Why Does Employment Legislation Not Damage Small Firms?

Business rhetoric and conventional theory expect that employment regulations will have negative effects on small firms. Prior research has shown that effects are quite rare, but has not explained why. Case studies of 18 firms from three sectors identified four explanations. (1) Perceptions of effects tend to be broad and general, rather than reflections of concrete experience. (2) 'The law' is not uniform, with older laws being largely taken for granted. (3) Effects depend on competitive conditions, which are more important influences on firms than are regulations; where conditions are benign, regulations can be absorbed, but in other circumstances employment regulations can exacerbate competitive pressures. (4) A degree of informality in small firms further eases responses. By the same token, however, hopes that regulation will stimulate modernization are rarely realized.     

DEPENDENCY COURT MEDIATION

This article discusses the roles and levels of participation of the various participants in juvenile and dependency court mediation, and also examines potential gains and losses associated with participation for family members and the social worker.     

Defined contusion marks caused by the knife handle]

If in inflicting a stab wound the knife is vigorously pushed in up to the end of the blade, this does not only cause cutting of the tissue, but also a blunt traumatization. The resulting abrasions can correspond with the respective construction parts (handle, handguard, devices for fixing the open blade) as to position, shape and size, thus allowing conclusions as to the shape of the instrument used. Incomplete, one-sided marks of the handle suggest an oblique-angled stab. The presence of a contusion mark shows that the blade penetrated completely, which makes it easier to draw conclusions as to the length of the blade from the depth of penetration. The reconstruction possibilities are demonstrated on the basis of three autopsies (homicide cases with different types of knives).