The Effects of E-Government on Trust and Confidence in Government

Trust in government has been declining for more than three decades now. E-government has been proposed as a way to increase citizen trust in government and improve citizen evaluations of government generally. Using two-stage models to analyze recent Pew survey data, this research explores the relationship between e-government use, attitudes about e-government, and trust in government. There is a statistically significant relationship between trust and use of a local government Web site, as well as other positive assessments of federal and local governments. The evidence suggests that e-government can increase process-based trust by improving interactions with citizens and perceptions of responsiveness. The findings are theoretically important for reconciling the conflicting research on the effects of e-government and for understanding variations by level of government. Citizen attitudes toward government, including trust, are core concerns for democratic governance and public administration.     

Do Parenting Behaviors Predict Externalizing Behavior in Adolescence, or Is Attachment the Neglected 3rd Factor?

The aim of this study was to examine the role of attachment in the link between parenting behaviors (including positive parenting and negative control) and problem behaviors during adolescence. Using questionnaires, we examined 511 Flemish, Dutch-speaking adolescents ranging in age from 10 to 18 years. We distinguished 3 age groups (10–12, 13–15, and 16–18 years) and conducted mediation and moderator analyses, using multiple regression analyses. Results showed that attachment towards mother and father mediates between negative control and problem behavior in the 1st 2 age groups. The strength of the link between parenting and problem behavior was less strong in the older age groups, while the strength of the link between attachment and parenting was equally important across age groups. Only in the youngest age group, we found some evidence for a parenting by paternal attachment interaction. These findings suggest the need for tailoring existing preventive parent management trainings: more attention should be paid to improve the quality of parent–child interactions and the forthcoming attachment bonds.

Judicial Performance and the Rule of Law in the Mexican States

What determines how judicial institutions perform? Prominent theoretical approaches, such as international political economy, institutional rational choice, social capital, and structural theories, suggest that international economic actors, political competition, political participation, and poverty may all be important forces driving institutional behavior. This study analyzes these various theoretical approaches and uses qualitative and statistical analysis to compare judicial performance in the Mexican states. It provides evidence to support the institutional rational choice hypothesis that political competition generates judicial independence. Poverty, political participation, and an export‐oriented economy seem to influence judicial access and effectiveness.     

Studies document gender differences in HIV risk and impact

According to new studies, women account for half the new HIV infections in Aboriginal people, and women who inject drugs are at higher risk than their male counterparts.     

The propensity of individuals to deposit DNA and secondary transfer of low level DNA from individuals to inert surfaces

We have shown that there is a difference between individuals in their tendency to deposit DNA on an item when it is touched. While a good DNA shedder may leave behind a full DNA profile immediately after hand washing, poor DNA shedders may only do so when their hands have not been washed for a period of 6h. We have also demonstrated that transfer of DNA from one individual (A) to another (B) and subsequently to an object is possible under specific laboratory conditions using the AMPFISTR SGM Plus multiplex at both 28 and 34 PCR cycles. This is a form of secondary transfer. If a 30 min or 1h delay was introduced before contact of individual B with the object then at 34 cycles a mixture of profiles from both individuals was recovered. We have also determined that the quantity and quality of DNA profiles recovered is dependent upon the particular individuals involved in the transfer process. The findings reported here are preliminary and further investigations are underway in order to further add to understanding of the issues of DNA transfer and persistence.     

Crimmigration at the Local Level: Criminal Justice Processes in the Shadow of Deportation

In recent decades, authorities have adopted a number of programs that tether the criminal and immigration enforcement apparatuses in novel ways. This mixed methods case study assesses the impact of such programs on local criminal justice processes and outcomes in King County, Washington. Although the empirical research on the effects of such programs is scant, the emerging literature on legal hybridity suggests that the enmeshment of the criminal and immigration systems is likely to enhance the state's power to detain and punish. The quantitative results support this hypothesis: non‐citizens flagged by immigration authorities stay in jail significantly longer than their similarly situated counterparts. Qualitative focus group interviews with prosecuting and defense attorneys identify four key mechanisms by which Immigration Customs and Enforcement detainers alter the incentive structure, impact decisionmaking, and extend jail stays for non‐citizens. Together, these findings suggest that immigration law and the threat of deportation now cast a long shadow over local as well as federal criminal proceedings, and enhance penal pain for non‐citizens. Implications of these findings for the “crimmigration” literature and research on the effect of citizenship status on criminal justice outcomes are discussed.     

Off-Label Prescribing by Psychiatrists: What is the Practitioner's Liability?

In psychiatry, the molecules available and the dosages recommended when a drug receives marketing authorization are not always adequate to treat patients with major behavioral disturbances. Off-label prescribing is frequent in this context, with regard to the indications and the dosages given as well as to the drug combinations used. However, if complications or death occur, the practitioner's liability may be engaged. The authors report three deaths attributed to off-label prescribing in psychiatry and which led to charges against the physicians. They review the precautions to be taken when prescribing in such conditions (no other possible treatment, existence of sound scientific evidence, consent obtained from the patient, or their legal representatives except in cases of force majeure) and the physician's liability if adverse events occur that could be attributed to off-label prescribing.     

The Russian Election of 1993: Public Opinion and the Transition Experience

Two British specialists on Russia report the results of a nationwide survey of 2,030 Russian adults, randomly chosen from each of 50 provinces of the Russian Federation. A survey instrument containing 300 questions was administered in face-to-face interviews during summer 1993, and explored attitudes toward the market, privatization, social order, minority rights, and nationalism. Testing three alternative explanations for the results of the December 1993 Russian elections, the authors present a nuanced argument that the Russian public has been drawing negative lessons about market democracy from the transition itself, as experienced since January 1992. A higher voter turnout, they find, would have augmented the strength of anti-government parties and candidates. Journal of Economic literature, Classification Numbers: H19, P29