The peasantry of northeast Scotland

Little attention has been paid to peasant agriculture in Britain. This paper is an attempt—of inordinate length—to give an account of the articulation of capitalist and peasant agriculture in northeast Scotland between 1840 and 1914. It uses a very wide range of sources including folk song and novels, as well as reminiscences and interviews, but seeks to ground these cultural productions—in which the study area is very rich indeed—in the material base from which they are derived.     

Constructing interethnic conflict and cooperation: why some people harmed Jews and others helped them during the Holocaust in Romania

The authors draw on a natural experiment to demonstrate that states can reconstruct conflictual interethnic relationships into cooperative relationships in relatively short periods of time. The article examines differences in how the gentile population in each of two neighboring territories in Romania treated its Jewish population during the Holocaust. These territories had been part of tsarist Russia and subject to state-sponsored anti-Semitism until 1917. During the interwar period one territory became part of Romania, which continued anti-Semitic policies, and the other became part of the Soviet Union, which pursued an inclusive nationality policy, fighting against inherited anti-Semitism and working to integrate its Jews. Both territories were then reunited under Romanian administration during World War II, when Romania began to destroy its Jewish population. The authors demonstrate that, despite a uniform Romanian state presence during the Holocaust that encouraged gentiles to victimize Jews, the civilian population in the area that had been part of the Soviet Union was less likely to harm and more likely to aid Jews as compared with the region that had been part of Romania. Their evidence suggests that the state construction of interethnic relationships can become internalized by civilians and outlive the life of the state itself.     

Carcass mass can influence rate of decomposition and release of ninhydrin-reactive nitrogen into gravesoil

To investigate the use of ninhydrin-reactive nitrogen (NRN) in gravesoil to estimate early postmortem interval (PMI), we conducted an experiment to decompose swine (Sus scrofa) carcasses of contrasting mass (～1 kg, ～20 kg, ～40 kg, ～50 kg). Carcasses were placed on the soil surface during June 2007 to monitor mass loss and the concentration of gravesoil NRN over an interval of 15 days. Carcasses of a mass ≤ 20 kg decomposed more rapidly than larger carcasses. However, 1 kg carcasses were associated with a slower release of NRN into gravesoil but a greater concentration of NRN per kg carcass (NRN(C)). We conclude that carcass mass can affect the rate of decomposition and release of NRN into gravesoil, which reflects an interaction between carcass volume and blow fly colonization. Furthermore, we conclude that neonatal carcasses require a different equation than larger carcasses when using gravesoil chemistry to estimate PMI.     

TRAINING,SKILLS, AND PRACTICES OF PARENTING COORDINATORS: FLORIDA STATEWIDE STUDY

This report details findings from the nation's first statewide study on parenting coordination. A survey was presented to all known practicing parenting coordinators (PCs) in Florida (N = 207), with 67 (32%) responding. Data concerning PC demographics, how PCs do their work, and how they perceive their clients at different stages of the parenting coordination process suggest substantial similarity between mental health and family law professionals in almost every realm of questioning. Study limitations, implications for further research, and practice considerations are discussed.     

Past and present conference on inheritance and the family

The origins of English individualism: the family, private property and social transition. Alan Macfarlane. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1978. xv + 216pp; £8.50.

The English Peasant: Studies Historical, Local and Biographic by Richard Heath. East Ardsley: EP Publishing, 1978. Pp.viii + 382; £5.50.

The Bettesworth Book, by George Sturt. Firle: Caliban Books, 1978. Pp.xv + 325; £7.50.

William Smith, Potter and Farmer: 1790–1858 by George Sturt. Firle: Caliban Books, 1978. Pp.x + 230; £7.50.     

Ascent of the corporate model in environmental-organized crime

Since the mid-1980s, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970 (RICO) has been used against traditional organized criminals (i.e., Mafia) operating within various waste-trade industries. Recent civil and criminal RICO cases brought in New York City and State, provide current examples of the overall limited success of using RICO against criminal actors situated within the waste-trade industries. Although the traditional form of organized crime (i.e., Mafia) appears to be on the wane, corporate forms of organized crime have already entered into the waste-trade industries to fill the void created by the extraction of their predecessors. These corporate racketeers closely mimic the old traditional form of crime they have replaced, but may prove to be even more intractable, because, as the literature on corporate crime has clearly shown, corporate entities are extremely resistant to labeling as illegitimate organizations. One result of addressing “environmental-organized crime” as strictly organized crime, rather than as environmental crime, is that little change will be forthcoming in our current environmental regulations, laws, strategies and policies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Strategy of Territorial Conflict

Many empirical studies have found that disputes over territory are central to the outbreak and intensity of the majority of interstate military conflict. However, the existing literature lacks an explicit theoretical link between the role territory plays in disputes and the outbreak of violence as well as an exploration of how the control of territory is related to conventional military capabilities. This article demonstrates that the targets of territorial claims can consolidate their control over disputed territory to improve their ability to fight effectively on it. The empirical analysis suggests that when territory is strategically located, target states are more likely to consolidate their position, while challenger states are less likely to escalate militarily. Furthermore, when the presence of territorial characteristics such as strategic location makes consolidation an effective strategy, target states are increasingly likely to consolidate as they face stronger opponents.     

An experimental study of expressive voting

In this paper we report results of an initial attempt to test the theory of expressive voting. Our experiment involves requiring subjects to vote between receiving A in cash or havingA in cash or having B donated to charity on their behalf. Across subjects we vary the probability that their vote will decide which disbursement is made. As the probability of being decisive is lowered, the opportunity cost of giving expression to charitable sentiment decreases; hence, the likelihood of voting in accordance with such sentiment is expected to increase. We find weak support for the hypothesis, but the results do not replicate when we alter the parameter settings. Limitations of our design are discussed.This research was supported by the College of the Holy Cross and by a Procter & Gamble grant to the Department of Economics. We gratefully acknowledge the comments and contributions of James Andreoni, Geoffrey Brennan, George Kosicki, Michael Peddle, Tom Rietz, David Schap, James Shepperd, Royce Singleton, Todd Vladyka, Arlington Williams, an anonymous referee, and colleagues in our department research workshop.