Sources of local government extractive capacity: The role of trust and pre‐colonial legacy in the case of Uganda

Local government extractive capacity, as measured by the amount of graduated personal tax (GPT) collected relative to district wealth and population and, more qualitatively, as reflected in the nature of enforcement, varies considerably in Uganda. This article explores the reasons for this variation, first by investigating aggregate data at the cross‐district level, using data on taxation as well as survey data from the Afrobarometer, second, by a focussed comparison of two districts, one with high‐ and one with low‐extractive capacity. I find that generalised trust can explains some of the variation in extractive capacity across districts. The case studies trace the differences in trust and extractive capacity back to pre‐colonial rule; the better performing district having had centralised rule, a tradition of tax‐payment and a higher degree of social cohesion, while the poorer performing district had a more fragmented and less cohesive history of governance. The article thus points to the importance of understanding institutional path dependencies when assessing the feasibility of reform. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

法律保护和犯罪预防中的儿童参与权

尽管成年人在履行保护儿童的天赋职责时，总是按自己的标准和要求来实施对儿童保护和犯罪预防的传统思维定势已开始扭转，但我们不得不承认，从整体上看，我们在儿童法律保护和犯罪预防中的着重点很大程度上还停留在灌输性说教上，儿童并没有真正参与进去。其实，儿童参与早已成为国际社会的共识，并在《儿童权利公约》中将其作为儿童的一项基本权利予以规定。     

Gaming in Targetworld: The Targets Approach to Managing British Public Services

To what extent did the extensive system of managing public services by targets, introduced by Tony Blair’s New Labour government in the United Kingdom in 1998, reproduce the classic gaming responses associated with the Soviet Union and other centralized performance‐setting systems? Combining evidence from documentary sources and interviews with high‐level officials in the Whitehall bureaucracy, the author suggests that the three classic types of target gaming can be identified in this public management regime. However, the central managers of the target regime did not put substantial resources into checking performance data, took reported performance gains at face value, and had no coherent antigaming strategy.     

Postmortem Detection of Hepatitis B,C, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Genomes in Blood Samples from Drug‐Related Deaths in Denmark*

Abstract: Blood‐borne viral infections are widespread among injecting drug users; however, it is difficult to include these patients in serological surveys. Therefore, we developed a national surveillance program based on postmortem testing of persons whose deaths were drug related. Blood collected at autopsy was tested for anti‐HBc, anti‐HBs, anti‐hepatits C virus (HCV), or anti‐human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies using commercial kits. Subsets of seropositive samples were screened for viral genomes using sensitive in‐house and commercial polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA was detected in 20% (3/15) of anti‐HBc‐positive/anti‐HBs‐negative samples, HCV RNA was found in 64% (16/25) of anti‐HCV‐positive samples, and HIV RNA was detected in 40% (6/15) of anti‐HIV‐positive samples. The postmortem and antemortem prevalences of HBV DNA and HCV RNA were similar. Postmortem HIV RNA testing was less sensitive than antemortem testing. Thus, postmortem PCR analysis for HBV and HBC infection is feasible and relevant for demonstrating ongoing infections at death or for transmission analysis during outbreaks.