Gender,quality of life,and growth in Asia 1970-90

This paper examines the gender distribution of the benefits of economic growth in several Asian economies from 1970–90. Using Borda rank ordering, we compare the progress made in these countries towards closing the gender gap in well-being. In addition to commonly-used indicators, trends in the ratio of females to males in the population are examined. We explore determinants of changes in this ratio, using regression analysis. The results indicate that gender equity in quality-of-life ratings is highest in those Asian economies that grew the slowest over the period in question. Further, the data indicate that economic growth does not have a significant effect on the female-to-male population ratios for this set of countries. Variables that affect women's bargaining power do, however, have a positive effect on relative female life chances, as does spending on public education.     

Deliberative qualities in televised election debates: the influence of the electoral system and populism

Abstract

Concerns are raised repeatedly about the quality of televised debates. Both a country’s electoral system and the presence of populist candidates have been argued to influence the deliberative qualities of these debates. By using an extended version of the Discourse Quality Index, this study conducts a content analysis of 12 televised election debates in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2015. Against expectations, results show that politicians in multiparty systems do not justify their policy positions more and are not more respectful in the televised debates. Rather, this study uncovers a clear populist challenge to key deliberative debate qualities across party systems. Left- and right-wing populist politicians adopt more positions without proper justification, and the presence of right-wing populists in the televised debates increases the number of disrespectful interactions, lowering the deliberative qualities of the televised debates in different electoral contexts.     

DNA evidence in South Africa: Lessons learned to date

A trend was noted over the past 15 years in the South African courts. This trend has a multi-factorial origin and highlights the problems faced in the use of forensic science evidence in court. Although there have been improvements on how DNA evidence is gathered and presented in court, due to the fact that certain cases have been contested at the DNA evidence level, multiple issues remain that have not yet been addressed when DNA evidence is submitted to court. These issues include: accreditation, regulation of the forensic science profession, continued education, training of court officials, quality assurance, biased testimony, lack of transparency with regard to processes and procedures followed in the forensic community, incorrect interpretation of DNA evidence, lack of scientific knowledge (including the scientific method) by DNA experts, awareness by the legal profession and an over emphasis on the prosecuting perspective. These same aspects continue to plague current cases. Despite the above, the window of opportunity to address the above has not yet passed. However, it will take continuous and concerted efforts from the scientific and legal professions to bring about the appropriate change to facilitate justice for all in South Africa.     

News,Talk, Opinion,Participation: The Part Played by Conversation in Deliberative Democracy

Deliberative democracy can be defined as a political system based on citizens' free discussion of public issues. While most scholars have discussed deliberative democracy normatively, this study attempts to test the validity of a model of deliberative democracy through examining the interrelationships among its four components: newsmedia use, political conversation, opinion formation, and political participation. Sufficient empirical evidence was found to support the hypotheses that (a) news-media use is closely associated with the frequency of political conversation in daily life both at general and issue-specific levels; (b) willingness to argue with those who have different opinions is influenced by majority perceptions and by news-media use and political talk; (c) news-media use and political conversation have positive effects on certain measures of the quality of opinions (argument quality, consideredness, and opinionation) and perhaps on opinion consistency; and (d) news-media use and political conversation are closely associated also with participatory activities, but more so with "campaigning" than "complaining."     

新时期公安院校学员人文素质培养的路径探析

公安院校对学员进行人文素质的培养是公安教育本质的体现,将人文教育融入警务教学中,充分发挥人文教育功能,这也是公安学科素质教育不可或缺的重要内容.新时期,我国公安教育中人文素质培养还存在着一些问题.在公安教育中,公安职业技能培养和社会人文素质教育对学员成才的影响是互助关系,公安院校应以转变教育思想为先导,构建以人文素质为主的特色警务课程,通过加强公安专业课堂教学与对学员进行警察人文教育的有机结合,以全方位育人的理念来提升公安院校学员的综合素质.     

Forensic mental health assessment in France: Recommendations for quality improvement

The quality of forensic mental health assessment has been a growing concern in various countries on both sides of the Atlantic, but the legal systems are not always comparable and some aspects of forensic assessment are specific to a given country. This paper describes the legal context of forensic psychological assessment in France (i.e. pre-trial investigation phase entrusted to a judge, with mental health assessment performed by preselected professionals called “experts” in French), its advantages and its pitfalls. Forensic psychiatric or psychological assessment is often an essential and decisive element in criminal cases, but since a judiciary scandal which was made public in 2005 (the Outreau case) there has been increasing criticism from the public and the legal profession regarding the reliability of clinical conclusions. Several academic studies and a parliamentary report have highlighted various faulty aspects in both the judiciary process and the mental health assessments. The heterogeneity of expert practices in France appears to be mainly related to a lack of consensus on several core notions such as mental health diagnosis or assessment methods, poor working conditions, lack of specialized training, and insufficient familiarity with the Code of Ethics. In this article we describe and analyze the French practice of forensic psychologists and psychiatrists in criminal cases and propose steps that could be taken to improve its quality, such as setting up specialized training courses, enforcing the Code of Ethics for psychologists, and calling for consensus on diagnostic and assessment methods.     

融资租赁合同项下租赁物的质量瑕疵担保责任——从一起仲裁案例说起

融资租赁合同是集买卖、租赁、融资于一体的一种特殊类型的合同。1999年施行的《中华人民共和国合同法》将融资租赁合同规定为15类有名合同之一。近年来该类型案件诉至法院和仲裁的数量呈上升趋势。本文从一起案例入手,结合实务与理论,阐述在租赁物存在质量问题的情况下,合同各方的法律地位及应享有及承担的权利和义务。     

再谈素质教育对教师的要求

提高教师的素质 ,是我国素质教育顺利进行的根本保证。素质教育的职能对教师自身素质的基本要求如下 :( 1 )要求教师具备崇高的职业理想和高尚的职业道德 ;( 2 )具有广博与精深的知识结构 ;( 3)要有创造性的思维能力和教育能力 ;( 4 )要具有很新的业务能力 ;( 5 )具有健康积极的心态和很强的心理承受力 ;( 6)还要有较好的审美修养和优雅的仪表风度。     

以“三个代表”重要思想为指导切实抓好“三项教育”

目前 ,在全国公安机关开展的“三项教育”活动 ,是加强公安队伍建设的一项重要举措 ,是“三讲”教育在公安机关的延伸和具体化。“三项教育”必须以江泽民总书记“三个代表”的重要思想为指导 ,以讲政治为核心 ,教育和引导广大民警牢固树立马克思主义世界观、人生观和价值观 ,坚定共产主义理想信念 ,永葆人民警察全心全意为人民服务的政治本色。     

干部选拔任用工作中的民主质量问题探析

近年来,干部选拔任用工作逐渐扩大民主,但是扩大民主后民主质量却不高,原因是多方面的,从主观方面来说,参与主体民主意识不强,民主素养不高,从客观方面来说,民主渠道不畅通;文件规范不明确;监督实施不到位。基于这种情况,提高干部选拔任用工作民主质量应该从以下几个方面着手：教育和引导群众,提高干部群众的民主素质;疏通民主渠道,为信息畅通搭建平台;完善文件规范,为具体操作统一标准;健全监督机制,为民主的落实建立机制保障。