Getting Out of Debt: Garnishment of Wage in Whose Interest?

Garnishment of wage as a way for creditors to enforce payment by unwilling or insolvent debtors, while very common in Germany and Switzerland, is not very successful. Based on a dynamic model of debtor behaviour, this paper explores two alternatives of reform. One is to reduce the rate of garnishment, which at present amounts to 100 percent of the wage income exceeding a defined subsistence level, thus probably destroying incentives to work. According to model simulations, reducing the rate of garnishment is likely to result in an increase of labour supply but a decrease of garnishment revenue per period. Second, the introduction of a debt release as it exists in the United States would have an ambiguous effect on labour supply. While providing debtors with a fresh start, it would result a partial loss for creditors. A Pareto improvement thus does not seem to be possible. When taxpayers as an involved third party are taken into account, however, a potential Pareto improvement appears attainable through debt release.     

Application of the micro-FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and XRF method examination of inks

In routine examination of inks on questioned documents non-destructive analytical methods, such as microscopic and optical techniques are applied first. However, they are often insufficient to identify the inks used for the preparation of the document. In such cases, it is necessary to apply chemical methods that normally cause partial destruction of the examined material. The aim of this work was to evaluate the possibility of discrimination between inks by the use of spectrometric methods, i.e. micro-FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and XRF. About 70 samples of blue and black ballpoint pen and gel inks were examined. It was found that about 90% of the samples of the same type and colour could be distinguished using these methods.     

"Legal highs"-Toxicity in the clinical and medico-legal aspect as exemplified by suicide with bk-MBDB administration

The easily available "legal highs", which are products containing psychoactive substances, such as cathinones, piperazines and synthetic cannabinoids, are abused by adolescents in Poland and in the world as alternatives to classic drugs, such as amphetamines or marijuana. The majority of these potentially dangerous substances are still legal and they are associated with a risk of severe poisoning or even death, and provide new challenges in clinical and forensic toxicological practice. Investigations in the field of "designer drugs" may be well illustrated by the case of a suicide of a 21-year old male who ingested a specified dose of a preparation called "Amphi-bi-a" that contains bk-MBDB, chemically 2-methylamino-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl) butan-1-one, which belongs to the cathinone group, as a synthetic euphoric empathogen and psychoactive stimulant that is chemically similar to MDMA. It is one of more common components of "legal highs" examined in Poland and other countries. The documentation of the case includes a clinical assessment of the patient's health status performed during his almost 4-h hospitalization before death, autopsy and histological examinations supported by toxicological findings revealing bk-MBDB at extremely high concentrations (at 20mg/l in the blood and 33mg/kg in the liver); hence, this body of evidence contributes to knowledge in the field of "designer drugs". Inventions of designers of new psychoactive xenobiotics, which are much in demand, especially in view of the dynamic Internet marketing, which drums up narcobusiness, must be balanced by a national strategy developed by medical, legal and educational circles in the modern civilized world in order to prevent the spreading of the phenomenon.     

Hierarchical,Three‐Dimensional Measurement System for Crime Scene Scanning

We present a new generation of three‐dimensional (3D) measuring systems, developed for the process of crime scene documentation. This measuring system facilitates the preparation of more insightful, complete, and objective documentation for crime scenes. Our system reflects the actual requirements for hierarchical documentation, and it consists of three independent 3D scanners: a laser scanner for overall measurements, a situational structured light scanner for more minute measurements, and a detailed structured light scanner for the most detailed parts of tscene. Each scanner has its own spatial resolution, of 2.0, 0.3, and 0.05 mm, respectively. The results of interviews we have conducted with technicians indicate that our developed 3D measuring system has significant potential to become a useful tool for forensic technicians. To ensure the maximum compatibility of our measuring system with the standards that regulate the documentation process, we have also performed a metrological validation and designated the maximum permissible length measurement error E_MPE for each structured light scanner. In this study, we present additional results regarding documentation processes conducted during crime scene inspections and a training session.     

Old Europe,New Europe and Transatlantic Relations

This article establishes the broader framework for the rest of the volume by addressing the contemporary context of transatlantic relations and secondly by establishing strategic culture as the conceptual tool for the collection. The article takes issue with realist/material explanations of recent transatlantic disputes, as posited, for example, by Rober Kagan, which tend to portray the transatlantic divide as the US on one side and Europe on the other. In fact Europe itself was very much divided over Iraq and the conduct of US foreign policy. Moreover, the sources of this division, manifest vividly in the notion of Old and New Europe, were based on cultural, historical as well as material factors and as such are best understood by invoking the concept of strategic culture.

Thoughtful Europeans know that Europe must unite in some form if it is to play a major role in the long run. They are aware, too, that Europe does not make even approximately the defense effort of which it is capable. But European unity is stymied and domestic politics has almost everywhere dominated security policy. The result is a massive frustration which expresses itself in special testiness toward the United States. (Henry Kissinger, 1969) ¹ 1 Henry A. Kissinger, American Foreign Policy: Three Essays, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1969, p. 69. ¹The author is grateful to several anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on a previous draft.      

North–South,Commemorating the First Brandt Report: searching for the contemporary spatial picture of the global rift

The main purpose of this article is to conduct a concise critical analysis of the division of the world into highly developed countries (the rich North) and underdeveloped countries (the poor South) at the beginning of the 21st century. The criteria used at the end of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries to define the boundary between the highly developed and the underdeveloped world, while valid in the past, are no longer applicable. The new criterion for this boundary is quality of life, which combines the socioeconomic element (constituted by such factors as consumption, level of health care and education) and the political (which is reflected in the degree to which political rights and civil liberties are observed). Therefore, the dividing line between the rich North and the poor South at the beginning of the 21st century differs from the well-known Brandt line.     

‘Third World’: the 60th anniversary of a concept that changed history

The term ‘Third World’ was coined in 1952 by the French scientist Alfred Sauvy. From the start the meaning of both the phrase itself and its geographical reference have been ambiguous. Generally speaking the term has always had both a political and a socioeconomic meaning, even though at first, during the Cold War, the political sense was more widely applied. The term gained popularity quickly and it became one of the most important and expressive concepts of the 20th century. From the very beginning, however, it was strongly criticised. Its critics have pointed out many different problems, which is why some people have argued that the notion of the ‘Third World’ should be abandoned. These voices were particularly widespread after the end of the Cold War. Nevertheless, the concept ‘Third World’ is still valid and it remains one of the most frequently used terms for describing the global South. The factors that made the concept of the ‘Third World’ popular are still valid.     

The Stability of 4-Chloromethcathinone in Blood and Vitreous Humor

We present results of our study on the stability of 4-chloromethcathinone (4-CMC) in authentic postmortem peripheral blood and vitreous humor samples. The stability of 4-CMC was determined in postmortem blood samples (for a period of 90 days) and vitreous humor (30 days) at three different temperatures: −15°C, +4°C, and + 23°C. The analyses were carried out using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS). In both materials, the lowest 4-CMC stability was demonstrated at room temperature. The blood samples stored in a freezer (−15°C) showed stability for the entire study period (90 days), while in the case of the vitreous humor sample stored at the same temperature the concentration of the substance decreased by 53% after 30 days. The study carried out in authentic postmortem blood and vitreous humor samples confirms the previous reports of 4-CMC instability in biological material. Authors suggest that the biological material should be stored frozen until analyses are carried out as soon as possible after collection of the material.     

The birth and development of the language of global development in light of trends in global population,international politics,economics and globalisation

The 1940s saw an intensification of worldwide interest in the problems of development and underdevelopment. One consequence of this was a rapid evolution of the language of global development. The reconstruction of its genesis is most commonly attempted through the analysis of literature on the subject and accounts by those who took part in or observed the debates of the time concerning the world’s development and structure. This article proposes a different approach which locates important events in the evolution of the modern language of global development on timelines tracing populational, political, socio-economic and civilisational processes.