Laying Down the Law? Interest Group Influence on State Adoption of Animal Cruelty Felony Laws

Since the late 1960s, the number and types of organized interest groups working at the state level have increased dramatically, but research shows that traditional organized interest groups, such as business and labor unions, are still the most influential in state policymaking ( Thomas and Hrebenar 1996 ). Less is known, however, about the influence of non‐economically focused interest groups in the state policy process. Using pooled cross‐sectional data from the American states, I explore the effect that nontraditional organized interests can have on state policy. Specifically, I examine the influence of the Humane Society of the United States on state adoption of animal cruelty felony laws. Although the Humane Society is not one of the traditional groups expected to have a significant influence in state policymaking, my results suggest that it has played a significant role. However, I also find that the Humane Society's influence on the stringency of these laws is less pronounced.     

The coloured glass of Iulia Felix

Research on the cargo of glass in the Roman ship Iulia Felix, wrecked off the town of Grado (province of Udine, North Italy) in the first half of the 3rd century AD and composed of recycling cullet carefully selected for colour and type, provided much information on Roman glass production technology. A combined approach, involving analytical, statistical, and archaeological evidence, included chemical analyses (X-ray fluorescence, electron microprobe), which indicated that the coloured samples were all soda-lime-silica in composition, with natron as flux, although cluster analysis identified many compositional groups. Comparisons among the compositional groups of the colourless glass, previously studied, and those of coloured glass showed that the production technologies of the colourless glass vessels constitute two well-defined technological end-members, also related to group types, into which those of the coloured glass samples fall. In particular, coloured glass samples—all bottles, low-status vessels—were produced with mainly beach siliceous-feldspar-calcareous sand. However, unlike the colourless type, strict control of raw materials and decolourising processes was not adopted, and recycling was also practised, as demonstrated by the Sb₂O₃, Cu and Pb patterns. In this context, a “recycling index” (RI)—[(Sb₂O₃)_X/(Sb₂O₃)_Ref] * 100—is proposed here for the first time, in order to quantify the extent of recycling of antimony colourless glass in the batch. RI is valid for glass containing abundant Sb from an end-member of colourless glass. In conclusion, although it cannot be stated unequivocally that the identified compositional trends are related to different production centres or different raw materials, the strong evidence of compositional variability among all the Iulia Felix glass samples, both colourless and coloured, supports the dispersed production model for Roman glassware and the common practice of recycling in Roman imperial times, especially for low-status vessels.     

Gender differences in children's pathways to independent mobility

This paper presents some empirical findings relating to the independent mobility of children in two parts of south-east England – one a south London borough, the other a suburban county north of London. In both locations boys appear to enjoy greater mobility than girls, and become independent much earlier. But closer analysis suggests that girls manage to attain similar levels of independence from adults by travelling more in groups. This collective independence achieved through peers is often overlooked, and may compensate modern children to some extent for their loss of individual freedom.     

少数民族华侨华人：迁移特点、辨识标准及人数统计

学术界对少数民族华侨华人的研究很少。究其原因有四 :历史原因、民族意识、政治原因和学科因素。本文拟就少数民族华侨华人问题作一初步探讨。全文分为四个部分。第一部分是关于少数民族华侨华人的称谓和概念 ;第二部分分析少数民族华侨华人的迁移与定居特点 ;第三部分提出少数民族华侨华人的辨识标准 ,即记录、祖籍地、客观认同、迁移时间和主观认同 ;第四部分是关于分布世界各地的少数民族华侨华人的初步计量统计。作者提出 ,“华侨华人”的身份应以其定居或入籍他国来确定 ,而不应受其移民方式的影响。     

殷墟甲骨文字新缀五十一则

本文研究的是甲骨缀合,共缀合甲骨51组。     

共容利益:社区参与旅游发展之利益协调

收益分配问题绝不只是单纯的经济问题,而是涉及政治和社会制度安排的"正义"问题。本文基于对农村旅游发展现实的大量观察和前人对于中国社会问题丰富的研究成果,把宏观制度研究与微观行为分析结合起来,将影响旅游收益分配的政治过程内生化、模型化,展现了在农村旅游发展中,各利益主体——政治精英、商人利益集团、社区农民为实现各自的目标价值,在制度激励和约束下就利益的分配进行重复博弈的动态过程。本文指出,旅游收益不平衡的制度性根源在于国家的政治、经济、法律制度设计偏重于增长而未能有效地维护个人和社会的正当利益。仅仅依靠金钱补偿,或者调整收入分配政策根本不可能达到或实现分配正义的目标。分配正义的实现需要一系列根本性的制度变革,"从顶到底"地建立一个能给予共容利益最大决策权的政治体制和经济机制。     

姜寨一期房屋的分类及相关问题

根据姜寨一期房屋的室内布置对其进行型和式的划分,分析其功能与规模。依据每组房屋中的大型房屋在左,中、小型房屋在右等原则,姜寨一期房屋可以划分为五组。这五组是由最初的单一整体发展形成的,各组的大型房屋基本位于本组左侧边界,而以中型房屋为首的其它小型房屋和灰坑都密集分布在大型房屋的右侧。     

The Impact of Local Environmental Advocacy Groups on City Sustainability Policies and Programs

American cities vary considerably in the degree to which they pursue sustainability. What explains this variation? One plausible cause of such differences is that sustainability may be more appealing to high‐income cities than to more economically challenged cities. Yet such strict economic determinism seems simplistic and removes politics from an inherently political process. The hypothesis here is that any such relationship between income and commitment to sustainability is conditioned by a city's level of environmental advocacy. The data utilized in this analysis are derived from two large‐scale data sources. One is a comprehensive inventory of sustainability programs and policies in 50 large American cities. The other is a set of surveys in those same 50 cities. The multivariate model supports the hypothesis. Controlling for income growth and the predisposition of policymakers to be supportive of sustainability (as well as other alternative explanations), a city's commitment to sustainability is strongly linked to the advocacy of environmental and sustainability groups in the policymaking process. The example of Sustainable Seattle is used to illustrate the linkages that would seem to underlie the statistical analysis.     

Who Deserves Solidarity? Unequal Treatment of Immigrants in Swiss Welfare Policy Delivery

Rising immigration rates in Western Europe concur with increasing anti‐immigrant attitudes. While assessments of welfare eligibility in the United States demonstrably hinge on how public servants perceive different racial groups as deserving, we know less about ethnically motivated discrimination in the European context. This paper argues that Switzerland is a critical case for studying such developments. It combines social construction theory and the deservingness heuristic to analyze how social constructions of Swiss natives and immigrants influence 90 disability benefits insurance procedures. Findings reveal that immigrants are perceived as less deserving and less powerful than Swiss applicants. Thus, Swiss welfare workers do not allocate welfare benefits independently of an applicant's nationality. Our results raise fundamental questions about the equal treatment of welfare applicants in times of rising immigration and anti‐immigrant attitudes. The feed‐forward effects of social constructions imply longer‐term consequences for good administrative practices and society that require scholarly attention.     

Peripheral Players? German Colonial Interests,The Press,and the Spirit of Locarno

The Locarno Conference, held on 5–16 October 1925, represented the culmination of nearly two years of diplomatic communication between the foreign offices of Germany, Britain, and France. The conference was an attempt to normalize relations between the former Allied powers and Germany's new Weimar Republic and more tightly bind Germany's politics and economy to Western Europe. Colonial German lobbies hoped that the Locarno talks heralded the return of empire and an end to Germany's banishment from the work of the ‘civilizing mission’ and the humiliating experience of being a ‘postcolonial state in a still colonial world’. Public scrutiny from false press reports about the restoration of the German colonies emanating from Germany, France, Britain and its colonies and dominions, and even the United States complicated matters for Locarno delegates by forcing discussion of off-agenda topics. This article interrogates how the Colonial German lobby influenced the Locarno Conference through activity in the international public sphere, how they managed a partial victory in the wake of Locarno, and more importantly, the Colonial German lobby learned new and better strategies for playing properly to public opinion and international bureaucracies.