Intergenerational Associations Between Trauma and Dissociation

The purpose of this study was to investigate intergenerational relationships between trauma and dissociation. Short and long term consequences of betrayal trauma (i.e., trauma perpetrated by someone with whom the victim is very close) on dissociation were examined in a sample of 67 mother–child dyads using group comparison and regression strategies. Experiences of high betrayal trauma were found to be related to higher levels of dissociation in both children and mothers. Furthermore, mothers who experienced high betrayal trauma in childhood and were subsequently interpersonally revictimized in adulthood were shown to have higher levels of dissociation than non-revictimized mothers. Maternal revictimization status was associated with child interpersonal trauma history. These results suggest that dissociation from a history of childhood betrayal trauma may involve a persistent unawareness of future threats to both self and children.     

Are science parks and incubators good “brand names” for spin-offs? The case study of Turin

In recent years there has been an increasing focus on universities’entrepreneurial orientation and their ability to exploit and transfer scientific knowledge to the commercial sector. Spin-off firms are recognised as an important opportunity for universities. This paper aims to examine the university spin-off firm context, with particular attention to the relationship with science parks-incubators and their importance as brand names. Evidence is taken from Turin case-study. Turin has a consolidated university framework: the University and the Polytechnic are examples of success all around Europe. A particular characteristic of Turin is given by the presence of two science and technology parks and two incubators.     

What the design of an R&;D tax incentive tells about its effectiveness: a simulation of R&;D tax incentives in the European Union

Most industrialized countries apply special tax incentives to boost the R&D expenditures of firms. This study considers the design of such R&D tax incentives as applied in the European Union and simulates its effect on the post-tax R&D expenditures of firms in different industries and different profit/loss-situations by means of the simulation model European Tax Analyzer. Any restrictions and progressive tax incentives are explicitly taken into account. Our results indicate that for designing and measuring public support to R&D it is often not sufficient to focus only on tax rate effects of R&D tax incentives and the design of a tax incentive must be in accordance with the framing tax system in order to be effective. As soon as there are any limitations in place, our results suggest a considerably lower impact of R&D tax incentives on the post-tax R&D expenditures than the commonly used B-Index by the OECD. The results clearly illustrate the beneficial impact of immediate cash refunds for unused tax incentives.     

Stepping out of terrorism

Terrorist organizations, groups, cells or just ‘bunches of guys’ are systematically compared with other types of criminal or deviant organizations: organized crime such as the mafia, street gangs and religious sects. Of course there are many differences between them, especially where motivation is concerned, but they share the common factor that it is almost impossible or very difficult for individual members to step out. However, de-radicalization may follow analogous paths: aging out, accepting exit programs in prison or disengaging ideologically. The article discusses the obstacles that a government strategy that encourages desistance from terrorism by stepping out may encounter. It may be sufficient and more realistic to discourage radicals from using violence than to try to de-radicalize them by using counternarrative techniques.     

Hybrid Texts and Uniform Law? The Multilingual Case Law of the Court of Justice of the European Union

The case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) is shaped by the language in which it is drafted—i.e. French. However, because French is rarely the mother tongue of those drafting that case law, the texts produced are often stilted and awkward. In addition, those drafting such case law are constrained in their use of language and style of writing (owing to pressures of technology and in order to reinforce the rule of law). These factors have led to the development of a ‘Court French’ which necessarily shapes the case law produced and has implications for its development, particularly insofar as it inevitably leads to a type of precedent in that case law. That case law also undergoes many permutations of translation into and out of up to 23 different languages. The resultant texts that make up the case law are hybrid in nature—consisting of a blend of cultural and linguistic patterns, constrained by a rigid formulistic drafting style and put through many permutations of translation. The present paper investigates the production of the Court’s multilingual case law and considers whether the hybrid nature of that case law can actually aid the presentation (and thus the development) of a ‘uniform’ EU case law.     

Research note: challenges of identifying female human trafficking victims using a national 1-800 call center

Human trafficking is a complex global and national crime problem harming victims physically, psychologically, and financially. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), Pub. La 106–386, and subsequent reauthorizations, provide assistance and benefits to foreign born victims of labor or sexual human trafficking who are here in the United States. The strategies used to encourage victims to come forward were modeled on those used in the anti- domestic violence (DV) and child protection movements. These include initiatives alerting the public to domestic violence situations through awareness campaigns to increase tips as well as calls for service to police. Other public service initiatives urge victims themselves to self-identify by calling 1-800 numbers. While these techniques have shown success in reducing incidences of domestic violence and providing help to victims, their use to combat sex trafficking has not produced the same level of results. This note explores the challenges for immigrant women victims to self-identify as trafficking victims and urges that evidence-based research is needed to determine the efficacy of a national call center approach.     

Zoologian Jurisprudence

This essay examines the iconography and role of animals in medieval and early modern bestiaries. In being without original sin “God’s creatures” were deemed proximate to divine perfection and to salvation. Animals, whether symbolic or actual, both instructed man’s moral behaviour and ushered man towards salvation. Bestiaries, it will be argued, are keys to understanding how modern law would eventually co-ordinate itself in relation to the concept of a future salvic moment.     

Voluntary versus enforced tax compliance: empirical evidence for the “slippery slope” framework

The “slippery slope” framework is an alternative approach for research in tax compliance that suggests two key variables to obtain taxpayers’ compliance: trust and power. Furthermore, two forms of compliance are distinguished. It is hypothesized that voluntary compliance depends primarily on trust in authorities, whereas enforced compliance is a function of the power attributed to authorities. Using a large data set (N = 3,071) on taxpayers from Austria, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic, these hypotheses could be confirmed. Furthermore, whereas voluntary compliance seems to be positively related to age and education, enforced compliance is negatively related to education.     

Structuration Theory and Wrongful Imprisonment: From ‘Victimhood’ to ‘Survivorship’?

Building on existing research from a zemiological approach, this article seeks to contribute to a more ontological understanding of the production and reproduction of harms associated with wrongful imprisonment in England and Wales. Drawing from Anthony Giddens’s theory of structuration, it is argued that whilst the harms of wrongful imprisonment are both complex and devastating, victims need not be perceived as entirely passive. Rather, victims of wrongful imprisonment can be viewed as knowledgeable agents with the intrinsic capacity and agency to strategically cope with and even survive the harms that they experience. The article concludes with personal accounts by victims of wrongful imprisonment that form an identifiable ‘survivor’ discourse to highlight some of the key critical factors that are vital in helping victims of wrongful imprisonment to re-structure their lives after release.     

The Mediated Effect of Contextual Risk Factors on Trajectories of Violence: Results from a Nationally Representative,Longitudinal Sample of Hispanic Adolescents

The current study sought to estimate trajectories of violent behavior and evaluate the direct and indirect effects of contextual factors among Hispanics, stratified by gender. Relying on data from 3,719 Hispanic adolescents surveyed as a part of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), violence trajectories were estimated using group-based trajectory modeling. The results identified three groups of violence trajectories for both males and females (non-violent, desistors, and escalators) and there were considerable gender differences in the direct and indirect effects of risk and protective factors on violent behavior. Study limitations and policy implications are also discussed.