Triallelic patterns in STR loci used for paternity analysis: evidence for a duplication in chromosome 2 containing the TPOX STR locus

We report triallelic patterns in several short tandem repeat (STR) loci revealed by routine paternity testing using the commercial AMPFlSTR Profiler and AMPFlSTR SGMplus kits. One case where the TPOX-locus (2p25.3) produced three peaks from the blood sample of a child was analysed further. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) and STR typing of the DNAs of the family trio revealed a large (>1.59 Mb) duplication flanking the TPOX-locus in chromosome 2 in both the mother and child. The implications of such genetic anomalies for paternity testing are discussed.     

The potential for the growth of organized crime in Central and Eastern Europe

Conclusions There is a clear potential for growth in organized crime in Central and Eastern Europe. The criminal justice system in most countries in the region is undergoing a crisis in morale, resources and direction, sapping its possibility to respond effectively. One of the fears in Western Europe is that organized crime will begin to cross the borders from the East. So far, this appears to have occurred only on a small scale, primarily in connection with organized theft, drug-trafficking and the illegal sale of firearms. The slow pace of this development may be due to the lack of suitable international contacts, and to the fact that sufficient profits appear to be available in the domestic market. Furthermore, operating in the West has drawbacks and dangers: it is more expensive, there may be competition from local organized crime, and the police may be more efficient.The danger posed by organized crime in Central and Eastern Europe nonetheless remains, both to the countries themselves and to the West. This has already been recognized, as shown by the growing network of bilateral and multilateral agreements, as well as by the strengthening of informal contacts among the police. Many Western European countries are providing technical assistance to Central and Eastern Europe in the form of training, consultation and the exchange of information. Sadly, organized crime control even in the West has lagged behind organized crime; both East and West have a long way to go.Director of the Helsinki Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations (Heuni), Turunlinnantie 8, Helsinki, Finland. Parts of this article have previously appeared inCriminal Justice International (vol. 9, no. 2, 1993, pp. 11–18).     

‘Wrong Persons-Are Making Right Decisions without Hearing Us’: Political Trust,Responsiveness of Politicians and Satisfaction with Governmental Policies in Finland*

That low trust in politicians in general endangers the political stability of a democratic political system is conventional wisdom even within the political science community. It is the purpose of the article to challenge this notion. It is claimed that, on the contrary, distrust of politicians in general may just be evidence of healthy scepticism. It should, on the other hand, be clear that high trust in politicians in general may also endanger the stability of a political system, even the whole existence of the democratic order. Total faith is blind faith. The main argument of the paper is supported with empirical evidence From Gallup polls in Finland (1974–1984), which show, among other things, that the overall satisfaction with governmental policies has been exceptionally high in our country.     

Experiencing violence in a cross-media environment: an interdisciplinary focus group study

Due to drastic changes in the contemporary media environment, criminology needs to examine how the experience of violence is shaped by the emerging cross-media context. We conducted a qualitative focus group study (N = 24) to explore conversations about mediated violence experiences and crime media literacy in Finland, which manifests as an advanced state of cross-media transformation. We found that the cross-media context affects how information on violence and crime is received, as people combine and contrast bits of information from traditional media, social media, alternative media, and direct personal and local knowledge. This constellation of information sources is a fertile ground for distrust, as people challenge the self-regulatory limits of ‘old media’ in reporting on crime and construe such limits as ‘downplaying’ violence. Consistent with the general ‘media-critical’ frame of mind, the interviewees saw crime news media as fear-inducing. Through a focus group of older participants (in addition to three groups of younger participants), we observed generational differences that reflect the dimension of change from the old monolithic media environment to the cross-media context. The new context blurs the distinction between media content and social network-based reception and is thus a game changer for media criminology.     

Finnish guidelines for workplace drug testing

The Finnish guidelines for workplace drug testing outlined here represent what is considered the best practice for workplace drug testing to be followed in Finland. The guidelines are based on the act on the protection of privacy in working life (759/2004), the occupational health care act (1383/2001) and the decree on workplace drug testing (218/2005). They start by defining situations in which workplace testing is allowed and continue up to the point where the certificate is submitted to the employer. The role of the occupational health care system is crucial in the procedure. The guidelines include the best practice procedures to be followed by laboratories providing workplace drug testing services. The laboratory recommendations are based on general principles established internationally. In the Finnish guidelines, accreditation is an absolute prerequisite for a laboratory functioning as a workplace drug testing laboratory. The laboratory section of the guidelines includes specimen collection, laboratory organisation, analysis procedure, quality assurance and quality control measures. These largely conform to the European laboratory guidelines for legally defensible workplace drug testing published by the European workplace drug testing society (EWDTS), but there are differences. In addition to using urine as a specimen, the Finnish guidelines also encompass blood.     

Role of occupational health services in workplace drug testing

In Finland, workplace drug testing is mainly performed in accordance with the Act on the Protection of Privacy in Working Life (759/2004), (http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/2004/20040759) [1], the Occupational Health Care Act (1383/2001), (http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/2001/20011383) [2] and the Decree on Workplace Drug Testing (218/2005) [3]. The role of occupational health services is stated in the Occupational Health Care Act. All workplace drug tests are carried out by health services according to good occupational health care practice. A referral for a drug test is given by a physician or a nurse working in health care services. When giving the referral, the physician or nurse should inform the person to be tested of the purpose and content of the test, record any medication they may be using, and make sure they are aware that they can later dispute the result of the test. The identity of the person should be checked before taking a sample. The analysis laboratory sends the result of the drug test to the health care service unit that has given the referral. If the test result is positive, the laboratory gives a detailed analysis of the test result. The health care service personnel provide the testee with the result. If it is negative, it may be given by a nurse. When the test result is positive, a Medical Review Officer (MRO) should interpret the answer and evaluate whether the positive result is due to medication, or another reasonable explanation offered by the person tested. The MRO informs the person of the options of rehabilitation treatment available to drug abusers stated in the written drug testing policy/programme of the employer/company. The testee takes the test result report to his/her employer personally.     

How to Measure the Europeanisation of a National Legislature?

While there is no shortage of research on national parliaments and European integration, empirical studies on the impact of EU on domestic legislatures are lacking. This article contributes to the literature by discussing the challenges involved in measuring the Europeanisation of national parliaments and through suggesting several hypotheses and indicators – EU-related national laws, the use of control instruments (confidence votes and parliamentary questions) in EU matters, and the share of committee, plenary and party group meeting time spent on European matters – that can be used in subsequent comparative research. Evidence from Finland shows the differentiated impact of Europe: while the share of domestic laws related to EU is smaller than often argued, particularly committees are burdened to a much larger extent by European matters.     

Family systems in central Russia in the 1830s and 1890s

Czap, Moon, and Mironov have suggested that two regional models for the rural family existed side by side in 19th-century Russia. This article approaches the question by examining the rural family as a statistically describable system occurring in a given economic and institutional context. The material applies to 8 local communities representing central Russia in the 1830s and 11 in the 1890s, the majority being the same communities in both cases. The aim is to determine from the household arrangements, economies, and institutional frameworks of these communities the kind of context in which a certain family system occurred. By relating these conclusions to data on the economic circumstances and social structures of the different parts of central Russia, two regional family systems are identified. Czap's “Eastern European family type” predominated in this area in the 1830s. Because the reforms and reorientation of economic activities in the 1860s brought about changes in household arrangements, however, a pattern characteristic of communities with a substantial degree of social stratification became the norm for most of the area.     

Peasant and hunter households in Oulanka,northern Russia, 1710–1910

This article examines the family system prevailing among the population of a parish in the subarctic zone of northern Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries. At the beginning of the period, the Oulanka area was occupied by Lapps, who lived chiefly by hunting, and Karelians engaged in agriculture. Although the Lapps later reverted to a more permanent way of life, the area still possessed two distinct communities with differences in their economies. This research relies on demographic sources such as taxation records, nominal censuses, and parish confessional lists.

A high proportion of large, complex households was typical of the population of the area throughout the period studied. The shaping of the family system was crucially affected by the desire of the inhabitants to ensure the vitality of their households by pursuing several labor-intensive forms of economic activity simultaneously. Although the inhabitants were not serfs, their choice of the optimal ways of organizing their lives in different situations was to a great extent determined by the obligations placed upon them by the government. The similarities between the family system prevailing in Oulanka in the 19th century and that observed in ethnic Russians in general are presumably attributable to the fact that both populations came under the same judicial system.     

Book reviews

Elites, Parties and Democracy: Festschrift for Professor Mogens N. Pedersen edited by Erik Beukel, Kurt Klaudi Klausen and Poul Erik Mouritzen. Odense: Odense University Press, 1999. Pp.xii + 341. DKK 350 hb ISBN 87 7838 506 7.

Horses in Midstream: U.S. Midterm Elections and their Consequences 1894–1998 by Andrew E. Busch. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburg Press, 1999. Pp.ix + 254. $45 hb ISBN 0 8229 4105 8; $19.95 pb ISBN 0 8229 5705 1.

Race, Redistricting, and Representation: The Unintended Consequences of Black Majority Districts by David T. Canon. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1999. Pp.xiv + 324. £35 hb ISBN 0 226 09270 4, £13 pb ISBN 0 226 09271 2.

Rulemaking: How Government Agencies Write Law and Make Policy by Cornelius M. Kerwin. Washington DC: CQ Press, 1998 Second Edition. Pp.x + 294. $28.95 pb. ISBN 156802 418 5.

The Republican Takeover of Congress edited by Dean McSweeney and John E. Owens. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1998. Pp.xii + 202. £42.50 hb ISBN 0 333 66965 7.

When Women Lead: Integrative Leadership in State Legislatures by Cindy Simon Rosenthal. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Pp.xiv + 240. £35 hb ISBN 0 19 511540 6.

Reforming the House of Lords: Lessons from Overseas by Meg Russell. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Pp.xi + 368. £18.99 hb ISBN 0 19 829831 5.

EU Committees as Influential Policymakers edited by M.P.C.M. Van Schendelen. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998. Pp.xiv + 294 £42.50 hb ISBN 1 84014 724 5.

The Dignity of Legislation by Jeremy Waldron. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Pp.xiii + 206. £35 hb ISBN 0 521 65092 5, £12.95 pb ISBN 0 521 65883 7.