centrality of perceived legitimacy to bicameral strength. Legitimacy is fundamental to understanding bicameralism, due both to the composition of some second chambers and to the role of all such chambers in challenging democratically elected first chambers. Lijphart did note that legitimacy affected the dynamics of bicameralism, but its role is both more central, and significantly more complex, than he suggested.     

A Bilingual Legislature? Question Period in Canada's House of Commons

One of the goals of Canada's official bilingualism policies is to promote the equality of French and English in Canada's federal institutions. The most visible federal institution is the House of Commons, and the activity that attracts the most consistent media coverage is Question Period. This article examines the evolution of the use of French and English during Question Period in the House of Commons over time by examining a random sample of debates from the 24th (1958–62) to the 39th (2006–8) parliaments. This article finds that the use of French in the House of Commons has increased over time and discusses several possible explanations. In addition, this article tests the hypothesis that there exists an informal norm in the House of Commons which holds that responses to questions should be in the same language in which the question was asked.