CEO qualities and codes of ethics

Ethical issues have received growing attention recently, after corporate scandals and during the current economic crisis. Several initiatives have been adopted to restore confidence and trust in businesses, such as ethics codes. In addition, as a result of those scandals and financial frauds, several rules have focused on the role played by Boards of Directors in the planning and monitoring of codes of ethics. However, the empirical evidence is still scarce and needs some degree of extension. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of several corporate governance features—particularly, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)—on the decision of developing an ethics code, among Spanish companies. Our main findings point out the lack of influence of the CEO’s characteristics (except for CEO reputation) on the likelihood of having a corporate code, indicating that this decision has to do with a choice made by the company overall, perhaps because of regulatory reasons or stakeholders’ expectations. Also, we have checked how other variables, such as the extent of a firm’s participation in defence or other government contracts or multiple listings of the company in different financial markets, can influence the decision of developing an ethics code.     

Evaluation of the efficacy and effectiveness of the Spanish security forces

This work aims to study the efficacy and effectiveness of Spanish police forces concerning major crimes—differentiating those against property, public safety, the person, and sexual liberty and indemnity—in the 2001–2006 period, using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). To study their efficacy we will consider both operational efficacy, defined as the ratio between solved crimes and tasks, and goals efficacy, intended to show the effect of operational efficacy on the level of crime in the subsequent year, which is measured by the annual variation in major crimes. The analysis of the effectiveness of Spanish police forces attempts to measure the impact of goals efficacy on how people perceive local security. To determine their effectiveness we will also consider the tourism variation index, population and economic activity and their influence on the variation in the number of crimes. The results show that the average operational effectiveness of police during the period analysed reaches 96%, with optimal behaviour in 19% of the stations analysed. Additionally, our findings show that the average goals effectiveness is 89% and the average effectiveness turns out to be 89%.     

Books received

The Economy of Bangladesh. By Azizur Rahman Khan. London : Macmillan and New York: St. Martins Press, 1972. Pp. xviii + 196; £4.95.

Matching Employment Opportunities and Expectations: A Programme of Action for Ceylon. Report by the International Labour Office. Geneva, 1971. Pp. xvii + 251; £1.60 and U.S.$4.

Price Consistency in Development Planning. By Peter A. Cornelisse. Rotterdam University Press, 1973. Pp. xiv + 154 n.p.

The Mexican Economy: Twentieth‐Century Structure and Growth. By Clark W. Reynolds. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1970. Pp. xxiv, 468; £6.05.

Nutrition, National Development and Planning. Edited by A. Berg, N. S. Scrimshaw and D. L. Call. Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T., 1973. Pp. 400. £4–50.

The Nutrition Factor: its Role in National Development. By Alan Berg, Portions with Robert J. Muscat. Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1973. Pp. xii 4‐ 290, Tables, Figures. $8.95.

The Ecology of Malnutrition in Mexico and Central America. By Jacques M. May and Donna L. McLellan. New York: Hafner, 1972. Pp. xiii + 397, tables, maps; £7.50.

The Ecology of Malnutrition in the Caribbean. By Jacques M. May and Donna L. McLellan. New York: Hafner, 1973. Pp. viii + 490, tables, maps; £9.95.     

Maternal depression and adolescent behavior problems: an examination of mediation among immigrant Latino mothers and their adolescent children exposed to community violence

This study examines the psychological and behavioral effects of exposure to community violence of 47 Latino mothers and their young adolescent children. Using data gathered from multiple sources, this study tests the associations between lifetime exposure to community violence, maternal depression, and child behavior problems. More than 80% of the youngsters ranging from age 11 to 14 years and 68% of the mothers reported being exposed to at least one act of community violence either as a victim or as a witness. Analyses reveal that maternal depression is a mediator of child behavior problems, reducing the direct effect of community violence exposure by more than 50%. Findings suggest that maternal depression is a factor more important than child's community violence exposure in contributing to young adolescents' behavioral problems.     

Genetic Data Analysis of Nine STRs in Two Caribbean Colombian Populations: César and Guajira

POPULATION:  We have analyzed the distribution of the allele frequencies and parameters of forensic interest at nine short tandem repeat (STR) loci (CSF1PO, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D13S317, FGA, TH01, TPOX, and vWA) in a sample population of 165 unrelated individuals from César and Guajira, Caribbean populations of Colombia.     

Mexican Intellectuals and Policy Alternation (2000–2004)

The political and intellectual landscape of Mexico has been changed by two dramatic events: a new democratic experience, with the triumph of Vicente Fox in the presidential elections of the year 2000; and the relevant role that intellectuals are playing in public opinion. Soon, the democratic experience turned from illusion to deception, basically because Mexican political culture still is authoritarian, and this is something Mexican intellectuals could not accept. Their critics point out that democracy in Mexico is as new as it is weak, and Fox's government has been attacked in the media as no other president in recent history.     

Recidivism and Psychiatric Symptom Outcomes in a Juvenile Mental Health Court

Few researchers have examined outcomes in Juvenile Mental Health Courts. Recidivism rates were assessed among 108 predominantly African American (95.3%) youth. Ages ranged from 12 to 18 (M = 15.85, SD = 1.45). Substantially fewer re‐convictions, along with re‐arrests, were exhibited among the treatment group (n = 54) compared to the control group (n = 54) after one year of participation or probation supervision. Psychiatric symptomatology among 21 youth was assessed pre‐ and post‐ intervention using the Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scales‐Self Report. Cohen's d effect sizes indicated substantial reductions in mental health symptoms (.33 ≥ d ≤ .88). Results are consistent with the previous studies of problem‐solving court efficacy.