Farmland Rental Prices in GM Soybean Areas of Argentina: Do Contractual Arrangements Matter?

In this paper we study the determinants of the rental price of farmland in the Argentinian Pampas. In particular, we examine the price of lease contracts using a hedonic price model, while controlling for other potential sources of variation. Using firsthand data for 255 plots, our results indicate that both short-term contracts and contracts with sowing pools push rental prices upwards. We also find that soybean yields have a significant impact on land rental prices. These results suggest that if Argentina intends to protect the enormous natural advantage it has for agricultural production, it should consider strictly regulating land rental contracts.     

Acculturation, partner violence, and psychological distress in refugee women from Somalia

This study examined the relations among acculturation, domestic violence, and mental health in 62 married refugee women from Somalia. Refugees from Somalia constituted the largest group of refugees entering the United States in 2005, and little is known about the presence of domestic violence in this group. The results showed that women who reported greater ability to speak English also reported more experiences of partner psychological abuse and physical aggression. Experiences of more psychological abuse and physical aggressions also predicted more psychological distress. Implications for future research and psychological services are addressed.     

Youth participation informing care in hospital settings

Abstract

In this article, we use an ecocultural framework to understand young people’s experiences of the care provided by a specialist children’s hospital. This framework conceptualizes hospital culture as situated and embodied rather than separate from people and practices. Young people’s responses, gathered during a one-day forum at the hospital, suggest ways in which a hospital can respond to them not just as individual bodies but also as members of the families and peer groups who form their broader web of care. Their input highlights the importance of consulting young people about the operations of health services themselves, not just about the patient-medico relationships that they experience whilst using a service.     

Vertical influence or horizontal coordination? The purpose of intergovernmental councils in Switzerland

ABSTRACT

In 1993, the Swiss cantons established the conference of cantonal governments (KdK). While the literature on Swiss federalism generally acknowledges the important role of the KdK, little is known about its specific purpose, in particular compared to other, older intergovernmental councils operating in Switzerland. We therefore investigate the purpose of the KdK and contrast it with two other intercantonal conferences with nationwide scope, namely those on education and finance. To do so, we trace two of the most important federal reform processes of the last decade: the latest renewal of fiscal equalization and educational harmonization. We find a division of labour between the KdK and policy-specific councils. While the former aims at vertical political influence, the latter primarily engage in genuine horizontal policy coordination. This flexible and smooth interplay of the two types of councils has contributed to further strengthening the political role of the cantons in the Swiss federation.     

Victim-offender race and support for capital punishment: A factorial design approach

Existing research suggests that juries are more likely to condemn murderers to death when offenders are black victims are white. It remains to be seen, however, whether these decisions reflect broader racial prejudices in society that are imported into the jury room. If they do, then insuring equity in capital sentencing may be beyond reach. Accordingly, this study uses factorial design methodology to examine whether members of the general public are more supportive of capital punishment when asked to rate a vignette describing a murder involving a white victim and black offender as opposed to other victim-offender racial combinations. Our analyses suggest that the race of the offender, but not the victim, has a significant influence on support for capital punishment. Thus, procedural safeguards alone may be unable to eliminate racial bias in capital sentencing.     

An integrated technique for the analysis of skin bite marks

The high number of murder, rape, and child abuse cases in South Africa has led to increased numbers of bite mark cases being heard in high courts. Objective analysis to match perpetrators to bite marks at crime scenes must be able to withstand vigorous cross-examination to be of value in conviction of perpetrators. An analysis technique is described in four stages, namely determination of the mark to be a human bite mark, pattern association analysis, metric analysis and comparison with the population data, and illustrated by a real case study. New and accepted techniques are combined to determine the likelihood ratio of guilt expressed as one of a range of conclusions described in the paper. Each stage of the analysis adds to the confirmation (or rejection) of concordance between the dental features present on the victim and the dentition of the suspect. The results illustrate identification to a high degree of certainty.     

Reconsidering strain theory: Operationalization,rival theories,and adult criminality

Recently a revisionist view of strain theory's empirical adequacy has emerged which holds that the theory's explanatory power depends on how it is operationalized. With an adult community sample, we empirically assess three separate measures of strain to explain self-reported crime: the gap between aspirations and expectations, blocked opportunities, and relative deprivation. The findings reveal that the aspirations-expectations measure is not related to criminal involvement, while perceived blocked opportunities and feelings of relative deprivation significantly affect adult offending. These relationships, however, fail to persist after measures from competing theories (i.e., low self-control, differential association, and social bond) are introduced as controls in the regression equations. Thus, measures from rival theories offer a more fruitful approach to explaining self-reported adult offending.A version of this paper was presented at the 1993 American Society of Criminology meetings, Phoenix, Arizona.     

Women's Political Representation in the European Union

Feminist studies of the European Union seek to make sense of a field that has become enormously complex. Gender equality has been an issue in the EU since the inclusion of Article 119 on equal pay in the Treaty of Rome 1957 but has since widened to the recognition of equality between women and men as a fundamental principle of democracy for the whole EU. Gender equality is present both in gender-specific policies, such as women's participation in the labour market, sexual harassment and reconciliation of work and family, as well as informing the basic principles and functioning of the EU institutions wherever gender mainstreaming is implemented. Feminist explorations of the EU have tended to overlook one aspect of EU gender policies: women's political representation in the EU institutions. This article seeks to address this gap.     

The Atlantic economy after German unification: Cooperation or the rise of ‘Fortress Europe’

With the end of the cold war and the weakening of the security bond between Europe and the United States, economic relations assume increasing importance. As Europe's dominant economic power, Germany has a central role in the management of the trans‐Atlantic economy. This analysis of economic relations between Germany and the United States shows that whilst investment flows between the two economies suggest common interests and mutual dependence, the structure of German and American trade reveals a strong potential for conflict. Moreover, the experience of the 1980s suggests that economic ties between Germany and the United States are not sufficiently intense to guarantee unconditional cooperation in the management of the Atlantic economy. Divergence in macroeconomic policy has inevitably led to tensions over trade, exchange rates and interest rates. Unless this tendency is checked, the result will be the emergence of ‘Fortress Europe’ with a heightened potential for conflict with the United States.