Economics,crime and the market: the role of household content insurance

The authors thank Paul Fenn and Robert Dingwall for their comments on a previous version of this article. Jon Spencer is Lecturer in Social Work, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL United Kingdom. David Ward is Professor of Social and Community Studies, DeMontfort University, Scraptoft Campus, Leicester, LE7 9SU United Kingdom.     

‘C’ is for commercial collaboration: enterprise and structure in the ‘middle market’ of counterfeit alcohol distribution

This article utilising the work of Pearson and Hobbs [1] defines the middle market in counterfeit alcohol. Drugs markets have a resemblance to counterfeit alcohol markets in as much that they share the illicit nature of the product and the need to distribute the product at the ‘street’ level. Drawing on two case studies taken from a European regulator the article details the dynamics of the market, the enterprise actions of the actors and how law enforcement responses can, in certain circumstances, make the task of the distributors easier. The traditional notions of organised crime are challenged and organisation of counterfeit alcohol markets is viewed as being reliant upon those who have legitimate access to the market and are able to develop networks of commercial collaborators who by their position in the legitimate market are able to conceal their illicit actions.     

Intersectional Disadvantage: Exploring Differences Between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Parents with Intellectual Disability in the New South Wales Child Protection System

Background: Parents with intellectual disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents are overrepresented in child removal but research has not explored the intersection of Aboriginality and intellectual disability in child protection.

Methods: A case file review of 45 parents with intellectual disability (n = 14 Aboriginal and n = 31 non-Aboriginal) engaged in care proceedings in New South Wales was undertaken. Parent and child demographics and investigation triggers and outcomes were compared.

Results: Aboriginal parents were significantly younger than non-Aboriginal parents at initiation of an investigation, twice as likely to be investigated due to concerns about parenting capacity, and more likely to have children removed than non-Aboriginal parents.

Conclusion: The intersection of Aboriginality and intellectual disability appears to increase the risk of negative encounters with child protection systems. Targeted support for young Aboriginal parents and greater disability awareness and cultural sensitivity by child welfare workers are needed.     

The ‘Invisible Institution’ and Black Youth Crime: The Church as an Agency of Local Social Control

We examine the degree to which an individual's religious involvement significantly mediates and buffers the effects of neighborhood disorder on youth crime. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the fifth wave of data from the National Youth Survey, focusing on black respondents given the historical as well as contemporary significance of the African-American church for black Americans. Results from estimating a series of regression models indicated that (1) the effects of neighborhood disorder on crime among black youth are partly mediated by an individual's religious involvement (measured by the frequency of attending religious services) and (2) involvement of African-American youth in religious institutions significantly buffers or interacts with the effects of neighborhood disorder on crime and, in particular, serious crime. Theoretical and methodological implications of the present findings are briefly discussed.     

HPLC of basic drugs on microparticulate strong cation-exchange materials - a review

Propylsulphonic acid (SCX)-modified silica HPLC columns used with methanol or aqueous methanol eluents of appropriate pH and ionic strength can give good retention and peak shape for basic drugs. In the system studied, eluent pH influenced retention via protonation of basic analytes, the pK(a) of the analyte indicating the pH where retention begins to decrease at constant ionic strength. At constant pH, retention is inversely proportional to ionic strength for protonated bases and quaternary ammonium compounds. The underlying retention mechanism appears to be ion-exchange with the SCX moieties, although ionized surface silanols may also contribute to retention at higher eluent pH values. In capillary electrochromatography (CEC) unprecedented efficiencies, but similar selectivity, to that observed in conventional HPLC have been obtained for a standard range of basic drugs using Waters Spherisorb S3SCX.SCX-modified silica columns can be used in the HPLC of many basic drugs, including some compounds that are poorly retained on unmodified silica using methanol-rich eluents. N-Desalkyl and sulphoxide metabolites are often resolved at an appropriate eluent pH. Even analogues differing by a methylene unit in a side-chain remote from a basic centre are often resolved. Applications of Waters Spherisorb S5SCX columns include HPLC of antimalarials such as chloroquine and quinine, cardioactive drugs, for example amiodarone and flecainide, antipsychotics (clozapine, olanzapine), and antidepressants (amitriptyline, clomipramine, dothiepin, fluoxetine) and their N-desalkyl metabolites. Major practical features of these systems are that (i) acidic and neutral compounds are not retained, (ii) solvent extracts can be injected directly, and (iii) eluent recycling can be performed routinely.