Research on organized crime in Western Europe — 4th research conference “OC research in Western European states” in Wiesbaden

The 4th Research Conference ??OC research in Western European States?? took place in November 2011 in Wiesbaden. The conference was organized by the Bundeskriminalamt and is part of the project ??International Research Network on Organized Crime??, funded by the European Commission in the framework of the ISEC programme. This article provides an insight into the current state of research on organized crime in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.     

State ownership and control in the Czech Republic

We analyze the extent of the integrated control of the state over privatized firms during the post-privatization decade (1995?C2005) in the Czech Republic. During this period the integrated control potential of the state resembled a corporate pyramid. While pyramidal control was not fully utilized, the golden share in the hands of the state substantially enhanced its ability to control firms. In terms of corporate performance we show that state control resulted in declining and even negative corporate performance. Integrated state control was shown to be mostly inferior when compared with private types of ownership. State ownership positions are in striking contrast with the lack of capacity to push corporate performance in order to collect larger tax volumes. Lack of focus and inter-agency cooperation as well as the simple inefficiency of the state bureaucracy are the most likely reasons behind our findings.     

Criminalizing Behaviour to Protect Human Dignity

The purpose of this article is to discuss the criminalization of conduct based on human dignity arguments. It proposes a modest version of integrating human dignity into discussions about criminalization. After a critical examination of both the notion of ??human dignity as an objective value?? and the assumption that the meaning of human dignity can be explained by referring to Kant??s moral philosophy, human dignity violations are characterized as severe humiliations.     

基于胜任力的测查式公务员培训新探——以湖北省省直机关处级公务员为例

本研究以湖北省省直机关处级公务员为例,探索构建以胜任力为导向的测查式公务员培训模式。本文运用胜任力理论和素质测评技术,构建省直机关处级公务员胜任力模型,依据胜任力指标对处级公务员能力现状进行测查和分析,探求其实际能力与岗位胜任力之间的差距,在突出科学测查环节基础上确定培训需求,设计多样化的培训方案,以提升公务员胜任力水平从而提升其工作绩效。     

The Prevalence of Domestic Violence Against Women Among a Group Woman: Ankara,Turkey

This study determines the frequency of the spousal domestic violence among 1,178 married women who applied to some first level medical institutions located in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. 77.9% (n = 918) of the women who participated in the study have stated that they have been exposed to at least one of the types of spousal violence during their lifetime. The most reported type of domestic violence suffered by women throughout their lives is economic violence (60.4%). The prevalence of controlling behaviors, emotional violence, physical and sexual violence are 59.6%, 39.7%, 29.9% and 31.3% respectively.     

Does Lineup Size Matter with Child Witnesses

Children’s (N = 89) identification accuracy was examined as a function of lineup size. Participants (8–13 years) viewed a videotaped staged event, described what was witnessed and then were presented with either a target-present or—absent lineup containing 6 versus 12 lineup members. The elimination lineup procedure (Pozzulo and Lindsay J Appl Psychol 38: 2195–2209 1999) was used to present lineups. No significant differences in correct identification rates were found across the target-present sized lineups. In addition, the target was likely to “survive” at a comparable rate regardless of lineup size. Moreover, there was no significant difference in correct rejection rate as a function of lineup size. The non significance of these data are critical given that most research with child witnesses uses 6-person lineups whereas in many real world contexts larger sized lineups are used (e.g., 12-person in Canada).     

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Passes a Set of Practice Reform Resolutions

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) recently passed resolutions and policy statements on how to improve the lives of youth and families involved with juvenile or family courts. These resolutions address the needs of homeless youth and their families, juvenile probation and adolescent development, and the need for independent oversight of youth confinement facilities.     

Discharge in bankruptcy: a comparative analysis of law and practice between Malaysia,Singapore and the United Kingdom (UK) – What can we learn?

In common law jurisdictions such as Malaysia, United Kingdom and Singapore, bankruptcy law is the legal mechanism in situations where individuals fall into bankruptcy. In the UK, automatic discharge was introduced fifteen years ago. Yet, no equivalent concept of automatic discharge has been introduced in Singapore, while in Malaysia, although a new provision allowing for an automatic discharge of bankrupt was proposed in the new Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2016, it has yet to come into force upon official announcement by the Malaysian authorities. This paper examines and compares the laws and practices of discharge of bankrupts in Malaysia, the UK and Singapore.     

The Roles of Mothers’ Neighborhood Perceptions and Specific Monitoring Strategies in Youths’ Problem Behavior

The neighborhood context can interfere with parents’ abilities to effectively monitor their children, but may be related to specific monitoring strategies in different ways. The present study examines the importance of mothers’ perceptions of neighborhood disorganization for the specific monitoring strategies they use and how each of these strategies are related to youths’ alcohol use and delinquency. The sample consists of 415 mother–child dyads recruited from urban and suburban communities in Western New York state. Youths were between 10 and 16 years of age (56% female), and were mostly Non-Hispanic White and African American (45.3 and 36.5%, respectively). Structural equation modeling shows that mothers who perceive greater neighborhood problems use more rule-setting strategies, but report lower levels of knowledge of their children’s whereabouts. Knowledge of whereabouts is related to less youth alcohol use and delinquency through its association with lowered peer substance use, whereas rule-setting is unrelated to these outcomes. Thus, mothers who perceive greater problems in their neighborhoods use less effective monitoring strategies. Prevention programs could address parental monitoring needs based upon neighborhood differences, tailoring programs for different neighborhoods. Further, parents could be apprised of the limitations of rule-setting, particularly in the absence of monitoring their child’s whereabouts.     

Do Family and Parenting Factors in Adolescence Influence Condom Use in Early Adulthood in a Multiethnic Sample of Young Adults?

Studies show that positive family factors help protect adolescents from engaging in risky sexual activities, but do they continue to protect adolescents as they transition to late adolescence/early adulthood? Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examined whether family support, parent–child closeness, parental control/monitoring of adolescent behaviors and parent–child communication about sex, assessed in adolescence, were related to condom use in late adolescence/early adulthood among African American (n = 1,986), Chinese American (n = 163), Mexican American (n = 1,011) and White (n = 6,971) youth. Controlling for demographic variables and number of sex partners, the results showed that family support was positively related and parent–child communication was negatively related to condom use for the sample as a whole and for the white sample, but not for the other groups. Parent–child communication about sex and parental control were negatively related to condom use in the Chinese American sample. None of the family factors was related to condom use in the African American or Mexican American samples. Overall, parents talked more with daughters than sons about sexual matters. Condom use was most common among African Americans and among males. Greater attention to cultural expectations regarding sex and gender roles, as well as the causal ordering of effects, are important directions for future research.