Conflict resolution: benchmarking water utility performance

The water sector has economic and symbolic importance for citizens in developing countries. Water utility benchmarking is no panacea for improving water sector performance. Nevertheless, it can contribute to addressing four sources of conflict in the design and implementation of policies: cognitive conflicts (based on technical disagreements regarding how data might be analysed and interpreted), interest conflicts (where suppliers and demanders obtain different benefits and costs under alternative policies), values conflicts (involving ideology or personal preferences regarding water sector outcomes) and authority conflicts (stemming from jurisdictional disagreements over who has the last word). These potential sources of conflict characterise most politically‐charged situations, including water supply management. This article examines the extent to which water utility benchmarking facilitates conflict resolution. Without information on historical trends, current baselines and realistic targets, conflicts over reforms to improve sector performance can weaken systems that are already fragile, particularly those in developing countries. This article attempts to improve our understanding of the links between sources of conflict, government approaches for dealing with conflict and the role of water utility benchmarking as a complementary strategy for addressing policy issues. Benchmarking is one way regulators and managers can promote conflict resolution that allows participants to focus on performance. The principles apply to all sectors with significant state oversight. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differential diagnosis of vital and postmortem processes in burn cadavers

After presenting the most important intravitam reactions in 114 burnt corpses of the G?ttingen autopsy material covering the years 1969-83 two cases are described with a) a so called burn haemorrhage in the stomach b) an extremely wide spreading of the upper thighs. Differential diagnosis and forensic significance of these findings according to chemical, histopathological and experimental examinations are discussed.     

Adolescent Victim Types Across the Popularity Status Hierarchy: Differences in Internalizing Symptoms

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Previous studies have called attention to the fact that popular youth are not immune to peer victimization, suggesting there is heterogeneity in the popularity of...     

Pubic bone age estimation in adult women

In recent years, numerous physical anthropologists have pointed out the need for regional standards for estimating age in various world populations. While investigating aging methods for East European populations, dramatic changes were noted in the pubic symphyseal morphology and structure of older adult female individuals. These changes were not captured in the typically used pubic symphysis aging methods. This paper defines and tests the need for a new phase, phase VII, that follows the Suchey-Brooks phase VI. In addition, Suchey-Brooks phases V and VI are redefined. Phase definitions, decision-making rules, and comparison graphics for the new method are presented. Balkan (n = 85) and Eastern Tennessee (n = 104) samples, totaling 189 individuals, were used in the analysis. Pearson correlation coefficients between four observers and a control seriation were strong, indicating ease of replicability between investigators. No statistically significant intra-observer error was detected. Summary statistics show that individuals in phase V were on average in the early 50s, while individuals in phase VI were in their mid 50s to mid 60s, and individuals in phase VII were in their mid 70s. Since linear regression models tend to under-age the elderly and over-age the young, transition analysis, using an unrestricted cumulative probit model, was undertaken to evaluate the phases and to produce point estimates for the ages-at-transition for the Balkan sample. The highest posterior density region point estimates with their associated upper and lower bounds can be used for predicting age for unknown forensic cases related to the Balkan sample. Further, the mean ages and standard deviations for phases V-VII for the Tennessee sample are presented for use in American forensic cases.     

“Nerve” and violent encounters: An assessment of fearlessness in the face of danger

The findings from a large body of research on the ecology of violence indicate that individuals demonstrate a willingness to engage in violence to reduce their risk for violent victimization. Scholars have suggested that a reputation for toughness and aggression acts as an informal signal that deters mistreatment. Anderson (1999), in his street code thesis, in particular, argued that adherence to the street code functions as a signal that reduces violent victimization risk. Other research findings, however, reveal that the street code leads to an increase in victimization risk; moreover, violent offenders are routinely victimized at high rates given their lifestyle and routine activities. The evidence, therefore, does not show support for the position that a reputation for toughness or aggression effectively reduces violent victimization. In the current study, we operationalize the concept of nerve, which findings from criminological studies indicate is an important mechanism for protecting adolescents from victimization. Using data from the second national evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training Program, we test this operationalization of nerve to determine whether the concept is associated with later violent offending and violent victimization in ways consistent with theory and research on the ecology of youth violence. Our results demonstrate support for the notion that nerve is positively associated with violent offending, whereas those at the highest levels of this construct experience fewer violent victimizations.     

Norway,Spitsbergen, and America, 1905-1920

In the Spitsbergen treaty of 1920, Norway acquired sovereignty over the Spitsbergen Islands. Rather than Woodrow Wilson, the American president, the architects behind the treaty were Robert Lansing, Wilson’s secretary of state, and, behind the diplomatic scene, the mining investor, John M. Longyear. In 1906, Longyear established a mining company to exploit the coal deposits at Spitsbergen. He induced Congress, the State Department, and the White House to forge an American policy for the European Arctic, including the appointment of Lansing, an international lawyer, as a counsel in the State Department. Lansing was a leading expert on both international law and the lack of state authority at the terra nullius, Spitsbergen. In 1915, he became secretary of State and, at the Paris Peace Conference, decided American policy regarding the Spitsbergen question. This analysis shows how the outcome of the Spitsbergen question was a result of American mining interests, supplemented by Norwegian-American shared interests in conflict resolution based on international law.     

Evaluating Transport Infrastructure Projects in Low Data Environments: An Application to Nigeria

Transport infrastructure consumes a large fraction of the development assistance envelope. Yet procedures for evaluating transport infrastructure projects are typically ad-hoc. This paper proposes an approach to assess the differential impacts of alternative investment proposals in data constrained environments where conducting reliable impact analyses is difficult. We first demonstrate a technique for estimating the cost of transporting products to markets. We then estimate the impact of improving the road network on economic activity. Finally, we perform simulations to demonstrate a methodology for prioritising alternative investments. The analysis demonstrates a pragmatic, though rigorous, approach for assessing transport infrastructure benefits.     

On Coase and COVID-19

European Journal of Law and Economics - From an epidemiological perspective, the COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis. From an economic perspective, it is an externality and a social cost....