Rural housing market response to nonfarm employment growth: an analysis of housing development patterns

This paper describes uses of economic impact models to examine labor force and housing relationships associated with regional employment changes, including area-wide labor demands, expected housing needs in response to changes in the labor force size, and the predicted quantity of new housing units that will be developed. The perspectives analyzed represent important elements in economic development planning, especially in light of the tremendous competition for firms and workers among cities and states in the U.S. today. Rural development officials report difficulty attracting residential labor force members and reason that the absence of housing starts in rural places is inhibiting future growth prospects. The paper demonstrates how input-output, econometric, and spatial analysis methods can be combined to assist decision makers in determining the overall value of regional economic growth and the labor and housing impacts of that growth. Special attention is given to delineating the spatial dimensions of labor and housing markets in rural, urban, and metropolitan settings.     

Understanding of and memory for a complex auditory event: an experimental case study to resolve an evidentiary issue in a trial

While many studies have focused on eyewitness’ perception and memory, few studies on earwitness’ ability to understand and remember complex sound events have been conducted. The present study included 73 participants and explored whether it is possible for children and adults to understand and later recall a complex sound event. The aim was to resolve an evidentiary issue in a trial concerning a 7-year-old child’s earwitness testimony and whether is it possible to understand a complex sound environment based solely on aural perception. The participants listened to a recording that replicated the aurally perceived situation described by the child witness in his testimony. The results showed, that adults and children could identify only a few, familiar sounds of the 16 sounds presented in free recall. They recognized the correct sounds poorly (51.9% vs. chance level of 50%): significantly better than chance only if the retention interval was immediate and the sounds could be heard clearly (57.5%). The results suggest that the participants were not able to understand what was transpiring and, thus, could not later recall the sound events. The findings highlight that understanding this kind of a complex sound event is a difficult task and that the experimental role of a witness psychologist is valuable for resolving evidentiary issues for the court. The implications for the case and the limitations of the study were discussed.     

Singing the same tune? International continuities and discontinuities in how police talk about using force

This article focuses on a research project conducted in six jurisdictions: England, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Venezuela, and Brazil. These societies are very different ethnically, socially, politically, economically, historically and have wildly different levels of crime. Their policing arrangements also differ significantly: how they are organised; how their officers are equipped and trained; what routine operating procedures they employ; whether they are armed; and much else besides. Most relevant for this research, they represent policing systems with wildly different levels of police shootings, Police in the two Latin American countries represented here have a justified reputation for the frequency with which they shoot people, whereas at the other extreme the police in England do not routinely carry firearms and rarely shoot anyone. To probe whether these differences are reflected in the way that officers talk about the use of force, police officers in these different jurisdictions were invited to discuss in focus groups a scenario in which police are thwarted in their attempt to arrest two youths (one of whom is a known local criminal) by the youths driving off with the police in pursuit, and concludes with the youths crashing their car and escaping in apparent possession of a gun, It might be expected that focus groups would prove starkly different, and indeed they were, but not in the way that might be expected. There was little difference in affirmation of normative and legal standards regarding the use of force. It was in how officers in different jurisdictions envisaged the circumstances in which the scenario took place that led Latin American officers to anticipate that they would shoot the suspects, whereas officers in the other jurisdictions had little expectation that they would open fire in the conditions as they imagined them to be.

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How does an auditor general's office see itself?

Abstract: Auditors general are guided by legislative mandates that specify duties and protocols but rarely the underlying purpose of auditing. When asked about their purpose, auditors typically mention the need for satisfying the accountability requirement, but the interpretation of this requirement varies: is it to root out fraud, waste and abuse; to act as a deterrent against mismanagement by assigning blame for wrongdoing; to simply measure and report the performance of government programs; or to help improve program performance? Auditors general have no executive power outside their office, but, because of their status, they can significantly influence executives. Yet, that status is based on a paradox, namely on the level of disagreement between political overseers of programs and program managers. When there is no disagreement about a program's function and performance, there is little for the auditor to do. When there is a high level of disagreement, the auditor's work becomes important because his or her opinion counts, and his or her status rises accordingly. An auditor general's office's self‐image ‐ and of the role of government ‐ informs auditors' values and their approaches to their work. The office's leadership can make these self‐images visible and influence them. The article concludes with a section on the audit offices' accountability and suggests making auditors accountable for the learning, as a result of their work, that takes place in the audited organizations. Sommaire: Les Vérificateurs généraux sont guidés dans leur travail par des mandats législatifs qui précisent obligations et protocoles, mais rarement le but sous‐jacent de la vérification. Quand on les interroge sur leur but, les vérificateurs mentionnent généralement le besoin de satisfaire l'obligation de rendre compte, mais l'interprétation de cette obligation varie. Est‐ce que cela consiste à détecter la fraude, le gaspillage et les abus? A décourager la mauvaise gestion en rejetant la responsabilité de la faute sur quelqu'un? A mesurer tout simplement la performance des programmes gouvernementaux et à en dormer un compte rendu? Ou à améliorer la performance des programmes? Les Vérificateurs généraux n'ont pas de pouvoir exécutif en dehors de leur Bureau, mais en raison de leur statut ils peuvent exercer une influence importante sur les organes exécutifs. Or, ce statut est fondé sur un paradoxe, à savoir le niveau de désaccord entre les responsables politiques des programmes et ceux qui sont chargék de leur gestion. Lorsqu'il n'y a pas de désaccord au sujet de la fonction et de la performance d'un programme, le vérificateur n'a qu'un travail limité. Lorsqu'il existe un profond désaccord, le travail du vérificateur devient important, car son opinion compte et son statut s'élève alors en conséquence. L'idée que se fait le Bureau du Vérificateur général de son rôle ‐ et de celui du gouvernement ‐ renseigne sur les valeurs et les méthodes de travail des vérificateurs. La direction du Bureau du Vérificateur général peut exposer ces perceptions et les influencer. En conclusion, le présent articlc comporte une section sur l'imputabilité des Bureaux des Vérificateurs généraux euxmêmes et laisse entendre que ces derniers devraient être imputables de l'apprentissage qui se produit dans les organismes vérifiés, suite à leur travail de vérification.     

Verfassungsrechtliche Spielräume für das Naturschutzgesetzbuch des Umweltgesetzbuches

Der Beitrag setzt sich mit den Spielr?umen des Bundes zur Neugestaltung des Naturschutzrechts im Rahmen der laufenden Erarbeitung des Naturschutzgesetzbuches zum Umweltgesetzbuch (UGB-I) auseinander. Auf der Basis der konkurrierenden Gesetzgebungskompetenz des Bundes für das Naturschutzrecht werden insbesondere Fragen des Regelungsumfangs, der abweichungsfesten Kerne sowie Zust?ndigkeitsfragen er?rtert. Zum Schluss wird ein Optimierungsvorschlag für die Eingriffsregelung unterbreitet.     

Konflikte durch Bäume an der Grenze

In letzter Zeit sind mehrere Urteile des BGH und auch von Oberlandesgerichten veröffentlicht worden, die sich mit Konflikten zwischen Grundstücksnachbarn wegen Bäumen befassen; sie geben in mancher Hinsicht Anlass zu Überlegungen und Erörterungen. Im Einzelnen geht es um folgende Aspekte: