Commentary on the Newly Published White Paper Concerning the Rule of Law in China

On February 28, 2008, the State Council Information Office published a white paper entitled China＇s Efforts and Achievements in Promoting the Rule of Law. This document is the first white paper published by the government on China＇s rule of law. It contains eight chapters and six appendices to review China＇s achievements on the road to practicing the rule of law in a compre- hensive way, and to expound the official Chinese policy and position on this is- sue. With some essential points inside, the publication of this white paper is of great significance, especially this year, to China＇s rule of law, human rights prog- ress, and its communication and dialogue with the international community.     

The who, what, and why of risk adjustment: a technology on the cusp of adoption

Risk adjustment (RA) consists of a series of techniques that account for the health status of patients when predicting or explaining costs of health care for defined populations or for evaluating retrospectively the performance of providers who care for them. Although the federal government seems to have settled on an approach to RA for Medicare Advantage programs, adoption and implementation of RA techniques elsewhere have proceeded much more slowly than was anticipated. This article examines factors affecting the adoption and use of RA outside the Medicare program using case studies in six U.S. health care markets (Baltimore, Seattle, Denver, Cleveland, Phoenix, and Atlanta) as of 2001. We found that for purchasing decisions, RA was used exclusively by public agencies. In the private sector, use of risk adjustment was uncommon and scattered and assumed informal and unexpected forms. The most common private sector use of RA was by health plans, which occasionally employed RA in negotiations with purchasers or to allocate resources internally among providers. The article uses classic technology diffusion theory to explain the adoption and use of RA in these six markets and derives lessons for health policy generally and for the future of RA in particular. For health policy generally, the differing experiences of public and private actors with RA serve as markers of the divergent paths that public and private health care sectors are pursuing with respect to managed care and risk sharing. For the future of RA in particular, its history suggests the need for health service researchers to consider barriers to use adoption and new analytic technologies as they develop them.     

云南回族教育的传统与走向

回族教育从回族形成时即开始.云南回族教育与其他地区的回族教育一样,走过了家庭教育、经堂教育到国民教育的发展过程,但是这三个过程又从来没有因为后者的出现而摒弃前一种教育形式,而是三种教育并存,所不同的是,在不同的社会发展阶段所占的比重和教育的主要内容不同而已.当代云南回族的教育,有其先进和发展迅速的一面,也有着观念和行动上落后的弊端.回族教育要与时代合拍,只有进行创新和改革,才能培养出高层次的人才.     

WTO义务减让表的解释问题

本文论述WTO减让表的法律解释问题。专家组和上诉机构对减让表的解释仅仅局限于《维也纳条约法公约》31、32、33条的运用,而忽略了减让表谈判、草拟、缔结的单边性,导致减让表的解释面临重重困境。本文梳理了专家组、上诉机构在个案中解释减让表的具体步骤,指出减让表解释目前面临困境的根源,提出减让表解释可以援用其他的解释方法。减让表解释的研究意义主要在于开阔眼界,认识到发挥WTO裁判机构司法能动性的重要意义,促进法律解释学的发展以及国际法最终体系化的发展。     

对WTO秘书处地位和作用的重新定位

WTO秘书处在许多不同的领域发挥了作用,例如贸易谈判、贸易协议的实施与管理、争端解决等方面。但令人担忧的是,秘书处的作用被弱化,变得越发唯唯诺诺,这会使WTO失去效率。“车轮”理论要求WTO从两轮机器变成四轮机器,发挥秘书处和总干事的最大功效。     

国际经济法理论的多元视角

当代国际经济法应该具有多元开放的法学视角和理论进路,例如,法律视角、经济视角、政治视角、历史视角、人权视角、哲学视角、发展视角、可持续发展视角,等等。Jackson的实用主义宪法制度分析、Petersmann的理想主义自由宪政分析、Qureshi的全球化多元综合法律分析为国际经济法学术领域的三种主要视角。国际经济法的理论多元标志着国际经济法学术开始走出理论的幼稚和贫困,迈向理论的成熟和繁荣,进而超越概念之争,进入理论之争,乃至开启范式之争。     

Housing instability is as strong a predictor of poor health outcomes as level of danger in an abusive relationship: findings from the SHARE Study

Advocates, clinicians, policy makers, and survivors frequently cite intimate partner violence (IPV) as an immediate cause of or precursor to housing problems. Research has indicated an association between homelessness and IPV, yet few studies examine IPV and housing instability. Housing instability differs from homelessness, in that someone experiencing housing instability may currently have a place to live but faces difficulties with maintaining the residence. We present baseline findings from a longitudinal cohort study of 278 female IPV survivors with housing as a primary concern. Our analysis indicates the greater the number of housing instability risk factors (e.g., eviction notice, problems with landlord, moving multiple times), the more likely the abused woman reported symptoms consistent with PTSD (p < .001), depression (p < .001), reduced quality of life (p < .001), increased work/school absence (OR = 1.28, p < .004), and increased hospital/emergency department use (OR = 1.22, p < .001). These outcomes persist even when controlling for the level of danger in the abusive relationship and for survivors' drug and alcohol use. Importantly, both housing instability and danger level had stronger associations with negative health outcomes than other factors such as age, alcohol, and drug use; both make unique contributions to negative health outcomes and could contribute in different ways. Housing instability is an important and understudied social determinant of health for IPV survivors. These findings begin to address the literature gap on the relationship between housing instability, IPV, and survivors' health, employment, and utilization of medical care services.     

Eating bread with tears: Martynas Jankus and the deportation of East Prussian civilians to Russia during World War I

During World War I, Martynas Jankus became the most well-known deportee in the Lithuanian-speaking world. This article uses a variety of sources, including his wartime letters, diary, and postwar memoirs, to explore which factors were the most important in enabling him to survive deportation, how representative he is of the larger population of deportees from East Prussia and their experiences, and how his life as a deportee was affected by laws and agreements at the international and domestic levels.     

“A different world” exploring and understanding the climate of a recently re-rolled sexual offender prison

Understanding how sexual offenders experience prison and its environment is important because such experiences can impact on rehabilitation outcomes. The purpose of this research investigation was to explore the rehabilitative and therapeutic climate of a recently re-rolled sexual offender prison. The research took a mixed methods approach and consisted of quantitative and qualitative phases. There were differences between prisoners and staff on their perception of the prison climate and for prisoner and staff relationships. The qualitative results helped to explain the quantitative findings and added a more nuanced understanding of the experience of the prison, the nature of prisoner and staff relationships and the opportunities for personal growth within the prison. The study has important implications for prisons that co-locate sexual offenders and want to provide an environment conducive to rehabilitation.     

德国是如何帮助弱势群体的

社会救助--让人过有尊严的生活 在德国居留的难民,上世纪90年代每个月可以从德国政府得到700至800马克的补贴,比起他们的生活水平,我们这些领奖学金的学生真算是弱势群体了.到大学注册之前,我必须为自己申请一份比较便宜的医疗保险,因为德国的医疗保险,不仅是全民的,而且受法律约束.