Adolescent attitudes towards the police: A new generation

The attitudes toward the police (ATP) of a group of young inner city adolescents were investigated within the context of a program designed to teach dispute resolution skills and promote a dialogue with local police. ATP were measured using a 23 item questionnaire. The results indicated that while ATP were generally positive, girls held more positive ATP than boys and adolescents who reported negative experiences with the police had less favorable ATP. A confirmatory factor analysis of the questionnaire yielded three factors; attitudes toward police behavior, attitudes toward interaction with the police, and attitudes toward interaction with other adults. The results are in general agreement with earlier studies with other populations and have implications for programs designed to improve adolescent relationships with the police. Authors' Note: David E. Brandt and Keith A. Markus, Department of Psychology. We would like to thank Professor Maria Volpe, director of the Dispute Resolution Program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Ms. Marjorie Cohen, Executive Director of the Westside Crime Prevention Program, for their invaluable assistance in the collection of the data used in this study.     

Hans Georg Ruppe – 65 Jahre

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Elements of Asia

Markus Heinsdorff,a German installation artist,designed an eco-friendly bamboo exhibit themed Germany and China Moving Ahead Together inside the official German Pavilion for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.Beijing Review reporter Wu Yanfei recently interviewed him.Excerpts follow:     

Modification of hematoma findings in the breast region

Subcutaneous bruises caused by blunt injury are common findings in medicolegal case work. If the hematoma involves the anterior thoracic wall, bruises are mostly absent in the region of the nipples and the surrounding areola. A similar phenomenon has already been described for hypostatic skin hemorrhages. A possible explanation for both phenomena is the special tissue texture in the nipple–areola complex. Based on four cases from the forensic autopsy material and two cases from clinical forensic examinations, the macromorphological findings and the histological correlates are presented.     

Tagebaurestlochflutung im Spannungsfeld zwischen Berg- und Wasserrecht –- Anmerkung zu OVG Magdeburg, Beschluss vom 26. Mai 2008 (2 L 187/06)

Zusammenfassung  Bei Stilllegung von Bergbaubetrieben ist ein zentrales Thema die Einstellung der bergbaulichen Grundwasserhaltung. Dies gilt insbesondere, wenn die bergrechtliche Wiedernutzbarmachung durch Flutung der sog. Tagebaurestl?cher und Herstellung von Landschaftsseen erfolgt. In den dabei durchzuführenden berg- und wasserrechtlichen Verfahren stellt sich die Frage, wie mit Vern?ssungssch?den bei Wiederanstieg des Grundwassers auf sein vorbergbauliches Niveau umzugehen ist. Zu dieser Problematik hat mit dem Beschluss des OVG Magdeburg vom 26. Mai 2008 erstmals ein Oberverwaltungsgericht Stellung genommen und dabei für begrü?enswerte Klarheit gesorgt. Das OVG Magdeburg hat im Ergebnis die erstinstanzliche Entscheidung des VG Halle best?tigt, wonach über solche Vern?ssungen nicht im wasserrechtlichen Planfeststellungsverfahren, sondern im bergrechtlichen Betriebsplanverfahren zu befinden ist und die Vern?ssungen im übrigen Baugrundrisiken darstellen, die in die Verantwortung der Grundeigentümer fallen.     

An institutional dinosaur: Austrian corporatism in the post‐industrial age

While the Austrian party system, based on a competitive electoral logic, is able to absorb the wide‐ranging changes created by modernisation in the last 25 years, the corporatist system, based on a ‘protective’ logic insulates itself from societal change. Corporatist organisations are designed to create societal stability. As societies experience dynamic change, the corporatist institutional structure not only becomes obsolete but also hinders evolutionary institutional adaptation to a changing society. Corporatist institutions are increasingly ‘out of touch’ with popular demands. The sources for this maladaptation reside within the central institutional features of corporatism themselves: organisation of interests in peak associations, compulsory membership to three of the four ‘strategic actors’, and the decision rule of unanimity.     

Why do academics engage with industry? The entrepreneurial university and individual motivations

The debate on the entrepreneurial university has raised questions about what motivates academic scientists to engage with industry. This paper provides evidence based on survey data for a large sample of UK investigators in the physical and engineering sciences. The results suggest that most academics engage with industry to further their research rather than to commercialize their knowledge. However, there are differences in terms of the channels of engagement. Patenting and spin-off company formation are motivated exclusively by commercialization whilst joint research, contract research and consulting are strongly informed by research-related motives. We conclude that policy should refrain from overly focusing on monetary incentives for industry engagement and consider a broader range of incentives for promoting interaction between academia and industry.     

Morphology of low-velocity impact stains produced from single drops of blood

Systematic variation of blood droplet volume, the distance fallen and the surface (paper, wood, plastics, tiles) led to the conclusion that the size and the shape of the stains ("fingers", satellites) allowed to deduce the distance fallen but only if the actual surface structure was known. We found that detailed photography at the crime scene was necessary, yet experiments have to be performed due to the extreme influence of the actual surface texture on all characteristics (size, spines, peripheral spatter) of the blood stains.