The Political Consequences of National Crisis Management: Micro-Level Evidence from German Voters during the 2008/09 Global Economic Crisis

How does national crisis management affect the electoral fortunes of coalition governments? Drawing on micro-level data from just before the 2009 federal elections in Germany, this article investigates how voters' evaluation of specific policies against the global financial crisis affected approval of and voting intentions for the then-governing grand coalition. We find that voters in favour of the two most prominent anti-crisis policies, the car-scrap bonus and the public guarantee for banks, were more likely to approve of and to vote for the two incumbent parties. These evaluations of specific policies influenced individuals' vote choice in addition to their assessments of the economic situation more generally and in addition to party identification. This suggests that even in the greatest economic turmoil with blurred political responsibilities, government parties can win or lose voters through the implementation of specific economic policies.     

Mind the Gap: Interface Problems between EC Chemicals Law and Sectoral Environmental Legislation

Amidst the debate on risks to human beings and the environment resulting from chemicals being used on an increasingly large scale, the European Community's proposed Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation presents a new approach. However, under this new legislation it cannot be guaranteed that all problems that have been experienced under the existing EC chemicals legislation will be addressed satisfactorily. One of the problematic aspects is the question of how chemicals legislation, on the one hand, and sectoral environmental legislation, on the other hand (i.e. specific legislation referring to specific environmental media such as water, air, soil, etc.), complement one another. This article outlines these interface problems against the background of existing legislation and REACH.     

Splitting the Difference: Modeling Appellate Court Decisions with Mixed Outcomes

In rendering a decision in a particular case, judges are not limited to finding simply for the appellant or for the respondent. Rather, in many cases, they have the option to find for the former on one or more issues and for the latter on one or more other issues. By thus “splitting the difference,” judges can render a judgment that favors both litigants to some degree. What accounts for such mixed outcomes? Several theoretical perspectives provide potential explanations for this phenomenon. First, Galanter (1974) suggests that litigants with greater resources will achieve more favorable outcomes in the courts. Where two high‐resource, repeat‐player litigants meet in the appeals courts, these more sophisticated and successful parties may be able to persuade the court to render decisions with mixed outcomes that at least partially favor each party. Second, split outcomes may result from strategic interactions among the appeals court judges on the decisionmaking panel. Where majority opinion writers seek to accommodate other judges on the panel, split outcomes have the potential to serve as an inducement for more ideologically extreme judges to join the majority opinion. Finally, Shapiro and Stone Sweet ( Stone Sweet 2000; Shapiro & Stone Sweet 2002 ) propose that courts will sometimes split the difference in order to enhance their legitimacy (and ultimately enhance compliance by losing parties). For example, in highly salient cases, where noncompliance would more clearly threaten court legitimacy, judges may be more likely to split the difference in order to mollify even the losing party. We develop an empirical model of mixed outcomes to test these propositions using data available from the U. S. Courts of Appeals Database and find evidence supportive of all three theoretical perspectives.     

Profiling of volatile impurities in tetramethylenedisulfotetramine (TETS) for synthetic-route determination

In recent years, alcohol consumption has been considered an important public health problem. Ethanol, the alcohol used in beverages, is a drug that affects the central nervous system (CNS) and impairs driving skills and co-ordination, increasing risk of deaths and injuries derived from crashes and road accidents. Consumption of alcoholic beverages is implicated with premature deaths, injuries and damages caused by motor vehicle crashes, which result in high costs to government and society. Considering that alcohol consumption is the main responsible factor for deaths and disabilities in young people, the aim of this work was to evaluate the prevalence of blood alcohol in offenders and/or fatal and non-fatal victims of traffic occurrences in the region of Ribeir?o Preto, S?o Paulo State, from 2005 to 2007. The results revealed that in 2134 cases investigated, blood alcohol positivity was generally found in young adults, 25-45 years old and male. The study showed the high risk of drinking and driving and the importance in establishing actions of prevention and intervention to promote the reduction in the number of traffic occurrences related to consumption of alcoholic beverages.     

Age assessment of ivory by analysis of 14C and 90Sr to determine whether there is an antique on hand

This report describes the histological changes observed in the heart a young methamphetamine abuser who died of heart failure. Most of the microscopic changes in the heart have previously been described in experimental animals, but never clearly illustrated in man. Gross examination of the heart revealed concentric myocardial hypertrophy (heart weight 470 g versus median predicted weight of 312 g). Areas of old myocardial infarction were also evident, along with enzymatic evidence indicating that a new infarct had occurred. Myocardial remodeling was extensive with perivascular and interstitial fibrosis, cellular vacuolization, and ongoing myocyte destruction with proliferation of fibromyocytes in the intestitum. Of note were the widespread, bizarre looking, distorted, cell nuclei. They were reminiscent of those seen in viral-induced dilated congestive cardiomyopathy. Clinical chemical measurements also showed unequivocal evidence of both evolving infarction and profound heart failure, with a BNP > 5000. This pattern has not previously been reported in humans, probably because forensic pathologists rarely examine the hearts of methamphetamine abusers microscopically. If the pattern observed here is typical for methamphetamine-induced cardiotoxicity, it could well explain increasing reports of heart failure in methamphetamine abusers. It might also be diagnostic for the disorder.     

Wie entstehen Preise?

How are prices made? From the perspective of economic price theory prices are determined by supply and demand, while from an economic sociology point of view they result from the embeddedness of market transactions in institutions, networks or cultural frames of meaning. In order to build a price, the value of a good has to be transformed into economic value, i.e. a price. The paper analyses the process of transformation from value to price on the market for the rating of structured finance products. On this market, with the help of calculative practices, the abstract value of ??creditworthiness?? is converted into a concrete rating which determines credit costs. As the subprime crisis has shown, the credit bureaus and rating agencies responsible for this translation process have not been able to draw the price near to the value to which it refers. The article describes the divergence between value and price as the ??social space?? where price building is influenced by social factors that may distort prices and lead to a breakdown of the market.     

Clinical forensic examination findings and legal outcome in cases of suspected physical child abuse

Clinical forensic examinations performed at the Institute of Legal Medicine of the Hanover Medical School between 1999 and 2008 in cases of suspected physical abuse of children were analyzed retrospectively with special emphasis on the legal consequences. Altogether, 192 children (85 girls, 107 boys) with a median age of 4.4 years were examined. In 47 cases (24.5 %), the clinical forensic examination findings were interpreted as accidental injuries, birth traumas or unspecific findings. 29 victims (20.0 %) had suffered a shaken baby syndrome. Only part of the presented cases ended with conviction, which was more likely if the victims were aged between 7 and 11 years. Prison terms of 2 years and more were imposed only if the child suffered potentially or acute life-threatening injuries or if additional anogenital lesions were diagnosed indicating sexual child abuse.     

Attempted Drug‐facilitated Sexual Assault—Xylazine Intoxication in a Child

There are only a few cases of drug‐facilitated sexual assaults on children reported in the literature so far. Here, a case of a four‐year‐old boy is presented. He was unconscious, and the accompanying adults reported that the child had been at a playground on his own. Returning home, he complained of having been stung and collapsed immediately. Urine and serum samples of the child were investigated. In the toxicological analysis, xylazine, a sedative and muscle relaxant used in animals, was detected. Subsequent quantification by GC/MS after solid‐phase extraction revealed 0.053 mg/L xylazine in serum and approximately 0.63 mg/L in urine. Furthermore, the child was examined by a forensic medical specialist. Police investigations revealed that the godfather, who had been previously accused of sexual abuse of children, had injected the child with the drug, possibly in preparation for a shared bath.