Editor's note

This study applies Elisabeth Noelle‐Neumann's spiral of silence theory to the controversial issue of whether children with AIDS should be allowed to attend public school. The study tests the theory's hypotheses in light of two content analyses of the media's treatment of the issue. The findings offer tentative and qualified support for Noelle‐Neumann's theoretical propositions about the relationship between individuals' perceptions of the issue and the media's tenor of the issue; particularly that of television. The findings suggest the need to address the role of other agents of influence, including reference groups, and to use time‐based data to unravel the causal order of the relationships.     

新战略 新方式 新发展——对以实施新战略为牵动加快转变哈尔滨市经济社会发展方式的认识与思考

市委党校公务员处长任职培训班的全体学员,在校期间,认真学习党的十七届五中全会精神,结合哈尔滨市新战略的实施,对加快转变哈尔滨市经济发展方式进行了深入思考和研讨,并写出了一篇很有份量的论文,得到了市委领导的重视。省委常委、哈尔滨市委书记盖如垠同志,2010年10月29日在学员的论文上作了如下批示：＂学习很有成果,下步要把学习成果变为实践动力,为哈尔滨人民多做贡献。＂哈尔滨市委副书记、市委党校校长王颖同志对此文作了批示：＂这篇文章写得有份量。不仅对哈市新战略认识理解很到位,对躬身实践进程中的体会和收获有深度,而且对围绕加快实施新战略所提建议和意见也很对路子,很有见地。充分反映新的发展战略在干部群众中深得人心,深为干部群众所接受、所认可,也看出党校这期新任处长培训班很必要,很有成效。＂盖书记、王书记的批示,不但是对学员认真学习、深入思考的肯定,也是对我校通过结合实际、有针对性地开展教学工作、直接服务于哈尔滨发展的认可,现将该文章发表于此,以资参考。     

The European Parliament and the Commission Crisis: A New Assertiveness?

This article examines two claims made about the "Commission crisis" of 1999: first, that the accountability of the Commission to the European Parliament (EP) was significantly increased; and, second, that the model of parliamentary government in the European Union (EU) was advanced by events in 1999. In analyzing the crisis and its consequences, this article focuses upon the powers of dismissal and appointment, and what these powers reveal about the capacity of the EP both to hold the Commission responsible for its collective and individual actions and to influence its policy agenda. If a parliamentary model is to develop in the EU, the negative parliamentary powers of censure and dismissal have to be balanced by the positive powers of appointment and enhanced executive responsiveness. On both counts—dismissal and appointment—the 1999 "Commission crisis" did not point to the clear and unambiguous dawning of a "genuine European parliamentary democracy."     

The New Zealand Model of Family Group Conferencing

The Family Group Conference (FGC) originated in New Zealand where it is the foundation stone of the Youth Justice system introduced in 1989. A significant feature of that system is the way in which it enables restorative justice principles to be implemented in an integrated manner in a statutory framework supervised by the courts and applicable to all young offenders throughout New Zealand. FGCs are used both as a diversionary technique (pre-adjudication) and at a (post-adjudication) pre-sentencing stage. In addition this type of model is now being applied in a voluntary way but on a small scale with adults. A significant feature of the FGC model is its greater use of community-based solutions with a consequent reduction in the number of young persons in state institutions.     

Why Medical Child Support is Important—and Complex

Courts resolving child support cases involving separated, divorced, and non‐marital children are charged with defining responsibility for health care coverage for the children under that order. This article explores historical and current medical child support requirements under Title IV‐D of the Social Security Act—the national child support enforcement (“IV‐D”) program. It analyzes legal requirements and policy recommendations, and provides a practical tool judges may use to determine whether health care coverage available to either or both parents is appropriate—that is, comprehensive, accessible, and affordable.