INNOVATIVE APPROACHES IN CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS

This article discusses the joint office interview as an innovative technique for evaluation of families, the feedback or "summary" sessions by evaluators, and the role of the mediator in the feedback process. A retrospective analysis of the procedures revealed that considerable material could be studied and presented. Summaries of these data are offered as a guide to those interested in the resolution of child custody disputes.     

Literatur

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Legacies of a culture of inequality: The Janus face of crime in post-communist countries

This paper explores the role of the specific structure and culture of inequality of the communist and post-communist countries in the simultaneouswave of elite crime and violent crime in Central and East Europe. Under thelayer of homogeneity, which had been imposed on the region by ethnic cleansingduring and after World War II and by the continuous policies of communistregimes, a substructure and subculture of inequality emerged, which becamedominant during the transition phase. Among the consequences of the ``hour-glass' society (Rose) and feudalization of society are closely knit networks at the top and the bottom of society, clientelism as a pattern of linking them, and non-egalitarian and collectivist value patterns. This specific cluster combines factors that contribute to both high-level corruption and violence. Pathways of development during the transition periodindicate a bi-partition of the ``geography of crime' in the region. The relative ``success stories' of Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic withboth declining rates of corruption and lethal violent crime (homicide) are in stark contrast to many of the successor states of the Soviet Union. It is argued that strong institutions based on civil rights and the rule of law areimportant factors responsible for this difference.     

Terrorism in an Era of Unconventional Warfare

Academic studies of terrorism and mass political violence have developed largely independently of one another. Insurgents, in contrast, have tended to incorporate terrorism tactics along with other types of unconventional warfare in their repertoire of action. This tendency has become more apparent among insurgents engaging in armed confrontations in the twenty-first century. In order to take account of this development, scholars and others interested in contemporary warfare need to incorporate terrorism studies within the broader subject of insurgencies and “small wars”—political violence, in other words.     

The Historical Origins of Tanzania's Ruling Class

This article integrates the dynamics within authoritarian elites into analysis of democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa. This variable has been excluded from nearly all analysis on the subject. Based on a comparison of three cases, this article concludes that only in cases where popular mobilization was accompanied by deep divisions within the ruling coalition did democratization ensue. The division of the authoritarian coalition in Benin and South Africa created a window of opportunity which enabled pro-democracy forces to push through democratic reforms. Furthermore, only when a majority of the authoritarian elite in South Africa favoured negotiations with the African National Congress and other anti-apartheid political organizations did the transition towards democracy in South Africa make any progress. In contrast, in the Togolese case, a united ruling coalition precluded any reform that would have challenged its political hegemony.     

American empire and ‘excluded states’: the millennium challenge account and the shift to pre-emptive development

In March 2002 President George W Bush announced the creation of what many insiders have heralded as a revolutionary development initiative: the Millennium Challenge Account (mca). The latter seeks to provide assistance to 79 of the world's poorest countries—many of which have been often equated with the term ‘failed states’—so that they may reap the benefits of neoliberal-led globalisation. One of the most novel, and coercive, features of this development compact is the ‘pre-emptive’ method in which it will administer aid. Under the mca, only countries that govern justly, invest in their people, and open their economies to foreign enterprise and entrepreneurship will qualify for funding. To this end the Bush administration has devised 16 eligibility criteria—ranging from civil liberties to ‘days to start a business’—that each country must successfully pass before receiving aid. Despite its impact on normalising, and thus legitimating, the tendency towards the privatisation of aid and militarisation of development, there has been very little critical work on the mca. This paper sets out to fill this gap in the literature by attempting to understand historically the mca as a moment of American empire.1 This article builds on the wider arguments developed in my forthcoming book, Contesting Global Governance: Empire, Class, and the New Common Sense in Managing Globalisation, London: Pluto Press. View all notes In doing so, I suggest that, while the form of the mca represents an unabashed articulation of US-led imperialism vis-a`-vis the poorest regions in the South, the content of this allegedly novel strategy reflects the same goals and interests that underlie the neoliberal agenda, namely, that the path to increased growth and prosperity lies in countries' willingness and ability to adopt policies that promote economic freedom and the rule of law.     

Universalising Financial Inclusion and the Securitisation of Development

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis the G20 leaders have attempted to universalise financial inclusion as a key development strategy Financial inclusion, which has long been championed by official development institutions as a sound and effective market-based solution to combat poverty, is also now promoted by the G20, not only as a way out of the ongoing global recessionary environment but also as an important scheme to stabilise the world economy. To this end the G20 Financial Inclusion Experts Group forged the G20 Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion in 2010 (the G20 Principles). Drawing on a historical materialist lens, I argue that the G20 Principles— which represent extensions of, as opposed to a departure from, the neoliberal development project—serve to legitimate, normalise, and consolidate the claims of powerful, transnational capital interests that benefit from finance-led capitalism. The primary way this is achieved is through obscuring and concealing the exploitative relations and speculative tendencies involved in financial inclusion strategies.     

Measurement of Postmortem Pupil Size: A New Method with Excellent Reliability and Its Application to Pupil Changes in the Early Postmortem Period

Measurement of postmortem pupil width is a potential component of death time estimation. However, no standardized measurement method has been described. We analyzed a total of 71 digital images for pupil–iris ratio using the software ImageJ. Images were analyzed three times by four different examiners. In addition, serial images from 10 cases were taken between 2 and 50 h postmortem to detect spontaneous pupil changes. Intra‐ and inter‐rater reliability of the method was excellent (ICC > 0.95). The method is observer independent and yields consistent results, and images can be digitally stored and re‐evaluated. The method seems highly eligible for forensic and scientific purposes. While statistical analysis of spontaneous pupil changes revealed a significant polynomial of quartic degree for postmortem time (p = 0.001), an obvious pattern was not detected. These results do not indicate suitability of spontaneous pupil changes for forensic death time estimation, as formerly suggested.