The convergent bribe

This essay is an analysis of drawing up a social menu based entirely on goods provided by the state. We make the unavoidable assumption that all voters vote for a specific menu combination on the argument used by J. K. Arrow to prove the voting paradox or voting impossibility. However, what is possible, though not inevitable, is to obtain a maximum or a second-best by allowing some groups to bribe others into accepting a given combination. This will lead to successive sequences of voting until the desired number of sub-combinations is reached. The bribes are thus purposeful, constituting a convergent ordinal chain.     

Sexual Behavior and Perceived Peer Norms: Comparing Perinatally Hiv-infected and Hiv-affected Youth

A large proportion of perinatally HIV-infected (PHIV) children are becoming adolescents and exploring their sexuality. This study explored the prevalence of sexual behaviors (kissing, touching, engaging in oral sex, or having vaginal/anal intercourse) in a sample of predominantly ethnic minority youths (N = 339; 54.1% Black and 30.4% Latino; 51% female; ages 9–16) perinatally exposed to HIV (61% HIV+). Using logistic regression, we tested the association between sexual behavior and HIV status, demographic characteristics, and peer influences regarding sexual behavior. PHIV youth were less likely to be sexually active. Among sexually active youth, PHIV youth were more likely to engage in touching behavior than HIV-negative youth and were less likely to engage in penetrative sex. Youths reporting that a greater number of their peers believed that sexually active boys were “cool” or “popular” were more likely to report sexual behavior. The association between sexual behavior and peers believing sexually active girls were “cool” or “popular” varied by age, gender, and HIV status. Furthermore, friends’ sexual activity was associated with sexual intercourse. Prevention programs should strengthen messages addressing peer norms regarding sexuality, as well as address specific issues related to adolescent HIV.

How to build European private law: an economic analysis of the lawmaking and harmonization dimensions in European private law

In the process of building a European Private Law, the lawmaking and harmonization dimensions??the modes of harmonization and even more, the scope and reach of the harmonizing effect of the European rules- appear as crucial issues. We show how the harmonization strategy is as important a question as whether we should have European Private Law at all. We present an economic discussion of the different modes of harmonizing Private Law in the abstract, and how they are likely to differently affect outcomes. We also present in informal terms a simple economic model of how to build optimal harmonized rules and standards in a setting of pre-existing separate and diverse national ones, and we systematically explore how the different harmonization regimes (maximum harmonization, minimum harmonization, and pure co-existence of harmonized and national standards) affect the outcomes of the harmonization process.     

Enforcement of Community Designs by Alicante courts: a promising start

LEGAL CONTEXT: Within the context of the European Union legal framework ofdesigns, the Community Designs Regulation has been operatingsince March 2002. Since April 2003, the first Registered CommunityDesigns were published by the Alicante-based OHIM. From thespringtime of 2004, the first decisions issued by OHIM relatedto invalidity of designs were published. KEY POINTS: Enforcement of Community Designs is a matter for national courtsto deal with it, since no Community-wide judicial system wasset. National "Community Design Courts", as they are called,were set in each Member State with jurisdiction to hear infringementcases and make decisions with cross-border effect. PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: For holders of Community designs, the first cases decided bythe Spanish Community Designs Courts are specially relevantsince holders have a legitimate expectation, on the basis ofthe first decisions adopted since September 2004, to see theirdesigns effectively enforced. The consolidation of the Communitydesign system will very much depend on the effectiveness ofenforcement by courts like the one in Alicante, which has shown,not only a clear readiness to protect CTM owners, but now also,Community design holders.     

Increasing the Human Capital of Children in Latin American Countries: The Role of Parents’ Time in Childcare

In this paper, we focus on the relationship between parents’ education and activities aimed at increasing the human capital of children (for example, educational childcare). Using time use surveys from Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia we find that in Mexico, Peru, and Colombia the level of education of both father and mother has a positive association with the time devoted to educational childcare, while in Ecuador only fathers’ level of education has a positive association with father’s time devoted to educational childcare. Furthermore, we find that the time devoted to educational childcare by parents is positively related in all four countries.     

西班牙新的未成年人司法制度论纲

西班牙于2000年1月20日颁布了<5/2000法案>,规定了未成年人和青少年犯罪的所有实质性、程序性和行政性的干预规则,创建了综合性的刑事司法制度,该制度与自治区保护未成年人的社会服务相结合,为司法制度和司法措施提供了有效的支持.     

“威望“号船事件之后的油污立法

通过对在“威望”号船事件之后国际上有关的油污立法及采取的措施作一个较全面的介绍,尤其是重点介绍欧盟及西班牙的有关立法和措施,对有关“威望”号船事件的调查以及在油污立法变革方面存在的有关问题进行阐述和评论。     

Capturing the Cali cartel: Selections from Jaque Mate

The Colombian National Policedismantled the Cali cartel through thedevelopment of a new style of intelligence,the assiduous use of informants, theemployment of modern technology, and zerotolerance of corruption within the force.In the course of several months in 1995,the key members of the organization werearrested, including Jorge Elicier, GilbertoRodriguez Orejuela, and Jose SantacruzLondono. Good luck and US assistance alsocontributed to the success of overalloperation.     

The Physiological Expression of Living in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods for Youth

Evidence suggests that the consequences of chronic exposure to stressors extend beyond psychological effects, and that adolescents living in socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods may experience an accumulation of exposure to stressors that wears down the physical systems in the body, resulting in hyper-activation of the stress response. This research examines the relationship between exposure to neighborhood stressors and salivary cortisol reactivity in a sample of 163 at-risk African American adolescents (average age 21; 50 % female) living in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. More specifically, the relationship between neighborhood stressors and physiological stress, measured by baseline cortisol and cortisol reactivity is assessed. This research also examines several moderating pathways between exposure to neighborhood disadvantage and cortisol reactivity including substance use, high effort coping, psychological stress and social support. Results indicate that both individual and neighborhood-level factors influence adolescent cortisol. High effort coping and psychological stress were associated with cortisol in the sample, and exposure to neighborhood socio-economic disadvantage resulted in an atypical cortisol response. In addition, neighborhood disadvantage interacted with intra- and interpersonal factors to affect cortisol indirectly. Thus, living in disadvantaged neighborhoods may take a psychological and physiological toll on adolescents, and it also may exert synergistic effects through individual coping and vulnerabilities.     

Longitudinal Associations between Maternal Involvement,Cultural Orientations,and Prosocial Behaviors Among Recent Immigrant Latino Adolescents

Prosocial behaviors (i.e., actions that benefit others) are important markers of healthy social functioning, and understanding the factors that predict such outcomes among recent immigrant Latino adolescents is important. The current study examines the longitudinal associations between maternal involvement and prosocial behaviors via collectivism values. Data comes from a longitudinal project (Construyendo Oportunidades Para los Adolescentes Latinos) of 302 recently immigrated U.S. Latina/o adolescents (53.3% male, average age?=?14.51 years old). The current study uses data from three times points across 2 years. The results demonstrated that maternal involvement was positively associated with collectivism values. Collectivism was positively associated with changes in prosocial behaviors. There was also partial support for a reverse-causal model. Discussion focuses on the links among parenting, cultural values, and prosocial behaviors among immigrant U.S. Latina/o adolescents.