Performance Measurement in Italian and Spanish Local Governments: Comparative Policy Analysis

NPM reforms have become a global trend and performance management systems are considered suitable to enhance the decision-making process and accountability. The aim of the paper is to carry out a comparative study on the adoption of performance measurement tools in Italian and Spanish (medium-sized and large) local governments. It seeks to find out how widespread these tools are and how their usefulness is perceived. The results show differences between the two countries and that the presence of professional managers – experienced with performance measurement tools – positively affects the adoption of these tools. Moreover, performance measurement tools are perceived as a support for accountability purposes.     

Understanding EU crisis diplomacy in the European neighbourhood: strategic narratives and perceptions of the EU in Ukraine,Israel and Palestine

ABSTRACT

This Special Issue seeks to better understand the role of communication and perception in EU crisis diplomacy. In a recent Special Issue in this journal, Catarina Kinnvall, Ian Manners and Jennifer Mitzen argue that, “?…?the greatest security challenge facing people across Europe is not physical, despite the threats of Putin and ISIS, but is a sense of fear and anxiety over their daily lives” [2018. Introduction to 2018 Special Issue of European Security: “Ontological (in)security in the European Union”. European security, 27 (3), 249–265]. We take an interdisciplinary approach to widen the scope of studies on European security and offer new avenues for further research into how citizens in the EU’s neighbourhood understand the security challenges they face and the role the EU plays in addressing these. Through this, we aim to bring theoretical and methodological innovation to understanding the role of the EU as an external actor.     

'To move or not to move': Reflections on the resettlement of artisanal miners in the Western Region of Ghana

This article critically reflects upon the shortcomings of the‘Prestea Action Plan’, an ambitious initiative undertakento facilitate the resettlement of artisanal miners operatingin the Western Region of Ghana. The aim of the exercise wasto identify viable areas for the thousands of operators whowere working illegally in the town of Prestea, an area underconcession to the US-based multinational, Golden Star ResourcesLtd. At the time of its launch, it was one of the few supportinitiatives to target artisanal miners, whose claims to landare generally not recognized by governments. It was a particularlysignificant exercise in Ghana because it suggested that theauthorities, who traditionally have exercised a policy of non-negotiationwith such groups, had finally recognized that dialogue was neededif the growing rift between the country's indigenous artisanalminers, foreign mining companies and government bodies was tobe bridged. It soon emerged, however, that despite its commendablepolicy objectives, the Plan was fundamentally flawed—problemswhich would undermine the entire exercise.     

Does Diversity Erode Social Cohesion? Social Capital and Race in British Neighbourhoods

The debate on causes and consequences of social capital has recently been complemented by an investigation into factors that erode it. Various scholars concluded that diversity, and racial heterogeneity in particular, is damaging for the sense of community, interpersonal trust and formal and informal interactions. However, most of this research does not adequately account for the negative effect of a community's low socio-economic status on neighbourhood interactions and attitudes. This article is to date the first empirical examination of the impact of racial context on various dimensions of social capital in British neighbourhoods. Findings show that low neighbourhood status is the key element undermining all dimensions of social capital, while the eroding effect of racial diversity is limited.     

The analysis of biological samples from crime scene for a future human DNA profile confrontation. Effects of presumptive test reagents on the ability to obtain STR profiles for human identification

Because of the increase of evidence of blood stains, that have been washed or cleaned in an attempt to mask the analysis of DNA profiles, there is also an increase in the use of presumptive tests on samples sent to laboratories. Some of the presumptive tests, used to identify blood and semen stains, could potentially affect the recovery of high molecular weight DNA from the samples, or extinguish them, especially those already present in small quantities. After the presumptive tests, often these samples are discarded. This study aimed to examine the possibility of obtaining a DNA profile from samples submitted for presumptive testing and cleaned with bleaches with and without chlorine. Two different protocols were conducted: (a) A unique sample of human blood in natura (5 μL), already typed through the DNA techniques with the genetic profile previously known (control), was distributed onto cotton fabrics and dried at room temperature. Four samples of fabric were macerated in saline solution and Coombs serum and then stored for three months (room temperature and freezer −20 °C). (b) Another sample of human blood, type A, in natura, already typed through the techniques of DNA (control) was used. Aliquots of 200 μL were distributed in: cotton, denim and synthetic fabric. The samples were dried at room temperature for 24 h. The blood stains in those fabrics (cotton, denim and synthetic) were then divided into three groups: unwashed, cleaned with chlorine bleach and cleaned with chlorine bleach and soap powder. The samples were again dried at room temperature for 24 h, before the use of luminol. The DNA were extracted with Chelex 100 and amplified with the Identifiler Kit (Applied Biosystems). The blood stains exposed to saline and Coombs serum had DNA profiles consistent with untreated samples (controls). This result shows that the experts should keep and store the samples treated with saline and Coombs serum for future DNA confrontation when necessary. Also discussed in this paper the pattern of blood stains after washing with bleaching solutions, as well as the quantity of DNA obtained from these samples.     

Substitution of human for horse urine disproves an accusation of doping*

In order to detect switching and/or manipulation of samples, the owner of a stallion asked our lab to perform a DNA test on a positive doping urine sample. The objective was to compare the urine DNA profile versus blood and hair DNA profiles from the same stallion. At first, 10 microsatellite markers were investigated to determine the horse identity. No results were obtained when horse specific markers were typed in the urine sample. In order to confirm the species origin of this sample we analyzed the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. This analysis from blood and hair samples produced reproducible and clear PCR-RFLP patterns and DNA sequence match with those expected for horse, while the urine sample results were coincident with human. These results allowed us to exclude the urine sample from the questioned stallion and determine its human species origin, confirming the manipulation of urine sample.     

Investigating the Roots of Civic Morality: Trust, Social Capital, and Institutional Performance

In the last decade considerable research in social sciences has focused on interpersonal trust, treating it as a remedy for most maladies modern democracies suffer from. Yet, if others act dishonestly, trust is turned into gullibility, thus mechanisms linking interpersonal trust with institutional success refer implicitly to honesty and civic morality. This paper investigates the roots of civic morality. It applies hierarchical models to data from 38 countries, and tests the individual, community and structural explanatory factors. The results of the analysis point to the relevance of an institutional dimension, both in the form of individuals’ perceptions as well as the quality of governance: confidence in political institutions and their objective quality are the strongest predictors of civic morality. At the same time, the findings show that the recently popular claims about the importance of social capital for citizens’ moral standards are largely unfounded.

Discrepancies in Death Certificates,Public Health Registries,and Judicial Determinations in Italy

The death certificate is mandated by civil law and serves as a medical‐scientific document useful for biostatistics and epidemiological research. For a variety of reasons, death certificates can be misclassified. We reviewed data from self‐inflicted deaths collected over an 8‐year period by the Forensic Institute of the University Sacro Cuore of Rome (Italy). Four hundred and thirty‐five of 2904 were classified as self‐inflicted deaths (15%). The comparison with death certificates processed by the local public health authority (ASL) and by the Italian National Census Bureau (Istat) and with the judicial investigation results available in the Italian Penal Court archive shows some discrepancies. One‐hundred and twenty‐four of 435 deaths were not considered to be self‐inflicted but due to a crime (29% overrecording suicide) with a higher reduction for women, suggesting that it is easier to confuse a murder for suicide in female cases. Any discrepancies between the mortality and crime data are discussed in details.     

The Belarusian Orthodox Church in the Shadow of the State

The Orthodox Church in Belarus tries to speak out in support of the state and at the same time uphold its own values. It can be effective in upholding its own values only if it participates in public dialogue.