Levels of Centralisation and Autonomy in Russia’s ‘Party of Power’: Cross-Regional Variations

The institutionalisation and nationalisation of Russia’s party system, which is dominated by United Russia (Edinaya Rossiya—UR), has played a major role in the building of Putin’s ‘power vertical’. Nevertheless, despite the fact that formal relations within UR are highly centralised, informal practices allow for far greater degrees of regional autonomy. Focusing on UR’s candidate selection for the 2011 Duma election this article provides an examination of cross-regional variations in the relations between UR’s Party Centre and its regional branches. As electoral legislation requires the segmentation of party lists into ‘regional groups’, the composition of the regional lists, specifically the share of ‘native candidates’, is considered as an indicator of the level of autonomy of regional branches. Ordinal regression analysis confirms our main theoretical hypotheses. In the more financially autonomous regions, UR’s regional branches will have more leverage and bargaining power in their relations with the Party Centre. A second important factor is heterogeneity: the more a region’s socio-economic indices deviate from the national average (either up or down), the less its UR branch is subordinate to the Party Centre.     

Fatal and Nonfatal Rip Saw Injuries

This paper deals with a fatal stab wound suffered by a 29-year-old man and nonfatal injuries of 35-year-old and 67-year-old saw operators. Rip saw is a machine that is specially designed for making a rip cut, a cut made parallel to the direction of the wood grain. Rip-saw-related injuries mostly occur when a person is struck by the cutting material, which usually involves splinters of irregular shape and diameter. When the splinter strikes the body diagonally, the injuries may include abrasions, lacerations, and cut wounds; in situations where the victim is struck directly, the most common injuries are oval- or star-shaped stab wounds with a varying width of abrasions around the wounds. Therefore, such injuries may come across as injuries produced by a knife-like instrument, which is an added difficulty in the interpretation of such injuries.     

Rethinking civil society

Most studies of civil society are mainly normative, both in their conceptualization and in their theoretical assumptions. We suggest a new, or better a revised, research agenda of the study of civil society, which should include (at least) these four points. First, the concept of civil society should be seen as a heuristic device. Second, the separation between 'civil society' and 'uncivil society' makes sense only in a normative framework, and then exclusively with uncivil society defined as a sub-set of civil society. Third, empirical research on civil society should study the nature of the relationship between civil society organizations and democracy/democratization, rather than assume it. Fourth,'uncivil' movements and contentious politics should be included in the study of civil society.     

Black Esophagus: Acute Esophageal Necrosis in Fatal Haloperidol Intoxication

Herein, we present a case of 53‐year‐old psychotic woman with acute esophageal necrosis (black esophagus), who was found lying on the floor in the living room of her flat. Pillboxes of antipsychotic drugs were located in the bin. External examination of the body was unremarkable. On internal examination, we found acute esophageal necrosis. Histologically, there was complete epithelial necrosis with focal involvement of muscularis mucosae, dense infiltrate of leukocytes, and ulcerations without any viable cells. There was no evidence of underlying organic diseases or trauma. Toxicological analysis revealed a fatal blood level of antipsychotics (haloperidol, zotepine, and chlorprothixene). Death of the deceased was attributed to fatal intoxication with three various types of antipsychotics. As far we know, this is the first described association between so‐called black esophagus and fatal blood level of neuroleptics.     

Robberies in Prague

This paper is concerned with the issue of robberies in the Czech Republic, primarily in the capital city, Prague. Statistics show that there has been a sharp rise in the number of robberies recorded in the Czech Republic following the political upheavals of 1989. In spite of this, current Czech criminology does not give proper attention to this kind of criminal activity. For this reason, the authors will attempt not only to summarise research efforts hitherto undertaken in this field and place them in a wider international context, but also to offer basic and criminologically relevant data on offenders, victims and some other significant factors, making use of official crime statistics as well as special police statistical records, including data obtained through the authors' own analysis of a sample of court files.     

The Discursive Resistance to EU-Enticement: The Russian Elite and (the Lack of) Europeanisation

This article explores the discourse of the Russian elite on foreign policy in general and on the European Union in particular, and identifies the main reasons for Russia's resistance to Europeanisation. At a theoretical level, the article builds upon the study of discourse conceived in ‘structural’ terms, and argues that discursive incompatibility at a deeper discursive level prevents the socialisation of elite members to attitudes more sympathetic to Europe at a more superficial level. Methodologically, the research is based on content analysis of major Russian foreign policy documents, presidential speeches and, in particular, of a set of interviews with Russian foreign policy-makers and academics most frequently in touch with the European Union.     

The making and unmaking of community-based water supplies in Manila

This article tracks the rise and fall of a community-based water supply programme in Manila, providing important insights into the issues of community participatory approaches to service provision, as well as the privatisation of basic services and public goods. The Manila Water Corporation, a private, for-profit company, developed an innovative programme to provide water to informal settlements through bulk connections, deploying the discourse of public participation to effectively transfer responsibility for distribution and collection of payments to local water users' organisations. The programme achieved considerable success, and also empowered local organisations or (more often) individuals, who used some of their increased legitimacy, influence, and income to mobilise for squatters' rights, challenging landlords and local governments. After an initial period, the company changed its policy and shifted instead to a programme that provides individual connections to informal settlements' households, supported by subsidies from the government and international aid agencies. This article chronicles and analyses the origins, growth, controversies, and eventual decline of community-based water supply in Manila's informal settlements. The article concludes with suggestions on how community-based organisations can provide water supply services effectively and equitably, discussing as well the capacity building and social transformation benefits of such an approach.

La réussite et l'échec des systèmes communautaires d'approvisionnement en eau à Manille

Cet article retrace l'essor et le déclin d'un programme communautaire d'approvisionnement en eau à Manille, aux Philippines, et permet de découvrir d'importants aspects des questions relatives aux approches communautaires participatives de la prestation de services, ainsi que de la privatisation des services de base et des biens publics. La Manila Water Corporation, entreprise privée à but lucratif, a mis au point un programme innovant pour fournir de l'eau à des établissements informels au moyen de branchements collectifs, en déployant le discours de la participation du public pour transférer efficacement la responsabilité de la distribution et de la collecte de paiements à des organisations locales d'utilisateurs d'eau. Ce programme a obtenu un succès considérable, et a par ailleurs autonomisé des organisations locales ou (plus souvent) des particuliers, qui ont utilisé une partie de leur légitimité, influence et revenus accrus pour se mobiliser en faveur des droits des squatteurs, défiant les propriétaires et les autorités locales. Après une période initiale, l'entreprise a modifié sa politique et a évolué vers un programme qui propose des branchements individuels aux ménages des établissements informels, avec le soutien de subventions accordées par le gouvernement et des agences d'aide internationales. Cet article fait la chronique et effectue une analyse des origines, de la croissance, des controverses et, en fin de compte, du déclin de l'approvisionnement en eau communautaire dans les établissements informels de Manille. Cet article se conclut par des questions sur la manière dont les organisations communautaires peuvent assurer des services d'approvisionnement en eau de façon efficace et équitable, et traite également des avantages sur le plan du renforcement des capacités et de la transformation sociale d'une approche de ce type.

Los altibajos de un programa de agua potable comunitario en Manila

El presente artículo describe los altibajos presentados por un programa comunitario de abastecimiento de agua potable en Manila. Asimismo, hace referencia a los importantes hallazgos encontrados en torno a los métodos de participación comunitaria en la oferta de servicios y en relación a la privatización de servicios básicos y de bienes públicos. La Corporación de Agua de Manila, empresa privada con fines lucrativos, desarrolló un programa innovador para abastecer de agua a los asentamientos informales mediante conexiones comunitarias, usando un discurso de participación pública con el objetivo de transferir eficientemente la responsabilidad para la distribución del líquido y para el cobro de pagos a las organizaciones locales de usuarios de agua. El programa obtuvo un éxito considerable, que conllevó al empoderamiento de organizaciones locales y (más a menudo) de individuos, quienes aprovecharon su mayor legitimidad, influencia e ingresos para movilizarse a favor de los derechos de los ocupantes indocumentados, enfrentando tanto a propietarios como a gobiernos locales. Tras un período inicial, la empresa modificó sus políticas impulsando un programa de conexiones individuales para los hogares de los asentamientos informales, el cual recibió subsidios del gobierno y de las agencias internacionales de asistencia. El presente artículo constituye tanto una crónica como un análisis del origen, el crecimiento, las controversias suscitadas y el posterior abandono del programa de abastecimiento de agua comunitario en los asentamientos informales de Manila. El artículo concluye exponiendo sugerencias respecto a cómo las organizaciones comunitarias podrán abastecerse de agua de manera efectiva y equitativa, abordando, también, las ventajas de este enfoque en términos del fortalecimiento de capacidades y de la transformación social que promueve.

A construção e destruição dos abastecimentos de água comunitários de Manila

Este artigo analisa a ascensão e queda de um programa de abastecimento de água comunitário em Manila, fornecendo ideias importantes sobre as questões de abordagens participativas da comunidade para a oferta do serviço, além da privatização de serviços básicos e bens públicos. A Empresa de Abastecimento de Água de Manila, que é uma companhia privada com fins lucrativos, desenvolveu um programa inovador para fornecer água a assentamentos informais através de conexões em massa, empregando o discurso de participação do público para transferir efetivamente a responsabilidade pela distribuição e coleta de pagamentos a organizações locais de consumidores de água. O programa alcançou um significativo sucesso e também empoderou organizações locais ou (mais frequentemente) indivíduos, que utilizaram sua maior legitimidade, influência e renda para a mobilização pelos direitos dos posseiros, desafiando os proprietários de terra e os governos locais. Após um período inicial, a empresa mudou sua política e passou a adotar um programa que oferece conexões individuais para as famílias dos assentamentos informais, com apoio de subsídios do governo e de agências de ajuda internacionais. Este artigo relata e analisa as origens, crescimento, controvérsias e declínio final do abastecimento comunitário de água em assentamentos informais de Manila. O artigo conclui com sugestões sobre como organizações comunitárias podem fornecer serviços de abastecimento de água de maneira efetiva e equitativa, discutindo também a capacitação e os benefícios da transformação social de tal abordagem.     

Forensic Biomechanical Analysis of Falls from Height Using Numerical Human Body Models*

Abstract: This article describes the method of using human body models developed originally for the use in automotive safety in forensic reconstructions of falls from height. The MADYMO^® software package and multibody human body models were used in forensic analyses of two real cases—a fatal fall from a window c. 13.8 m above the ground and a fall into a c. 2.5‐m deep cellar pit resulting in isolated ankle joint injury. The performed series of numerical simulations helped to reconstruct the events and to resolve legally relevant questions concerning various aspects of the falls. The benefits as well as limitations and potential biases associated with the use of numerical simulation in forensic biomechanical settings are discussed. The method has proven to be effective under specific circumstances, though the cost (both financial and temporal) still prevents it from wider use.