Taxing Fracking: The Politics of State Severance Taxes in the Shale Era

States producing gas and oil have long levied severance taxes at the point of extraction, commonly placing most revenues into general funds. These taxes have assumed new meaning in many states amid the expansion of gas and oil production accompanying the advent of hydraulic fracturing. We reviewed all major statutes and constitutional amendments related to severance taxes that were enacted at the state level during the first decade of the “shale era” (2005–14). There have been only modest adjustments in statutory tax rates and some evidence that states have attempted to reduce these rates, possibly in response to growing national production. In turn, there is also evidence that states have begun to pursue more targeted strategies for revenue use, including some expanded focus on responding to the negative externalities linked to drilling, expanded revenue sharing with localities, and increased long‐term protection of resources through state trust funds.     

Adaptive Management for Oil and Gas Development on Public Lands: An Innovative Approach to Resource Protection,or Symbolic Placation of Public Interests?

Energy development on public lands in the intermountain west is often contentious due to concerns over detrimental impacts to wildlife. To mitigate harm to ungulates and other species, federal agencies often utilize adaptive management, a structured decision‐making framework predicated on “learning while doing.” But in the context of recent energy development, does adaptive management represent an innovative approach to conservation, or is it a largely symbolic policy used to contain the scope of conflict? This article, rooted in the agenda‐setting literature, applies Sarah Pralle's (2006) framework to strategies of conflict containment used by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and industry in three contentious energy development projects in Wyoming. The findings indicate that the BLM's use of adaptive management can be understood as a strategy for conflict containment, rather than as a substantive policy change in public lands oil and gas development.     

The Unscientific Determinants of Voting on a Controversial Scientific Issue: An Evaluation of Biofuels Policy in the U.S. Congress

Whether allegiance to party or the preferences of constituents are most important in an elected representative's voting decision has been a long‐running question in political science. This study contributes to this debate through an evaluation of biofuels policy in the U.S. Congress. Results indicate that in this policy area the House and Senate balance these influences differently, with partisanship playing a significant role in the House but not in the Senate. Analysis of voting on this issue indicates that there are important distinctions between how a legislator views the overall partisan preferences of constituents in their district or state versus how they view the interests of particular groups of constituents; when the concentration of agricultural interests in a legislator's district or state is great enough, it can override the effects of party for this issue, which suggests that legislators are especially concerned with specific constituency groups in their district or state that would stand to gain or lose from a policy. The proposition that a legislator is most likely to do that which benefits him or her most regardless of the available science relevant to a policy is a useful starting point for understanding what has been found in this research project.     

“垄断福利”的负面效应与治理路向

"垄断福利"本质上也是一种腐败。"垄断福利"现象的滋生、蔓延与扩散,造成了系列的负面效应,扭曲了资源的合理配置,影响了社会的公平正义,加剧了社会的矛盾集聚,阻碍了和谐社会的进程。要彻底遏制和消除"垄断福利"腐败,必须从根源上找寻破解之道,治理必须从垄断本身切入,标本兼治,强化监督,注重长效。一是追本溯源,深入探析"垄断福利"的滋生机理;二是引入竞争,彻底铲除"垄断福利"的生存土壤;三是多管齐下,全面建构"垄断福利"的监管机制。     

Citizenship agendas,urban governance and social housing in the Netherlands: an assemblage approach

This article combines recent conceptualizations of citizenship beyond the nation state with new perspectives on governance assemblages comprising both state and non-state actors. Focusing on Dutch social housing, this study explores how such governance assemblages produce agendas that attempt to shape citizenship. Employing an assemblage approach, this study first demonstrates how state and non-state actors amalgamate by providing a historical overview of the urban governance of social housing in the Netherlands. Second, taking account of the territory that the assemblage claims, it shows how underprivileged neighbourhoods become the spatial locus of these assemblages. Third, examining what this amalgam produces, the article shows how the assemblage imposes a citizenship agenda on the population of these neighbourhoods, distinguishing between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ citizens. Acknowledging that citizenship agendas are produced by a multifaceted amalgam of state and non-state actors, this article emphasizes the need for rigorous academic analysis of such governance assemblages.     

Production goes global,compliance stays local: Private regulation in the global electronics industry

Poor working conditions in global supply chains have led to private initiatives that seek to regulate labor practices in developing countries. But how effective are these regulatory programs? We investigate the effects of transnational private regulation by studying Hewlett‐Packard's (HP) supplier responsibility program. Using analysis of factory audits, interviews with buyer and supplier management, and field research at production facilities across seven countries, we find that national context – not repeated audits, capability building, or supply chain power – is the key predictor of workplace compliance. Quantitative analysis shows that factories in China are markedly less compliant than those in countries with stronger civil society and regulatory institutions. Comparative field research then illustrates how these local institutions complement transnational private regulation. Although these findings imply limits to private regulation in institutionally poor settings, they also highlight opportunities for productive linkages between transnational actors and local state and society.     

多元社会治理中政府主导作用探析

在多元复合治理体系的建设中,既需要以社会组织为代表的社会力量发挥主体作用,更需要政府发挥主导作用。政府在社会治理中的主导作用,不仅是对传统社会管理方式的自我扬弃,而且是对新的社会治理方式的积极创新,但目前对这个问题的研究还很不够。为此,就迫切需要正确认识和把握政府在多元社会治理中主导作用的科学性内涵、理论合理性和现实必要性等。对政府在多元社会治理中主导作用的探索与研究,对创新社会治理体系、提高社会治理水平、推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化等,均具有重要的参考价值和借鉴意义。     

对魏伊丝代际公平说的全面反思

为保护地球环境资源而创设的代际公平理论是建立在两个错误认识的基础上的,即把集合概念的人类视为类概念的人类和把地球环境资源财产化。假如没有后代人,人们也同样应该承担保护地球环境的义务。魏伊丝舍今世而求助于后代人及其权利,其原因在于权利时代所型塑出来的权利思维模式和路径依赖。虽然代际公平理论能够给我们提供观察和解决环境问题的时间视角,但它本身并不是什么新的法律理念,无法担负起指导现代环境法制建设和环境保护实践的重任。     

对农传播中的农民权益问题:基于受众本位论的分析

我国对农传播中农村居民的受众角色与地位一直是人们关注和探讨的问题。从受众本位论的角度来看,农村居民的受众角色获得及受众权利保障既具有可能性又具有必要性。在目前我国对农传播中农村居民受众角色缺席的背后,实际上是媒体责任和政府义务的双重缺位。承认且保障农村居民受众权利,本质上是对其公民权和公共物品选择权的尊重。实行多元治理与商业逻辑的协商与共谋,是确立农村居民受众地位和提高对农传播效果的必然之路。     

Macroscopic observations of the effects of varying fresh water pH on bone

Little is known about the decomposition of remains in aquatic environments of varying pH, and even less is known about the specific effects of these environments on bone. Bovine bones were placed in solutions of pH 1, 4, 7, 10, and 14 and observed over a period of 1 year. All solutions eventually removed or dissolved the soft tissues from the external surface of the bone. The pH 7 and pH 10 solutions had little effect on the bone, but the other solutions affected the bone to varying degrees. Extreme pH levels were the most destructive, while more moderate pH levels had lesser but significant and interesting effects. Empirical data on postmortem aquatic changes may be extremely useful in forensic contexts for both improving time since death estimates and also for providing better information to underwater recovery experts thereby potentially increasing the quantity and quality of remains recovery.