Extent, trends, and perpetrators of prostitution-related homicide in the United States

Prostitute women have the highest homicide victimization rate of any set of women ever studied. We analyzed nine diverse homicide data sets to examine the extent, trends, and perpetrators of prostitution-related homicide in the United States. Most data sources substantially under-ascertained prostitute homicides. As estimated from a conservative capture-recapture analysis, 2.7% of female homicide victims in the United States between 1982 and 2000 were prostitutes. Frequencies of recorded prostitute and client homicides increased substantially in the late 1980s and early 1990s; nearly all of the few observed pimp homicides occurred before the late 1980s. These trends may be linked to the rise of crack cocaine use. Prostitutes were killed primarily by clients, clients were killed mainly by prostitutes, and pimps were killed predominantly by pimps. Another conservative estimate suggests that serial killers accounted for 35% of prostitute homicides. Proactive surveillance of, and evidence collection from, clients and prostitutes might enhance the investigation of prostitution-related homicide.     

“I (can) see myself… But what for?” On Live Camera Feeds in Courtrooms (from the Perspective of Witnesses)

The paper’s aim is to present and critically discuss a peculiar practice noticed and studied in courtrooms in the Lower Court in Kraków, Poland. In courtrooms where different hearings take place, two cameras are installed on the wall or on the stand near the judge’s bench. One camera is aimed at the center of the courtroom, where non-professional participants such as witnesses or plaintiffs stand while being questioned by judge. The second camera’s view is more general—it covers the rest of the courtroom, including the benches for plaintiffs, claimants, defendants, and their legal representatives, and most notably the general public. Naturally, the mere presence of cameras in the modern courtroom is not surprising. What raises some questions is the presence of TV screens in the Kraków Lower Court’s courtrooms (and in Poland’s courts in general), which display the feed from both cameras during the hearing. Consequently, people gathered in the courtroom, especially people questioned by the judge (such as witnesses), can see themselves “live” in the TV screen. Even without raising the subtle details and differences between individual courtrooms, the system of displaying, in real time, live video feeds from a courtroom into the same courtroom begs for more detailed, critical analysis. For instance, one should address the system’s (presumably intended) functions (e.g. transparency, behavior control, and correction of time perception) and the real consequences for the dynamics during hearings, which are not assumptions or hypotheticals. The paper distinguishes the issues connected with the system and addressees them through the perspective of witnesses who participate in the hearings, using the collected opinions of witnesses.

     

The kinetics of colour change in textiles and fibres treated with detergent solutions: Part II — Spectrophotometric measurements

The aim of this study was to assess colour variations that occur in several types of textiles and their constituent fibres, resulting from the long-term influence of various laundry detergents. A 14-day experiment was conducted using blue, red and grey/black cotton, wool, acrylic and polyester textiles. The spectrophotometric measurement of colour changes in fabric samples and test solutions, as well as the microspectrophotometric analysis of colour changes in single fibres were described. An evaluation of the observed colour changes from a forensic fibre analysis expert's point of view, as well as that of an average user/consumer of the textiles and laundry detergents is also provided.     

Explaining community mobilization in the city of Vilnius: a search for social capital

The article explores community mobilization in the urban environment. Specifically, it examines community organizations in Lithuania’s capital city of Vilnius. Engaging with social capital theory, the article illustrates the actual community mobilizations, their stories, collective action strategies, and reasons for mobilizing. It challenges the assumption that mobilizations rarely take place in the urban environment of Lithuania due to low civil society and a nonparticipatory culture. This article shows that when mobilizations do take place, they can be short lived but still achieve significant results.     

The welfare systems of the Baltic states following the recent financial crisis of 2008–2010: expansion or retrenchment?

ABSTRACT

This article aims to uncover major social security system reforms that were implemented following the recent financial and economic crisis of 2008–2010 and the post crisis period. Additionally, it explores the dynamics of the socioeconomic situation during the last 10 years, looking at how Baltic states compare with each other and how they compare with other central and eastern European countries in the EU. The findings show that retrenchment is difficult even during times of crisis. Although the Baltic states were affected by the crisis, especially Latvia and Lithuania, their social security institutions did not experience any structural shift.     

Damage caused to fibres by vapour cloud explosions

Research on the very specific damage to single textile fibres caused by vapour cloud explosions is presented. Vapour cloud explosion experiments were carried out using a selection of 41 garments differing in colour, fibre composition and textile construction. Fibres subjected to a vapour cloud explosion become wider at the end, often taking the form of a ball, bulb or shovel, while the morphological structure of the remaining part of the fibre remains almost unchanged. The presented results can clearly indicate that an explosion took place at the scene of the crime. The authors would like to be able to provide investigators with specific information on how to link clothes (and thus people) to a specific type of crime.     

DEALING EFFECTIVELY WITH CROWDED JAILS: THE JUDGES' ROLE

That there is a jail crowding problem is well documented. The problem of jail crowding must b e acknowledged as one demanding the involvement of all key criminal justice actors. Judges have been identified as key decisionmakers playing a pivotal role in managing case flow and influencing jail population levels. What, then, is or should be the role of judges in dealing specifically with jail crowding? Conventional responses to this question have focused on either the role of the federal judge, who in the course of presiding over a case involving jail conditions is called upon to manage a facility, or the role of a trial judge in making sentencing decisions. Recent research efforts have recognized that a nexus exists between judicial and correctional systems that extends beyond overseeing and sentencing roles. This paper intends to expand the notion o f interdependence to encompass the entire criminal justice system with emphasis on the judge's contribution. Judges' decisions concerning the issuance of summonses, setting and reviewing bail, continuances and sentencing bear directly on the number of offenders in jail and/or length of the ir confinement. In numerous jurisdictions, judges have been instrumental in instituting changes aimed at dealing with the jail crowding problem and resulting in improvements in case processing. Judicial system-wide leadership has resulted in the establishment of guidelines for pretrial services personnel to be used in releasing certain defendants pretrial and in making pretrial release recommendations for others in one jurisdiction and the institution of a policy prohibiting the detention of misdemeanor defendants—a major factor in reducing the jail population–in many other jurisdictions. Increased use of nonfinancial pretrial release options by judicial officers was a key element in achieving a substantial drop in the jail population in several communities. Judges have introduced delay reduction strategies which have served to expedite case processing as well as minimize the number of detainees in jail. Judges have also successfully implemented a full range of sentencing atternatives, including community service, restitution and treatment programs for persons convicted of alcohol or drug-related offenses. This paper provides information on specific policies and procedures which have had a demonstrated impact on jail population levels without detracting from the operations of courts and, in most instances, contributing to improvements in judicial administration.     

Tax Challenges in the Global Economy

Globalization has increased significantly over the past two decades, provoking different political reactions. Increasing trade and financial openness as well as intense global economic competition have forced governments to intervene in order to deal with its different negative consequences such as budget deficits or growing unemployment. Over the last two decades, almost all OECD （Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development） countries have undertaken structural changes within their tax systems. However, two main problems appear. The first one concerns ＂tax competition＂ understood as improvements made by different countries in the field of investment climate especially in the field of economic freedom. The second one refers to the effective tax revenue resources that help maintain the welfare state properly. In the developed countries, this is certainly easier as richer societies afford to do it through their fiscal systems. The main aim of this paper is to examine the impact of globalization on tax policy--its nature and its transformations. The main conclusions are as follows： Globalization is an incredible opportunity for the private sector to take advantage of free movement of goods, services, capital, and people. At the same time, it is a great challenge for the public sector to maintain sound public finance. The analysis is based on statistical data and qualitative research methods.     

The kinetics of colour change in textiles and fibres treated with detergent solutions: Part I—Colour perception and fluorescence microscopy analysis

The aim of this study was to assess colour changes that occur in several types of commonly available textiles as a result of the long-term effects of various popularly used laundry detergents. A 14 day experiment was conducted using blue, red and grey/black cotton, wool, acrylic and polyester textiles. Colour changes were evaluated through the visual comparison of the colour of the textile samples against that of the untreated (control) material.The kinetics of the changes in the colour of the fibres were monitored using fluorescence microscopy (UV excitation filter). The conclusions include an assessment of the observed changes from a fibre analysis expert's point of view, as well as that of an average user/consumer of the products involved.     

From universal system of social policy to particularistic? The case of the Baltic States

This paper compares the system of social maintenance and insurance in the Soviet Union, which was in force in the three Baltic countries before their independence, with the currently existing social security systems. The aim of the paper is to highlight the forces that have influenced social policy transformation from its former highly universal, however authoritarian form, to the less universal, social insurance-based systems of present day Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.It will be demonstrated that the welfare–economy nexus is not the only important factor in the development of social programs. Rather, social policy should be studied as if embedded in the political, historical and cultural aspects of a given society. The people’s attitude towards distributive justice will be highlighted as being one of the most important factors for either social policy shortcomings or expansion.This paper takes steps to combine quantitative and qualitative data.