The examination of typewriter correctable carbon film ribbons

The study of typewritten strokes on paper with an optical stereomicroscope or an optical microscope at high magnifications is deceptive and does not permit differentiation between impressions made with different ribbons, or identification of a certain ribbon brand. With the Scanning Electron Microscope, the identification/differentiation is possible as the structure of the strokes on the paper differs from one ribbon brand to another and is characteristic.     

Forensic hypnosis with children

Although hypnosis with children has been used for many decades as a therapeutic modality, there has been a paucity of reports of such applications utilized as an investigative tool for the retrieval of memories of child victims and witnesses. Three investigative cases are described in which forensic hypnosis was instrumental in aiding their solution. There is a discussion of the unique factors to be considered when working with children, and guidelines are offered for effective practical use.     

Dilemmas in a general theory of planning

The search for scientific bases for confronting problems of social policy is bound to fail, becuase of the nature of these problems. They are wicked problems, whereas science has developed to deal with tame problems. Policy problems cannot be definitively described. Moreover, in a pluralistic society there is nothing like the undisputable public good; there is no objective definition of equity; policies that respond to social problems cannot be meaningfully correct or false; and it makes no sense to talk about optimal solutions to social problems unless severe qualifications are imposed first. Even worse, there are no solutions in the sense of definitive and objective answers.This is a modification of a paper presented to the Panel on Policy Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Boston, December 1969.     

Monetary transmission and the financial sector in the Czech Republic

In this paper, we (1) examine the interactions of financial variables and the macroeconomy within the block-restriction vector autoregression model and (2) evaluate to what extent the financial variables improve the forecasts of GDP growth and inflation. For this reason, various financial variables are examined, including those unexplored in previous literature, such as the share of liquid assets in the banking industry and the loan loss provision rate. Our results suggest that financial variables have a systematic and statistically significant effect on macroeconomic fluctuations. In terms of forecast evaluation, financial variables in general seem to improve the forecast of macroeconomic variables, but the predictive performance of individual financial variables varies over time, even though it strengthens during the 2008?C2009 crisis. The results give some support for the risk-taking channel of monetary policy, as the level of the monetary policy rate is positively associated with the loan loss provision rate of commercial banks. Finally, a more stable financial system is found to contribute to faster economic growth.     

Truth,justice, and education: towards reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia

Key to the success of peacebuilding and social reconstruction in the former Yugoslavia are the attitudes of these young people. Our goal in this paper is to explore young people’s attitudes about the prospects of reconciliation vis-a-vis those with whom their nations were formerly at war. In particular, we examine three sets of factors. First, we contend that the level of contact among people engendered by the segregated educational systems affects the attitudes of the young about the possibility of reconciliation. We suggest that those who are able to interact more frequently with fellow students from other ethnic groups will be more likely to believe in the possibility of reconciliation. Second, we contend that attitudes of young people about which ethnic groups were responsible for the violence in the former Yugoslavia and the efforts of the international community to bring truth and justice will strongly influence attitudes. Finally, we examine other factors such as education and the influence of gender on reconciliation.     

Principal-Agency Theory in Illegal Markets: Cooperation and Conflict Among Chinese Loansharks

There are management and organizational problems common to both legal and illegal businesses, such as moving one party to act in the interest of another rather than his own. In principal-agency theory, the party that wants someone else to do a job on his behalf is called the “principal” and the other party is called the “agent”. Principal-agency theory tries to find solutions to real and potential conflicts that arise from such transactional arrangements. We believe principal-agency theory has great potentials for understanding the operation and interpersonal relationships of criminal enterprises, in addition to the structural arrangements (e.g., a disorganized crime market) and the social network perspectives. Using a case study of Chinese loan sharking and cannabis cultivation in the Netherlands, we seek to make a theoretical contribution to existing literature on organized crime by focusing on how different individuals within a criminal enterprise negotiate the most efficient transactional arrangement in a principal-agent relationship amidst the uncertainties of an illicit market environment. We specifically look at four phases of the criminal enterprise studied: the selection of agents by the principal, attempts to bind these agents to the principal, potential conflicts and finally the solution of any problems. Incidentally, our study also gives insight in the less well-researched topic of loansharking.     

Fiscal Exchange and Tax Compliance: Evidence From a Field Experiment

Behavioral interventions appealing to taxpayers’ reciprocity often leave tax compliance unaffected. We provide evidence that a “fiscal exchange nudge” increased tax compliance in a setting where one might not expect it: crisis-ridden Argentina. In a randomized controlled trial with over 20,000 taxpayers, a tax bill visually celebrating realized public works benefiting children increased payment rates of tax delinquents by about 20 percent, or almost 40 percent when the bills were delivered in person. Without the appeal, the new bill design generated significantly fewer payments. Changes in the design of the tax bill also increased arrears cancellation. We estimate the ratio of marginal revenues to costs for the fiscal exchange bill to be 18. The factors we associate with the unexpectedly positive impacts are consistent with strengthening an affective response. We find persistent effects of the experiment two years later. The results suggest that communities have more scope to increase tax revenues through non-threatening interventions.