Does border enforcement deter unauthorized immigration? The case of Mexican migration to the United States of America

This paper asks whether the migration decisions of unauthorized Mexican immigrants to the USA have been influenced by stronger US border enforcement efforts since 1993 that have sharply increased the physical risk and financial cost of illegal immigration. These measures were supposed to have decreased the probability of successful entry, thereby lowering the expected benefits of migration. We carried out a logistic regression analysis of data from a recent survey of 603 returned migrants and potential first‐time migrants in rural Mexico. Our findings indicate that tougher border controls have had remarkably little influence on the propensity to migrate illegally to the USA. Political restrictions on immigration are far outweighed by economic and family‐related incentives to migrate. An alternative, labor‐market approach to immigration control with higher probability of effectiveness is outlined.     

Does Australia Still Need State Governments?— An Exchange

These two perspectives on the need for state governments were presented to the RIPAA National Conference on 30 November 1995, Brisbane.     

The Tax That Failed: The VAT in Niger

The value-added tax (VAT) requires considerable sophistication on the part of both the taxpayers and the tax authorities in order to function effectively; not all countries meet this criteria. After Niger implemented the VAT in 1986, instead of realizing an increase in tax revenue it witnessed a decline, creating a major budget crisis. This article discusses why the VAT was an inappropriate choice for Niger, analyzes the reasons for the decline in tax revenue, and proposes alternative policies consistent with the administrative capacity of the Niger government and the existing socioeconomic environment.     

Chinese migrant women and families in Britain

This article examines the mode of understanding and experiences of family relationships of Chinese migrant women in Britain. In contrast to much existing research work on the patterns and experiences of postwar settlement of unskilled Chinese male labourers in Britain, the focus here is on the life stories of 41 Chinese women with different migration trajectories and varying economic and cultural capital. Their oral testimonies reveal Chinese women's diverse expectations and experiences of migrant family relationships and their different strategies to achieve self-fulfillment both within and outside the confines of the migrant family. For some women, migration brings opportunities for a fulfilling and independent lifestyle. They are successful in negotiating their way around and sometimes out of their initial familial and social position. For others, they bear the disproportionate cost and labour of familial strategies of advancement and remain vulnerable to the most constraining aspects of diasporic existence.     

Enantiomeric separation of methamphetamine and related analogs by capillary zone electrophoresis: intelligence study in routine methamphetamine seizures

A method for simultaneous enantiomeric separation of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and methamphetamine (MA) in a single run by simple capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with beta-cyclodextrin as a chiral selector is described. The effects of the buffer pH, phosphate concentration, beta-cyclodextrin concentration, voltage and temperature on the peak resolution were examined. Good enantiomeric resolution was attained for each analyte under our optimized conditions: 15 mM beta-cyclodextrin, 300 mM NaH2PO4 at pH 2.5 with an uncoated capillary (64.5 cm x 50 microm), applied potential at 20 kV and temperature at 30 degrees C. Ultraviolet (UV) detection at a fixed wavelength (200 nm) was employed using a diode array detector. Using phentermine as an internal standard, migration times for all analytes are reproducible within 0.16% for intra-day and 0.6% for inter-day runs. Application of this method to the analysis of confiscated drugs is discussed.     

西部卫生法律法规研究

本文是由中国社会科学院法学所夏勇、刘瀚老师所主持的中央项目——《西部开发法律法规研究》的内容之一。它从中央立法与地方立法两个级别、多个层次出发,对与我国西部开发有关的卫生法律法规进行了全面的整理与分析,以期从立法角度促进我国西部卫生法律法规的完善。     

Dimensions of self-esteem and psychological symptoms among chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

Self-esteem and psychological symptoms were assessed in a sample of 1082 Chinese adolescents who responded to the Chinese versions of Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory and the General Health Questionnaire. Three dimensions of self-esteem, interpreted as Family Acceptance/Rejection, Self-Depreciation, and Peer Affirmation/Disaffirmation, were found to relate substantially to general psychological symptoms and particularly to specific symptoms of anxiety, social dysfunction, and depression as reported by these adolescents. The implications of the relative importance of appraisal from internal feedback as sources of self-esteem as opposed to the external feedback from family and peers were discussed in relation to self-esteem enhancement in adolescents.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario in 1978. His research interests include self-esteem, stress, coping, health and psychopathology.Received her Ph.D. from the University of South Dakota in 1983. Her research interests include stress, coping and health, and geriatric psychology.     

The statistical variability of blood alcohol concentration measurements in drink-driving cases

Like many other places in the world, Hong Kong has drink-driving legislation which prohibits a driver from having in his blood alcohol exceeding a prescribed limit while in control of a motor vehicle. The accuracy of measuring this alcohol concentration is obviously of prime concern as an erroneous result can avert the administration of justice. The common practice is to deduct all errors from the measured value and compare the deducted value with the prescribed limit, so that the benefit of all errors of the measurement is given to the driver. It is therefore important for any laboratory responsible for measuring blood alcohol concentrations to identify and quantify all errors associated with the measurement. The present study examined 900 blood alcohol determinations carried out by the Hong Kong Government Laboratory (HKGL) on cases of suspected drink driving. The determinations were performed by 5 different analysts with two different sets of instruments during 1995-1997. Statistical analysis indicated that the instruments had no bearing on the random error or variability and that even though analyst was a significant factor on variability, the deviation from the mean so caused was only 0.3% and of no practical significance. When the systematic error introduced by the tolerance limits of the certified alcohol standards (purchased from the Laboratory of Government Chemists, UK) was taken into account, the total uncertainty (random plus systematic errors) of an alcohol determination at 99.5% confidence level was found to be 4%. It is recommended that laboratories engaged in blood alcohol determination should adopt similar statistical treatment of their analytical results to find out the error and to ensure that the results are independent of analyst and instrument used.