以积极姿态迎接新《未成年人保护法》的实施

2006年12月29日，十届全国人大常委会第二十五次会议以154票赞成、2票弃权，表决通过的新《未成年人保护法》将于今年6月1日起正式施行。与原先的《未成年人保护法》比较，修订后的新法律有许多创新和亮点，不仅明确了“未成年人享有生存权、发展权、受保护权、参与权等权利，国家根据未成年人身心发展特点给予特殊、优先保护，保障未成年人的合法权益不受侵犯”等重要内容，还就涉及未成年人身心健康发展的许多方面作了明确和具体规定，例如：禁止向未成年人出售烟酒；不得在未成年人集中活动的室内饮酒、吸烟；老师辱骂学生要受到惩处；学校不得延长未成年学生在校学习时间；     

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.     

PREDICTORS OF ELECTORAL TURNOUT: AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON*

Voter turnout in the United States is much lower than in almost all other democratic countries. This has been interpreted as a symptom of popular alienation from the political system, suspicion of politicians, and pessimism about the consequences of political activity. When these perspectives are measured directly, however, it is clear that Americans score very low on almost every item. Indeed, there is no relationship between political con- tentment and turnout. Turnout does not reflect international variations in acceptance of politicians or the political system. Rather, it responds to variations in the bureaucratic steps required to cast a ballot. The United States is one of a handful of countries that require a separate step–registra- tion–before the citizen can vote; and with the partial exception of France it is the only country in which the individual rather than the state bears the responsibility for registration.