The Push and Pull of Ministerial Resignations in Germany, 1969–2005

When and why are cabinet ministers forced out of office? We argue that ministerial resignations cannot be understood as mechanistic consequences of serious personal or departmental errors as the classical responsibility hypothesis implies. Rather, they follow a systematic political logic. Cabinet ministers have to resign whenever the prime minister perceives the political costs of a minister staying in office to be higher than the benefits of keeping the status quo. We test this argument with resignation events in Germany in the period 1969 to 2005. Based on detailed data collection, we find 111 resignation events, i.e. serious public discussions about a cabinet minister's future, 14 of which ended in resignation. These data are analysed employing statistical as well as Qualitative Comparative Analysis based on Boolean algebra to detect patterns of ministerial resignations.     

Navigating the System: A How-To Guide for Implementing a Kinship Navigator Program

This article describes key programmatic and evaluation elements that guided the implementation of the San Diego County YMCA Kinship Navigator Program. A 3-year demonstration project funded by the Administration on Children Youth and Families designed to build a regional navigator system in collaboration with the local child welfare agency to support kinship caregivers. Kinship caregivers (relatives and non-relatives) play a significant role in the well-being of the children in their care. The findings suggest that successfully implemented kinship navigator models are a viable preventive intervention for addressing the needs of kinship families.     

Evaluating the Potential for Unintentional Occupational Exposure to Fentanyl and Fentanyl Analogues Among Medicolegal Death Investigators and Autopsy Technicians

Recent increases in deaths in the United States from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and fentanyl analogues (fentanyls) have raised concerns about possible occupational exposures to these potent agents. Medicolegal death investigators and autopsy suite staff might perform job tasks involving exposure to fentanyls. The potential for exposure to fentanyls among medicolegal death investigators and autopsy technicians at a state medical examiner's office was evaluated through review of caseload characteristics, injury and illness logs, and procedures and policies and discussions with management and employee representatives. The evaluation showed that this medical examiner's office had low potential for work-related exposure to fentanyls; its standard operating procedures and personal protective equipment requirements should reduce the potential for occupational exposure. Medicolegal death investigation agencies can develop and implement guidance to control exposures and provide workforce education and training to reduce the potential for work-related exposure to fentanyls.     

For Health,Strength, and Daily Food: The Dual Impact of Remittances and Public Health Expenditure on Household Health Spending and Child Health Outcomes

Abstract

Child and infant mortality in developing countries decreased 33.5 per cent and 30.9 per cent, respectively, during 1995–2009, while remittances and public health spending more than doubled. I examine how remittances and government health spending improve these child health outcomes. Neither government health spending nor remittances causally affect household health spending. Public health spending has an insignificant negative impact on mortality. The increase in remittances causally accounts for 32 per cent and 37 per cent of the decline in child and infant mortality, respectively. Remittances reduce mortality through improved living standards from the relaxation of households’ budget constraints.     

Die zivilrechtliche Haftung für Grenzbäume – geklärte und ungeklärte Fragen

Natur und Recht - Grenzbäume werfen in der Praxis immer wieder verschiedene Rechtsfragen auf. Sie können durch Überwuchs störende Wirkungen auf Nachbargrundstücke haben....     

Distribution of textile fibers in the path of a bullet

Twenty-one blocks consisting of 20% gelatin were fired at using firearms of the long rifle caliber .22 and .357 Magnum. The frontal area of these blocks was prepared with textile coverings marked with technetium 99m. Two gunshot series of each type were fired at summer, interseasonal, and winter clothing, using different ammunition. The radioactivity of the bombarded blocks was measured by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The results of these gun shot series were presented graphically and compared. Initially (at 2 cm depth), high radioactivity is always detected, which among other things is caused by the defilement of the bullet's surface when shot through the textile covering marked by technetium. The higher radioactivity in the middle and deeper block areas is the result of fiber infiltration. Accordingly, there are greater fiber accumulations in the middle and deeper areas of the path of the bullet. This is the case mainly in thinner clothing (summer). Heavier clothing (autumn, winter) presents a greater obstacle for bullets with greater impact as well. Here, only projectiles having a lesser tendency to deform, as well as a high impact, transport a considerable proportion of textile fibers into the deeper parts of the blocks.