The Effect of Fiscal Decentralization on the Financial Condition of Municipal Government

This study examines the effect of fiscal decentralization between states and their local governments on the financial condition of municipal governments. There are strong theoretical arguments on both sides of the federalism debate about the benefits for and against decentralization. Most of the research in this area investigates economic and social welfare consequences of fiscal decentralization. There is limited research, however, on the effects of fiscal decentralization on the financial health of local governments. Using data from the nation’s 150 largest cities, this study finds that intrastate fiscal decentralization results in weaker financial condition for municipalities in those states.     

A journey into the unknown: Pretrial publicity and capital cases

This article examines issues related to pretrial publicity's role in the free press‐fair trial debate. First, the article provides a comprehensive review of existing research examining the effects of pretrial publicity on case outcomes. Second, it examines the presentation of prejudicial publicity items in a sample of newspaper stories on capital cases, identifying the types of factual and emotional publicity presented and suggesting areas that need to be more closely scrutinized in future research. The article concludes that cases that ultimately result in sentences of death receive both more and different types of pretrial publicity than cases that result in lesser sentences. The current state of empirical pretrial publicity knowledge, and the presentation of death cases, are discussed as they relate to the balancing of First and Sixth amendment rights.     

Yvon Delbos and Anthony Eden: Anglo–French Cooperation, 1936–1938

The period of tenure of Anthony Eden and Yvon Delbos as the foreign ministers of their respective countries coincided with a remarkable improvement and convergence in Anglo–French relations. This was no accident. Both men had similar ideas in relation to the challenges confronting Britain and France in international affairs. Neither wanted really close relations with Soviet Russia and both supported non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War despite their growing concern over German and Italian intervention. Delbos was highly critical of Mussolini's Italy and was firmly opposed to a Franco–Italian rapprochement while Eden, having originally given the Duce the benefit of the doubt, came to distrust him and to oppose even conversations with Italy without prior concessions, such as the withdrawal of Italian volunteers from Spain. Finally, both supported the appeasement of Nazi Germany, including colonial concessions, although Delbos towards the end of his period as foreign minister became more sceptical as to the prospects for success.     

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF SUPERVISED ACCESS AND CUSTODY EXCHANGE SERVICES

The detrimental effect of parental conflict in protracted child custody and visitation disputes is well established in the literature. However, little is known about the impact of parental conflict on children when visitation takes place in a protected setting. Part of a larger study that examined the broader issues related to parental and child involvement in a supervised access and custody exchange service, this article specifically explores the influence of parental participation on child well-being. This exploratory effort reveals that children's level of adjustment remained stable over 6 months of participation while visitation returned to court-ordered levels and interparental contact was precluded by staff intervention.     

DSM-III diagnoses and offenses in committed female juvenile delinquents

The relationship between juvenile delinquency and psychiatric disorders remains poorly understood. However, it is becoming more apparent that the spectrum of psychiatric illness present in juvenile delinquents is broader than once believed. Fifteen female juvenile delinquents committed to a residential treatment program were assessed for DSM-III diagnoses, using a structured diagnostic interview, the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA). A search of the literature revealed no other reports using the DICA in female juvenile delinquents. A broad spectrum of current and past diagnoses was discovered, including conduct disorder (100%), substance abuse/dependence (87%), major depression (67%), and anxiety disorders (47%). The average number of lifetime diagnoses per subject was 4.7; current diagnoses averaged 3.4 per subject. Additionally, criminal and status offense records were obtained for each subject. No significant relationship was noted between diagnoses and categories of offense. These results add further evidence for the presence of frequent and severe psychiatric disturbances in this population, and the need for increased clinical and research efforts by the psychiatric community.     

Knowledge to action: Evaluation for learning in a multi-organisational global partnership

Many organisations do not learn. There are many reasons for this, and a lack of donor support tends to be cited as one of the greatest. But this is not the primary reason for a lack of learning. We fail to learn because we are unable to see the importance of doing so. We become so embroiled in our busy-ness and our self-inflicted demands for action, that we have ceased to value learning. And we have lost sight of the fact that without learning our action is doomed to ineffectiveness. If we are about development and cannot measure how we are doing, how can we develop a rigorous and effective practice?     

Observations and statistics relating to suicide weapons

The weapon at the scene of a suicide provides a resource in addressing such questions as frequency of blood in or on the weapon, location of the weapon with respect to the body, and evidence of firearm discharge residues on the hand. The first 195 weapons were tested for blood by a technique different from the following 202 weapons. Results were obtained which caused procedural changes in blood detection. Data are presented for frequency of blood in and on the muzzle of weapons, relative frequency of location of suicidal gunshot wound, and percent "positive" findings of gunshot residue metals on the hands. It was found that suicidal gunshot wounds were 3 times more frequent to the head than the chest, and that no significant difference was noted between males and females in this study. Scene photographs reveal that the suicide weapon is in or resting on the hand of the decedent 20% of the time with handguns and 11% of the time with long guns.