Higher Fines—Fewer Traffic Offences? A Multi-Site Observational Study

Assess the impact of a 100-per cent increase of fines on compliance with speed-limits (50 km/h) and parking regulations in urban areas. Norm violations were measured through standardized observations in all five major cities in Switzerland before and after fines had been raised by 100 % or more at two pre- and two post-intervention periods. The speed of 20,000 cars was measured, and 10,000 parked cars were controlled. Levels of police controls remained stable over the entire period, but enforcement activity varied considerably across cities. Violations of parking regulations decreased by 32 %. Speed-limit violations remained unaffected in the longer run by higher fines. When cities without relevant enforcement activity were excluded, a reduction by 17 % was observed. No causal inferences can be drawn given the absence of a control area. However, the data suggest that higher fines deter traffic violations, provided enforcement activity remains at relevant levels.     

Iran’s Latin America Strategy: 2005 to Present

Iran has expanded its trade relations with Latin America since 2005. Many argue that the reasons for such activities are for financial gain and to bypass the sanctions. This article argues that economic gain are miniscule and that the primary objectives of Iran are two-fold: first, to assist its nuclear program; and second, to develop deterrence against the U.S. possible military option against Iran.     

Regime Instability,Leader's Affiliation,and Organizational Culture: Why Are Military Dictatorships More Likely to Initiate Militarized Interstate Disputes? An Empirical Analysis, 1975–2006

Prior studies find that military dictatorships display a high propensity to initiate militarized interstate disputes (MIDs). Yet, there is little agreement on which feature of military regimes can best explain this behavior. This article distinguishes between three potential causes: coup risk, the dictator's affiliation with the military, and the military's influence on politics. Using recent data on authoritarian regimes, I find that, whereas coup risk is a strong predictor of conflict initiation, the dictator's affiliation does not affect his foreign policy. Furthermore, I find tentative evidence that the military's influence on domestic politics has a negative effect on MID initiation. These findings thus challenge the view that military regimes' foreign policy is due to the military's organizational culture: the relationship between military regimes and dispute initiation seems to be due to factors that simply happen to add up in military autocracies but are essentially unrelated to regime type.     

How Do Adolescents Manage Information in the Relationship with Their Parents? A Latent Class Analysis of Disclosure,Keeping Secrets,and Lying

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - The use of disclosure and concealment strategies by adolescents in the relationship with their parents may have important implications for their adjustment. Few...     

Advantage of ForensiX Swabs in Retrieving and Preserving Biological Fluids

This study compares two novel swabs (forensiX) with a standard cotton swab (EUROTUBE) for the collection of saliva stains on glass slide for STR analysis. ForensiX collection tubes are a standard cotton swab in an “active drying” tube, where swab sample is soon dried by its innovative tube surface of the wall. The other is forensiX Nylon Flocked Swab. The study is two phases: The first “phase” assesses swab types regarding to retrieve ability of saliva. The second “phase” compares the drying ability of each swab to assess how crime samples would fare when left in storage. The main result showed that “active drying” is effective to store swabbed sample. The forensiX swabs generally are effective for higher (twofold to fourfold) DNA yield compared to delta lab swab (around 750 pg and 250 pg from 0.5 μL of saliva), respectively. These findings demonstrate the importance of drying performance in the preservation of DNA and swab selection.     

Attheraces v British Horseracing Board: What price abuse of dominance?

Legal context: This article concerns the interplay between the competitionrules (abuse of dominance) and intellectual property; the extentto which dominant companies are free to set the price for accessto their IP; and excessive and discriminatory pricing. Key points: The Court of Appeal of England and Wales held that the BritishHorseracing Board (BHB) had not breached the competition rules.It overturned the High Court's decision that the BHB had chargedexcessive prices for access to its database of information.The Court of Appeal found that in determining whether a priceis excessive (and therefore a breach of competition law), itis not sufficient to look only at the level of the dominantcompany's return on its costs. This ‘cost +’ assessmentis only one element of the analysis which must be carried out. Practical significance: This case is apparently good news for IP owners, as it suggeststhat the legal test for showing excessive pricing is very high.However, the case also suggests that bringing a private actionto enforce the competition rules will remain extremely difficult.This may have a chilling effect on the development of the lawand in some cases may be to the public's detriment.