Putting Local Associations Into their Context. Preliminary Results from a Swiss Study of Local Associations

The paper presents results from the Swiss case of the European comparative project CID (Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy). This project examines the relationship between political institutional assets and civic and political engagement in several Western and Eastern European countries. The paper seeks to investigate how civic engagement can be generated and shaped by a given institutional and political context as well as by a peculiar community size. The central hypothesis is that the context affects the character of local participation. To verify this, the papers examines two different Swiss cantons: the German speaking Canton of Bern and the French speaking Canton of Vaud. Moreover, for each canton, four local communities of different size have been selected. This research design discusses how participation is fostered by a more open political opportunity structure (the German canton), and how this combines with the size of the community.     

Corporate interests and public affairs: organised business–government relations in EU member states

The internationalisation of economic and political affairs changes the way in which business interests are brought to bear on public policy. This is a global phenomenon but can, in particular, be observed in Europe. The construction of the European Union, the development of the Single Market and the build‐up of the policy institutions to go with it, together change business–government relations profoundly. This paper answers the question of how organised business interests relate to government agencies and political institutions. By using the example of trade associations in the Netherlands and Germany, the paper shows that, despite the internationalisation of public affairs in Europe, the national political level remains strategically important for the representation of business interests. The paper thus argues that changes in European business–government relations are institutionally embedded at both the European and the national level. The implication for future research is that much of the dynamics of economic and political internationalisation materialises within the domestic arrangements of interest politics. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications     

The Penal Voluntary Sector in England and Wales: Adaptation to Unsettlement and Austerity

This article draws on some findings from research which investigated penal voluntary sector adaptation to the mixed market in criminal justice services. The article firstly reprises the main trends for aligning state relationships with the voluntary sector from the 1980s to the present. We then outline some findings about adaptive experiences, situations and practices of the voluntary sector in criminal justice resettlement in the light of considerable upheaval. The research found that service providing voluntary sector organisations (VSOs) either outwardly comply with, or, in a minority of cases, actively embrace, competitive marketised models of service delivery. Secondly, the sector has normalised commercial approaches to organisational efficiency as well as aligned with bureaucratic practices common to the statutory sector. Despite charges that they are effectively co‐opted by both state and market interests, many have reported conflicts between prioritising long‐term financial viability with their founding ‘ethos and values’. We conclude that while many VSOs have successfully adjusted to market and bureaucratic norms, aspects of that repositioning have been at a cost to their traditions of relative autonomy, localism and distinctiveness, to the possible detriment of a vigorous civil society.     

中国环境污染责任保险制度的构想

在工业化过程中,环境污染的发生不仅频繁而且后果严重。单个污染企业承担责任的能力有限,致使污染受害者和公共环境损害往往得不到应有的赔偿。为分散企业环境污染赔偿责任,最大限度的保护受害者,尽量减少社会和国家的损失,有必要借鉴国外环境保险的经验,探索建立我国的环境污染责任保险制度。     

转基因食品标签的消费者知情权比较研究

各国对转基因食品实施了不同的标签制度:强制标签与自愿标签。这两种标签制度分别建立在消费者需要知情和消费者有权知情的法理基础之上。需要知情是以产品为基础,确保消费者对客观真实的风险知情;而有权知情往往以生产过程和生产方法为基础,以风险预防为原则管理风险以减少消费者的感知风险。一个国家采取何种转基因食品标签制度,受到该国经济、文化和政治方面的影响。我国转基因食品标签立法在即,需要借鉴其他国家的立法经验,因地制宜地实施强制标签制度,以保障消费者知情权的实现。     

社会建设背景下志愿组织发展的思考——以广州市为例

志愿组织配合党政实施公共服务并协助社会人群,从社会资源调配、社会管理创新、社会融合和谐等角度推动社会管理创新.文章在社会组织放开注册、政府购买公共服务、共青团枢纽型组织逐步建立、社工与志愿者加强合作等社会建设背景下,从社会化与专业化发展方向、与枢纽型组织的关系、社工与志愿者联动协调和自身组织能力建设等四个维度,提出了民间志愿组织角色定位以及发展思路.     

论《唐律疏议》中的自首制度

《唐律疏议》是中国历史上最具代表性的封建法典,其结构之严谨、内容之完备,影响及于古今中外。唐律中出现的自首制度的规定,深刻、系统和广泛地反映了中国封建刑法的立法精神和立法技术。唐律中对自首的规定,尽管带有历史和阶级的局限性,但对于打击犯罪、维护社会稳定还是起到了积极的作用的,值得今天的法律史学者去分析和研究,以吸取其中有益的内容为我国当前的法治建设服务,以有利于建设社会主义和谐社会。     

对自首的认定及其处罚

自首作为一项刑法制度在我国有着悠久的历史。 1997年刑法在总结多年来自首制度的立法与司法实践经验的基础上 ,进一步完善了有关自首的规定。司法实践证明 ,自首制度在同犯罪作斗争中发挥了积极的作用。为进一步稳、准、狠地打击各种犯罪 ,把当前的“严打”斗争不断引向深入 ,每一个法律理论工作者和司法实践工作者都应该正确地理解、把握和适用自首这一法律规定。     

Organising for mutual advantage: municipal associations in Bulgaria

Networks of local government support organisations (LGSOs) are critical to successful intergovernmental relations and effective local governance in democratic societies. Bulgaria had no such network of municipal associations when it began the transition from communist rule in the early 1990s. Using US and other external technical assistance, Bulgaria over the next decade overcame the impediments to collective action and established what appears to be an effective and sustainable system to back up its cities and towns. Important factors in mobilising support included a long‐term focus on institutional development, non‐partisanship, flexibility in implementation and a pragmatic orientation that focused on learning by doing. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

志愿服务与青年人力资源的开发——以大学生志愿服务西部计划为例

大学生志愿服务西部计划的实施,促进了社会资源的合理配置,改善了当前我国人才结构的不合理布局,缓解了大学生就业矛盾,为西部大开发注入了大量的新鲜血液,有效服务了社会主义和谐社会的建设.