Somatic morbidity and criminality: the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between adverse physical disorders and violent/non-violent criminal behaviour. DESIGN: The study material consisted of the large, prospectively followed, unselected and genetically homogeneous Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort, the Finnish Hospital Discharge Registers and the National Crime Register (n=10934). MAIN RESULTS: The results of the logistic regression analyses showed that male offenders had statistically significantly more injuries (adj. OR=1.81, 95% CI=1.51-2.17), when compared with males without a criminal history. Violent male offenders exhibited greater morbidity to the diseases of the respiratory system (adj. OR=1.64, 95% CI=1.03-2.60) when compared with non-violent criminals. Female offenders suffered more commonly from poisonings (adj. OR=3.84, 95% CI=1.69-8.72), injuries (adj. OR=2.79, 95% CI=1.67-4.66), infections (adj. OR=1.87, 95% CI=1.16-2.99) and indefinite symptoms (adj. OR=2.02, 95% CI=1.20-3.40) than non-offending females. CONCLUSIONS: At epidemiological level, criminal behaviour seems to be associated especially with an increased risk of injuries for both sexes. The observed increase of the diseases of the respiratory system among violent but not among non-violent males calls for further investigations.     

Do Politics in Europe Benefit from Politicising Corruption?

In this article, two unexplored trends in European electoral politics are highlighted. Using newly collected data the article tracks the politicisation of corruption in electoral campaigns from 1981 to 2011, an electoral strategy that has been increasing over time in most European countries. It then empirically tests two aspects of this campaign strategy. First, what are the factors that are systematically associated with a party’s decision to politicise corruption? Second, what are the electoral effects in terms of relative vote share for parties that politicise corruption? Using an original data-set that employs multi-level data (parties nested in countries) the results demonstrate first that politicisation of corruption occurs systematically more often among established parties from the main opposition, new parties and parties on the political right, and occurs as a function of country-level corruption, district magnitude and public party financing. Second, it is found that the main opposition and new parties that use such a campaign strategy make significant electoral gains relative to the previous election compared to parties that do not politicise corruption. Yet gains are offset in low-corruption countries. The findings demonstrate salient implications for research on party systems, corruption studies and democratic legitimacy, among other areas of investigation.     

Probleme in der Umsetzung von EU-Naturschutzrecht in ?sterreich

Die Anwendung des Gemeinschaftsrechts in einem f?deralen System ist stets eine besondere Herausforderung. Im Bundesstaat ?sterreich sind die Angelegenheiten des Naturschutzes Zust?ndigkeit der L?nder in Gesetzgebung und Vollziehung. Es ist daher von Interesse, wie die Implementierung der Naturschutzrichtlinien der EU in ?sterreich erfolgt und welche Probleme dabei festzustellen sind.     

Innovativer F?deralismus? – Das ?sterreichische Naturschutzrecht zwischen Deregulierungsdruck und Europ?isierung

Die Angelegenheiten des Natur- und Landschaftsschutzes stellen im Bundesstaat ?sterreich eine wichtige und vergleichsweise abgerundete Landeskompetenz dar. Sie sind in den Kompetenzartikeln der Bundesverfassung nicht ausdrücklich erw?hnt und fallen daher unter die Generalklausel des Art. 15 Abs. 1 der Bundesverfassung (B-VG) und damit in die ausschlie?liche Zust?ndigkeit der L?nder in Gesetzgebung und Vollziehung. Dies bedeutet freilich nicht, dass in der Praxis nicht zahlreiche Abgrenzungsfragen auftauchen würden, weil eine Vielzahl von Umweltschutzkompetenzen, wie etwa das Wasserrecht und das Forstrecht der Gesetzgebungskompetenz des Bundes zugewiesen sind.     

The Spiritual Components of Restorative Justice

The concept of spirituality in restorative justice practice is recognized as important but is often fuzzy and vaguely understood. This study did a content analysis of restorative justice texts and found nine distinct components of spirituality: transformation, connectedness/belonging, common human bond, repentance, forgiveness, making right a wrong, balance/harmony, rituals, and unexplained spiritual phenomenon. The conceptual clarification of the relationship between spirituality and restorative justice gives mediators/facilitators of restorative justice dialogue more tools to deepen their interactions with victims, offenders, and community members. Furthermore, delineation of these nine components offers researchers a framework for the development of instruments or tools that can be used to assess participants' experiences in restorative justice dialogues.