Laminated safety glass as an intermediate target: a wound ballistic study

Various 9‐mm ammunitions (A1, A4, A5, ST, GS, GSb, P.E.P., SeCa, HP, PTP/s, VM, McVG, DM41, PTP, SX2, PT, and MEN frangible) were tested regarding their velocity, energy, angle of impact, and potential wound channel after penetrating a car window at 30° and 90°. Test materials were gelatine, soap, and pig cadavers. The velocities of the projectiles were between c. 288 and 430 m/ses, the energy spread between 394 and 564 J. Handgun bullets fired through vehicular side window glass lose substantial energy reducing the effectiveness of the ammunition. This effect is greater when fired at an angle of 30° compared to 90°. At a shooting angle of 90°, none of the different projectiles showed remarkable differences considering its wound ballistic features. Accuracy is maintained at a 90° angle but seriously impaired at 30°. None of the examined ammunition complied with the demanded wound channel effectiveness of 30–60 J/cm.     

Government Strength, Power Dispersion in Governments and Budget Deficits in OECD-Countries. A Voting Power Approach

We test for the influenceof government strength and dispersion ofpower among the parties of coalitiongovernments on the size of annual debtaccumulation through budget deficits inOECD-countries from 1970 to 1999.Government strength and power dispersion incoalition governments are measured by theBanzhaf index of voting power, respectivelythe standard deviation of Banzhaf indicesof coalition parties. We believe that theseare better-suited proxies than most of whathas been applied so far. Governmentstrength turns out to be insignificant.However, coalitions with equally strongpartners run significantly higher deficitsthan coalitions with one dominating party.     

A cup of coffee in Bishkek: insights into the emerging coffee culture in Kyrgyzstan's capital

ABSTRACT

This study deals with the contemporary dynamics of urban life in Bishkek. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Central Asian societies have experienced widespread political, economic and socio-cultural transformations. In this context, Western or globalized cultural modes and trends influence Kyrgyzstan's social and cultural life. One of these trends is the increasingly popular coffee culture, with its attendant high-grade coffee brands and fancy cafés changing established consumption patterns. This article focuses primarily on cafés as new places of consumption and communication, but it also examines the intentions and strategies of the café pioneers. We reflect on the emergence of coffee and cafés in Bishkek and show how they have integrated in urban life as ‘third places’. Coffee is breaking away from its commonly soluble form and moving toward an expensive lifestyle product, while the new cafés offer a place for communication that has not existed before.     

The Democratic Quality of Institutional Regimes: a Conceptual Framework

Lijphart's spectrum of democracies – recently expanded by Jack Nagel to a sub-majoritarian sphere of pluralitarian systems which use disproportional electoral systems in order to manufacture majority governments from minorities in the electorate – is based on only one dimension: inclusion of preferences. Political scientists in the Lijphartian tradition wrongly assume that inclusion of preferences, which is an input characteristic, automatically leads to responsiveness, which refers to actual policy decisions and hence is an output characteristic. We therefore add 'responsibility' as a second input characteristic and employ it alongside the inclusiveness of institutional regimes. We argue that in representative democracies there exists a trade-off between inclusiveness and responsibility. This trade-off helps us to measure the democratic quality of institutional regimes. The now expanded spectrum of democracies based on these two dimensions shows that majoritarian democracy proper – in which governments represent a majority of individual preferences but not more than necessary – is the best possible combination of the two democratic values.     

“The European Union, Vietnam, and Human Rights as Law: the case of the 1995 EU–Vietnam framework agreement and its human rights clause.”

The year 1995 marked a major watershed for modern Vietnam. It completed its post-Cold War strategy of “multilateralizing” its foreign policy by joining ASEAN, normalizing relations with the US, and signing a comprehensive framework agreement with the EU. All three are recognized as major accomplishments for modern Vietnamese diplomacy. However, in the EU–Vietnam framework agreement, Hanoi made an unprecedented concession when it agreed to the human rights clause in the treaty. For the very first time, Vietnam had accepted an explicit, legally binding stipulation on human rights in a bilateral treaty. This remarkable development resulted from the confluence of three major dynamics. First, Hanoi had committed itself to establish sound relations with all major economic centers-of-gravity at the time, ASEAN, the US, and the EU. Second, the EU also was keenly interested in stronger relations with Asian countries but was flexible about prioritizing any particular bilateral relationship. Third, Brussels’ diplomats had to work off a treaty template when negotiating fundamental bilateral agreements. The standard EU framework agreement at the time included a human rights clause. In 1995, the EU was insisting that any treaty with Vietnam would have to include a clause on human rights. Initially, Hanoi rejected such a treaty provision, and the negotiations stalled. However, when Hanoi realized that Brussels felt no urgency to complete the treaty and was unable to compromise on human rights, Vietnam’s leadership reconsidered. In order to complete the strategy of “multilateralizing” its international affairs, Vietnam had to accept the human rights clause in the treaty with the EU.     

Macroscopical estimation of the post mortem interval (PMI) and exclusion of the forensically relevant resting period--a comparison of data presented in the literature with recent osteological findings

The aim of the present study was to determine to what extent macroscopical parameters mentioned in the literature are suitable for the estimation of the post mortem interval (PMI) and particularly for the exclusion of the forensically relevant resting period for recent bone material. The macroscopical examination of recent bone material with a known PMI showed that only one published parameter (relics of adipocere in the cross section of the compacta) was consistent with our findings for this particular resting period (27-28 years). Other macroscopical parameters presented in the literature were contradictory to the results observed in this study. Among those are the rigidity of bones, the adhesion of soft tissue, the filling of the marrow cavity, and the permeation of the epiphyses with adipocere. Concerning the exclusion of the forensically relevant resting period, a similar result was observed. This study identified some diagnostic findings in bones with a resting period of less than 50 years which according to the literature should only be present after a resting period of more than 50 years. These features included the lack of macroscopical traces of adipocere, degradation of the compacta surface, detachment of the cortical substance, the ability of bone to be broken with bare hands, and superficial usures. Moreover, in one-third of our cases we identified some intra-individual differences not previously described in the literature. In addition to the other results, those intra-individual differences make an estimation of the PMI more difficult. However it should be noted that those published parameters were collected from bone material which was stored in a "relatively arid sand-grit-clay soil of the broken stone layer of Munich". The bones in the present study were stored in acidic and clayey-loamy soil, partly with lateral water flow. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that one should use caution estimating the post mortem interval and excluding the forensically relevant resting period, even when all available results are considered.