Coordinating in the Shadow of the Law: Two Contextualized Tests of the Focal Point Theory of Legal Compliance

In situations where people have an incentive to coordinate their behavior, law can provide a framework for understanding and predicting what others are likely to do. According to the focal point theory of legal compliance, the law's articulation of a behavior can sometimes create self‐fulfilling expectations that it will occur. Existing theories of legal compliance emphasize the effect of sanctions or legitimacy; we argue that, in addition to sanctions and legitimacy, law can also influence compliance simply by making one outcome salient. We tested this claim in two experiments where sanctions and legitimacy were held constant. Experiment 1 demonstrated that a mandatory legal rule operating in a property dispute influenced compliance only when there was an element of coordination. Experiment 2 demonstrated that a default rule in a contract negotiation acted as a focal point for coordinating negotiation decisions. Both experiments confirm that legal rules can create a focal point around which people tend to coordinate.     

Participatory risk assessment: a new approach for safer food in vulnerable African communities

Women play the major role in food supply in developing countries, but too often their ability to feed their families properly is compromised; the result is high levels of food-borne disease and consequent limited access to higher-value markets. We argue that risk-based approaches – current best practice for managing food safety in developed countries – require adaptation to the difficult context of informal markets. We suggest participatory research and gender analysis as boundary-spanning mechanisms, bringing communities and food-safety implementers together to analyse food-safety problems and develop workable solutions. Examples show how these methodologies can contribute to operationalising risk-based approaches in urban settings and to the development of a new approach to assessing and managing food safety in poor countries, which we call ‘participatory risk analysis’.     

Collateral Damage: An Analysis of the Achievements and Unintended Consequences of Batterer Intervention Programs and Discourse

This paper reviews and critiques two prevailing program models for batterer intervention in order to highlight both their valuable achievements and attendant costs and consequences. We analyze these batterer intervention program models at 3 levels. First, we describe the historical development and basic program components of the intervention models. Second, we trace differences in the models to their grounding in different psychological assumptions and theories about behavior change, masculinity, and violence. Third, differences between the models are mapped onto contrasting approaches to the regulation of human deviance in the criminal justice and mental health systems. Based on this analysis, we conclude that further attention to structural and contextual factors, such as class, race, economic stress, and substance abuse in explanations of domestic violence is needed, together with alternative approaches to collaboration between victim advocates and batterer intervention providers.     

Thorns among the roses: A year of the socialist experiment in France

The election of President Mitterrand in May 1981 promised a new era of social and economic reform. The Socialist appeal to national solidarity sought a consensus to promote social justice and to revive the economy. After an initial period of grace during which a number of reforms were implemented, the government encountered increasing difficulties, partly caused by the international economic situation but also due to a failure to win business confidence and to the inconsistencies of its own policies. In consequence, the government was forced to introduce a range of deflationary and austerity measures which put the whole of its reforming strategy in question.     

Britain and the Recognition of Bangladesh in 1972

This analysis reviews the discussion behind Britain's recognition of Bangladesh as an independent state in February 1972. It concentrates on correspondence in the preceding six weeks between Whitehall and its diplomatic postings, particularly in the Commonwealth, and considers in detail the role of the Commonwealth Secretariat. Perceptions of recognition are first briefly discussed, followed by Bangladesh's historical background and the international security issues surrounding it. Government and Commonwealth Secretariat files are studied in detail. They show above all the influence on Government decision-making of diplomatic intelligence, in particular the importance of economic and political factors. Also revealed are London's concern for Pakistan's president, Zulfiquar Bhutto, its desire not to recognize alone and the attitude of the Commonwealth's Secretary General. The study suggests that recognition is a far more complex matter than the legal definition would imply and presents a compelling case for its further analysis in an historical context.     

Development of a real-time method to detect DNA degradation in forensic samples

Abstract: Knowledge of the degradation state of evidentiary DNA samples would allow selection of the appropriate analysis method (standard short tandem repeats [STRs] vs. mini STRs vs. mtDNA). This article describes the development of a Plexor® technology/real‐time PCR DNA degradation detection assay, which uses a common forward primer and two reverse primers (different fluorophores) to generate two Alu amplicons (63 and 246 bp). This very sensitive assay was optimized for reaction volume, cycle number, anneal/extend time, and temperature. Using DNA samples degraded with DNaseI, the ratio of the concentration of the short amplicon to the concentration of the long amplicon (degradation ratio) was increased versus time of degradation. Experiments were performed on a variety of environmentally degraded samples (age, sunlight, heat) and with seven commonly encountered forensic inhibitors. The degradation ratio was found to predict the observed loss of larger STR loci seen in the analysis of comprised samples.