The Best and Worst Times of Life: Narratives and Assessments of Subjective Well-Being by Anamnestic Comparative Self Assessment (ACSA) in the Eastern Cape,South Africa

The Anamnestic Comparative Self Assessment (ACSA) measure of subjective well-being (SWB) aims to reduce the problems of cultural bias and relativity to external standards by allowing people to define the endpoints or ‘anchors’ of the measurement scale. In medical terminology anamnestic denotes ‘based on memory’. The ACSA uses subjects’ memories of the best and worst periods in their lives to define the anchors of the scale. They then assess their current quality of life relative to these personal anchors. The South African pilot study tested the match between self-assessment of SWB with ACSA and the conventional single-item measures of life satisfaction and happiness used in the South African Quality of Life Trends Study and analysed the narratives of the best and worst times of life. The quota sample of 46 consisted of 26 residents of Makana district in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, and 20 patients undergoing treatment in the local TB hospital. Mean SWB ratings with all three measures of life satisfaction, happiness and ACSA were between 5 and 6 on a 0–10-point scale. Ratings on all three scales were positively correlated. However, on ACSA the TB patients rated their current SWB 1.84 points lower than the community respondents, suggesting a greater sensitivity of this measure. It was observed that the starting points of the life stories produced by respondents to define the anchor periods for ACSA were related to their current assessment of SWB. A typology was developed that combined the starting point of the life stories with current SWB. The majority of community respondents matched the ‘Achiever’ type who scored positively on ACSA (i.e., above the mid-point of the scale) and whose life stories started with the worst period of their lives and proceeded to the best period. The TB patients were the only respondents to represent the ‘Survivor’ type whose morale had recovered after misfortune in life. ‘Survivors’ started their narratives with the best period in their lives, then moved to the worst (often health-related) one, and gave positive ACSA ratings. Based on the qualitative analysis of narratives, it is concluded that ACSA is a sensitive measurement instrument and therefore particularly useful for monitoring the effects of treatments and social interventions in longitudinal studies. However, further research is required to verify its cross-cultural validity.

浅议民事责任竞合

违约责任与侵权责任竞合是由于某种违反民事义务的行为既符合违约责任构成要件又符合侵权责任构成要件 ,从而在法律上导致多种民事责任并存和冲突所产生的现象。因此 ,采取责任聚合与自由选择诉因的措施来解决责任竟合 ,以期充分保护受害方权利 ,消灭责任重叠可能导致的不公平 ,合并不重叠部分的责任。     

三维运动混合机的性能及其影响因素

通过混合试验对三维运动混合机的混合性能及其影响因素作了分析与研究．     

Challenge of multi-level governance in developing countries and possible GIS applications

Of the three most prominent issues in governance discourse—the horizontal coordination of markets, government hierarchies and networks, global governance and multi-level governance—this paper argues that the last, developing and sustaining structures of multi-level governance, constitutes the most profound governance challenge for most developing countries.The paper identifies the major forces promoting change in favor of multi-level governance in developing countries. Using the growing literature and comparative national experiences (illustrated with the examples of India, the Philippines, Colombia and Nigeria), it highlights the key achievements of democratic decentralization as well as its nagging problems in these countries. Finally, the paper demonstrates the significance of these developments for democracy and development in these countries and shows some of the ways by which external partners—especially experts associated with the Geographic Information Systems for Developing Countries can assist and possibly benefit from this process.     

GPS接收机P(Y)直捕方法研究

GPS接收机P(Y)直捕算法是基于存储的滑动相关搜索,并利用FFT将时频二维联合搜索变成时域一维搜索。同时,考虑位同步点已知的条件,接收资源池只需存储一段接收序列,缩短了捕获时间且利于硬件实现。仿真结果表明,多普勒频移为±5kHz时,所带来的峰值衰减为2dB左右,本地信号与接收信号对齐时出现明显的相关峰,很好地实现了捕获功能;提出了用重叠分段补零FFT操作实现并行相关,成倍降低了捕获时间;提出了利用位同步信息,避免了码极性翻转可能引起的信噪比损耗;针对码相位漂移,提出了优化捕获策略,可在短时间内完成重捕。     

关于完善特殊防卫权之立法构想

文章通过《刑法》第20条第3款关于防卫权的称谓、文字表述、针对的对象范围、整体价值和实质效果的分析,认为该条款无论是在立法上还是在司法实践中均存在重大缺陷,由此提出对该款的修改意见。     

网络游戏虚拟物品的法律保护

目前,我国法律对网络游戏虚拟物品未作出明确的权利定性。从本质上看,虚拟物品属于法律规定的财产范畴,符合传统民法上"物"的特性,应被定性为物权的客体,可以通过直接立法和间接立法两种方式来实现对虚拟物品的保护。     

论农村宅基地使用权的流转

我国农村宅基地使用权法律制度存在一定缺陷，其立法基础和标准不统一，导致现行相关法律规定相互矛盾。我国应确立完善的农村宅基地使用权登记制度，逐步建立农村宅基地有期限、有偿使用制度，在备件成熟时以立法形式规范农村宅基地使用权的流转。     

关于公民宪法诉权的几点思考

公民的基本权利需要法律的保护。论述了公民享有宪法诉权的理论依据,公民享有宪法诉权的实践意义,并通过对我国公民宪法诉权的适用范围和当前行使宪法诉权的障碍分析,提出了保障公民行使宪法诉权进而实现基本权利维护的几点建议。     

On a Dualization of Graphical Gaussian Models: A Correction Note

Abstract.  We correct two proofs concerning Markov properties for graphs representing marginal independence relations.