Alternative funding mechanisms for workers' compensation: An international comparison

Countries vary greatly with respect to how they fund workers' compensation systems in terms of the sources of funds, the mechanisms used, and the allocation of system costs among employers and others. These different funding approaches can have significant implications for system performance, including employers' incentives to promote workplace safety. Government officials and other stakeholders have a strong interest in systems in other jurisdictions as they consider improvements to their own schemes. This paper examines the major alternative approaches to funding compensation for work‐related injuries and illnesses, their rationales, and their administrative and behavioural consequences. We discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of different systems and the trends toward more refined, actuarially based approaches intended to promote greater equity and efficiency.     

Lloyd's Financial Distress and Contagion within the US Property and Liability Insurance Industry

The intra-industry effect of Lloyd's financial distress on publicly traded US insurance companies is examined. Given Lloyd's prominence in the international insurance industry, large losses raised questions about the industry's capacity for certain types of risks and the financial solvency of other insurers. The market value of US property-liability insurers fell significantly at the announcement. This decline is related to the firm's revenues from insurance and reinsurance exposure. Results support contagion between Lloyd's distress and the US insurance industry. The study raises concerns about the potential for a systematic disruption of the supply of reinsurance in the international marketplace.     

Justice for whom?: Assessing humanist criminology as a catalyst for change in the criminal justice apparatus

Humanist perspectives on criminology incorporate the role of the state in affecting basic justice processes. Separate scholarly work by Alfred McClung Lee, Richard Quinney, and others set the stage for viable alternatives embodied in peacemaking and restorative justice. Tie-ins between critical humanist criminology critiques, basic sociology views toward society, and current developments in alternative justice models are assessed. An evaluation of how humanist criminology has transformed conceptions of community participation (as stressed in the original humanist sociology perspective) will serve as an integral analysis in assessing the impact of social justice models.     

Tagungsberichte

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Wirkungen des TV-Duells im Vorfeld der Bundestagswahl 2005 auf die Wahlentscheidung

During the election campaign to the German Federal Election 2005 the incumbent chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his challenger Angela Merkel met one another on the occasion of a televised debate, the so-called “TV-duel”. This debate was viewed by roughly one third of the German electorate. It is analyzed, whether the perception of the TV-duel winner has had an influence on the voting decision. In the empirical analyses special regard is given to the stability of the winner perception until election day and the influence of subjective expectations towards the debate performance of the candidates. The data analyzed were collected by means of a new interviewing technology via the television screen of the respondents. It is shown, that the winner perception was largely stable and only marginally influenced by the media coverage following the debate. Subjective expectations towards the debate performance of the candidates turn out to be of no importance for the voting decision. The effect of the winner perception on voting behaviour was mediated by changing candidate orientations.     

Candidate-gene association analysis for a continuous phenotype with a spike at zero using parent-offspring trios

In this paper, we propose the class of generalized additive models for location, scale and shape in a test for the association of genetic markers with non-normally distributed phenotypes comprising a spike at zero. The resulting statistical test is a generalization of the quantitative transmission disequilibrium test with mating type indicator, which was originally designed for normally distributed quantitative traits and parent-offspring data. As a motivational example, we consider coronary artery calcification (CAC), which can accurately be identified by electron beam tomography. In the investigated regions, individuals will have a continuous measure of the extent of calcium found or they will be calcium-free. Hence, the resulting distribution is a mixed discrete-continuous distribution with spike at zero. We carry out parent-offspring simulations motivated by such CAC measurement values in a screening population to study statistical properties of the proposed test for genetic association. Furthermore, we apply the approach to data of the Genetic Analysis Workshop 16 that are based on real genotype and family data of the Framingham Heart Study, and test the association of selected genetic markers with simulated coronary artery calcification.     

Gibt es die Generation Golf?

Florian Illies in his essay “Generation Golf” developed the thesis that traditional values are experiencing a revival among the generation born between 1965 and 1975. This thesis is read in the context of sociological theories of value change and empirically examined on the basis of time-series data. It can be shown, that “Generation Golf” as a clearly distinguished birth cohort with a specific value profile does indeed exist. Starting with “Generation Golf”, a process of averting from postmaterial values can be observed.