Does accessible technology need an ‘entrepreneurial state’? The creation of an EU market of universally designed and assistive technology through state aid

EU State aid law has sought to enable people with disabilities to obtain employment, yet has not been explicitly included in the toolbox of policy options to improve the availability and choice of accessible technology within the EU Internal market. This seems to be the consequence of an inherent bias against State intervention in the market, which is mostly unwelcome since it can limit open and free competition. This also reiterates the ‘less-aid’ policy and the purely economic approach to State aid professed by the European Commission. Against this background, this article discusses the potential for EU State aid policy to foster both ‘design for all’ and innovative assistive devices for people with disabilities. It seeks to argue that the goal of an EU-wide market of accessible technology can be achieved using EU State aid law. In particular, this article aims to highlight that a more targeted use of EU State aid law can lead developers to increase the production of accessible goods, to adjust or reduce prices and to provide consumers with a greater degree of choice in a greater number of marketplaces. Whilst it adopts a legal approach, this analysis relies inter alia on economic evidence and recalls the pamphlet recently published by Mazzuccato, from which the title of this work has drawn inspiration.     

Gender Identification and the Fear of Crime: Do Masculinity and Femininity Matter in Reporting Fear of Crime?

ABSTRACT

Criminologists have been interested in the gap in reported levels of fear of crime between men and women for decades. Our study advances and empirically tests the hypothesis that gender identity is an important mechanism that accounts for the gap in fear of crime between men and women. Specifically, the current study incorporates Magliozzi, Saperstein, and Westbrook’s gradational measures of masculinity and femininity to test if these variables are related to fear of crime. Statistical analyses reveal that masculinity is negatively and significantly associated with fear of crime, suggesting that men may be doing gender in reporting fear of crime by suppressing their expression of fear when responding to survey items related to fear of crime. Additionally, the inclusion of the measures of masculinity and femininity in our statistical model reduces the effect of sex to non-significance.     

The Australian Public Service and Policy Advising: Meeting the Challenges of 21st Century Governance

This concluding article summarises the case study findings comprising the Special Issue on ‘Advising Australian Federal Governments: Assessing the Evolving Capacity and Role of the Australian Public Service’, identifies and discusses cross‐cutting issues, and considers strategic implications for future practice and research. It reviews key findings from six case studies – Treasury, Prime Minister and Cabinet, Intergovernmental Relations, Housing, the BER Stimulus program, and Defence – and assesses the policy advising capacity of the Australian Public Service, with a focus on the policy‐political interface between governments and officials. Putting recent experience in historical context, it considers the performance of the Commonwealth's policy advisory system, the impact of prime ministers and centralisation, the link between advising and analytic capacities, the system's resilience and readiness, whether recent dissatisfaction over APS advising reflect lack of capacity or a culture clash, and the responsibility for ensuring high‐quality policy advice. It recommends developing a more systematic approach to assessing policy advising capability, building on recent APS reforms.     

流域水资源配置的机制设计初探

水资源配置机制的不完善制约着资源的使用效率,从而使得我国各地区出现了不同程度的水资源短缺.我国水短缺不仅是资源短缺,同时也是配置机制的短缺.围绕如何设计水资源的配置机制这一主线,运用机制设计理论,构建了流域水资源的配置的机制,即为（B,Π,μ）,该机制为不完全信息下的一个博弈;进一步提出了显示机制,并证明若每个用户给定的是真实需水信息,则直接机制（P,M）就为一均衡,该机制满足激励相容和个人理性,从而能有效地改善用水主体的经济效益.     

Veto power and power-sharing: insights from Burundi (2000–2018)

Veto power is a key institutional pillar of consociational power-sharing. However, the literature is divided on its impact for institutional functionality. While the founding father of consociational theory, Arend Lijphart, expects veto rights to be exercised sparingly by segmental elites, more recent scholarship emphasizes the need for restrictions (in terms of veto players, veto issues, veto points and procedure) in order to avoid abusive and disruptive veto practice. Burundi’s transition from ethnic conflict to ethnic pacification was strongly based on the use of military and political power-sharing, including consociationalism. This article examines the design of veto rights and their practice in Burundi over the past two decades. The analysis confirms that the institutional design of veto power matters, but it counters the hypothesis that a too enabling veto design induces the abuse of veto rights and disrupts consociational functionality. The Burundi case-study shows that the impact and “shelf-life” of veto rights are best understood by taking into consideration the intersection of veto power with other power-sharing institutions and practices, both formal and informal.     

改制上市不是灵丹妙药--由日本的教训看我国银行改革的制度缺陷与制度设计

目前,我国国有商业银行的改革进入到攻坚阶段,改制上市成为当前国有商业银行改革的目标和救命稻草。但日本银行业历经十年的改革,却仍未取得实质进展的教训提醒我们,仅仅实现形式上的产权多元化和上市并不能从根本上解决银行业的问题,关键是要吸取日本银行改革的教训,分析国有商业银行改革中存在哪些制度缺陷,然后标本兼治,大刀阔斧地进行一系列制度创新才能把国有商业银行打造成富有效率、规范运作的现代金融企业。     

论检察调解制度的构建

建立检察调解制度符合宽严相济的刑事政策,有助于预防重新犯罪,保护当事人合法权益和化解矛盾,促进社会和谐.我国有必要在相关理论和实践经验的支撑下,建立规范的、操作性强的检察调解机制.在刑事诉讼法中明确赋予检察机关调解权,规定调解权行使的原则、条件和范围、程序;建立相应的监督和救济机制.     

我国刑事缺席审判制度的建构思考——以境外腐败资产的追返机制为视角

以境外腐败资产的追返机制的研究为视角,刑事缺席审判制度应严格实现"对物的审判"与"对人的审判"的分离,将刑事缺席审判的范围严格限定为重大贪污腐败的贪官外逃的案件,同时将刑事缺席审判的功能不定位于解决定罪量刑,而仅仅是解决境外腐败资产的归属,即通过缺席判决来确认国家对被告人卷至境外的腐败资产的合法所有权,从而便于在《联合国反腐败公约》的视野下来顺利追回流失境外的国有资产.     

个人所得税的纳税筹划

个人所得税是对个人取得的各项应税所得征收的一种税,是直接对自然人征收,是一种典型的直接税,其税负负担由纳税人直接承担而不能转嫁,对纳税人的收入和纳税人的生活影响很大,因此个人所得税与广大老百姓的利益密切相关。近年来,个人所得税的纳税筹划成为热门话题,本文以普通纳税人的角度,根据个人所得税的现实情况,分析个人所得税纳税筹划的法律平台和空间以及纳税筹划的技巧。     

防火墙技术发展展望

本文分析了传统防火墙技术的不足,探讨了新一代防火墙需要具备的防攻击技术、防扫描技术、防欺骗技术、入侵防御技术、包擦洗和协议正常化技术、AAA 技术等。