Reviews

Gert Leptin and Manfred Melzer, Economic Reforms in East German Industry, London, OUP, 1978, xxv + 200 pp. £12.00.

Jiri Kosta, Abriss der sozialökonomischen Entwicklung der Tschechoslowakei 1945–1977 (An Outline of the Socio‐Economic Development of Czechoslovakia 1945–1977), Edition Suhrkamp No. 974, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1978, 217 pp.

Vladimir V. Kusin, From Dub?ek to Charter 77: A study of ‘normalisation’ in Czechoslovakia 1968–1978. Edinburgh: Q Press, 1978. x + 353 pp. £8.50.

Leon Boim and Glenn G. Morgan (ed. & trans.), The Soviet Procuracy Protests: 1937–1973; A Collection of Translations. Alphen aan den Rijn: Sijthoff & Noordhoff, 1978. xvi + 603 pp. Dfl. 190.00/$88.50.

Gordon B. Smith, The Soviet Procuracy and the Supervision of Administration. Alphen aan den Rijn: Sijthoff and Noordhoff, 1978. xii + 154 pp. Dfl. 55.00/$25.50.

Peter Kenez, Civil War in South Russia, 1919–1920: The Defeat of the Whites. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977. $17.50; £12.25.

Kendall E. Bailes, Technology and Society under Lenin and Stalin: Origins of the Soviet Technical Intelligentsia, 1917–1941. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton U.P., 1978. xiii + 472 pp. £20.10.

Delia W. Sheldon (ed.), Dimensions of Détente, New York: Praeger Publishers, 1978, 221 pp.

George Ginsburgs and Alvin Z. Rubinstein (eds.), Soviet Foreign Policy Toward Western Europe, New York: Praeger Publishers, 1978, 295 pp.

Malcolm Lader, Psychiatry on Trial, Penguin Books Ltd., 1977. 201 pp. 80p.

George F. Putnam, Russian Alternatives to Marxism: Christian Socialism and Idealistic Liberalism in Twentieth‐Century Russia. Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 1977. xii + 233 pp. $13.50.

A. Nekrich, Otreshis’ ot strakha. Overseas Publication Interchange Ltd., London, 1979. 414 pp.

Aron Katsenelinboigen, Studies in Soviet Economic Planning. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1978. xiii + 229 pp. $22.50.

Walter D. Connor & Zvi Y. Gitelman (eds.), Public Opinion in European Socialist Systems. New York & London: Praeger Special Studies, 1977. ix + 196 pp.

Mervyn Matthews, Privilege in the Soviet Union: A Study of Elite Life‐Styles under Communism. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1978. 193 pp. £6.95.

Barbara Evans Clements, Bolshevik Feminist. The Life of Aleksandra Kollontai. Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 1979. 352 pp. $15.00.     

Competition and health care policy: experience and expectations

Since 1970 federal policymakers have tried to strengthen competition and incentive-based market forces as alternatives to regulation in containing health costs. The effort to stimulate the growth of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) throughout the country has had limited results, and federal plans to promote competition by enacting changes in the health insurance market have so far come to little. Coalitions in some localities have shown growing interest in flexible HMO variants, however, and the intellectual force of the HMO critique of mainstream practices remains strong. Moreover, the federal government has shown new interest in prospective reimbursement of hospitals--a proposal that draws from both HMOs--competition--and hospital rate-setting programs--regulation--the element of prospectivity.     

An investigation of two methods of DNA recovery from fired and unfired 9 mm ammunition

Cartridge cases are often recovered from crime scenes involving firearms and, in the United Kingdom (where gun possession is strictly controlled), these are commonly from 9 mm calibre ammunition. The ability to obtain informative DNA profiles from touch DNA on recovered cartridges could have a significant impact on the investigation of that type of offence. However, this avenue may not be routinely considered as investigators in the UK have historically had a low expectation of obtaining useful DNA profiles. This stance may not be unreasonable given that (a) only trace amounts of DNA are likely to have been transferred onto the cartridge cases through handling; and (b) when the cartridge is spent, the potential deterioration of that DNA caused by the act of discharging the weapon.We introduce a novel semi-automatable method using direct lysis for the recovery of DNA from ammunition and compare it with a traditional double-swabbing method (using wet and dry swabs). DNA profiling of the DNA recovered using both methods was carried out using the ESI17 FAST STR system (Promega). This demonstrated a significant increase in DNA recovery using the direct lysis approach, and correspondingly improved STR results.We also investigated the effect on the recovery and profiling of DNA from fired, and unfired, 9 mm cartridges using the direct lysis technique. These results demonstrate that DNA suitable for STR analysis can still be recovered from fired ammunition with only slightly reduced yields compared to unfired ammunition. In these experiments, the handler of the ammunition was most commonly either the sole contributor or the major contributor to the recovered DNA profile.     

Supreme Court, 12 November 1999, The United States of America v. Havenschap Delfzijl/Eemshaven,RvdW 1999, 172C,NIPR 2000, 40.

Netherlands International Law Review -     

Working with People Who Are Violent to Their Partners: A Safety Building Approach

This article offers a new perspective on the assessment, treatment and management of adults who are violent to their partners. Using a worked case example, it describes how a solution-focused approach is used to develop, and evidence, safety for all family members.