A Test of Generalizability of the Social Development Model Across Gender and Income Groups with Longitudinal Data from the Elementary School Developmental Period

The social development model (SDM) is a theory of behavior that has proven useful in explaining the etiology of delinquency, violence, and substance use among adolescents as well as early antisocial behavior among pre-adolescents. A further test of the model is its generalizability across population groups. A section of the SDM representing prosocial influences in the etiology of problem behavior was compared for boys and girls and for children from low- and non low-income families using three waves of child, parent and teacher survey data on a sample of 851 elementary school students. Multiple group structural equation modeling was used to assess differences across groups in both measurement of model constructs and hypothesized structural paths between constructs. The results indicate overall similarity in the reliability of measurement models and validity of structural models.     

巨额财产来源不明罪量刑畸轻的危害

巨额财产来源不明罪的设立 ,对打击犯罪曾经起过积极作用。但随着经济的发展和时间的推移 ,腐败分子巨额财产来源不明的现象却屡禁不止、愈演愈烈 ,重要原因之一是由于刑法规定的该罪的量刑幅度畸轻。这不仅违背了罪刑相适应的原则 ,放纵了犯罪 ,而且为执法者徇私枉法开了方便之门。建议立法机构比照贪污、受贿罪的量刑进行修改 ,提高法定刑、增加量刑档次。     

测验与访谈在公正性上的较量——关于警察心理测试公正性的探讨

由于职业的特殊性 ,警察的心理素质对其工作有着特殊的重要性。近年来 ,对警察心理素质的日益关注使得许多单位在选拔警察时都加强了对其心理素质的考核 ,但人们在热衷于心理测试的同时 ,却对测试中的公正性缺乏足够的关注。通过对访谈与测验两种测试方式在公正性上的比较 ,探讨警察心理测试技术中的公正性问题颇具现实意义。     

2002年中国省级地方政府效率测度

本文设计了一套由政府公共服务、公共物品、政府规模、居民经济福利四个因素及其子因素组成的测度省级地方政府效率的指标体系 ,然后根据 2 0 0 1年统计数据 ,运用标准离差法计算其中 3 7个指标的标准化值 ,最后通过加权测度出 2 0 0 2年中国 3 1个省、自治区、直辖市政府的效率及其排名。     

On the Nature of Tolerance: Dichotomous or Continuous?*

The purpose of this article is to reconsider the claim made recently by Mondak and Sanders that political tolerance ought to be thought to be a dichotomous rather than continuous variable. Using data from both Russia and the United States, I demonstrate that those Mondak and Sanders regard as uniquely tolerant are most likely no more than people who were given insufficient opportunity to express their intolerance. Even if such a phenomenon of “absolute tolerance” exists (all ideas expressed in all ways are to be tolerated), it is sufficiently rare that few practical implications are indicated for those doing empirical work on political tolerance and intolerance. * I appreciate the valuable comments of Jeffcry Mondak on an earlier version of this paper.     

Caribbean electricity restructuring: an assessment

This article assesses the privatisation of the electricity sector in two Caribbean countries, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, to determine if they have been successful and whether they have contributed benefits to the respective societies. Two general methods are applied in assessing the success of the divestments; attainment of governments' stated objectives and commonly used utility performance metrics together with social and customer focus indicators. The results indicate that the stated objectives were broadly achieved, and the privatisation and its attempts brought benefits to the consumers and the society in general. The short to medium term benefits were accrued through lower labour costs per unit of electricity, higher performance of plant and operations and business led decision‐making. Long‐term benefits are accrued through the reduction or elimination of electricity supply deficits. However, although the basic privatisations were successful, the absence of an adequate regulatory framework in one case may have reduced the quantum of benefits through failure to enforce continuous improvement in the privatised generation company, and reductions in worker rents in the public distribution company. Further, benefits were reduced by long divestment processes, accompanying strategic drift, opportunity costs from delayed sale proceeds and efficiency enhancement, and the costs to sustain interim operations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不同方法测量不规则瘢痕面积的比较

目的对比不同测量方法在测量不规则瘢痕面积时的优缺点,以确定不规则瘢痕面积测量标准。方法对不规则瘢痕面积进行数字化扫描,运用坐标纸读取法、Auto CAD像素法、Photoshop套索像素法、Photoshop魔棒填充像素法及福昕PDF阅读软件测量法进行测量,从测量时间、可重复性、是否可以全程记录及是否可以溯源等方面进行比较分析。结果采用上述瘢痕面积测量方法的结果差异无统计学意义,但在测量时间、同一人多次重复性及多人测量可重复性上差异存在统计学意义,仅福昕PDF阅读软件可以溯源。结论上述方法均可应用于瘢痕测量,但是各有利弊,还需针对司法鉴定开发新的测量软件。     

论缓刑的法律性质--兼评缓刑考验期满后再犯罪成立累犯的合理性

缓刑在不同的刑事诉讼阶段所表现的主要特性是不同的,因而对其性质进行分阶段的界定也就有了现实的依据和合理性。从决定是否对犯罪分子宣告缓刑的意义上来说,缓刑有刑罚裁量的性质;从对犯罪分子具体适用缓刑的各项规定的意义上来说,缓刑又具有刑罚执行的性质。缓刑,兼具刑罚裁量和刑罚执行两重性质。在明确缓刑具有刑罚执行的法律性质的前提下,认定缓刑考验期满后再犯相应之罪的犯罪分子为累犯,就有了理论以及法律上的合理性。此种处置,从一般预防和特殊预防的角度来看,既符合中国社会重视行为人主观意志的现实,又能更好发挥刑罚预防犯罪的功能,也是符合我国现行刑事政策和法律规定的。     

Metrological framework for selecting morphological characters to identify species and estimate developmental maturity of forensically significant insect specimens

Accurate age estimates of immature necrophagous insects associated with a human or animal body can provide evidence of how long the body has been dead. These estimates are based on species-specific details of the insects’ aging processes, and therefore require accurate species identification and developmental stage estimation. Many professionals who produce or use identified organisms as forensic evidence have little training in taxonomy or metrology, and appreciate the availability of formalized principles and standards for biological identification. Taxonomic identifications are usually most readily and economically made using categorical and qualitative morphological characters, but it may be necessary to use less convenient and potentially more ambiguous characters that are continuous and quantitative if two candidate species are closely related, or if identifying developmental stages within a species. Characters should be selected by criteria such as taxonomic specificity and metrological repeatability and relative error. We propose such a hierarchical framework, critique various measurements of immature insects, and suggest some standard approaches to determine the reliability of organismal identifications and measurements in estimating postmortem intervals. Relevant criteria for good characters include high repeatability (including low scope for ambiguity or parallax effects), pronounced discreteness, and small relative error in measurements. These same principles apply to individuation of unique objects in general.

Key points

• Metrological rigour can increase in forensic entomology by selecting measurements based on their metrological qualities.
• Selection of high-quality features for morphological identification of organisms should consider these criteria: (1) pronounced discreteness of features (minimising group overlap or maximizing interval); (2) high repeatability of assessment (such as symmetrical width rather than asymmetrical length); (3) small relative error in measurement (selecting the physically largest continuous rigid feature for measurement).
• These metrological principles also apply to individuation of unique objects in general.

     

当前中国大众民粹程度测量研究

对民粹主义的内涵和实证研究的分析表明,民粹主义是一个可以测量的概念。通过对中国民粹主义的表现形式和网络民粹话语的梳理,形成了一个包含仇视官员、民族民粹主义、反体制、仇视富人、民粹司法和仇视专家等6个维度23个指标的民粹程度量表。运用这个量表考察中国社会各阶层样本,发现中国在整体上并不具备明显的民粹主义特征。