Crime Statistics as Constructs: The Case of Swedish Rape Statistics

Using Swedish rape statistics as a focus, this article aims to empirically describe the way in which different factors affect official crime statistics produced at the national level. It is argued that cross-national comparisons of crime levels are extremely hazardous when based on official crime statistics, since the construction rules vary widely. International comparisons of crime levels should as a rule be confined to findings of international victim surveys. The example of rape statistics in Sweden - about three times higher when compared to other countries in the European Sourcebook - is used to explain what factors can influence statistics. Statistical, legal and substansive factors are to be taken into account. The author shows that changes in statistical routines, the legal definition of rape and changes over time all influence the statistics in a substansive way. This article indicates the great extent to which crime statistics are a construct, whose appearance is very sensitive to the rules applied in the process of construction. In order to employ statistics appropriately, a thorough knowledge of the principles guiding this process is therefore essential.     

The Effect of Buscopan® on the Development of the Blow Fly Chrysomya megacephala (F.) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Abstract:  This work investigated the effects of butylscopolamine bromide, a drug present in the pharmaceutical formulation Buscopan^®, on the development of Chrysomya megacephala , a blow fly species of considerable forensic and medical importance in Brazil. Larvae exposed to the drug showed a decreased rate of development, with higher drug concentrations further retarding the development. Besides, larvae reared on the presence of the drug showed smaller body weight and body length when compared with larvae reared on the absence of Buscopan^®. The drug also affected the mortality of the species.     

The Optimal Combination of Cartilage Source and Apparatus for Long‐Term In Vitro Chondrocyte Viability Analysis

Abstract: Most studies of long‐term chondrocytes survival were for tissue banks. They showed a gradual reduction in the viable chondrocytes percentage as a function of time and ambient temperature, but the samples were harvested under optimal conditions. The aim of our study was to determine the most reliable combination of cartilage source and assay for the in vitro postmortem chondrocyte viability analysis in the conditions that imitate a dead body. Osteochondral cylinders were procured from femoral condyles and talar trochleas of three male donors and stored in the cell culture media at 4 ± 2°C and 23 ± 2°C. The samples were analyzed by a cell viability analyzer and a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) initially 24–36 h after death and then in 4‐week intervals. The results reconfirmed the significant influence of time (p = 0.0002), but not of the temperature (p = 0.237). The largest reproducibility was presented for the knee joint and the CLSM.     

Controlling partners and proxies in pro-insurgency paramilitary operations: the case of Syria

Pro-insurgency paramilitary operations (PMOs) are a rare type of covert action that aim to destabilize or overthrow a hostile government or defeat nonstate groups with no cooperation from a host government. The article analyzes US covert operations in Syria since 2011 by applying Principal–Agent Theory (PAT) to explain the inherent difficulties involved in controlling partner states and proxies. The nature of pro-insurgency PMOs is such that main tasks have to be delegated to partners and proxies, which reduces the ability of the US government to achieve desirable outcomes, especially whenever the goals of the partners and proxies are not well-aligned with US objectives as is the case in Syria.     

Rechtliche Instrumente zur Lösung von Konflikten zwischen Artenschutz und wirtschaftlicher Nutzung natürlicher Ressourcen durch den Menschen am Beispiel Kormoranschutz und Teichwirtschaft

Was tun, wenn sich geschützte Tierarten so gut entwickeln, dass sie der Wirtschaft oder anderen Arten erhebliche Schäden zufügen können? Neben der Bestandsregulierung der betreffenden Art kommen insbesondere Ausgleichszahlungen an die Geschädigten in Betracht. Der vorliegende Beitrag zeigt, dass die entsprechenden gesetzlichen Möglichkeiten aber die spezifischen Besonderheiten einzelner Arten nicht ausreichend berücksichtigen können und deshalb zu einer effektiven Konfliktlösung kaum geeignet sind. Inhaltlich knüpfen die nachfolgenden Ausführungen an einen Beitrag von Künkele (NuR 1988, 334) zum Rechtsschutz von Graureiher und Kormoran nach der alten Rechtslage an. *) Die Autorin ist Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Umweltforschungszentrum Leipzig-Halle GmbH und beschäftigt sich schwerpunktmäßig mit Naturschutz- und Artenschutzrecht.