The Best Interests of the Child? Is the Best Interests of the Child in the Best Interests of Children?

The writings of Goldstein, Freud and Solnit, particularly someof the concepts they developed, have exercised a profound influenceon our thinking about children. A new, revamped, final, authoritativeedition presents the opportunity for critical re-assessment.The author finds a partial analytical framework, a dated imageof children, a narrow concept of children's rights, triggersfor intervention which leave children dangerously exposed and,above all, a sense diat events have moved on leaving the mostinfluential text of this generation firmly rooted in the ideas,problems and concepts of the last. The publication in one revised volume of the landmark trilogyof Beyond, Before and In¹ provides an excuse, if one were needed,to assess the impact and re-evaluate the arguments containedwithin the three monographs and now compressed and updated.Whether or not one agrees with all, or even any, of the ideascontained within Best Interests (as I shall now call the collection),and I shall criticize both applications and implications, theconcepts have impressed themselves, perhaps indelibly, on ourthinking about children. Like it or not, anyone thinking aboutchild law or policy, the relation between parents and children,the state and family, has to grapple with concepts like ‘leastdetrimental alternative’, the ‘psychological parent’,a child's sense of time and others of the rich ideas which permeateBest Interests.²     

Exchange Rate Volatility and Democratization in Emerging Market Countries

We examine some of the consequences of financial globalization for democratization in emerging market economies by focusing on the currency markets of four Asian countries at different stages of democratic development. Using political data of various kinds—including a new events data series—and the Markov regime switching model from empirical macroeconomics, we show that in young and incipient democracies politics continuously causes changes in the probability of experiencing two different currency market equilibria: a high volatility "contagion" regime and a low volatility "fundamentals" regime. The kind of political events that affect currency market equilibration varies cross-nationally depending on the degree to which the polity of a country is democratic and its policymaking transparent. The results help us better gauge how and the extent to which democratization is compatible with financial globalization.     

Notes on social indicators: Promises and potential

Widespread interest in social indicators—indeed, what may be characterized as a new social movement—has developed among both social scientists and policymakers. The concept of social indicators, however, continues to be diffuse and there are exaggerated claims of the utility of indicators. Deficiencies in both conceptualization and method limit the potential of indicators for such tasks as priority setting and program evaluation. Moreover, the development of social accounts, based on the analogy with economic accounts, is fallacious. Redirection in effort and more realistic claims can reduce the possibility of an eventual decline in work on indicators and enhance the value of the movement for both policymakers and social scientists concerned with the analysis and prediction of social change.     

Characterization and validation studies of powerPlex 2.1, a nine-locus short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex system and penta D monoplex

In order to increase the power of discrimination for human identification purposes, a nine-locus short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex, the GenePrint PowerPlex 2.1 system (PowerPlex 2.1) developed by Promega Corporation and a separate pentanucleotide-repeat locus, Penta D, were tested. This megaplex system includes the highly polymorphic loci FGA, TPOX, D8S1179, vWA, Penta E, D18S51, D21S11, TH01, and D3S1358 and may be used in combination with the eight-locus STR multiplex, the GenePrint PowerPlex 1.1 system (PowerPlex 1.1) that has been previously developed. Three of the loci, TPOX, TH01 and vWA, have been included in both systems for quality control purposes. As with PowerPlex 1.1, PowerPlex 2.1 is also based on a two-color detection of fluorescent-labeled DNA products amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and provides a valuable tool for accurate and rapid allele determination. The primer sequences used in the PowerPlex 2.1/Penta D system are also presented in this report. To meet the "Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories" (FBI), we tested the efficiency and reproducibility of the PowerPlex 2.1/PentaD system by several validation studies that were conducted as a joint project among seven laboratories. Validation tests included concordance studies, sensitivity, and species specificity determination, as well as performance in forensic and environmentally impacted samples. The results produced from these tests demonstrated the consistency and reliability of the PowerPlex 2.1/Penta D system.     

Perceptions of Older Adult Eyewitnesses: Will You Believe Me When I'm 64?

Participant-witnesses (young adults/young seniors/older seniors) viewed one of two versions of a simulated videotaped crime (crime context either familiar to young or older adults). The witnesses were videotaped responding to direct and cross-examination questions about the video. The older seniors were significantly less accurate than the young adults and young seniors. Familiarity of the crime context did not affect testimony accuracy. However, the older seniors were more verbose when describing a familiar context. Participant-jurors viewed the testimony videotapes and evaluated the witnesses' credibility. All witnesses were regarded as equally credible in testifying and less accurate in response to cross-examination questioning.     

Perceptions of Political Corruption in Latin American Democracies

Political corruption poses a serious threat to the stability of developing democracies by eroding the links between citizens and governments. Using data on national levels of corruption (Transparency International 1997 CPI index) and individual opinion (1995-97 World Values Survey), this study finds that Latin Americans are quite aware of the seriousness of corruption in their countries. The ensuing question is whether citizens can connect their views about corruption to appraisals of their authorities and institutions and of democracy more generally. Collectively, the findings suggest that they can, and that the necessary ingredients for accountability are present in Latin America. The possible dark side of mass opinion on corruption is that pervasive misconduct may poison public sentiment toward democratic politics. On this score, the analysis found that this attitude affected only support for specific administrations and institutions.     

When doctors shape policy: The impact of self‐regulation on governing human biotechnology

This paper investigates the development and adoption of governance modes in the field of human biotechnology. As the field of human biotechnology is relatively new, voluntary professional self‐regulation constituted the initial governing mode. In the meantime, with the exception of Ireland, all Western European countries have moved toward greater state intervention. Nevertheless, they have done so in contrasting ways and the resulting governance modes for assisted reproductive technology and embryonic stem‐cell research vary greatly. Instead of imposing their steering capacity in a “top‐down” fashion, governments have taken pre‐existing self‐regulatory arrangements in the field into account and built up governance mechanisms in conjunction with private actors and pre‐existing modes of private governance. Our analysis demonstrates that the form and content of the initial self‐regulation explain why the self‐steering capacity of the medical profession was largely or at least partially preserved through hybrid governance systems in Britain and Germany, while in France the self‐regulation was entirely replaced by governmental intervention.     

Udder justice: the dairy cow’s experience of milk production regulations in Canada

Abstract

In a world continually (re)structured through neoliberal organization, processes of food production and consumption are increasingly market-oriented within an agribusiness-structured system. This paper provides an exploratory analysis of the role of the Canadian dairy cow as both a producer and a consumer through questioning how the production–consumption roles are structured within federal legal regulations governing the dairy cow’s life on a modern farm. Particularly, this paper explores whether there is a difference between how the dairy cow is defined and treated through regulations governing consumption, such as feed and care, versus production laws, including impregnation and milking processes. This inquiry will be answered by examining literature and data describing Canadian dairy farms, combined with a discourse analysis of federal regulations governing the consumption and production activities of dairy cattle. The results will be presented from the perspective of the Canadian dairy cow, followed by a discussion of how regulations may best represent the just treatment of the dairy cow within both roles.