The use and non-use of policy appraisal tools in public policy making: an analysis of three European countries and the European Union

The increasing complexity of policy problems, coupled with the political desire to base new policies on the foundation of firm evidence, has accelerated the development of policy assessment tools. These range from complex computer models and cost benefit analysis through simple checklists and decision trees. In the last decade, many governments have established formal policy assessment systems to harness these tools in order to facilitate more evidence-based policy making. These tools are potentially widely available, but to what extent are they used by policy makers and what becomes of the evidence that they generate? This paper addresses these questions by studying the empirical patterns of tool use across 37 cases in three European countries and the European Commission. It uses a simple classification of tools into advanced, formal and simple types. It finds that even when tools are embedded in policy assessment systems, their use is differentiated and on the whole very limited, in particular when it comes to more advanced tools. It then explores these patterns from contrasting theoretical perspectives to shed light on why, when and how different policy assessment tools are used in the policy process.     

US police officers’ knowledge regarding behaviors indicative of deception: Implications for eradicating erroneous beliefs through training

Abstract

The current study surveyed a random sample of Texas law enforcement officers (n?=?109) about their knowledge regarding behaviors indicative of deception. The officers were not highly knowledgeable about this topic, overall performing at a chance level in assessing how various behavioral cues relate to deception. Confidence in one's skill was unrelated to accuracy, and officers who reported receiving the most training and utilizing these skills more often were more confident but no more accurate in their knowledge of the behaviors that typically betray deception. The authors compare these results to previous studies that have examined officers’ beliefs in other countries and discuss the implication of these results in terms of developing future training programs that may debunk the common misconceptions that officers possess.     

Schranken des Rechts zur Pflichtteilsminderung nach § 773a Abs 3 ABGB

Das Recht auf Pflichtteilsminderung steht nach § 773a Abs 3 ABGB nicht zu, wenn der Erblasser die Ausübung des Rechts auf pers?nlichen Verkehr mit dem Pflichtteilsberechtigten grundlos abgelehnt hat. Im Rahmen dieser Bestimmung sind minderj?hrige und erwachsene Kinder gleich zu behandeln. § 773a Abs 3 ABGB ist auch auf solche Testamente anzuwenden, die vor dem 1. 7. 2001 (Inkrafttreten dieser Bestimmung) verfasst worden sind. Zum Entfall des Minderungsrechts führt aber nur ein Verhalten, das der Erblasser nach dem 1. 7. 2001 gesetzt hat. Für Dauersachverhalte (hier: das Verh?ltnis Eltern und Kind) gelten die Rechtsfolgen eines neuen Gesetzes ab seinem Inkrafttreten; mangels abweichender übergangsregelung ist der Teil des Dauertatbestands, der in den zeitlichen Geltungsbereich des neuen Gesetzes reicht, nach der neuen Rechtslage zu beurteilen.     

Bewilligung der Adoption: Zustimmung der Mutter erforderlich, deren Aufenthalt bei Beschlussfassung erster Instanz bekannt ist

Die Voraussetzungen für die Bewilligung der Adoption sind nach der Sach- und Rechtslage im Zeitpunkt der Beschlussfassung erster Instanz zu beurteilen. Auch der Kreis der Zustimmungsberechtigten bestimmt sich nach diesem Zeitpunkt; es ist kein Grund erkennbar, die Voraussetzungen für den Entfall des Zustimmungserfordernisses nach § 181 Abs 2 ABGB nach einem anderen Zeitpunkt zu beurteilen. Bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt kann sich auch eine Mutter, die keine ausdrückliche Zustimmung zur Adoption erteilt hat und mehr als sechs Monate unbekannten Aufenthaltes war, gegen diese aussprechen. Vor Bewilligung der Adoption besteht kein rechtlich geschütztes Vertrauen auf deren Zustandekommen. Der mit dem Bewilligungsverfahren notwendigerweise verbundene Schwebezustand muss von den Wahleltern wegen der grundrechtlich geschützten Rechtsstellung der leiblichen Eltern hingenommen werden. Trotz Fehlens einer ausdrücklichen Rsp des OGH zu einer konkreten Fallgestaltung liegt dann keine erhebliche Rechtsfrage vor, wenn das Gesetz selbst eine eindeutige Regelung trifft oder ein Streitfall trotz neuer Sachverhaltselemente bereits mit Hilfe vorhandener Leitlinien h?chstgerichtlicher Rsp gel?st werden kann.     

Portable high‐resolution automated 3D imaging for footwear and tire impression capture

The forensic science community raised the need for improved evidence recognition, collection, and visualization analytical instrumentation for field and laboratory use. While the 3D optical techniques for imaging static objects have been extensively studied, there is still a major gap between current knowledge and collecting high‐quality footwear and tire impression evidence. Among optical means for 3D imaging, digital fringe projection (DFP) techniques reconstruct 3D shape from phase information, achieving camera‐pixel spatial resolution. This paper presents a high‐resolution 3D imaging technology using DFP techniques dedicated to footwear and tire impression capture. We developed fully automated software algorithms and a graphical user interface (GUI) that allow anyone without training to operate for high‐quality 3D data capture. We performed accuracy evaluations and comparisons comparing with the commercial high‐end 3D scanner and carried out qualitative tests for various impressions comparing with the current practices. Overall, our technology achieves similar levels of accuracy and resolution with a high‐end commercially available 3D scanner, while having the merits of being (1) more affordable; (2) much easier to operate; and (3) more robust. Compared with the current practice of casting, our technology demonstrates its superiority because it (1) is non‐destructive; (2) collects more evidence detail than casts, especially when an impression is fragile; (3) requires less time and money to collect each piece of evidence; and (4) results in a digital file that can easily be shared with other examiners.     

How practices do not matter

Abstract

In his most recent work, Sangiovanni has retreated from his stronger claims about practice-dependence. Instead of claiming that principles of justice must be practice-dependent, he now expresses his claim in a modal form, arguing that there are several ways in which practices may matter. While merely mapping out the logical space of possibilities seems to look like a modest ambition, the conditions for when practices do matter according to Sangiovanni’s analysis are easily met in actuality. Consequently, if he is right, the practice-dependent approach covers a significant number of political theories. Sangiovanni’s main claim is that higher-level principles with an open texture, which include most higher-level principles in political philosophy, justify a practice-dependent method in the form of a mode of application called ‘mediated deduction,’ according to which a thoroughgoing investigation is made of the nature of the target practice. Our task in this paper is to reject this claim. This is done in two steps. First, we question Sangiovanni’s distinction between instrumental application and mediated deduction, arguing that it remains unclear whether it marks out two sufficiently distinct ‘modes’ to do any theoretical work. Second, we argue that the practice-dependent method is not required even if two such modes are established.     

Violence in the city that belongs to no one: urban distinctiveness and interconnected insecurities in Nairobi (Kenya)

ABSTRACT

Rapid urbanisation in the global South has prompted attention to the causes and dynamics of urban violence. Yet, much research tends to either analyse urban violence without attention to the broader conflict complexes of which it forms a part, neglecting linkages between different forms of urban violence and between urban and rural dynamics, or conversely study violence in cities without acknowledging the particularities of the urban context. In this article, we conceptualise urban violence, theorise how it is shaped by urban dynamics and explore its manifestations in Nairobi, Kenya. We find that while Nairobi is not uniquely violent inside Kenya, violence takes on distinct urban forms given city-level processes, and also that urban violence has led to policies that increase securitisation and militarisation of the city. Our analysis thus improves knowledge of how criminal and political violence is shaped by and shapes the stability of developing cities.