Controlling Administrative Discretion Promotes Social Equity? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Although social equity has been a formal pillar of public administration for decades, identifying mechanisms through which public officials inadvertently reproduce unfair conditions remains a relevant topic. In particular, it is important to understand how the habits and practices of street‐level bureaucrats may result in an unjust allocation of public resources. This article provides evidence on how the administrative discretion conferred on school principals may result in an efficient but unfair condition regarding the allocation of students across schools, thus undermining social equity. By exploiting a natural experiment, we are able to provide reliable evidence on how controlling administrative discretion decreases the segregation of students based on their socioeconomic status.     

Establishing the link between representative bureaucracy and performance: The South African case

Representative bureaucracy is a critical element of modern public administration and governance. Since the advent of nonracial democracy, the South African government has transformed the apartheid bureaucracy into a new public service that closely mirrors the country's diverse population. Questions remain, however, about how this demographic transformation has impacted the public service. Grounded in the theory of representative bureaucracy, we use a mixed methods approach to examine the relationship between representation of historically disadvantaged groups and performance of national departments in South Africa. Analyses of panel data indicate that as national departments become more representative by employing a greater percentage of Blacks, they become more effective at achieving their goals. Interviews with officials in national departments corroborate this and reveal a range of underlying pathways linking representation of historically disadvantaged groups to performance.     

Ethnic and immigrant residential concentration, and crime rates

One of the main arguments of social disorganization theory is that ethnic heterogeneity, influenced by immigrant residential concentration, is highly disruptive for community organization, and therefore, highly criminogenic. The effect of immigrant residential concentration on crime rates is, however, generally masked by the general effect of the broader category of ethnic heterogeneity. Some recent studies even suggested a negative relationship between immigrant residential concentration and crime. The present study, conducted in the city of Haifa, Israel, used neighborhood level data to test the specific relationship between immigrant residential concentration and crime rates among recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The results showed that the decomposition of ethnic heterogeneity into its two main components—immigrant residential concentration and ethnic residential concentration—served to qualify the predicted effects of social disorganization theory.     

Party switching and political outcomes: evidence from Brazilian municipalities

Public Choice - Although party switching is a relatively rare event in most countries, the phenomenon is widespread in Brazil. This paper investigates the effects of party switching on political...     

比森特·福克斯任内墨西哥政治和经济的进展

比森特·福克斯就任总统后 ,将墨西哥社会的民主愿望纳入了政府的提议中。他肩负的使命是明确的 :建设一个以三权分立和巩固司法秩序为核心的国家。民主要求保护自由和公民权利、明确职责和鼓励汇报工作 ,也要求建立一个除规章、制度和决策机制外 ,还包括当局和政治社会分担责任的治理制度。尽管取得了进展 ,墨西哥的政治改革仍遇到悬而未决的挑战。一个明显的挑战是立法权和行政权之间的关系应更为畅通。尽管如此 ,还是通过了巩固民主的基本法律。民主不会是自发的 ,是一项深思熟虑的建设 ,是由各种计划组成的 ,是由领导人来构建的 ,它具有…     

The relationship between human trafficking and child recruitment in the Colombian armed conflict

The article rethinks the relationship between human trafficking as organised crime and child recruitment as a war crime. After analysing the records of 132 cases of child and adolescent recruitment brought before Colombia’s ordinary justice system between 2008 and 2016, it became clear that the youngsters involved had performed activities both directly and indirectly related to the conflict, but also that they had been exploited and maltreated, with no control over their situation. Reassessment of the relationship between human trafficking and child recruitment could result in more effective justice for this population by shedding light on alternate ways to construct reparation and reintegration.     

Fatal hemorrhage from a periumbilical wound: Stabbing or hemorrhage from a caput medusae?

Varices are the main clinical manifestation of portal hypertension, and their bleeding is the predominant cause of mortality from this condition. Periumbilical varices are known as “caput medusae.” Reports of their bleeding are rare, with only three fatal cases described in the literature. The antemortem diagnosis is relatively simple, while the postmortem diagnosis is more complex. This paper is the first report of fatal hemorrhage from a caput medusae for which the diagnosis was made postmortem, thanks to a complete diagnostic process including scene and circumstances, medical history, and autopsy with detailed histology. The circumstantial analysis showed the presence of a large amount of blood at the scene, blood which originated from a small abdominal wound; an analysis of the subject's clinical data reported that he was affected by portal hypertension. The autopsy revealed some dilated and convoluted veins in the subcutaneous tissue of the umbilical region; a fistula between these veins and the abdominal wound was detected. The histological study confirmed the presence of periumbilical varices, one of them ruptured and connected with the overlying skin. The cause of death was attributed to a massive hemorrhage generated by a periumbilical varix in a patient affected by portal hypertension.     

Analysis of histomorphometric variables: Proposal and validation of osteon definitions

Histological analysis of bone tissue has been used to explore a variety of questions relating to age-at-death, habitual behaviors, health, and nutritional stress. Identification of intact and fragmentary osteons is of key interest to many researchers in these studies, yet the definitions of these features vary between researchers making cross-study comparisons problematic. Furthermore, histological variable definitions are often ambiguous or require subjective classifications by the observer. As a result, and as indicated by previous studies, observer error and misclassification of certain variables, namely intact and fragmentary osteons, can be significant. This study proposes new definitions for intact and fragmentary osteons that are designed to limit observer subjectivity and also explore efficacy of combining osteon types into one variable. A sample of 30 6th rib cross-sections from a modern forensic population was used to test the validity of the proposed definitions. Observations of intact osteon population density (OPD(I)) and fragmentary osteon population density (OPD(F)) were made by three observers for each cross-section. These observations were used to explore the interobserver error associated with the proposed definitions and determine if combining variables into one variable (OPD) mitigates persisting classification difficulties. Results indicate that the proposed definitions significantly reduce interobserver error and misclassification of intact and fragmentary osteons. However, the interobserver error associated with fragmentary osteons is still high. Evaluation of the variables independently indicates that combining variables has potential to reduce the predictive strength of an age estimation model and the ability to interpret age-related bone remodeling.     

Self‐Strangulation Through A Sphygmomanometer: An Uncommon Suicide

Suicide by asphyxia is quite a common event in forensic practice and may be implemented in different ways. The authors report a unique case of a 16‐year‐old youth who committed suicide by means of a standard mercury sphygmomanometer. This manner of suicide has never been described in the literature reviewed. A complete forensic investigation led to the conclusion that the cause of death was mechanical asphyxia, ascribed to self‐strangulation by means of an atypical item. The victim suffered from attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) syndrome and was assisted by support teachers. He had a solitary and depressive personality. The exceptional nature of this case suggests that sphygmomanometers may be regarded as possible means of self‐strangulation. The case also highlights the importance of managing patients with psychiatric or cognitive disorders; indeed, particular caution is required to keep them away from objects that, although apparently harmless, can become lethal.     

Personality Profiles of Special Force Police Officers

The present study was aimed at investigating whether different personality profiles could be found among Italian police Special Force (SF) officers. Our hypothesis was that different personality profiles would be found, and that they would differ with respect to psychological and organizational functioning. This conjecture was tested on anonymously collected Big Five scores of all members of a 'Reparto Mobile' unit (n?=?289) by means of a Two-Step cluster analysis. Two distinct personality profiles were found: two-thirds of participants showed a personality profile that was quite similar to the general population, with the exception of a higher self-reported emotional stability and self-deceptive enhancement, while the remaining third showed higher levels of any personality domain than both the other cluster and the general population. These officers also endorsed lower scores in measures of depression, anxiety, professional exhaustion, loss of empathy, and higher scores in a measure of organizational resilience, suggesting that they may represent the most suitable personnel for the delicate tasks their unit usually has to accomplish. In addition, self-deceptive enhancement emerged as a likely personality trait of police SF officers.