Procedural justice at German courts as seen by defendants and juvenile prisoners

The article summarizes German research on procedural and distributive justice at criminal courts. The first German field studies addressing these topics are presented. Procedural justice characteristics like neutrality, courtesy, equal consideration of evidence, voice, and fairness of procedural rules are relevant for Germans. A study on juvenile prisoners shows no support for equity theory and some for the Group Value model. Lay assessors receive positive evaluations by juvenile prisoners.     

Violence in geriatric patients with dementia

Although the elderly have been studied as victims of violent behavior, there has been little investigation of this population as perpetrators of violence. Using the method of retrospective chart review, this study examines the issue of violence by geriatric patients with dementia who need acute psychiatric hospitalization. Of 52 patients, 44 percent engaged in physical attacks and/or fear-inducing behavior during the two weeks prior to admission, and 29 percent engaged in similar behavior within the first 72 hours of hospitalization. Married patients and those who lived with family were overrepresented in the group of violent patients. The authors discuss possible explanations and implications of these findings.     

Who gains from contract farming? Dependencies,power relations,and institutional change

ABSTRACT

The paper highlights the mechanisms through which outgrower contract farming creates dependencies at the local level. Using sugarcane case study in Malawi, we show that dependencies are created through redefinition of use rights to customary land and through the redefinition of cash flows into outgrower communities. Through this two-dimensional process, corporations can secure access to land, exert control over local communities and transform the local social relations of reciprocity serving as the pillars of resistance. Our results indicate that contract farming changes rural agrarian relations, transforms local family institutions by carefully selecting a few household members with influence into the scheme and selectively dispossessing the poor community members.     

Preis der Fritz Thyssen Stiftung für sozialwissenschaftliche Aufsätze des Zeitschriftenjahrgangs 1998

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Preis der Fritz Thyssen Stiftung für sozialwissenschaftliche Aufs?tze des Zeitschriftenjahrgangs 1998     

Victimization and perpetration among perinatal substance abusers

This study examined associations between demographic, psychiatric, substance abuse, and childhood abuse variables and past 30-day victimization and perpetration among 77 perinatal substance abusers. Victimization rates were 70% emotional, 34% physical, 29% sexual, and 42% personal freedom violations. For perpetration, incidence was 71% emotional, 25% physical, 5% sexual, and 9% personal freedom violations. Through univariate regression, Addiction Severity Index (ASI) psychiatric and drug composite scores, childhood physical abuse, borderline personality disorder (BPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were found to significantly predict victimization. In contrast, ASI psychiatric and drug composite scores, BPD, PTSD, and aggressive-sadistic and antisocial personality disorders were found to significantly predict perpetration. In multiple regression models, ASI drug and psychiatric composite scores accounted for the majority of the variance for both victimization and perpetration, suggesting that women with high ASI scores should be queried about their involvement in abusive acts at time of admission to drug treatment.     

Schaderpreis für Peter Graf Kielmansegg

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