Free-riding on rent seeking—an empirical analysis

The Common Agricultural Policy is modelled as a club good providing the European Union (EU) farmer with financial benefits. We build an economic model which explains how much farmers in individual EU countries invest in rent-seeking activities in order to test for free-riding behaviour on lobbying costs. For our investigation we group the EU member countries by farm structure, and the type of benefit received. We explain the fees paid by farmers for lobbying by other countries’ fees, political variables, and country and regional agricultural characteristics. The model shows that some member countries free ride on others suggesting a form of policy path dependency.     

MEDICALLY ASSISTED HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES (ART) AND HUMAN RIGHTS — THE EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE

The present article examines how the progress of science, and in particular, medically assisted human reproductive technologies (ART) have provoked a revolution in the sphere of family relations, generating a series of ethical and legal conflicts. The article focuses on the European perspective, without ignoring the international sphere, given the globalization of the phenomenon. The emerging legal issues are analyzed through the filter of international human rights, not only an important aspect to take into consideration in the context of bioethics in general, but a “passage obligé” given that certain concepts find their explanation and coordinates in international human rights law. It is from this perspective that the relationship between ART and human rights is presented. The applicable international and European legal instruments and principles shall be mentioned, as well as a brief comparison of national legal frameworks in Europe. The emerging bioethical and legal issues are examined in correlation with the response of the European Court of Human Rights through its case law aimed at balancing conflicting rights when faced with issues pertaining to ART. Lastly, the article presents in more detail the particular legal issues under debate in France and Italy, two European countries with specific legislation in the field.     

Criminal network vulnerabilities and adaptations

The current paper aimed to investigate the effectiveness of five law enforcement interventions in disrupting and dismantling criminal networks. We tested three law enforcement interventions that targeted social capital in criminal networks (betweenness, degree and cut-set) and two interventions that targeted human capital (actors who possess money and those who possess precursor chemicals). These five interventions are compared with each other and with random (opportunistic) removal of actors in two settings: (i) with network adaptation incorporated into the simulations and (ii) without network adaptation. Results illustrate that the removal of actors based on betweenness centrality was the most efficient strategy, leading to network disruption in the least number of steps and was relatively consistent across replications. Targeting actors who possessed money was the second most effective overall and was also relatively consistent in its disruptive effect.     

Comparison Among Manual Facial Approximations Conducted by Two Methodological Approaches of Face Prediction

This study verified the difference between two methods of forensic facial approximation (FFA) regarding recognition and resemblance rates. Three‐dimensional models of skulls were obtained from computerized tomography (CT) scans of two subjects (targets). Two manual FFAs were performed for each target, by applying two different guidelines for the facial structures (what we called “American method” (AM) and “Combined method” (CM)). Unfamiliar assessors evaluated the sculptures by recognition and resemblance tests. The AM was that which allowed more correct responses of recognition and higher resemblance's scores for the male target (p < 0.001). Regarding guidelines for modeling characteristics of the face, the ones that are practical and easily performed for sculptures, such as the length of the anterior nasal spine multiplied by 3 for nose prediction, may offer better results in terms of resemblance.     

Crime trends through two decades of social changes in Spain

Over the last two decades, the Spanish social fabric has undergone a variety of profound changes, which in turn may explain the rise in police-recorded crime and prison population figures. Although the rise in crime reported to the police has been higher for common offences—misdemeanors—, the mainstream media concentrates overwhelmingly in serious violent crimes—felonies—. Spain does not have an official agency responsible for conducting victimization surveys to measure crime trends as directly experienced by the citizens. Based on this methodology, our study shows that contrary to information gathered from police data, and despite social fabric changes, crime in Spain is decreasing. The present study also reveals the distorted public perception of this trend, which seems to respond to a repetitive coverage of serious crime by the mainstream media.     

The Need for a Positive Psychological Approach and Collaborative Effort for Improving Practice in the Interrogation Room

The White Paper suggests important reforms that will reduce the likelihood of false confessions resulting from police interrogation. The research underlying these suggested reforms has yielded significant advances in our understanding of factors associated with false confessions. As we move forward, we encourage the development of empirically based approaches that provide a viable alternative to current practice. In doing so, we suggest that researchers pursue a positive psychological approach that involves partnering with practitioners to systematically develop interrogative methods that are shown to be more diagnostic. By taking such an approach, we believe that the recommendations offered in the current White Paper can be supplemented by methods that carry the support of both scientific and law enforcement communities.     

The Effect of Decalcifying Solutions on Hemosiderin Staining

Abstract: To determine whether routine decalcification may reduce the amount of stainable iron that is visible on tissue sections, samples of liver and lung tissue with excessive iron stores were placed in three standard decalcifying solutions (i) formic acid [33%], formaldehyde [4%], and NaCl [0.85%]; (ii) formic acid [30%], formaldehyde [4%], and water; and (iii) nitric acid [5%] for 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. After exposure to the decalcifying solutions, the tissues were stained with Perls stain. The slides were examined blind and the intensity of iron staining was scored semiquantitatively from 0 to 3+. The trend in all samples over the course of the experiment (96 h) was for reduction in the intensity of hemosiderin staining. As the amount of stainable hemosiderin in tissues may be significantly altered by decalcification, the absence of hemosiderin in tissues adjacent to a fracture site does not necessarily indicate that the injury was acute.     

Cross‐Cultural Comparison of Two Serial Sexual Murder Series in Italy and the United States

Abstract: There have been few documented comparisons of serial murder cases committed in the United States with cases occurring internationally. The authors contrasted two unique serial murder series: one in Italy and one in the United States by examining the details of both series, including the M.O., motivation, crime scene interactions, sexual acts performed, and the general backgrounds of both offenders. The comparison revealed a number of similarities. Both offenders specifically targeted elderly women, who were attacked in their residences. The two series involved sexually motivated crimes, although the sexual interactions were different. Both offenders stole objects from their victims after the murders and each kept newspaper accounts of their crimes. In addition, both offenders claimed to have abusive upbringings, including sexual abuse.     

Development of a Nomenclature System for a Canine STR Multiplex Reagent Kit*†

Abstract: Despite the popularity of dogs in US households, canine DNA evidence remains largely untapped in forensic investigations partially because of the absence of well‐defined forensic short tandem repeats (STRs), lack of standardized and validated PCR protocols, STR reagent kits, and poorly developed nomenclature. A nomenclature system was established based on internationally recognized recommendations for human forensic STRs for a recently developed canine STR reagent kit. Representative alleles were sequenced from each of the 18 STRs and the sex‐typing marker included in the kit. This study also reflects on the impact of point mutations, insertions, and deletions within and outside the STR core repeat structures. An understanding of the STRs’ sequence and repeat structures will enable development of a robust and reliable allele nomenclature and improve the accuracy and precision of allele fragment sizing in canine forensic profiling. The expected allele sizes have been calculated, and their repeat stuctures defined based on sequence information.     

Impact of emergency department intimate partner violence intervention

The objective of the study is to assess the impact of emergency department (ED) intimate partner violence (IPV) counseling and resource referrals on patient-perceived safety and safety planning. ED patients with risk factors were offered consultation with trained IPV advocacy counselors who completed safety assessments, provided resource referrals, and helped patients develop safety plans. Patients were contacted after ED intervention to assess progress and further assist in IPV counseling. Over 96% of patients perceived an increase in their safety after the intervention, and approximately 50% had completed a portion of their safety plan. Legal assistance and/or law enforcement were considered the most beneficial resource referrals. Although follow-up was limited, this study appears to demonstrate that an ED IPV intervention program may be useful in helping IPV victims achieve safer living environments and access local resources.