Privatization in eight former socialist countries of eastern Europe

The demise of the communism in the former Soviet Union and the satellites of Eastern Europe has created a massive shift in the economies of these countries. The new governments are dedicated to establishing democratic political institutions and free market economies, but are hampered because of lack experience, little investment capital, and inertia of their constituents in the work force Each state is undertaking the changes differently and after approximately three years into the process, it is possible to see more progress in some countries than in others. Here, we present a brief political and economic statement followed by analysis of the privatization process in Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine as of the end of 1992 and early 1993.     

Leader heuristics,political knowledge and voting in Britain's AV referendum

This paper uses data gathered in the British Election Study's 2011 AV Referendum Survey to investigate the impact of party leader images on referendum voting. The emphasis on leader images accords well with research showing that leader heuristics have sizable effects on voting in major referendums and general elections in Britain and other mature democracies. Reacting to these findings, some analysts have argued that the effects of leader images are heterogeneous, being stronger for voters with lower levels of political knowledge. In contrast, consistent with recent research in experimental economics and political psychology, it can be hypothesized that more knowledgeable voters rely more heavily on leader heuristics than do less knowledgeable individuals. Using multivariate statistical techniques developed for interpreting interaction effects in nonlinear models, analyses indicate that a political knowledge index focusing on the electoral system does not have statistically significant effects on referendum voting. However, voters' knowledge of leaders' positions on AV does interact with leader images. The analyses show that voters with higher levels of political knowledge are influenced more strongly by leader heuristics than are those who are less knowledgeable.     

Early Exposure to Violence in the Family of Origin and Positive Attitudes towards Marital Violence: Chinese Immigrant Male Batterers vs. Controls

This study examined self-reported early exposure to violence in the family of origin and positive attitudes towards marital violence as risk factors in court-referred Chinese immigrant male batterers (N = 64) versus controls (N = 62). Early exposure to violence was positively correlated with marital violence, but it alone did not differentiate the batterers from the controls, as both groups were widely exposed to it. While it was significantly correlated with marital violence in the batterer group, it was significantly correlated with depression in the control group. Positive attitudes towards marital violence were not only correlated with marital violence but also sufficient to differentiate the batterers from the controls. It also partially mediated the effect of early exposure to violence on marital violence. These two risk factors together accounted for 21.9% of the variance in marital violence over and above sociodemographic variables and marital dissatisfaction. Research and treatment implications based on these findings were outlined.

Does the minimum wage affect welfare caseloads?

Although minimum wages are advocated as a policy that will help the poor, few studies have examined their effect on poor families. This paper uses variation in minimum wages across states and over time to estimate the impact of minimum wage legislation on welfare caseloads. We find that the elasticity of the welfare caseload with respect to the minimum wage is between 0.1 and 0.2, but this estimate is sensitive to the sample period and assumptions about state trends. We tentatively conclude that higher minimum wages increase welfare dependence; however, more research is warranted.© 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management     

Well-informed? Well Represented? Well Nigh Powerless? Victims and Prosecutorial Decision-making

This article provides a brief overview of the ways in which prosecutors must engage with victims in the course of their work in criminal proceedings and what formal roles victims can assume in criminal proceedings. Besides exploring what rights victims have per se in criminal proceedings, analysis is provided as to what it means to be an additional prosecutor or a private prosecutor in several European criminal justice systems. A brief analysis of the effects these rights and the use of prosecutorial discretion has on victims is provided.     

No longer a civil matter? The design and use of protection orders for domestic violence in England and Wales

ABSTRACT

This paper assesses the design and use of protection orders for domestic violence in England and Wales. It draws on data from 400 police classified domestic violence incidents and 65 interviews with victims/survivors, as well as new analysis of government justice data from England and Wales, to address a gap in literature on protection orders.

The paper identifies an increasing civil-criminal ‘hybridisation’ of protection orders in England and Wales, and argues that a dual regime has developed, with orders issued by police and/or in criminal proceedings increasingly privileged (and enforced) over victim-led civil orders. Whilst protection orders are being used – as intended – flexibly to protect domestic violence victims, the way they are applied in practice risks downgrading domestic violence in criminal justice terms.

The conclusions are especially timely in light of current Government proposals to rationalise protection orders by introducing a single overarching Domestic Abuse Protection Order in England and Wales.     

Strafrechtliche Verantwortlichkeit von Sozialversicherungsträgern

Da Sozialversicherungstr?ger als K?rperschaften des ?ffentlichen Rechts neben der Hoheitsverwaltung eine breite Palette privatwirtschaftlicher T?tigkeit entfalten, wie etwa im Rahmen der Errichtung, des Erwerbs und der Führung von Krankenanstalten, Ambulatorien, Unfallkrankenh?usern, Heil- und Kuranstalten u?, er?ffnet sich insb im Bereich der auf Behandlungs- und Organisationsfehler des medizinischen Personals zurückzuführenden fahrl?ssigen K?rperverletzungs- und T?tungsdelikte ein nicht zu untersch?tzendes Anwendungsfeld für die strafrechtliche Verantwortlichkeit des Sozialversicherungstr?gers nach dem VbVG als Betreiber der betroffenen Gesundheitseinrichtung.     

Forensic utility of carbon isotope ratio variations in PVC tape backings

Forensic interest in adhesive tapes with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) backings (electrical tape) derives from their use in a variety of illicit activities. Due to the range of physical characteristics, chemical compositions, and homogeneity within a single roll of tape, traditional microscopic and chemical analyses can offer a high degree of discrimination between tapes, permitting the assessment of potential associations between evidentiary tape samples. The carbon isotope ratios of tapes could provide additional discrimination among tape samples. To evaluate whether carbon isotope ratios may be able to increase discrimination of electrical tapes, particularly with regards to different rolls of tape of the same product, we assessed the δ(13)C values of backings from 87 rolls of PVC-based black electrical tape (~20 brands, >60 products) Prior to analysis, adhesives were removed to prevent contamination by adhering debris, and plasticizers were extracted because of concern over their potential mobility. This result is consistent with each of these tapes having approximately the same plasticizer δ(13)C value and proportion of carbon in these plasticizers. The δ(13)C values of the 87 PVC tape backings ranged between -23.5 and -41.3 (‰, V-PDB), with negligible carbon isotopic variation within single rolls of tape, yet large variations among tape brands and tape products. Within this tape population, carbon isotope ratios permitted an average exclusion power of 93.7%, using a window of +/-0.3‰; the combination of carbon isotope ratio measurement with additional chemical and physical analyses raises the discrimination power to over 98.9%, with only 41 out of a possible 3741 pairs of tape samples being indistinguishable. There was a linear relationship between the δ(13)C value of tape backings and the change in δ(13)C value with the extraction of plasticizers. Analyses of pre- and post-blast tape sample pairs show that carbon isotope signatures are within 0.3‰ of pre-blast values, indicating that carbon isotope values are largely preserved during an explosion.