Theft in Sweden 1831?1998

This paper on theft in Sweden analyses crime and reactions to crime in non-individual, structural terms. The data used stems from Swedish convictions statistics which are available for the period since 1831. Swedish trends in theft convictions follow an international pattern with reductions during the second half of the 19th century and settling at a comparatively low level during the decades around the turn of the 20th century. A sharp occurred after the mid-1920s until the mid-1980s. Upon closer examination, this increase took the form of an S-curve whose course resembles that of goods production. One interpretation is that once a basic level of material security had been guaranteed, theft convictions followed the availability of goods; with more to consume, there is more to steal, and levels of control tend to diminish. Howthat ever, this interpretation may not apply to a smaller proportion of convictions ? those which concern persistent offenders. Their development differed in one decisive manner from that of casual offenders ? the steep rise is very sudden and occurred first after the Second World War. An explanation based on the relationship between livelihood, excessive alcohol consumption and theft is put forward.     

Quasi-Contractual Ministerial Steering of State Agencies: Its Intensity,Modes, and How Agency Characteristics Matter

ABSTRACT:

This article demonstrates the value of conceptualizing four ideal types when studying ministries’ contract steering of state agencies—relational, double-whammy, performance, and behavioral steering—each defined by its combination of input- and output-oriented steering. In the system under study—Norway—about half of all agencies are subjected to steering with a clear profile; the other half are not. The two profiles often dismissed or overlooked in existing research—relational and double-whammy steering—are most common. Thus, introducing a contract regime has not meant a clear shift from input to output control, as posited by some. Most agency characteristics under study—size, age, political salience, and tasks—have significant effects on the likelihood that an agency is subjected to one type of steering or another. Still, the analysis suggests that agency-level characteristics constrain ministerial choice about which steering to practice only to a limited extent.     

BALANCING RESEARCH AND ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING IN FRONT‐END PROJECT DESIGN: EXPERIENCES FROM DANIDA'S ENRECA PROGRAMME

North–South research capacity building (RCB) partnerships have attracted considerable academic attention during the last two decades, especially with regard to issues related to partnership governance. Less attention has been given to the management aspects of partnership implementation, but in order for partnerships to comply with general governance‐level recommendations, a better understanding is needed of how specific context‐dependent factors influence the development and execution of projects. In this article, we aim to contribute to the understanding of factors influencing the design phase of RCB partnerships and examine how they influence the balance between performing collaborative research and developing general organizational capacity. Data collection was based on a survey (n = 25), and individual interviews and focus group discussions with 17 Danish project managers from the Danish Bilateral Programme for Enhancement of Research Capacity in Developing Countries. Our results lead to rejection of the proposition that RCB projects are either focused on building capacity for research or conducting merit‐based research. Because of the ‘politics’ of the front‐end process, reality is more complex. We identify 11 specific factors influencing front‐end project management related to structure, process and relationship, and we theorize about how these factors influence the choice between research and more general capacity development activities. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Valence politics and electoral choice in a new democracy: The case of Taiwan

After two peaceful alternations of political power in a single decade, Taiwan is a democratic success story, demonstrating levels of party competition, turnout rates and patterns of civic engagement similar to those in mature Western democracies. What factors drive electoral choice in Taiwan's new democracy? This paper addresses this question by testing rival models of voting behavior using the Taiwan Elections and Democratization Study (TEDS) 2008 presidential election survey data and the 2010 mayoral election survey data. Analyses show that, similar to their counterparts in mature democracies, Taiwanese voters place more emphasis on the performance of political parties and their leaders in delivering policies designed to address valence issues concerning broadly shared policy goals than on position issues or more general ideological stances that divide the electorate. Findings demonstrating the strength of the valence politics model of electoral choice in Taiwan closely resemble the results of analyses of competing models of voting behavior in Western countries such as Great Britain and the United States.     

Explaining Chief Executive Empowerment: EU Summitry and Domestic Institutional Change

One of the most prominent trends in the organisation of European parliamentary democracies is the empowerment of chief executives. This article submits that an important reason contributing to this development is summit decision-making in the European Union, which requires states to confer additional authority, discretion and resources on chief executives. The effects are long-term shifts in the domestic institutional balance of power between the executive and the legislature, as well as within the executive branch. The explanatory power of this argument is tested through a case study of chief executive empowerment in Sweden, as well as comparative qualitative evidence from a broader set of European states. The findings carry implications for research on the presidentialisation of politics, the domestic implications of international cooperation, and the Europeanisation of EU member countries.     

Values and Religiosity as Predictors of Engagement in Social Justice

Some researchers have suggested that values, including religious values and motivations, might facilitate social justice work. Individuals might view social justice work as an expression of religious beliefs, values, and practices, or as an expression of their personal morals and values. The current study examined the role of religious variables and secular values to predict attitudes, intentions to engage in social justice, perceived norms around social justice, and perceived ability to engage in social justice within a culturally and religiously diverse student population. Implications of the study results for social justice education are presented and discussed.     

A comparison of criminal sexual conduct defendants based on victim age

This study compared defendants charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct whose victims were <6 years of age with defendants whose victims were 12 or more years of age. The study included 163 men referred to the evaluation unit of a state center for forensic psychiatry. Thirty-eight men had younger victims (YVs) and 125 men had older victims (OVs). The variables of comparison were defendant demographic and psychiatric variables frequently identified in the sex offender literature. Controlling for other demographic and psychiatric variables by use of logistic regression modeling, elderly defendants (60 years or greater), and incest offenders were three times more likely to have YVs (Odds Ratio [OR] 3.08 and 3.11, respectively). Unlike previous studies defendants with serious psychiatric pathology (psychosis or mania) were no more likely to have YVs (OR 0.66) than were defendants without psychosis.