Addressing urban poverty: Increasing incomes,reducing costs,and securing representation

The paper considers the effectiveness of different strategies used in urban areas by development agencies to reduce poverty, including the relative merits of income generation and housing and neighbourhood improvement. Drawing on the findings of recent case studies, it suggests that the advantages of housing and neighbourhood improvements may have been underestimated, and that too little attention has been given to integrating housing and neighbourhood improvement with income generation.     

Dwarfs in international negotiations: how small states make their voices heard

Students of international relations interested in cooperation through international regimes and organizations very often devote their attention to the role of a few big states rather than the numerous small ones. Small states tend to possess fewer administrative and financial resources back home as well as smaller and less well-equipped delegations at the international negotiation table than big states. This can easily translate into difficulties in preparing positions for all items on the negotiation agenda and in developing negotiation strategies in great detail, which might inhibit small states from successfully influencing negotiation outcomes. Yet, since international negotiation often rest on a one-state, one-vote principle and since small states can adjust priorities and redirect their limited capacities, there is a window of opportunity for small states to turn into important international actors and achieve significant outcomes in international affairs. In order to systematically shed light on the role of small states in international negotiations, this article outlines the conceptual framework to answer the following question: How, and under which conditions, can small states successfully punch above their weight in international negotiations?     

Deficits in Behavioral Inhibition Predict Treatment Engagement in Prison Inmates

Many inmates do not respond favorably to standard treatments routinely offered in prison. Executive cognitive functioning and emotional regulation may play a key role in treatment responsivity. During intake into treatment, inmates (N = 224) were evaluated for executive functioning, emotional perception, stress reactivity (salivary cortisol), IQ, psychological and behavioral traits, prior drug use, child and family background, and criminal histories and institutional behavior. Outcome measures included program completion, treatment readiness, responsivity and gain, and the Novaco Reaction to Provocation Questionnaire. Relative deficits in behavioral inhibition significantly predicted treatment outcomes, more so than background, psychological, or behavioral variables, and other neurocognitive and emotional regulatory measures. Future replications of these results have potential to improve assessment and treatment of offenders who are otherwise intractable.     

Chechnya's Right of Secession under Russian Constitutional Law

This article was written in a period of time when the escalationof the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus and particularlyin Chechnya reached the zenith of violence and unpardonablehuman slaughter.¹ Although contemporary international law doesnot accept the separatist movement's claims to create its ownstatehood, we have to look at the constitutional proceduresfor the modifications of the Fundamental Law of the RussianFederation: At the same time, the political situation afterthe dissolution of the former Soviet Union, the strong presidentialpowers in the constitutional hierarchy of executive organs,and the evident tensions between them and the Russian constitutionaltraditions have to be taken into account. The ambiguous and complicated character of the Chechen conflictis due to the fact that the Russian Federation has tried tokeep this conflict from the attention of the international communityby claiming that the Russian-Chechen conflict is an entirelyinternal matter. It is doubtful in this case if the Russianleadership, who have continued their tough policy, will finda peaceful solution to the almost ten-year armed conflict inthe region. Footnotes ^*LLM, Sofia University "Saint Kliment Ohridski", Faculty ofLaw.     

A validation study for duct tape end matches

Fracture matches are considered to be the strongest association achievable in forensic examinations of glass, metal, wood, plastic, paint, tape, and other trace evidence. Despite being fairly routine examinations, few publications exist to support their admissibility in court. This study was designed, using duct tape as the fractured medium, to determine the validity and error rate associated with conducting end match (fracture match) examinations on this material. Five test designs, which varied either the source roll of tape or manner of separation (torn or cut) from the roll, were administered to four analysts with instructions to examine the assigned test sets for end matches. If an end match was not identified by the initial analyst, the entire test set was independently evaluated by the remaining three analysts. Results indicated that while tape grade did not hinder end match identification, the manner of separation could affect results.