Legitimacy and Internet in the Judiciary: A Lesson From the Italian Courts' Websites Experience

Judiciaries in democratic countries have been facing problemsof low legitimacy due to increasing judicial activism. Traditionalforms of accountability have shown to be inadequate to the presentsituation. The purpose of this article is to examine whethereasy access to information on judicial systems, courts’activities and cases available through the Internet can increaselegitimacy. Although websites can be a tool to enhance accountability,transparency, legality and representativeness of the judiciary,the results of this article show that this is not always thecase. The authors hypothesize that enhancements occur when certaincombinations of four core elements (organization of the webservice provision, access to information, content, and users)take place. Based on an examination of all websites of threejudicial systems, we seek to provide an initial outlook on theuse of websites in facilitating legitimacy, and a contributionto knowledge in the field of courts and ICT.     

Case report of a homicide by a shotgun loaded with unusual ammunition

Reported is the case of a man killed by a neighbor with a shotgun loaded with a unusual ammunition. The cartridge contained several shots chained together by metallic wires. Such ammunition has been used for hunting purposes but is now banned, so it can be handmade only. The joined pellets produce a wound with features that are different from those of a wound made by a regular load of pellets. Several interpretive problems are caused by the unknown number of pellets contained in the shell and the effects of the wire holding the shot together.     

Business Angel and risk capital： The impact on innovation

The aim of the analysis is to understand if the risk capital carried by Business Angels （B.A.） could affect firms with high innovation propensity in creating more innovations than receiving risk capital from other financial operators. Innovation is a critical factor for the competitiveness of national system especially when the economy of the latter has come to maturity. For realizing ＂the successful exploitation of ideas, into new products, processes, services or business practices, and the critical process for achieving two complementary business goals of performance and growth, which in turn will help to close the productivity gap＂ （DTI＇s Innovation Report, 2003, p. 8）, firms have to understand which are the right competences to increase. In this context, the authors have developed a framework that measures the propensity to innovate in the firms. The model considers the firm＇s competences （grouped into four macro areas as management, organization, ITC and marketing） to improve the creation, development and diffusion of the innovation. The work is structured as an empirical analysis as follows： （1） The authors analyzed a sample of 12 business plans （choices for high level of innovation in their business） that received risk capital from B.A. and other financial operators; （2） For each firm, their innovation propensity is measured through the author＇s model during their start-up period （the data analyzed are business plan＇s data）; （3） After a period of time （3 years）, the authors checked if the firms with high innovation propensity have created real innovation and if a correlation exists between risk capital origin （from Business Angels or not） and innovation propensity. The conclusion of the work is the finns with B.A.＇s risk capital have a high innovation propensity and create after a medium term period more innovation compared with the others.     

Preventing suicide in prisons, part I. Recommendations from the International Association for Suicide Prevention Task Force on Suicide in Prisons

In 2000 the Department of Mental Health of the World Health Organization (WHO) published a guide named Preventing Suicide. A Resource for Prison Officers as part of the WHO worldwide initiative for the prevention of suicide. In 2007 there are new epidemiological data on prison suicide, a more detailed discussion of risk factors accounting for the generally higher rate of suicide in correctional settings in comparison to the general population, and several strategies for developing screening instruments. As a first step, this paper presents an update of the WHO guide by the Task Force on Suicide in Prisons, created by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. A second paper, by the same Task Force, will present some international comparisons of suicide prevention services in correctional facilities.     

Optimal Central Bank Conservativeness in an Open Economy

This paper develops a graphical method to determinethe optimal degree of central bank conservativeness inan open economy. Unlike Rogoff (1985a), the upper andlower bounds of the interval containing the optimaldegree of conservativeness are expressed in terms ofthe structural parameters of the model. It is shownthat optimal central bank conservativeness is higher,the higher the natural rate of unemployment, thegreater the benefits of unanticipated inflation, theless inflation-averse society, the smaller thevariance of productivity shocks, the smaller realexchange rate variability and the smaller the opennessof the economy. These propositions are tested fornineteen industrial countries for the period1960–1993. In testing the model we employ a latentvariables method (LISREL) in order to distinguishbetween actual and optimal monetary regimes.     

Pushing the Boundaries of Education: Evaluating the Impact of Second Step®: A Violence Prevention Curriculum with Psychosocial and Non-Cognitive Measures

The Second Step® violence prevention curriculum was implemented in a large urban school district as part of a comprehensive three-year initiative to impact students at-risk for violence and substance abuse. An outcome evaluation was conducted to assess the intervention's effectiveness on students’ attitudes and on behaviors important for accountability. Results indicated improvements in students’ prosocial attitudes and behaviors that were consistent across two large cohorts of students. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.