Witchcraft and history

Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe: studies in culture and belief JONATHAN BARRY, MARIANNE HESTER & GARETH ROBERTS (Eds), 1996 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. xiv + 368 pp., ISBN 0-521-55224-9 hardback £40.00, ISBN 0-521-63875-5 paperback £15.00     

Excursions into political economy of health

S.M. Hillier and J. A. Jewell, Health Care and Traditional Medicine in China 1800–1982, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1983. Pp.xix + 452; £25.00.

D. Banerji, Poverty, Class and Health Culture in India (Vol.1), New Delhi: Prachi Prakashan, 1982. Pp.x + 309; Rs.100.

W.A. Zaman, Public Participation in Development and Health Programs: Lessons from Rural Bangladesh, London and New York: University Press of America, 1984. Pp.xix + 291; £15.15. (paperback).

J.K. van Ginneken and A.S. Muller (eds.), Maternal and Child Health in Rural Kenya: An Epidemiological Study, Beckenham, Kent: Croom Helm, 1984. Pp.viii + 373; £15.95.

The expression ‘political economy of health’ has quite different implications to scholars working within differing paradigms. The range of interpretations is apparent from an overview of work in this field in recent years. Two studies of singular importance for the student of health politics and health care in Asia are singled out for detailed review: one on China, the other on India. The reviewer also raises the question as to how far health education has been seen in the radical tradition as contributory towards the process of politicisation in peasant societies: here the literature is more scattered and a deeper analysis would be well repaid.     

Province-state trans-border relations: a preliminary assessment

Abstract. This article attempts to explore the relationships between Canadian provinces and American states in a systematic, empirical fashion. The constitutional context within which provinces and states may legitimately interact is far from definitive, particularly on the Canadian side. However, the relative lack of precise constitutional guidance has not prevented the development of a complex mélange of official relations between provinces and states. These trans-border relationships may be classified according to their degree of formality and their function. Oddly enough, there appears to be a larger number of formal as opposed to informal relations. Functionally, province-state contacts may be categorized as regulatory, third-party, protective-environmental, public works, and public service. In addition, the impact of geography and time are considered as conditioning factors. A number of illustrative examples are given, particularly province-state co-operation in pollution control and in the suppression of forest fires. In conclusion, the article finds that province-state trans-border co-operation is natural and involves no challenge to the primacy of the respective federal governments in their conduct of foreign relations. However, the broader significance of these subnational official ties remains to be assessed. Sommaire. Cet article tente d'examiner, dune façon empirique et systématique, les relations entre les provinces canadiennes et les Etats américains. Le contexte constitutionnel à l'intérieur duquel les provinces et les Etats peuvent entretenir des relations officielles est loin d'être définitif, surtout au Canada. Néamoins, ce manque relatif d'un régime juridique précis n'a pas empêché les Etats et les provinces de développer un mélange complexe de liens officiels. On peut classifier ces relations province-état selon leur degré de formalité et selon leur fonction. Singulièrement, il semble y avoir un nombre plus grand de relations formelles que de relations informelles. D'un point de vue fonctionnel, on peut catégoriser les liens province-état comme étant régulatoires, de tiers parti, reliés à l'environnement, aux travaux publics et à la fonction publique. De plus, l'auteur constate le rôle important que jouent la géographie et le temps dam les contacts province-état. Quelques exemples illustratifs sont donnés, particulièrement touchant la coopération province-état dam les domaines de la protection de l'environnement et de la suppression des feux, de forêts. Pour conclure, l'article constate que les relations province-état sont naturelles et qu'elles n'impliquent aucun déft à la primauté du gouvernement fédéral de chaque pays concernant les relations étrangères. Cependant il faut attendre les événements pour analyser les contacts province-état dans une plus grande perspective.     

The viability and possible applications of high resolution mark replicator casting compound in document examination.

Mark replicator casting compounds are commonly associated with recovering toolmark detail. A series of experiments was designed to identify the possible applications, and assess the overall viability, of using mark replicator compound to record indentations on questioned documents. The trials included testing the effect of Isomark High Resolution Mark Replicator on different paper-based substrate types, and observing in particular, any damage that it may cause. The experiments also tested the effect that the mark replicator has on subsequent fingerprinting techniques. It was found that the mark replicator successfully recorded indentations on paper and card surfaces. In some cases, the mark replicator caused staining on some of the surfaces and had a negative effect on the quality of fingerprints subsequently developed.     

Kantian Liberalism, Regime Type, and Military Resource Allocation: Do Democracies Spend Less?

In this paper, we evaluate the liberal claim that democratic states devote fewer resources to their militaries. Low military spending is thought to avert conflict spirals and release more resources to fund domestic programs. While prominent in many liberal international relations theories, most notably in Immanuel Kant's, this proposition has received little empirical scrutiny. Using several indicators of military resource allocation and data on a wide range of states since 1816, we find empirical support for the liberal argument, although regime type is not necessarily the strongest influence on military resource allocation.     

Toward a Green-Cultural Criminology of “the Rural”

There are many connections between the various strands of critical criminology. Previously, we highlighted common issues between green and cultural criminology, while also noting some of the ways that each perspective could potentially benefit from cross-fertilization (Brisman and South in Crime Media Cult 9(2):115–135, 2013, Green cultural criminology: constructions of environmental harm, consumerism and resistance to ecocide. Routledge, Oxford, 2014; McClanahan in Crit Criminol. doi:10.1007/s10612-014-9241-8, 2014). In this article, we extend our analysis to consider green, cultural and rural criminologies through the exposition of several key issues, including “the rural” as local context in which exploitative global forces may exercise power; agribusiness and the food/profit chain; farming and the pollution of land, water and air; and finally, cultural/media images and narratives of rural life. We focus more specifically on this final intersectionality through an analysis of Jonathan Franzen’s novel Freedom (2010), analyzing his depictions of rural people, environmental activists, and the rural environment through the issue of mountaintop removal. We conclude our article by identifying several examples of key directions in which the intersectionality of green, cultural and rural criminologies might proceed, including trafficking and abuse of farmworkers, harms associated with the cultivation of quinoa, and a critical interpretation of media and popular narrative depictions of environmental issues within rural contexts.     

CHANGING DIMENSIONS OF TRUST IN GOVERNMENT: AN EXPLORATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY IN HONG KONG

This study reports the findings of a 3‐year investigation into dimensions of trust in governmental capacity to deal with environmental risks (air pollution, sustainable development, waste, and water). We explore if levels of trust in Hong Kong correspond with the two‐dimensional structure identified in the research of Poortinga and Pidgeon. Findings of this multi‐method study (survey and focus group) conducted between 2005 and 2008 point towards largely low but unchanging levels of trust in the Hong Kong government. By contrast, the number of dimensions of trust reduced over the study period, pointing towards growing levels of scepticism. This leads us to conclude that, in relation to environmental risks, Hong Kong is characterised by cynicism. These findings reflect a wider argument that there are two underlying dimensions of trust—reliance and scepticism. The implications of these findings are discussed, and strategies to address low levels of trust are outlined. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.