Assessing the impact of a corporate headquarters relocation in a metropolitan region: the case of J.C. Penney

The objective of this paper is to analyze the impact resulting from the recent move of the J. C. Penney Corporation to the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and the resulting implications of this move on the local communities. This impact is analyzed in a spatially disaggregated manner to identify the location of the impact inside the area, particularly in regard to location of generated service employment and population, and the fiscal effects that they will have in the cities and counties of the region. The metropolitan area is divided into several hundred appropriate geographical zones, and the impacts are studied for these zones. Such disaggregated studies, as opposed to conventional total impact studies, would be more helpful to public and private sectors in their decision making process in regard to developmental issues. Furthermore, the fiscal effects of such development on the regional municipalities also will be studied.     

Characteristics of Medical Examiner/Coroner Offices Accredited by the National Association of Medical Examiners

The National Association of Medical Examiners accredits medical examiner and coroner offices. Approximately 60 offices were fully or provisionally accredited as of late 2011, and these offices serve one‐quarter of the U.S. population. The calculated average population served was 1.6M but ranged from 0.3 to 10.5M. The calculated mean death rate was 794 deaths/100K population, and the mean homicide rate was 7.2 homicides/100K population. The calculated mean budget was $4.35M, but budgets ranged from $0.67 to $26.8M. The calculated mean budget/capita was $3.02 but ranged from $0.62 to $10.22. The average size of the facility was under 30,000 sq. ft. The calculated average staffing was found to include five forensic pathologists, four and a half autopsy technicians, and nine investigators. The mean forensic pathologists/1M population was 3.7. Calculated workload indices included 222 autopsies/pathologist and an autopsy rate of 77.6/100K population. These results show that offices of every size can achieve accreditation.     

Terrorism in Colombia: Logic and Sources of a Multidimensional and Ubiquitous Phenomenon

This article examines contemporary uses of terrorism in Colombia. Combining an historical analysis with the most complete database available on political violence, we illustrate how terrorism in Colombia constitutes a specific strategy that can be distinguished from other manifestations of violence. We argue that Colombia's non-state armed groups have turned terrorism into a pivotal element of their repertoires of action. These parties have not only increased their reliance on this strategy and introduced more refined forms such as de-territorialized terrorism, but also have specialized in particular terrorist attacks that suit their general objectives. While paramilitary groups rely mostly on massacres and forced disappearance, guerrillas concentrate on agitational terrorism including kidnappings and indiscriminate bombings.     

Reflections on the anticipated mass deportation of Soviet Jews

Abstract

This paper investigates questions surrounding a purported plan (believed to have been interrupted and not resumed after Stalin’s death in March 1953) for the mass deportation of 2 million Soviet Jews from the European part of the country to desolate areas of Siberia, Kazakhstan, and the Arctic North. More specifically, it asks: (1) Was there such a plan, orchestrated by Stalin? (2) Were preparations undertaken to implement the plan, particularly the compilation of lists of potential Jewish deportees, assembly of cattle car echelons for their transportation, and construction of barracks at destinations? The author begins by briefly tracing the history of Stalin’s anti-Semitic campaign after World War II, summarizing the liquidation of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee and the Doctors’ Plot in light of the mounting anti-Semitic campaign in the country, which reached alarming proportions during the “seven-week” period prior to Stalin’s last days. In addition to an in-depth review of Russian-language sources, the paper also is based on contacts with authors and observers with access to state archives and a private archival collection. The latter, still in a state of relative disorganization, could become a link to resolving the question of whether the plan and preparations for the anticipated mass deportation had taken place.     

Four Years After the Collapse of the USSR

A prominent French political scientist and specialist on Russia introduces this special issue of Post-Soviet Affairs, The essay notes recent literature on Russia's regions and challenges analysts to rethink prevailing conceptions of center-periphery relations, centralization versus decentralization of political power, and authoritarian versus democratic politics. Focis is on regional elites' attitudes toward political inclusion and on the mutual dependence of elites.     

When Terrorism Goes to Sea: Terrorist Organizations and the Move to Maritime Targets

Terrorist groups are often relatively conservative in their choice of strategy, tactics, and targets, and it is worth asking what characteristics are associated with unconventional behavior. In this article we explore the question of why terrorist organizations move to one type of unconventional attack that has been a focus of concern of policymakers in recent years, namely attacks on maritime targets. Through an investigation of the organizational capacity and ideology of terrorist groups that committed maritime attacks between 1998 and 2005, we argue that this kind of violent behavior is driven by capability. Certain organizational characteristics of terrorist groups—territorial control, involvement in the drug trade, organizational size, and connections with other groups—provide groups with the capabilities that make maritime attacks both realistic and desirable. Terrorist groups' ideology—what they believe, and what their goals are—does not have the same impact, with the possible exception of groups affiliated with al-Qaeda. Our findings have implications for future research.     

Two faces of patient safety and care quality: a Franco-American comparison

Patient safety, and more broadly the quality of care, is typically discussed with reference to the reduction of preventable adverse events within hospitals and adherence to practice guidelines on care processes. We call it the 'care-centered approach' and recognize that the United States is a leader in the field. Another face of patient safety and care quality may be defined as the 'system-centered approach'. It focuses on access to a timely and effective continuum of health-care services--clinical prevention, primary care and appropriate referral to and receipt of specialty care. Although France's efforts to pursue a care-centered approach to patient safety are limited, its system-centered approach yields some benefits. Based on the evidence we have reviewed for access to primary care (hospital discharges for avoidable hospital conditions), mortality amenable to medical intervention and consumer satisfaction, in the United States and France, there appear to be good grounds for bolstering the system-centered approach in the United States.