Revitalizing inner‐city neighborhoods: New York city's Ten‐Year Plan

Abstract

This article examines the impact of New York City's Ten‐Year Plan on the sale prices of homes in surrounding neighborhoods. Beginning in the mid‐1980s, New York City invested $5.1 billion in constructing or rehabilitating over 180,000 units of housing in many of the city's most distressed neighborhoods. One of the main purposes was to spur neighborhood revitalization.

In this article, we describe the origins of the Ten‐Year Plan, as well as the various programs the city used to implement it, and estimate whether housing built or rehabilitated under the Ten‐Year Plan affected the prices of nearby homes. The prices of homes within 500 feet of Ten‐Year Plan units rose relative to those located beyond 500 feet, but still within the same census tract. These findings are consistent with the proposition that well‐planned project‐based housing programs can generate positive spillover effects and contribute to efforts to revitalize inner‐city neighborhoods.     

Political citizenship and local political participation for disabled people

The theme of this article is political citizenship among people with disabilities. Political citizenship on the basis of gender and ethnicity has received attention internationally. However, there has been little attention on political citizenship of persons with disabilities. The article sheds light on political representation at the local level in Norway. The data used are from a survey sent to 767 political representatives in local politics and 50 administrative representatives. Our study shows that disabled people are under-represented in local political assemblies, and thus, their political citizenship is not fully acknowledged. We apply Fraser (N. Fraser, 1997. Justice Interruptus. Critical Reflections on the ‘Postsocialist’ Condition. New York and London: Routledge) concepts of redistribution and recognition to analyse the lack of representation of disabled people. According to the dimension of redistribution, the analysis shows that neither the physical conditions nor the organization of the different meetings is particularly well adapted for disabled people. The dimension of recognition shows that disabled representatives are expected to be more occupied with issues concerning disability than other representatives. The analysis also shows that over time it has become more important for elected disabled representatives to put issues concerning disability on the agenda.     

More than Risk? Longitudinal Changes in Friendship Support with Serious Adolescent Offenders

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Research on the friendships of adolescents who offend has overwhelmingly focused on delinquency, despite developmental evidence that friendships are a large...     

Gleichzeitiger Widerruf der bedingten Entlassung und des bedingt nachgesehenen Strafteils

Im Fall einer bedingten Entlassung aus mehreren Strafen, Strafteilen oder Strafresten bezieht sich die Anordnung des § 53 Abs 1 zweiter Satz StGB ausschlie?lich auf den Teil der bedingten Entlassung, der den unbedingten Strafteil einer teilbedingten Freiheitsstrafe betrifft, bewirkt aber nicht, dass ein Widerruf der bedingten Entlassung in Bezug auf weitere von ihr umfasste Strafen ebenfalls von der Frage des Widerrufs des ursprünglich bedingt nachgesehenen Teils der teilbedingten Freiheitsstrafe abh?ngt.     

Research potential and limitations of trace analyses of cremated remains

Human cremation is a common funeral practice all over the world and will presumably become an even more popular choice for interment in the future. Mainly for purposes of identification, there is presently a growing need to perform trace analyses such as DNA or stable isotope analyses on human remains after cremation in order to clarify pending questions in civil or criminal court cases. The aim of this study was to experimentally test the potential and limitations of DNA and stable isotope analyses when conducted on cremated remains.For this purpose, tibiae from modern cattle were experimentally cremated by incinerating the bones in increments of 100 °C until a maximum of 1000 °C was reached. In addition, cremated human remains were collected from a modern crematory. The samples were investigated to determine level of DNA preservation and stable isotope values (C and N in collagen, C and O in the structural carbonate, and Sr in apatite). Furthermore, we assessed the integrity of microstructural organization, appearance under UV-light, collagen content, as well as the mineral and crystalline organization. This was conducted in order to provide a general background with which to explain observed changes in the trace analyses data sets. The goal is to develop an efficacious screening method for determining at which degree of burning bone still retains its original biological signals. We found that stable isotope analysis of the tested light elements in bone is only possible up to a heat exposure of 300 °C while the isotopic signal from strontium remains unaltered even in bones exposed to very high temperatures. DNA-analyses seem theoretically possible up to a heat exposure of 600 °C but can not be advised in every case because of the increased risk of contamination. While the macroscopic colour and UV-fluorescence of cremated bone give hints to temperature exposure of the bone's outer surface, its histological appearance can be used as a reliable indicator for the assessment of the overall degree of burning.     

Forensic cases involving the use of GHB in The Netherlands

In this study, forensic cases involving the use of Gamma Hydroxy Butyric acid (GHB) from the second half of 1999 through the second half of 2001 in The Netherlands (blood >5mg/l and urine >10mg/l) are described. GHB was analysed by GC-MS after lactone formation and using GHB-d6 as internal standard. The results are divided into three groups: cases of chemical submission, cases of driving under the influence and cases of unknown causes of death.GHB was found in six cases of possible chemical submission. In these cases, relatively low concentrations of GHB were found. The results show that in cases of chemical submission, urine should be analyzed, because GHB is present longer in urine than in blood. The police should collect the samples in containers that do not contain citrate as anticoagulant. Especially at low levels of GHB, the formation of GHB in these tubes hampers an interpretation of the results.GHB was found in 13 cases of driving under the influence. In contrast to the cases of chemical submission, high concentrations of GHB were found, corresponding with observations of extreme sleepiness or temporary loss of consciousness.GHB was found in 16 cases of unexplained death: the measured range of GHB concentrations in blood might correspond to effects such as drowsiness, but not to serious toxicity of GHB. In 4 of these 16 cases, the role of GHB could be excluded. In the remaining cases, the role of GHB remains unclear; more research into "background" concentrations of GHB in post-mortem material is required.The incidence of the use of GHB in The Netherlands cannot be derived from these toxicological data. As GHB is not routinely found during systematical toxicological analyses, these data may seriously underestimate the use of GHB. Therefore, information from the police to the forensic institute is essential.