Science and Politics in the Regulation of Genetically Modified Organisms in Brazil

This paper analyzes the regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Brazil, focusing on the debates that preceded the enactment in 2005 of the current Biosafety Law and the factors (both domestic and international) that influenced the policy‐making process. More specifically, it identifies the social and governmental actors that influenced the congressional debates, showing how their interests and agenda were translated into two different institutional frameworks. Here, the policy outcome was what we call a “hybrid” and “conciliatory” regulatory model, which formally acknowledges the importance of both technical/scientific and social/political considerations in the evaluation of GMO biosafety and engages most of the stakeholders in the regulatory process. The new policy regime also establishes a middle ground between the conflicting demands of promoting agricultural development and protecting the country's biodiversity.     

Fuel Distribution in Brazil： Profile and Stability of Plural Governances

This paper is dedicated to the study of governances adopted by fuel distributors in their transactions with gas station retailers in the State of Sgo Paulo. With the deregulation of the market, plural forms were allowed and have been a recurring presence. The main aim of the paper is to investigate why these plural forms have remained on the market The main hypothesis of this paper is that the plural forms found are transitory, not as a result of increased efficiency and reduced transaction costs, but because plural forms have become a key strategic step in securing business partners and promoting greater growth of the firm. Moreover, it is argued that the institutional environment has a significant influence on the coordination of plural forms, directly interfering with their stability. The research method was qualitative research with a group of 25 distribution companies which account for about 80% of sales of ethanol and gasoline in the domestic market.     

SEEING THE FOREST FOR THE VILLAGE,NATION, AND PROVINCE: FORESTRY POLICY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN EARLY-TWENTIETH-CENTURY YUNNAN

Abstract

This article compares village, national, and provincial forestry policy in early-twentieth-century China, with a focus on Yunnan, making three important observations. First, by identifying villages as key arenas for the production of forestry policy, it highlights the importance of rethinking the political geography of forestry policy during this period, to establish a proper comparative baseline for evaluating policy implementation. Second, its comparisons reveal diverging interests in forestry at these three levels, ranging from village reforestation for ecological conservation to provincial afforestation for economic development. Third, it shows that policymakers in these three arenas deployed distinctive cultural and political resources to promote their policies. The localized formats and objectives of village policies may have rendered them relatively invisible to national policymakers, who promoted more general and systematic forestry frameworks as novel interventions into a seemingly neglected policy arena that demanded comprehensive and intensive political intervention.     

The New World Order: A Deconstruction of the Nation-State and a Disaggregation of the “Mixed Political Economy”

The structure of the New World Order and its corresponding functions are becoming apparent. First, there will be a deconstruction of the nation-state. It will be bisected as power shifts to higher “macro-regional” levels on the one hand and lower “micro-regional” levels on the other. Second, there will be a disaggregation of the mixed political economy. It will be bifurcated as socialism is used at upper levels of human aggregation to alleviate pollution and as capitalism is used at lower levels to alleviate poverty.     

Environmentalism and the internet: corporate greenwashers and environmental groups

Environmental degradation is a serious problem, for current populations and for future generations. Corporations are the largest offenders but seldom face the consequences of their actions. This article proposes that public relations campaigns and conflicting information on the internet pose significant challenges to calling for environmental accountability from corporations. Three companies – Coca‐Cola, Georgia Pacific, and Shell – are examined here in terms of questionable practices and public relations campaigns. While the internet could be an alternative news source, ‘corporate greenwash’ muffles a definitive voice on environmental issues. Both retributive and restorative justice processes are thwarted by misleading information. Despite environmental laws and efforts to increase accountability, calling for necessary change will continue to be exceedingly difficult without public knowledge of corporate behavior.     

The standard of living of widows: Inventories as an indicator of the economic situation of widows

This article examines the standard of living of widows in two rural areas, South West Finland and Central Sweden, in the eighteenth and nineteenth century and among first generation migrants to Stockholm between 1680 and 1750. The principal sources used are the inventories of a person's possessions that were taken after their death, supplemented in the case of the rural populations by retirement contracts (which were not used by urban populations in the Nordic countries). Wealth is measured in three ways: examination of the type and value of the property listed in the inventory, calculating what goods might be purchased with a given inheritance, and a comparison of the inventories of widows with those of married women and with men. A range of factors, it was discovered, determined how much property a widow might own at her death. These factors included her age and whether there were children entitled to a share of the family's property but also the impact of inheritance law which awarded widows a larger share of marital property in towns than in the countryside and included the house which in rural areas was considered to belong to the family and not to any one individual. Analysis of this evidence suggests that the widows of farmers were likely to be economically secure due to the provisions in their retirement contracts which provided them with housing, food and care until their death. The situation of the widows of the landless was considerably more precarious. Some might even have nothing to inherit from their husbands.     

Inmates' Social Background and Living Conditions

Central criminological theoretical approaches, such as strain theory, control theory and critical theory, have as precondition that offenders often are marginalized and belong to the lower classes in society. Particularly the prison population has been assumed to suffer from severe material and social conditions. In the case of Norway, the empirical evidence on this assumption has been scarce and a broader and systematic approach has been lacking. This paper presents findings from a survey of the standard of living among a Norwegian prison population. Conventional measurements of welfare are examined, including accumulation of welfare deficiencies and situation at release. The findings indicate that the prison population live under very poor conditions, and are confronted with major difficulties at release concerning housing, money and work. The interpretation is emphasizing the living conditions as opportunity structures where welfare deficiencies put limits to the individuals' possibility to govern their own lives. Hence, inadequate living conditions should not necessarily be considered as causes of crime, but as a narrowed opportunity structure where other choices are limited.     

社会权概念界定之批判与重塑

当前学界对社会权概念的界定,主要存在"内涵—价值分析"、"外延—规范分析"两种路径。虽然以上分析具有逻辑上的内在关联,但它们都没有完整揭示出社会权概念的本质特征。社会权作为一项基本人权,主要立基于对尊严与平等以及社会经济领域公民适当生活水准的价值追求。国家义务作为界定社会权内涵的重要工具性指标,其分别涵括尊重、保护和给付三种义务类型,但在逻辑上,尊重和保护义务只是给付义务的逻辑衍生。在外延上,社会权并非意指《经济、社会及文化权利国际公约》所规定的各项经济、社会和文化权利。受国情因素制约,各国宪法对于社会权的规定并非整齐划一。我国宪法层面上的社会权主要包括适当生活水准权、劳动权、获得物质帮助权以及受教育权等。     

基于善治取向的政府回应力：逻辑、环境与成长

善治理论的实质在于政府与多个治理主体间的平等协商与合作,其核心内容体现为政府与公众之间的互动关系。这种基于善治取向的政府回应力体现着民主、责任、服务、公正、合作的价值指向,它的运行必然实现从工具意义到责任意义、从单向回应到双向互动、从个体利益到公共利益的逻辑转向。而实践中,这一运行逻辑与现代民主政治基因、公共行政理念、公民社会制度之间存在着很大程度的不适应性,为此,提高政府回应力,应加速现代民主政治基因成长,充分彰显公共行政理念,不断完善公民社会制度,从而真正促进政府善治。     

“路西法效应”对研究侦查讯问的启发

源自“斯坦福监狱实验”的“路西法效应”告诉我们,特定的情境诱发特定的行为,在适当的条件下“好人也会做坏事”。在侦查讯问过程中,时空环境、角色扮演、权力差异、受挫反应等情境因素有时会挑战侦查人员稳定的个性特质,成为诱发侦讯冲突的主要原因。为此,在分析侦查讯问中的人际冲突的时候应首先分析讯问情境,从情境入手找出冲突产生的原因,进而为寻找缓解人际冲突的方法提供准确的依据。