The Effects of Doing More with Less in the Public Sector: Evidence from a Large‐Scale Survey

Since the onset of the Great Recession, “doing more with less” has become a policy mantra. To do more with less, a range of governments have concurrently imposed wage cuts and greater work demands on public employees. This article assesses the impact of these changes on the job satisfaction and work motivation of public employees in 34 European countries. Congruent with previous studies linking income and working hours with job attitudes, the article finds a negative impact on both. There are no free austerity lunches: while public employees may work longer hours for lower pay, they are less satisfied and less motivated when doing so. One caveat applies: the effect on motivation—although not satisfaction—is mitigated when employees feel that their values are aligned with those of their organization. This puts a premium on public managers fostering value alignment, particularly when it is hardest to achieve: in times of cutbacks.     

The political economy of mass privatisation and imperfect taxation: Winners and loosers

This article investigates the connection between the apparently uncorrelated issues of tax evasion and privatisation in a political economy framework. We first consider how the political process – given a country's level of development and income distribution – will affect the efficiency of the tax system. We then discuss the impact of the efficiency of the taxation system on the outcomes of privatisation. We consider under which condition privatisation will proceed, and who will be the political supporters as well as the main winners of the privatisation process. Moreover, we investigate the impact of different forms of corruption both on the initial public support for privatisation, as well as on its long term political sustainability.     

A Comparison of Dependent and Self-Critically Depressed Hospitalized Adolescents

One hundred ninety-four hospitalized adolescents were administered the Adolescent Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ-A). The DEQ-A factors (dependency, self-criticism) correlated well with independent measures of depression, hopelessness, self-esteem, and suicide risk. After controlling for depression, self-criticism and dependency showed differential associations with hopelessness, violence potential, and impulsivity. A subgroup of 84 inpatients identified as either highly self-critical or highly dependent based on the DEQ-A was also compared for differences in personality and symptomatic behavior. Self-critical and dependent patients exhibited equally high levels of depression, hopelessness, suicidality, and low self-esteem. Few differences were observed in personality or symptomatic behavior between the two groups. These findings, while extending previous research that relied on community samples of young adults, provide only mixed support for a distinction between these two categories of depression.     

Genetic variability of 16 Y-chromosome STRs in a sample from Equatorial Guinea (Central Africa)

Nine Y-STR loci from the "minimal haplotype" included in Y-STR Haplotype Reference Databases (YHRD) together with eight additional Y-STRs (DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS460, DYS461, GATA C4, GATA H4 and GATA A10) were analyzed in a sample of 101 males from Equatorial Guinea living in Madrid. Haplotype and allelic frequencies were calculated and genetic diversities were estimated for each genetic system as well as for the whole haplotype. An unexpected high frequency (6%) of intermediate alleles (13.2 and 14.2) was found in DYS385. For DYS19, two alleles were found in one sample. Another sample failed to amplify with DYS393 primers using either PowerPlex Y System (Promega Corporation) or the Y-PLEXtrade mark 12 (Reliagene, New Orleans, LA) commercial kits. Comparison between Equatorial Guinea and another African population (Mozambique; South East Coast) revealed a significant pairwise Phi(st) value between them (Phi(st)=0.03309; P=0.00000).     

Mitochondrial DNA error prophylaxis: assessing the causes of errors in the GEP'02-03 proficiency testing trial

A qualitative and quantitative analytical method was developed and validated for the determination of 49 licit and illicit drugs in oral fluid. Small oral fluid samples, volume 1mL, were collected from volunteers using a modified Omni-Sal device and the analytes were extracted from an oral fluid/buffer mixture using a single Bond Elut Certify solid phase extraction cartridge. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) and gas chromatography-repetitive full scan mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used in parallel to analyze the extracts for the targeted drugs. Extracts were analyzed by GC-MS in their underivatized form and as their pentafluoropropionyl derivatives. Deuterated internal standards were used for quantification of drugs of abuse by LC-MS-MS to minimize matrix effects. Methadone-d(9) and tumoxetine were used as the internal standards for quantification of non-derivatized and derivatized analytes respectively by GC-MS. Linearity was demonstrated over the range 5-200 ng/mL and limits of detection were less than 4 ng/mL for each drug analyzed. The method demonstrated acceptable recoveries for most of the analytes and good intra- and inter-day precision. Acquisition of data by repetitive full scan GC-MS allows the addition of further analytes to the target menu.     

Nine autosomal STRs genotype profiles in a sample from Córdoba (Argentina)

Nine STRs loci have been typed in a sample from Córdoba (Argentina).     

Analysis of the CODIS autosomal STR loci in four main Colombian regions

Genotype polymorphism studies at the 13 loci STRs included in the combined DNA index system [CODIS and PCR-based short tandem repeat loci, in: Proceedings of the Second European Symposium on Human Identification, Promega Corporation, Madison, WI, 1998, pp. 73-88; J. Forensic Sci. 46 (2001) 453] (CODIS: D3S1358, HUMvWA31, HUMFGA, D8S1179 D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, HUMTH01, HUMTPOX, HUMCSF1PO and D16S539) were carried out in a sample of 1429 unrelated Colombian individuals belonging to 25 different departments. As many other countries in Latino-America, Colombia shows an important admixture component, basically integrated by Amerindians, European-descendants and African-descendants. Due to the fact that only partial population analyses have been carried out in the country, the main aim of the present analysis is to establish a database of forensic interest based on the widely used CODIS systems covering the main Colombian regions.