Anionic markers for the forensic identification of Chemical Ignition Molotov Cocktail composition

An improved version of the famous Molotov cocktail is the Chemical Ignition Molotov Cocktail (CIMC). This incendiary device contains chemical reagents that enable its self-ignition. The analysis of anions from CIMC residues by capillary electrophoresis (CE) allows the identification of the reagents used to produce the device, and provides forensic analysts with valuable information. Although, sulfate, chlorate, chloride, and perchlorate anions have been recently proposed in the literature as target anions to determine the CIMC composition, the identification of some of them could be controversial due to their presence in the environment. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify highly reliable anions capable of indicating the components used to prepare these self-initiated devices. The relationship among the detected anions in CIMC residues and the reagents employed in their elaboration is discussed. Some anions have been proposed as anionic markers of CIMC as incendiary devices. Additionally, the viability of different CIMC compositions was studied.     

State budget support to local government

The principle of self-government is essentially a new phenomena in the Czech Republic. Under the previous regime, almost everything was ruled by the central government. At the present time, the major constraint to local budget reform is primarily from the local authorities’ lack of experience. While on one hand, this gives the Czech Republic a challenge to avoid some of the mistakes made in several developed countries, it is, on the other hand, difficult to make estimates of the possible responses to any change. Next to the lack of experience, there is a strong feeling both at the local and the central levels of government that the self-government bodies should have almost no regulation from the central government. The current opinion is that their control should be left only to the respective electorate. There is also the belief that self-government units should become increasing financed by tax revenues derived from within their own area. An additional complication is the lack of common non-governmental institutions (different associations and others) which usually smooth the the relationship between local and central governments. The changes in the Czech Republic are not yet complete. After the changes in the legal framework, the complete reform of the tax and social systems were to follow. While the essentials of tax reform were introduced in January 1993, the changes in the social systems are still under consideration. In spite of the relatively short history of having true local authorities functioning in the Czech Republic, the establishment of an additional level of government is being proposed. This issue is reopening some already closed matters and will bring a change to the whole system. As in many other countries, the division of responsibilities between different levels of government will probably continue to be discussed until the end of time.     

Political parties and corruption in Portugal

Portugal is often considered an example of successful democratic consolidation. Yet it has not been exempt from corruption scandals. By the mid‐1990s, transparency and the moralisation of political life had come to dominate parliamentary debates and reforms. The illegality surrounding party life must be seen against the background of dominant ethical standards in society. Voters appear tolerant of the unethical behaviour of political leaders, while parties are gradually becoming less responsive to their electorate. Representation and delegation rely more on tacit consent than on voice, thus encouraging complacency over corruption.     

Endogenous Development Dynamics of Multisectoral Network Management

ABSTRACT

Little is known about the effects of regime change on government workers’ job satisfaction. Conventional theories of work satisfaction have identified various individual or organizational antecedents of public employees’ well-being in many different contexts. In this study, we add an additional level of analysis to the study of job satisfaction. The German reunification in 1990 constitutes a natural experiment where public employees’ institutional work environment changed dramatically. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we show that, after the reunification, East German public employees who stayed in their jobs experienced a “satisfaction shock” by substantially decreasing their levels of job satisfaction. This finding is in line with what has been labelled as “survivor syndrome” in the general management literature. We also find that, after three years’ time, differences in satisfaction levels between East and West Germans reverted to pre-reunion levels. These findings are robust to various model specifications and alternative estimators. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.     

Remarks concerning a research note on The Dutch Affair 1

Claire Sterling, The Time of the Assassins: Anatomy of an Investigation (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1983, new edition 1985), pp. 295, $4.95 (paperback).     

The politics of desire

This paper examines the relevance of the ‘particularity of the place where discourse is produced’ in two literary histories to discover if de Certeau's distinction, in Heterologies, between historiography and psychoanalysis, helps to determine if and how a work written by a white writer who writes about Aboriginal literature differs from the work of a black writer who does the same thing. It concludes that the status of the author is not a matter of indifference, neither is it simply a matter of personal experience. It ushers in the need to differentiate subject positions in relation to incremental moments of the past and in relation to constructs of the ‘other’.     

Victims’ Rights and Distributive Justice: In Search of Actors

The aim of this article is to discuss the role that victim groups and organizations may have in framing and supporting an accountability agenda, as well as their potential for endorsing a distributive justice agenda. The article explores two empirical cases where victims' rights have been introduced and applied by victim organizations to promote accountability—Colombia and Peru. It will be argued that if transitional justice in general and victim reparations in particular are to embark in a quest for distributive justice, it cannot do so without considering victims as political actors, and putting forward demands in terms of victims’ rights.