Crime,unemployment, and social structures of accumulation: An inquiry into historical contingency

This article examines whether prior inconsistency in findings about the impact of unemployment on crime is the result of historical contingency caused by changes in the social structures of accumulation (SSAs) associated with the development of twentieth-century U.S. capitalism. We explore this question by comparing the relationship between official measures of unemployment and the crimes of burglary, robbery, assault, and homicide during four phases of recent U.S. economic development identified by SSA theorists: economic exploration from 1933 to 1947, economic consolidation from 1948 to 1966, economic decay from 1967 to 1979, and a new period of exploration from 1980 to 1992. We propose that the unemployment-crime (U-C) relationship is shaped not merely by the fact of unemployment, but rather by its social meaning within developmental stages of social structures of accumulation. Time-series analysis of the U-C relationship within each SSA stage from 1933 to 1992 supports our hypothesis that periods of structural unemployment will be characterized by a stronger U-C relationship than those in which unemployment is primarily frictional. We then validate the periodization of shifts in the U-C relationship suggested by SSA theory by applying time-varying parameter analysis to the entire series from 1933 to 1992. On the basis of these findings we conclude that crime control policies and future research into the relationship between unemployment and crime should take into consideration the historically contingent nature of the U-C relationship.     

New capital accumulation in transition economies: implications for capital-labor and capital-output ratios

This paper investigates the impact of new capital accumulation on capital-labor and capital-output ratios in 26 transition economies (TE) of Central and Eastern Europe and former USSR. Using a perpetual inventory method, we estimate the amount of capital accumulated in these countries since the start of market reforms and compare it to results for developed countries and largest emerging market economies. We found that on per worker basis, capital accumulation in TE is lagging far behind that of their mature market neighbors in European Union. Disparities in capital-output ratios were not as pronounced, as higher capital-labor ratios were reached in economies with higher levels of GDP per capita. Regression analysis indicates that capital per worker was accumulated faster in TE having higher saving rates, relatively higher priced labor, closer proximity to Western Europe, and higher manufacturing share in the economy. The K/Y levels were influenced by the same determinants except for relative input costs.     

Pathology of paint sniffers' lung

Deliberate inhalation of metallic paint results in hemorrhagic alveolitis and the intra-alveolar and lymph node accumulation of particulate-laden macrophages. We present a case of a chronic paint sniffer that illustrates these respiratory tract findings.     

Thoughtfully Reflective Decision Making and the Accumulation of Capital: Bringing Choice Back In

In this paper we relate a particular type of decision making, thoughtfully reflective decision making (TRDM) in adolescence, to successful and unsuccessful life outcomes in young adulthood. Those who are thoughtfully reflective in their decision making are more likely to consider possible alternative routes to goal attainment, weigh the costs and benefits of those alternatives, and critically revisit the decision once made to examine what went well and what went wrong. We also argue that what mediates the effect of TRDM on later life outcomes is the accumulation of capital. Those who use better decision making practices are more likely to recognize the resources provided by and make the necessary investments to accumulate human, social and cultural capital. These notions are theoretically linked to conceptions of criminal offenders as both rational planners and decision makers and as fully human agents. Using data from the Add Health data set, our hypotheses are largely confirmed. Those who are higher in TRDM as adolescents were more likely to have enrolled in or graduated from college, to be in better physical health, are more involved in civic and community affairs, less likely to commit criminal acts, use illegal drugs and be involved in heavy drinking as adults. TRDM is also positively related to the accumulation of human, social and cultural capital. Finally, a substantial part of the effect of TRDM on young adult outcomes was mediated by capital accumulation. The implications of these findings for future theory and research are discussed.     

A Schumpeterian growth model: wealth and directed technological change

This paper explores the effects of the accumulation of savings on the creative reaction of firms, the search for technological congruence and the direction of technological change with a Schumpeterian model of endogenous growth. The model shows how the accumulation of wealth accounts for the reduction of the relative user cost of capital and activates, with proper levels of knowledge governance, the creative reaction of firms, search for higher levels of technological congruence and the introduction of directed technological change with higher levels of capital intensity. The dynamics of accumulation of wealth and induced technological change accounts the self-sustained increase of total factor productivity.     

当前中国人权保障观的一种解析——以人口准入与迁徙自由为例

人权保障观是历史和传统的沉淀。以一种外在的价值观来排斥既在的价值观,是当前人权保障的误区。人口准入的提出和现实的运作,证明了其存在的合理性。迁徙自由只有正视现有观念的历史形成,才能在同构中展示其必然的互助性。     

Blunt force injury of the abdomen complicating previously undiagnosed peliosis hepatis in a 2-year-old female

Peliosis hepatis is an abnormal accumulation of blood-filled lakes in the liver that is most commonly seen in adults and is generally associated with chronic wasting diseases, use of androgenic steroids or bacterial infection. Few cases have been reported in children. We report a case of a 2-year-old female with no past medical history who presented with homicidal blunt force abdominal injury. The autopsy revealed lacerations in the liver and previously undiagnosed peliosis hepatis.     

Statistical examination of hair color as a potential biasing factor in hair analysis

We review eight different data sets in this paper for the purposes of assessing the possibility that reported color of hair can produce a systematic bias in the interpretation of hair assays. We review studies or data sets that include heroin and its metabolites, cocaine and its metabolites, MDMA and its analogs, and amphetamine and methamphetamine. The studies have utilized a variety of different degrees of color categorization, ranging from the simple dichotomy of brown and black, to a high of 12 categories. The mean number of categories reported approaches 6 (mean = 5.875). There are a total of 2791 data points in this analysis. We utilize two major statistical techniques for assessing significance; one-way analysis of variance, and Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference procedure. In circumstances were only dichotomous contrasts are possible, one-way analysis of variance is used. In contrasts involving three or more categorical groups, Tukey's procedure is used. In circumstances where the homogeneity of group variances is not sustained by the Levene statistic, we use the Tamahane procedure, allowing an assessment that assumes unequal variances. The analysis of this data fails to discern a significant color effect. We speculate that it may be that variance is large in many domains affecting analyte recovery from hair. In large groups these variations tend to regress towards a typical or mean value. Thus the data here show that while there are group or aggregate differences in these 'typical' values, they are not great when considered in relation to the within-group variations which exist for those values. It is our view that color may play a role in the accumulation of drugs in hair, however it is likely to account for only a very small part of the complex process of drug accumulation.     

Coffee House: Habitus and Performance Among Law Students

Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Judith Butler, we develop a detailed ethnography of a social space in a major law school and explore its socialization of the students there. "Coffee House" is a weekly social event sponsored by Canadian law firms and offering free drink and food to the students present. We argue that this event and the actors involved profoundly change student identities and alter educational aspirations. Although the students themselves insist that "nothing is going on," our ethnography suggests that in "Coffee House" identity is developed through performances, and in the accumulation of symbolic capital, until ultimately students come to feel their future career path is not a matter of choice, but destiny. We explore the important work of Bourdieu through this setting, but ultimately we resist his determinism, and suggest instead that, following the work of Butler, identity is a more complicated and fluid dynamic between space, repetition, and performance. It appears that a personal unconscious transformation among law students attending Coffee House is underway; yet opportunities to change the meaning of this space and these performances remain.     

Land accumulation,life course,and inequalities among generations in eighteenth-century france: The winegrowers from the Chartres region

The article deals with the relationships during the life course of small landowners between the accumulation of real estate and constraints caused by eco- nomic conditions. Examination of the transactions of about a hundred winegrowers of the Chartres region during the eighteenth century allows us to explore three assump- tions. First, real estate accumulation closely follows the familial cycle: the optimal time to buy or sell land results from the production/consumption equilibrium reached by each household. Second, accumulation opportunities depend on conjuncture: crises and prosperity constantly throw the “patrimonial cycle” off balance. Third, discor- dance between life-cycle stages and economic phases generates strong disparities among successive generations in terms of their total investments. These disparities can- not be balanced by recoveries and therefore give rise to specific characteristics of the life course of each generation.     

Interaction of human and physical capital in a model of endogenous growth

A model of development is presented where growth is initially driven by physical capital accumulation, as in the neoclassical model. After a critical level of physical capital is reached, the economy ‘takes off’ and enters a stage of sustained growth driven by human capital accumulation. The link between these two stages is provided by the assumption that private incentives for human capital accumulation increase with the average levels of human and physical capital. At the early stages of development, these incentives are low so the level of human capital stays stagnant until sufficient physical capital is accumulated. Other results are that some economies may reach a steady state of physical capital before a ‘take-off’ is possible. This is especially likely for economies in which agents have low savings propensities. Such economies remain stuck in a no-growth equilibrium forever. Economies that do grow may experience endogenous cycles if the return to investment in human capital is sufficiently increasing in the level of physical capital.     

Land accumulation,life course,and inequalities among generations in eighteenth-century france: The winegrowers from the Chartres region

The article deals with the relationships during the life course of small landowners between the accumulation of real estate and constraints caused by eco- nomic conditions. Examination of the transactions of about a hundred winegrowers of the Chartres region during the eighteenth century allows us to explore three assump- tions. First, real estate accumulation closely follows the familial cycle: the optimal time to buy or sell land results from the production/consumption equilibrium reached by each household. Second, accumulation opportunities depend on conjuncture: crises and prosperity constantly throw the “patrimonial cycle” off balance. Third, discor- dance between life-cycle stages and economic phases generates strong disparities among successive generations in terms of their total investments. These disparities can- not be balanced by recoveries and therefore give rise to specific characteristics of the life course of each generation.     

社会资本视角下地方政府行政潜规则与信任危机刍议

行政规则的规范和信任资本的积累是地方政府治理的重要基础,行政规则的运作会影响信任资本的发展,而信任资本的状况也会影响行政规则的效力。行政潜规则的存在会弱化显规则的效力,削弱地方政府的公信力。因此,必须完善行政规则体系,提升信任资本,通过行政规则和信任资本的良性互动循环增进地方合作治理的绩效。     

Country level efficiency and national systems of entrepreneurship: a data envelopment analysis approach

This paper tests the efficiency hypothesis of the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship. Using a comprehensive database for 63 countries for 2012, we employ data envelopment analysis to directly test how countries capitalize on their available entrepreneurial resources. Results support the efficiency hypothesis of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship. We find that innovation-driven economies make a more efficient use of their resources, and that the accumulation of market potential by existing incumbent businesses explains country-level inefficiency. Regardless of the stage of development, knowledge formation is a response to market opportunities and a healthy national system of entrepreneurship is associated with knowledge spillovers that are a prerequisite for higher levels of efficiency. Public policies promoting economic growth should consider national systems of entrepreneurship as a critical priority, so that entrepreneurs can effectively allocate resources in the economy.     

Accumulation of population polymorphisms in the mitonuclear genome with probable adaptive effect to extreme environments as altitude for forensic purposes

We analyzed the accumulation of population polymorphism in 2504 individuals - nuclear genomes (nDNA) of 26 populations (81 genes associated to extreme environments) and 3295 mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) of 47 populations with the aim to found mitonuclear relationship associated an extremes environment as altitude. For that, we use an algorithm developed by us to determine the accumulation of polymorphisms by segments in the genome and thus be able to perform the multivariate analysis to found SNPs differences and similarities among populations. The results showed in Peruvian population a statistically significant mitonuclear relationship for 113/293970 nDNA SNPs in 16/81 genes. In the case of the mtDNA, we found a statistically significant mitonuclear relationship for 6/22 mtDNA positions – Gene. Additionally for the Peruvian population, the MRPP3 had the greatest polymorphism contribution with respect to other populations. Then, these nDNA and mtDNA SNPs in genetically close populations to Peru can be applied to forensic genomic phenotyping to identify groups likely adapted to extreme conditions (such as altitude) or make individualization between low and high altitude populations.     

Fatal accidents on glaciers: forensic, criminological, and glaciological conclusions

The rare event of a corpse immersed in glacier ice becoming exposed on a glacier surface is closely connected with the glaciological conditions at the scene and the site of the accident. Provided that the time since death is known, certain questions relative to the circumstances of a mountain accident can only be answered by considering glaciological aspects. How the scene of an accident can be reconstructed by inference from the site of discovery is discussed by means of three exemplary cases that occurred on Tyrolean glaciers (Austria) during the past 40 years: (1) Two corpses were discovered close above the equilibrium line in the accumulation area after 25 years. The two victims had fallen down a rock face after the breaking off of a cornice and had come to rest in the uppermost part of the accumulation area. (2) A victim was discovered in the lower ablation area 8 years after falling down a crevasse in the middle part of the ablation area. (3) A female alpinist was discovered at the very end of the glacier after 29 years; it was concluded that the accident must have happened in the accumulation area.     

试论社会资本视阈下我国社区慈善超市的运营机制

作为一种新型的慈善事业运作平台与机制,社区慈善超市的运营发展离不开社会资本的积累。我国社区慈善超市实际上是社会慈善和政府救助的混合体,社会资本的缺乏正是其发展受制的重要原因。因此,应正确处理慈善超市与政府的关系,构建政府、社会、公民之间的互信机制,加强制度建设和慈善超市发展的网络机制建设,增加社区慈善超市的社会资本。     

Listening to voices: The use of phenomenology to differentiate malingered from genuine auditory verbal hallucinations

The experience of hearing a voice in the absence of an appropriate external stimulus, formally termed an auditory verbal hallucination (AVH), may be malingered for reasons such as personal financial gain, or, in criminal cases, to attempt a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. An accurate knowledge of the phenomenology of AVHs is central to assessing the veracity of claims to such experiences. We begin by demonstrating that some contemporary criminal cases still employ inaccurate conceptions of the phenomenology of AVHs to assess defendants' claims. The phenomenology of genuine, malingered, and atypical AVHs is then examined. We argue that, due to the heterogeneity of AVHs, the use of typical properties of AVHs as a yardstick against which to evaluate the veracity of a defendant's claims is likely to be less effective than the accumulation of instances of defendants endorsing statements of atypical features of AVHs. We identify steps towards the development of a formal tool for this purpose, and examine other conceptual issues pertinent to criminal cases arising from the phenomenology of AVHs.     

Paraquat poisoning

A fatal case of paraquat poisoning is described. Postmortem concentration of paraquat in different tissues reveals that treatment in this case could not prevent lethal tissue accumulation. Although accumulation was more pronounced in renal tissue, lung toxicity caused death. The formation of enormous fecaliths and the appearance of hypercalcemia are reported. Both were most likely connected with Füllers earth therapy. In spite of the fact that the exact nature of the equilibrium between plasma levels and tissue accumulation of paraquat (static or dynamic) is not understood, aggressive treatment must be recommended, even after the distribution phase and despite likely "fatal" plasma levels.     

STRAINED LIVES AND CRIME: EXAMINING INTRA‐INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN STRAIN AND OFFENDING IN A SAMPLE OF INCARCERATED WOMEN*

When applied to the study of changes in an individual's offending, general strain theory posits that individuals will be more likely to offend during periods of high strain. Using 36 months of retrospective data collected from female inmates, we explore the relationship between intra‐individual changes in strain and changes in offending and drug use. We also examine how different dimensions of strain‐recent composite strain, duration, clustering and accumulation, contribute to the explanation of offending. We find that changes in strain are associated with changes in violence, drug use, and property crime and that these relationships remain after the addition of control variables. Moreover, the strain‐crime relationship holds when the correct causal order is specified. When modeling offending, taking various dimensions of strain into account does increase the amount of variation explained for some outcomes, but other dimensions are highly correlated. We conclude that conceptualizing the interaction between strain and crime as a dynamic process is constructive and that general strain theory will be improved if criminologists move beyond static conceptions of strain.