Search results for "AW [Intelligence agency]"
showing 10 items of 651 documents
The Camorra and protection rackets: the cost to business
2016
Based on the observations from the judicial and investigative evidence provided by prosecutors in Camorra areas in Italy, this investigation provides an estimate of the economic impact of extortion racket to businesses. In particular, the estimates refer to the total and average withdrawal of monetary amounts from the businesses victimised by Camorra clans. Further insights are provided in terms of economic activities mostly victimised, and specifically the construction sector, which is subject to a different type of extortion racket.
Allele frequencies distribution of 16 forensic STR loci in a Western Sicilian population sample
2017
Abstract The PowerPlex® ESI 17 Fast and ESX 17 Fast Systems represent faster cycling versions released by Promega® to follow the requirements of ENFSI and EDNAP groups’ for new STR genotyping systems in Europe. Allele frequencies and forensic parameters were estimated in a population sample of 120 unrelated healthy individuals living in Sicily (Western Sicilian population sample) using PowerPlex® ESI 17 Fast and PowerPlex® 17 Fast Systems. Full concordance of the results for both systems was observed. No significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was detected. The observed heterozygosity changed from 0.85833 for FGA to 0.95 for TH01. The combined power of discrimination for the 1…
Compliance, practices, and attitudes towards VTIs (Vehicle Technical Inspections) in Spain: What prevents Spanish drivers from checking up their cars?
2021
Objective Mechanical conditions of vehicles may play a determinant role in driving safety, the reason why vehicle periodical technical inspections (VTIs) are mandatory in many countries. However, the high number of drivers sanctioned for not complying with this regulation is surprisingly high, and there is not much evidence on what kind(s) of motives may explain this concerning panorama. This study aimed to identify the aspects that modulate the relationship between complying (or not) with VTI’s standards in a nationwide sample of Spanish drivers. The study design also addressed the drivers’ awareness regarding different risky behaviors while driving, depending on their sex and their crash…
Polyphasic approach to study physico-chemical, microbiological and sensorial characteristics of artisanal Nicastrese goat's cheese
2018
Abstract Nicastrese goat's cheese is produced in the South of Italy under traditional procedures, from raw goat milk without any starter cultures addition. Samples from milk to ripened cheese provided by 4 different farms were subjected to a polyphasic approach to study their physico-chemical, microbiological and sensorial characteristics. In addition, volatile organic compounds formation in the final products was studied. Overall, gross composition and microbiological data revealed a significant variability among samples, which was confirmed by both the volatile organic compounds generated in the final products and by the sensorial data. Conventional technique allowed us to identify 720 is…
Multidisciplinary oral rehabilitation in partially edentulous adult patients with malocclusion: a cross-sectional survey study
2018
Background A cross-sectional survey was conducted to gather information regarding the opinion of Brazilian specialists in both orthodontics and implantology on multidisciplinary oral rehabilitation in partially edentulous patients with malocclusion. Material and methods A total of 305 specialists participated in a telephone survey and answered an ad hoc 10-item questionnaire, including the request of total skull cone-beam tomographies (CBCT) and the use of 3D digital planning software, the best moment of treatment to place dental implants, and the integration of orthodontics in implantology. Results Most participants did not request CBCT (90.8%) or 3D digital planning software images (92.3%…
Do fee-shifting rules affect plaintiffs’ win rates? A theoretical and empirical analysis
2021
Abstract This article studies whether fee-shifting rules can affect plaintiffs’ win rates. Beyond theoretical modeling, this study goes a step further and provides empirical evidence on this issue, thanks to the study of a real change in Spanish legislation. Spain applied the so-called English rule in 2011 in the administrative jurisdiction. This study explores whether plaintiffs were more or less successful when litigating against public administrations since then. After controlling for several other factors, it is shown that the new rule considerably increased plaintiffs’ win rate (while also reducing litigation). The paper also presents a theoretical model explaining that the English rul…
Motivational strategies, working alliance, and protherapeutic behaviors in batterer intervention programs: A randomized controlled trial
2020
ABSTRACT Motivational strategies are among the most promising approaches to improve the effectiveness of batterer intervention programs (BIPs). An individualized motivational plan (IMP) is one of these motivational strategies. The present study aimed to explore whether adding an IMP to a standard BIP improved the participant-facilitator working alliance and participants' protherapeutic behaviors. To this end a randomized controlled trial was conducted. One hundred fifty-three men convicted of intimate partner violence were randomly assigned to either a standard BIP (control condition, n = 79) or a standard BIP plus IMP (experimental condition, n = 74). Working alliance (i.e., general workin…
Testosterone and attention deficits as possible mechanisms underlying impaired emotion recognition in intimate partner violence perpetrators
2016
Several studies have reported impairments in decoding emotional facial expressions in intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators. However, the mechanisms that underlie these impaired skills are not well known. Given this gap in the literature, we aimed to establish whether IPV perpetrators (n = 18) differ in their emotion decoding process, attentional skills, and testosterone (T), cortisol (C) levels and T/C ratio in comparison with controls (n = 20), and also to examine the moderating role of the group and hormonal parameters in the relationship between attention skills and the emotion decoding process. Our results demonstrated that IPV perpetrators showed poorer emotion recognition and …
India’s Turn to Rights-Based Legislation (2004–2014): A Critical Review of the Literature
2018
This article surveys the academic literature on rights-based legislation and critically discusses key findings and arguments that emerge from this literature. I conduct this survey and discussion in light of a wider understanding of the political economy of Indian democracy as resilient but limited in terms of substantial forms of redistribution and recognition in favour of subaltern groups. This contradiction has arguably become especially pronounced in the context of neoliberalisation, where, despite the active participation of the poor in electoral democracy, socioeconomic inequality has reached dramatic heights, and I discuss rights-based legislation as a response to this. In conclusio…
Corporate Governance Theories: From Micro Theories to National Systems Theories
2004
The objective of this article is to conduct a survey of the different corporate governance theories. In the first part, we present the micro theories by opposing the disciplinary view to the knowledge-based view. The second part deals with the macro or national systems theories. We separate the theories based on appropriation of the organizational rent from those attributing a dominant role to production. This survey highlights that the financial view of corporate governance is a very particular case and presents many limits.