The More Things Change,the More They Stay the Same: the Swedish Local Government Elite between 1985 and 2005

This article examines the development of the main characteristics of the Swedish local political–administrative elite, by analysing repeated surveys, performed in 1985, 1991, 1999 and 2005, of all important leaders in a representative sample of 20 towns and cities. Despite the great changes that have occurred at the local government level, the local government elite retains a surprisingly high degree of homogeneity and stability over time. Although this elite has become increasingly gender equalised and professional, local problems are perceived to have become slightly more complex; meanwhile, the perceived influence and effectiveness of leaders in solving these problems has remained unchanged, probably because the perceived power and autonomy of local government to act effectively has declined somewhat. In contrast, the leaders' political capital (networks, democratic values and global relations) has remained strong and stable.     

Deception among pairs: “Let's say we had lunch and hope they will swallow it!”

Deception research has neglected the fact that legal-workers often have to try to detect deceit on the basis of statements derived from pairs of suspects, each having been interrogated repeatedly. To remedy this shortcoming we conducted a study where each member of 10 truth-telling pairs and 10 lying pairs was interrogated twice about an alibi. One hundred and twenty undergraduate students were enrolled as lie-catchers. The main findings were that (a) overall deception detection accuracy was modest; (b) lie-catchers given access to a large number of statements did not outperform lie-catchers given access to a lesser number of statements; (c) when asked to justify their veracity assessments the most frequently reported cue was ‘consistency within pairs of suspects’; (d) all cues to deception were of low diagnostic value. Psycho-legal aspects of integrating sequential information in deception detection contexts are discussed.     

How Pollution Taxes may Increase Pollution and Reduce Net Revenues

This paper develops a positive theory of pollution taxation by a federal authority when pollution abatement subsidies are used by local governments. Environmental and industry lobby groups influence governments with campaign contributions. First, pollution may increase in the pollution tax because the abatement subsidy increases (decreases) with the tax, and pollution increases (decreases) in the abatement subsidy. This occurs because the lobbying incentives change at a pollution tax reform. Second, pollution taxes may reduce net revenues because subsidy expenditures rise. Third, pollution may increase simultaneously as net revenues fall. Finally, the welfare effect of a pollution tax may be negative.     

Towards agonistic peacebuilding? Exploring the antagonism–agonism nexus in the Middle East Peace process

Many contemporary conflicts are framed as antagonistic and difficult to resolve because of their zero-sum framing among the disputants. This article addresses the antagonism–agonism nexus and the political and contested nature of building peace. It has a three-fold aim: (1) to critically assess the interplay between constructive and destructive dynamics; (2) to analyse the circumstances under which conflict may move from antagonism to agonism; and (3) to advance the novel notion of agonistic peacebuilding. The Middle East Peace process is used as a critical case of intractable conflict to elucidate the enabling and restraining conditions for agonistic peacebuilding.     

A Prospective Study of the Potential Moderating Role of Social Support in Preventing Marginalization Among Individuals Exposed to Bullying and Abuse in Junior High School

Negative physical and psychological long-term consequences of abuse and bullying are well documented. It is reasonable to assume that abuse and bullying early in life also may have an impact on the ability to work and stay economically independent later in life, but such prospective studies are lacking. This study investigates the consequences of exposure to abuse and bullying in junior high school, as measured by receiving long-term social welfare benefits in young adulthood. In addition, it explores the potential protective role of social support. Self-reported data from 13,633 (50.3 % female) junior high school students were linked to registry data on their use of social welfare benefits from the age of 18 and for eight consecutive years. Cox regression analyses were applied to test the relationship between exposure to life adversities and the use of social welfare benefits, and the potential moderating role of social support. The analyses showed that individuals exposed to abuse and bullying had an increased likelihood of receiving social-welfare benefits compared with individuals not exposed to these types of abuse. Exposure to multiple types of abuse led to a higher likelihood of using social welfare benefits compared with single types of abuse and no abuse. The findings on the potential moderating role of social support were mixed, depending on the source of social support. Family support and classmate relationships were protective in reducing the likelihood of the use of social welfare benefits, whereas peer and teachers’ support showed inconsistent patterns. These results are promising in terms of preventing the long-term negative consequences of abuse and bullying.     

Preadolescent antecedents of depressive symptomatology at age 18: A prospective study

The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to summarize the theoretical frame-work, methodological orientation, and gender-differentiated findings of our ongoing study of the personality context, prospective and concurrent, for depressive symptoms at age 18; and (2) to report new longitudinal relations between preadolescent play constructions (at age 11) and depressive tendencies reported seven years later. Eighty-seven 18-year-olds completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Seven years earlier, at age 11, the subjects were observed in a play construction situation. Six psychologically coherent, reliable play composite variables were generated from the codings of videotapes and related longitudinally, in a hierarchical polynomial regression design, to the later CES-D scores. Among preadolescent girls, concern with morality and loss foretold, linearly, depressive experiences. The quadratic regression function explained additional variance: relative to girls receiving intermediate CES-D scores, girls earning loworhigh scores were seen as more overcontrolling of impulse, more angry, and more concerned with loss. Among preadolescent boys, only curvilinear relations were obtained. Relative to boys receiving intermediate CES-D scores, boys earning loworhigh CES-D scores were seen during preadolescence as more undercontrolling of impulse, more angry, and more concerned with loss as theme. The implications of these findings are discussed.This study was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH 16080 to Jack Block.Received Ph.D from University of California at Berkeley in 1984. Major research interests include socio-emotional development in adolescence, developmental psychopathology, and cross cultural perspectives on development.Received Ph.D from Stanford University in 1950. Major research interests include logitudinal analyses of personality and cognitive development, personality theory, and personality assessment.     

Sienkiewicz v Greif (UK) Ltd and Willmore v Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council: A Material Contribution to Uncertainty?

In the conjoined cases of Sienkiewicz and Willmore, the Supreme Court decided that the exceptional Fairchild approach to the proof of causation in negligence applied where a mesothelioma victim had been negligently exposed to asbestos by one defendant at a level well below unavoidable environmental asbestos exposure. The negligent exposures in both cases materially increased the risk of mesothelioma thereby satisfying the Fairchild test. Whilst reasserting the primacy of the common law as governing the rules of causation in mesothelioma cases, the Supreme Court failed to clarify the scope of the Fairchild exception. Moreover, in an extensive obiter discussion of epidemiological evidence, the Supreme Court has raised more questions than it has answered relating to the role, if any, of scientific evidence in the law of toxic torts.