Intergovernmental relations on immigrant integration in Spain: The case of Catalonia

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the nature of intergovernmental relations (IGR) on immigrant integration in Spain, a relatively recent immigration country, with a focus on Catalonia. By means of qualitative document analysis and semi-structured interviews at both levels of government, the paper demonstrates that despite the formal existence of multilateral and institutionalized fora for intergovernmental relations, most intergovernmental relations on immigrant integration tend to be informal and bilateral. The paper also highlights that the conflictual nature of IGR on integration varies across sub-policy areas and over time. The paper contributes to strengthen existing hypotheses regarding institutional features (the distribution of competencies and the territorial organization of power) and party politics for explaining the patterns of IGR.     

Do police crackdowns disrupt drug cryptomarkets? A longitudinal analysis of the effects of Operation Onymous

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of online illicit markets where participants can purchase and sell a wide range of goods and services such as drugs, hacking services, and stolen financial information. Second-generation markets, known as cryptomarkets, provide a pseudo-anonymous platform from which to operate and have attracted the attention of researchers, regulators, and law enforcement. This paper focuses on the impact of police crackdowns on cryptomarkets, and more particularly on the impact of Operation Onymous, a large-scale police operation in November 2014 that targeted many cryptomarkets. Our results demonstrate that cryptomarket participants adapt to police operations and that the impact of Operation Onymous was limited in time and scope. Of particular interest is the finding that prices did not increase following Operation Onymous, even though many dealers retired shortly after it occurred.     

Are Judges Street‐Level Bureaucrats? Evidence from French and Canadian Family Courts

Although judges were included in the street‐level‐bureaucracy (SLB) group by Lipsky (1980), sociolegal scholars have barely used this theoretical framework to study them. This article aims to specify their position with respect to SLB in order to bridge the gap between public administration and sociolegal research. Specifically, using a cross‐national ethnography of judicial institutions, it compares family trial judges' practice on the ground in France and Canada. General conditions separate them from the core SLB group: encounters with clients are less direct; discretion is more legitimate. However, French judges are far closer to the SLB group than their Canadian counterparts regarding public encounters and case processing. As such, the accuracy of the SLB framework depends on professional and cultural patterns that combine differently in these two national contexts.     

Reforming Canada's federal health-care funding arrangements

Federal health-care funding has long been a source of policy debate in this country, a situation exacerbated recently by the COVID-19 pandemic and the premiers' calls for a large expansion of the Canada Health Transfer. In this article, we explore four potential pathways policy-makers might consider in order to improve federal health-care funding. These potential pathways should allow policy-makers to consider how to adapt to changing circumstances while addressing citizens' concerns and the demands of provincial/territorial governments. We do not support one or another of these policy pathways. Instead, we explain what they are and what impact they could have.     

Local participatory innovations and experts as political entrepreneurs: The case of China's democracy consultants

This study is concerned with understanding the dynamic behind participatory innovations in China. The case of China provides a contrast to the literature on participatory innovations in democracies. While participatory innovations in democratic countries are seen as a way to deepen and improve democracy, in China these innovations are to some extent developed in order to provide an alternative to electoral democracy. In this article I introduce the concept democracy consultant to describe expert political entrepreneurs involved in the development of participatory innovations. Research on local participatory innovation in China is abundant but the role that experts play in this process has previously not been analysed. Based on in-depth interviews with democracy consultants and local officials, the study finds that democracy consultants frequently act as bridges between central and local levels of government by providing expertise, information, legitimacy, and connections. This is especially true in localities where local leaders want to gain the attention of the central level but lack the required expertise and connections.     

“Do You Wish Her to Marry?” Brazilian Women and Professional Diplomacy, 1918–1938

In 1918, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Itamaraty] hired its first female employee. The organisation would henceforth confront the discussion of the role women in diplomacy. Traditional European aristocratic values had heretofore shaped the Brazilian diplomatic profession, and they relegated women to the role of supporting wives. Countering the status quo, those interested in opening diplomatic positions for women argued that the gendered nature of diplomacy was, in fact, feminine and used the rhetorical strength of traditional values to reframe the career. The transition of the masculinity model associated with the “new” diplomacy and the transnational constitution of the acceptability of female diplomats, however, precluded female activists from strategically using discriminatory gender stereotypes to succeed. Only in 1954, Itamaraty opened careers permanently to women.     

How Do Adolescents Manage Information in the Relationship with Their Parents? A Latent Class Analysis of Disclosure,Keeping Secrets,and Lying

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - The use of disclosure and concealment strategies by adolescents in the relationship with their parents may have important implications for their adjustment. Few...     

An Unusual Case of Death Probably Triggered by the Association of Buprenorphine at Therapeutic Dose with Ethanol and Benzodiazepines and with Very Low Norbuprenorphine Level

Buprenorphine is largely prescribed for maintenance treatment in opioid dependence due to its safety profile. Nevertheless, fatalities at therapeutic dose have been described when associated with other central nervous system depressants, such as ethanol or benzodiazepines. Here, we report a case of death due to association of buprenorphine at therapeutic dose with benzodiazepines and ethanol. Although toxicity has been often attributed to its metabolite norbuprenorphine rather than to buprenorphine itself, in our case, norbuprenorphine was not detected in urine and bile and only in traces in blood. Moreover, the presence in blood of free buprenorphine but not of glucuronide metabolites argues for an unusual early death, at the beginning of buprenorphine metabolism. We propose that in the context of prior toxic impregnation, buprenorphine directly (and not via its metabolite norbuprenorphine) acted as a triggering factor by blocking the ventilatory response, rapidly leading to fatal respiratory depression.