The Representation of the Legal Interests of Children and Adolescents in Germany: A Study of the Children's Guardian from a Child's Perspective

In 1998, the children’s guardian was introduced into Germanlaw as a new legal institution to represent interests of childrenand young people in certain family and guardianship court proceedings.Until now, there has not been realized any comprehensive investigationabout the perception of children and young people themselvesabout the new figure. This study focuses on the understandingof 52 children and young people concerning the guardian’srole and their satisfaction with the representation. To a largeextent, most children formulated appropriate and differentiatedconceptions of the role and duty of the children’s guardianeven if there were a few uncertainties. Furthermore, most childrenreported on many positive and satisfying aspects, although individualaspects were designated as problematic.     

The transnationalization of the extreme right and the use of the Internet

Like many other political actors, the extreme right is currently expanding beyond national borders, and, as with any civil society organization, the Internet is assuming a growing role in achieving this goal. To date, however, this topic is understudied. In this article, aiming to empirically filling this gap, we shall explore the new tactics of the extreme right in Europe and the USA in the context of transnational politics. Namely, we investigate the degree and forms of extreme right transnationalization (in terms of mobilization, issues, targets, action strategies, and organizational contacts) and the potential role of the Internet in these developments. The analysis combines qualitative and quantitative data derived from 54 interviews with representatives of extreme right organizations in six European countries (Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Spain) and the USA with a formalized Web content analysis of 336 right-wing websites. We will compare different types of right-wing groups which compose the radical right family (from political parties to associations), underlining the main differences and similarities across groups and across countries.     

Women Victims of Violent Partners: The Italian Situation Amid Culture and Psychopathology

In 2006, the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) conducted a survey over the entire national territory of women victims of sexual, physical, and psychologic violence, a few years after the first survey, conducted in 2002. For the 2002 survey, respondents were 60,000 women, 22,759 of whom were aged 14–59 years. For the 2006 survey, the sample consisted of 25,000 women aged 16–70 years. Owing to the sensitivity of the issues, the telephone survey technique seems best suited because it provides more anonymity and guarantee of protection. The survey showed that the phenomenon of violence against women is most commonly perpetrated by the partner or ex‐partner, even in cases of homicide. A comparison of the Italian data with those of the U.S.A. for the period 2001–2006 showed a specificity of Intimate Partner Violence in Italy, that seems to be related to cultural elements and psychologic and psychopathologic factors.     

Investigation of hydrogen cyanide generation from the cyanoacrylate fuming process used for latent fingermark detection

Cyanoacrylate fuming is one of the most common techniques employed for the detection of latent fingermarks on non-porous surfaces such as plastic and glass. The technique is generally applied by exposing items of interest to the vapours generated by heating a suitable quantity of commercial cyanoacrylate adhesive. In this study, the potential for highly toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) to be generated from the overheating of cyanoacrylate was investigated. Two commercial cyanoacrylate adhesives and two quantitative methods for the determination of HCN were employed: (i) the sodium picrate method; and (ii) the picrate-resorcinol method. (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis was used to confirm the presence of cyanide. In addition, the thermal decomposition of cyanoacrylate was studied using simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA). It was determined that detectable and quantifiable amounts of HCN were generated from the thermal decomposition of cyanoacrylate monomer and polymer at temperatures as low as 200 °C. Using an optimised picrate-resorcinol method, it was shown that around 10 μg of HCN could be generated from the heating of 1g of cyanoacrylate monomer at 200 °C. For one of the adhesives tested, this increased to above 100 μg of HCN when 1g of cyanoacrylate monomer was heated at 280 °C. Recommendations are provided that, if followed, should ensure that the cyanoacrylate fuming process can be safely applied with minimal risk to the operator.     

Styryl dye coated metal oxide powders for the detection of latent fingermarks on non-porous surfaces

Conventional fingermark powders rely on contrast induced by absorption/reflection (e.g. black powder) or luminescence in the visible region (e.g. Blitz Green(?)). In most cases, these powders provide sufficient contrast; however, in some circumstances surface characteristics can interfere with the visualisation of powdered fingermarks. Visualisation in the near infra-red (NIR) region, however, has been shown to eliminate interferences commonly encountered in the visible region. In this study, a mixture of rhodamine 6G and the NIR laser dye styryl 11 (STaR 11) was coated onto an aluminium oxide nanopowder and then mixed with silver magnetic powder to develop and visualise fingermarks in the NIR. When compared to Blitz Green(?), it was determined that the STaR 11 magnetic powder was better suited for marks deposited on textured surfaces and for older marks, whereas Blitz Green(?) performed better on smooth glossy surfaces. The ability of the STaR 11 mixed dye formulation to be visualised in both the visible and NIR regions also provides a significant advantage over conventional luminescent fingermark powders.     

The right to vote no: revising the voting system and resuscitating the F-Y voter

This paper explores the possibility of revising the voting system in order to provide the citizen with the alternative of voting for none of the candidates on the ballot as opposed to selecting a specific candidate or not voting at all. We describe in general terms the nature and implications of such a proposal and leave the formal development of the model for a subsequent paper. In addition, preliminary evidence is presented as to the potential effect of this alternative on the electoral system.     

European Banking Union to the Rescue? How Supranational Institutions Influenced Crisis Management in Italy

ABSTRACT

This article examines the management of the recent banking crisis in Italy. In particular, we investigate the changing coalitional dynamics among Italian banks with a view to identifying the conditions under which banks are more likely to share the costs of crisis management. We argue that banks’ preferences are significantly shaped by the institutional context within which they operate. In particular, the establishment of Banking Union in the European Union (EU) significantly weakened the traditional coalitional dynamics among Italian banks by injecting uncertainty about the distributional effects of crisis management policy solutions.