Predatory bidding in competitive tenders: A Swedish case study

Public procurement by competitive tendering is an important part of European policies to encourage competition in network industries previously dominated by public companies. In recent years, the appearance of very low bids has become an issue in several countries. We discuss predatory bidding from a theoretical, practical and legislative point of view. A case of tendering for train services in Sweden is used to illustrate the possibilities to detect an abnormally low bid. An analysis of projected costs and revenues is complemented with a method using historical data on previous tenders. One conclusion is that there is scope for reform in national competition policies in European Union member states concerning multinational enterprises participating in local tenders. JEL Classification K21 · K23 · L12 · L43 · L92     

Sudden death due to bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax caused by rupture of congenital lung cysts

A case of sudden death of a 35-year-old woman due to spontaneous bilateral pneumothorax from rupture of congenital lung cysts is reported. The woman had been attended by two doctors before the lethal outcome. The medicolegal aspects pertaining to medical negligence, the diagnostic difficulties and the rare occurrence of the condition are discussed, as is the autopsy procedure.     

Paradox of voting under an urn model: The effect of homogeneity

We propose a simple Pólya-variety urn model for calculating paradox-of-voting probabilities. The model contains a homogeneity parameter, and for specific values of this parameter the model reduces to cases previously discussed in the literature. We derive a Dirichlet family of distributions for describing the assignment of preference profiles in large committees, and we show how the homogeneity parameter relates to measures of similarity among voters, suggested in prior studies.     

The European Union and Mutual Assistance: More than Defence

Abstract

The first activation of the European Union’s “Mutual Assistance Clause”, following the 13 November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, demonstrated that this article can be used very flexibly, not just to help defend French territory but also its expeditionary operations. But if flexibility is an asset, improvisation is not. In order to maximise the potential of the clause, the role of the EU institutions needs to be clarified, in addition to that of the member states, and new capacities must be created at the EU level, notably in intelligence and planning.     

Pro-bullying attitudes among incarcerated juvenile delinquents: Antisocial behavior,psychopathic tendencies and violent crime

The objective was to evaluate a new scale aimed at assessing antisocial attitudes, the Pro-bullying Attitude Scale (PAS), on a group of 259 voluntarily-recruited male juvenile delinquents from a juvenile correctional institution in Arkhangelsk, North-western Russia. Exploratory factor analysis gave a two-factor solution: Factor 1 denoted Callous/Dominance and Factor 2 denoted Manipulativeness/Impulsiveness. Subjects with complete data on PAS and Childhood Psychopathy Scale (CPS) (n = 171) were divided into extreme groups (first and fourth quartiles) according to their total scores on PAS and the two factor scores, respectively. The extreme groups of total PAS and PAS Factor 1 differed in CPS ratings and in violent behavior as assessed by the Antisocial Behavior Checklist (ABC). They also differed in the personality dimension Harm Avoidance as measured by use of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and in delinquent and aggressive behavior as assessed by the Youth Self Report (YSR). The extreme groups of PAS Factor 2, in turn, differed in aggressive behavior as assessed by the YSR, and in the TCI scale Self-Directedness. When PAS was used as a continuous variable, total PAS and PAS Factor 1 (Callous/Dominance) were significantly positively related to registered violent crime. The possible usefulness of PAS in identifying high-risk individuals for bullying tendencies among incarcerated delinquents is discussed.     

Five Areas of Value Judgement in Local Adaptation to Climate Change

Abstract

Climate change has generated several new theoretical and policy challenges, many of which concern how local communities ought to adapt to a warmer climate. This paper identifies and analyses a number of value judgements that come to the fore as local authorities adapt to climate change. Five categories of judgements are discussed: evaluation (how should the consequences of adaptation be evaluated?), timing (when should adaptive action be taken?), distribution (how should the benefits and burdens of adaptation be distributed?), procedures (who should be involved in adaptation decision making?), and goal conflicts (how should goal conflicts in adaptation be dealt with?). For each category, further research is needed to assist decision making at the local level.     

When good news is scarce and bad news is good: Government responsibilities and opposition possibilities in political agenda‐setting

Recent studies have drawn attention to the political contingencies of the media's political agenda‐setting influence, finding, for instance, that issues from the media agenda are more likely to attract attention if a party enjoys ownership of the issue. Supplementing the debate on why political parties respond to news, it is argued in this article that ownership is only part of the picture and that policy responsibility, together with news tone, constitutes a stronger explanation of news politicisation. Opposition parties respond to bad news because they reflect negative developments in social problems for which the government could be held responsible. The government responds to good news that reflects positive developments in social problems because this could politicise policy success, but is also forced to react when news explicitly address government responsibility and thereby threatens its image as responsive and competent. Furthermore, it is shown that news tone and policy responsibility condition the incentive to politicise owned issues from the media agenda. Thus, opposition parties will not politicise owned issues when news is good because this could draw attention to government success, while government is unable and unwilling to prioritise owned issues when news is bad and instead is likely to make use of its ownership strengths when news is good and the pressure to respond is low. The arguments are tested on a large‐N sample of radio news stories from Denmark (2003–2004). Opposition response is measured through parliamentary questions spurred by the news stories, while government response is indicated by references to these stories in the prime minister's weekly press meeting. Results confirm the expectations, suggesting that parties care more about the tone of news stories and the type of attention they might produce, rather than what type of issues they could serve to politicise.