The Bosman ruling and the presence of native football players in their home league: the Spanish case

This paper examines whether the Bosman ruling plays a role in the presence (participation and performance) of native football (soccer) players in their home league, focusing on the Spanish case. By abolishing transfer fees after the expiration of contracts, as well as liberalizing the migration of professional football players within the European Union, the Bosman ruling could negatively impact the participation of national players in their home league. To explore this issue, we use data from the First Division of the Spanish League for the seasons 1980/1981–2011/2012. The results suggest a decline in the number of native Spanish players as a consequence of the Bosman ruling, although the impact does not appear to be permanent. However, we find that the Bosman case has a negative and lasting impact on the performance of Spanish players in their home league. Our findings do not change when we use different subsamples or introduce controls for unobserved characteristics, or for observed characteristics that could drive the presence of Spanish players, such as participation in European competitions, the performance of the Spanish national team, and the success of teams’ youth academies, among others. This work also takes into account other changes in the nationality quota rules and the impact of other post-Bosman legislative changes, such as the Kolpak case and the Cotonou agreement.     

Recovery of DNA from Latent Fingerprint Tape Lifts Archived Against Matte Acetate

This study was driven by court order to examine methods to remove, extract, and STR‐type potential DNA entrapped between latent fingerprint lifting tape and matte acetate that was collected from a 1977 crime scene. Results indicate that recovery of appreciable quantities of DNA is more challenging once adhesive is attached to matte acetate cards and even more difficult when fixed following black powder enhancement. STR amplification of extracts from entrapped fingermarks collected following the dusting/lifting procedure did not produce robust profiles, and extraneous peaks not expressed by print donors were detected for some samples. A hearing was set to argue whether there was DNA remaining to be tested, and if so, whether that DNA could be exculpatory in this postconviction matter. The studies herein provided the basis for the court's decision to not require the testing.     

COVID-19 and the Wuhan Diary –how does the overseas Chinese community react to group criticism?

Journal of Chinese Political Science - We conduct an online survey to explore how Chinese people living in Germany perceive and react to group criticism in the context of the debate on the Wuhan...     

Does a membership fee foster successful public good provision? An experimental investigation of the provision of a step-level collective good

We report the results of an experiment investigating the provision of a step-level collective good. This experiment compares the behavior of subjects in a public good game with the behavior of subjects in a club good game. In the club good game, players who do not contribute the membership fee are excluded from the consumption of the collective good. The introduction of a small membership fee has surprisingly strong effects: it increases the provision of the collective good, delays provision failures and increases the number of contributors. The experiment also reveals the limits of the introduction of a small fee. At a high threshold level, the membership fee no longer ensures successful provision.     

Balancing financial threats and legal interests in money-laundering policy

The fight against money laundering has been energetically introduced and developed into a global enforcement regime. Various economic and financial justifications have been put forward, which are not self-evident. The simple and basic foundation is that ill-gotten profits should not remain in the possession of the criminal. Nevertheless, the cause of fighting money laundering is loaded with arguments about the staggering size and the undermining effects of the crime-money, for which there is no empirical evidence. The arguments concerning the integrity of the financial system, usually taken at face value, proves to be less than coherent. Nevertheless, these (globally) politically accepted arguments prove to be effective in overruling a more careful balancing of legal interests and foundations, like the all-encompassing breadth of the money-laundering approach. This approach is compared with the computer crime legislation, in which restraint was balanced with the requirement to update the legal tools to an adequate level of effectiveness in an electronic criminal environment. This clarity contrasts strongly with the rhetoric of the money-laundering policy, in which we find neither restraint nor clarity.     

The Application of Missing Data Estimation Models to the Problem of Unknown Victim/Offender Relationships in Homicide Cases

Homicide cases suffer from substantial levels of missing data, a problem largely ignored by criminological researchers. The present research seeks to address this problem by imputing values for unknown victim/offender relationships using the EM algorithm. The analysis is carried out first using homicide data from the Los Angeles Police Department (1994-1998), and then compared with imputations using homicide data for Chicago (1991-1995), using a variety of predictor variables to assess the extent to which they influence the assignment of cases to the various relationship categories. The findings indicate that, contrary to popular belief, many of the unknown cases likely involve intimate partners, other family, and friends/acquaintances. However, they disproportionately involve strangers. Yet even after imputations, stranger homicides do not increase more than approximately 5%. The paper addresses the issue of whether data on victim/offender relationships can be considered missing at random (MAR), and the im-plications of the current findings for both existing and future research on homicide.     

Reparations To Victims Before The International Criminal Court: Lessons From International Mass Claims Processes

The implementation of the rights of victims under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court presents momentous challenges to the Court. Given the nature of the crimes falling under the Court's jurisdiction, victims' reparation claims are often likely to number thousands, if not tens of thousands. Under the Statute, it is the Court's task to organize and determine the modalities of victims' participation in the reparation proceedings. The Court is well advised to closely examine the approaches and solutions developed by modern international and national mass claims programs that have faced similar challenges. The paper analyses in detail these challenges and outlines the options available to the Court. The authors are attorneys with Lalive, an international law firm based in Geneva, Switzerland. For further information see http://www.lalive.ch.