On money and memory: Political economy of cross-border engagement on the politically divided Armenia-Turkey frontier

Complicated historical memories and mutual distrust coupled with decades of Cold War separation have prevented the Iron Curtain from lifting on the border between Turkey and Armenia. Indeed the end of the Cold War has seen tension between these two countries escalate further over the conflict between the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and the republic of Azerbaijan. Turkey, having allied itself with Azerbaijan in this dispute, has made diplomatic engagement with Armenia conditional on the settlement of this conflict. Paradoxically, despite a trade and transport blockade imposed on Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan, economic ties in the region have not disappeared. This discrepancy between the political and diplomatic rhetoric and the economic and developmental realities on the ground motivates the present study. Drawing from the Armenian context the study illustrates how the tension between political interests and business interests are manifested and managed in Armenia. Generalising from this study, the work presented here maintains that weak cross-border governance capacities in the developing world can influence abilities to utilise, leverage and manage globalisation and, further, in politically divided regions they can undermine prospects of constructive engagement between the conflicting sides. It argues that the promotion of liberal statehood in developing countries characterised by small governments does little to assist the development of cross-sectoral links between the public and private sectors within a region, such cross-sectoral links being important ingredients in the promotion of cross-border regionalism.     

Patient inducement, provider priorities, and resource allocation in public mental health systems

Public mental health systems are increasingly facing demands from the criminal justice system and social services agencies to provide services and support in cases in which mental illness contributes to crime, homelessness, or poverty. In this article we analyze how policies from outside public mental health systems affect resource allocation within these systems, using examples from criminal justice. These policies use two types of mechanisms: inducing patients to consume treatment (by offering rewards or imposing penalties) and inducing clinicians to provide treatment (by creating priorities). We propose a classification of these social policies based on whether they affect demand through rewards or penalties or supply through priorities. We then relate the classification to data on patients treated in public systems to evaluate the current prevalence and potential for growth in these outside demands. These inducements impose a set of nonobvious costs on other patients who are not targeted by the policies. Furthermore, they create incentives for both patients and providers to modify their behavior in order to take advantage of rewards, avoid penalties, or better compete for resources with prioritized patients. We consider some policy implications for avoiding unintended consequences of these policies.     

Typeability of AmpFlSTR SGM Plus loci in brain and thyroid gland tissue samples incubated in different environments

Autolysis and putrefaction are crucial factors responsible for degradation of cells, tissues, and organs. Postmortem changes may assume different course depending on extrinsic and intrinsic conditions. The aim of the study was assessment of environmental effect on typeability of AmpFlSTR SGM Plus loci: D3S1358, VWA, D16S539, D2S1338, D81179, D21S11, D18S51, D19S433, TH01, FGA, and gender marker amelogenin. Brain and thyroid gland tissue specimens collected during autopsies of five persons aged 20-30 years were incubated at 21 degrees C and 4 degrees C in different environmental conditions. DNA was extracted by organic method from tissue samples collected in 7-day intervals and subsequently typed using AmpFlSTR SGM Plus kit and ABI 310. A fast decrease in typeability rate was seen in specimens incubated in peat soil and in sand. Brain tissue samples were typeable in all AmpFlSTR SGM Plus loci within 126 days of incubation at 4 degrees C. Faster DNA degradation was recorded in thyroid gland specimens. In samples with negative genotyping results, no DNA was found by fluorometric quantitiation.     

Community acceptance of recycled water: can we inoculate the public against scare campaigns?

Without improved water resource management, it is predicted that water shortages will affect two‐thirds of humanity by 2025. One solution that has traditionally faced fierce public resistance is recycled waste water. This study investigates the extent to which public communication strategies can influence community acceptance of recycled water, using the framework of Inoculation Theory. A four‐phase experimental design was conducted. Participants completed an initial questionnaire and were then randomly assigned to a control group, a manipulation check group or a treatment group. A final follow‐up survey measured changes in the dependent variable: stated likelihood of using recycled water for different uses. Results indicate that communication strategies based on Inoculation Theory are limited in their effectiveness for this product category. Findings do, however, identify a clear recency effect, indicating that continuous public communications are key to ensuring that community scare campaigns do not prevent implementation of water augmentation projects. This study differs from previous applications of Inoculation Theory because of the challenges associated with marketing a monopoly commodity, which is a necessity to support life. This empirical study uses fictional marketing stimuli to test the theory in a context, which is growing in global importance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Appetitive aggression in former combatants--derived from the ongoing conflict in DR Congo

Soldiers and combatants often report that committing violence can be appealing, fascinating and exciting (Elbert, Weierstall, & Schauer, 2010). This appetite for aggression was investigated in a sample of 224 former combatants from different armed groups and forces in eastern DRC. In a semistructured interview they were questioned about their military history, exposure to violence and perpetrated violence. Appetitive aggression was assessed with a 15-item-scale (Weierstall & Elbert, 2011), which was successfully implemented in comparable samples (Weierstall, Schalinski, Crombach, Hecker, & Elbert, submitted for publication). A sequential multiple regression was conducted to determine possible predictors of appetitive aggression. Perpetrated violence types, recruitment type, and joining as a child were significant predictors and explained 26% of the variability in appetitive aggression. Duration or military rank within the armed group and exposure to violence did not play a significant role. Thus, combatants reporting high levels of appetitive aggression are characterized by perpetrating a high number of violent acts, joining armed groups on their own accord and as children. Joining an armed group on one's own accord indicates pre-existing appetitive aggression. However, joining young and perpetrating violence on a regular basis seem to intensify the appetite for aggression.     

Cannabis findings in drivers suspected of driving under the influence of drugs in Finland from 2006 to 2008

The authors examined driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) cases which were found to be positive in whole blood for cannabis in Finland from 2006 to 2008. Factors studied were the number of cases positive for any combination of Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and the metabolites 11-hydroxy-Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-OH) and 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH). Concurrent use of amphetamines, benzodiazepines and/or alcohol was also recorded, as well as the drivers' age and gender. Altogether 2957 cannabis positive cases were retrieved from the database of the Alcohol and Drug Analytics Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare. Drug findings were examined in relation to the zero-tolerance policy operated towards DUID in Finland. The number of cannabis positive cases in each year was approximately 1000 and the main demographic of cases was males aged 20-30 years. In the majority of cases (51.6%) the inactive metabolite THC-COOH was the only indication of cannabis use, however, associated use of amphetamines (58.8% of all cases) and/or benzodiazepines (63.9%) in cannabis positive drivers was very common. Detections for amphetamines and/or benzodiazepines were especially common in drivers with THC-COOH only (92.8% of these cases). Combined use of alcohol (25.7%) was also prevalent. Suspect DUID cases generally arise from suspicion on behalf of the police and the zero-tolerance policy offers an expedient means to deal with the challenges presented in DUID, particularly in view of the high incidence of multiple drug use - the legislation is not unduly punitive when enforced in this manner.     

LIABILITY OF JUDGES OF THE SUPREME ADMINISTRATIVE COURT FOR INFRINGEMENT OF THE EU LAW

European Justice Court in Kobler and Traghetti decision defined principles of EU Member State compensatory liability in relation to civil law subjects due to damages caused by judicial authorities＇ acts breaching EU regulations. Due to lack of proper EU procedural norms, claims against such acts, which in fact are serious errors of Member State＇s judicial authorities, follow on the base of Member State＇s rules,     

FDI spillovers on firm survival in Italy: absorptive capacity matters!

The aim of this paper is to explore the effects of spillovers driven by competition and forward and backward linkages between foreign firms and Italian firms. We adopt the firm dynamics framework, which allows us to test the impact of foreign firms’ activity on the probability that local firms will exit. The empirical analysis relies on continuous survival models (Cox proportional hazard models) and uses a representative firm level database from the period of 2002–2010 with data concerning more than 4,000 Italian manufacturing firms. Our estimates regarding the whole sample show that horizontal and vertical linkages have no impact on firm survival. To further test this finding, we perform a more disaggregated analysis that allows for heterogeneity across firms and sectors. We obtain evidence that the effects of FDI spillovers on firm survival follow specific patterns at both the intra- and inter-industry levels based on differences in productivity between Italian firms and foreign firms and on the technological intensity of the industry. Foreign firms’ activity reduces the exit probability of competitors and of downstream local customers (through forward linkages) with low productivity gap but has no impact on high productivity gap firms. Firms in high technology intensive sectors do not benefit from horizontal FDI while in low and medium technology sectors they do. Differences in absorptive capacity may explain these results. However, we also find that vertical linkages with foreign firms in the upstream supplying industries spur firm duration in medium and high tech sectors.