Population data for Southern Spain and Canary Islands of HLADQA1, PM and D1S80 loci

Allele frequencies for seven polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based DNA genetic markers in two Spanish populations (Southern Spain and Canary Islands), were determined and compared. The loci analysed were HLADQA1, LDLR, GYPA, HBGG, D7S8,Gc, and D1S80.     

Elections and Deceptions: An Experimental Study on the Behavioral Effects of Democracy

Traditionally, the virtue of democratic elections has been seen in their role as means of screening and sanctioning shirking public officials. This article proposes a novel rationale for elections and political campaigns considering that candidates incur psychological costs of lying, in particular from breaking campaign promises. These nonpecuniary costs imply that campaigns influence subsequent behavior, even in the absence of reputational or image concerns. Our lab experiments reveal that promises are more than cheap talk. They influence the behavior of both voters and their representatives. We observe that the electorate is better off when their leaders are elected democratically rather than being appointed exogenously—but only in the presence of electoral campaigns. In addition, we find that representatives are more likely to serve the public interest when their approval rates are high. Altogether, our results suggest that elections and campaigns confer important benefits beyond their screening and sanctioning functions.     

Legal actions taken in Brazil for the conservation of cetaceans

Abstract

Thirty‐nine species of cetaceans have been officially recorded in Brazil. Therefore, policies aimed at their conservation and management are highly important. This article examines Brazilian legislation, approved between 1986 and 1998, related to the conservation of cetaceans. On December 21, 1986, the first legislation specifically directed at cetaceans, Regulation N‐011, was approved. However, it only addressed small cetaceans. On December 18, 1987, the legislation was extended through Federal Law No 7643 to all cetacean species. From this date onward, the commercial taking of whales was banned from Brazilian waters. Presendy, Brazil has two Federal Laws, two Federal Decrees, one State Decree and nine Regulations related to cetacean conservation. However, although Brazilian cetacean species are now protected by law, they still face numerous threats. This article also proffers suggestions on how to improve the conservation prospects of cetaceans in Brazilian waters.     

Issue Voting in Portugal: The 2002 Legislative Elections

This article analyses the relative impact of position versus performance issues in Portuguese voting behaviour at the 2002 legislative elections and examines the relative importance of issues compared to other determinants of voting behaviour. The article first defines issues and then presents a model of voting choice, before examining the salience of different issues. The impact of issues, as opposed to other major voting determinants, is evaluated as vote predicting factor.     

Transnational conflicts and the politics of scalar networks: evidence from Northern Africa

This article offers a conceptualisation of transnational conflicts between state and non-state actors. Theorists of globalisation and transnationalism have developed a number of approaches in order to rethink the roles of these actors in conditions of globality. Their reluctance, however, to develop middle-range concepts has left us with arguments that are unable to deal with the complexity of transnational conflicts. In the theoretical section we develop a conceptual vocabulary that tries to do justice to these complexities and to questions of hierarchy and internal differentiation of the conflicting formations. We focus in particular on the ways conflict is mediated through various scalar networks. In the empirical section we draw on two cases from Northern Africa—the Ethiopian state versus Oromo ethno-nationalists and the Moroccan state versus Western Sahara activists—in order to illustrate how these concepts can contribute to a theoretically guided understanding of the emergence and perpetuation of transnational conflicts.     

The ‘Ankara Moment’: the politics of Turkey’s regional power in the Middle East, 2007–11

Around 2007 Turkey became a regional power in the Middle East, a status it has maintained at least until the outset of the Arab Revolt in 2011. To understand why Turkey only became a regional power under the Muslim akp government and why this happened at the specific point in time that it did, this article highlights the self-reinforcing dynamics between Turkey’s domestic political-economic transformation in the first decade of this century and the advantageous regional developments in the Middle East at the same time. It holds that this specific linkage—the ‘Ankara Moment’—and its regional resonance in the neighbouring Middle East carries more transformative potential than the ‘Washington Consensus’ or the ‘Beijing Consensus’ so prominently discussed in current global South politics.     

Differences in the Validity of Self-Reported Drug Use Across Five Factors: Gender,Race, Age,Type of Drug,and Offense Seriousness

This study expands our knowledge about the validity of self-reported drug use by examining how gender, race, age, type of drug, and offense seriousness interact to affect the validity of self-reported drug use. This study also provides a conceptual framework that can be used to examine the validity of self-reported drug use. Differences in the validity of self-reported drug use are explained by examining differences in underreporting and overreporting. Differences in underreporting and overreporting are then further examined while controlling for differences in base rates of drug use. As shown, whether one controls for base rates of use may drastically affect estimates of underreporting and overreporting. By using hierarchical loglinear, logit, and logistic regression models with the Drug Use Forecasting data, we show that Black offenders provide less accurate self-reports than White offenders. Black offenders do so because they are more likely to underreport crack/cocaine use than White offenders. This difference, however, disappears once differences in base rates are controlled. A Black offender who tests positive is not more likely to underreport crack/cocaine use than a White offender who tests positive. Black offenders are also more likely to overreport both marijuana and crack/cocaine use relative to White offenders. Contrary to the first, this difference is not attributable to a difference in base rates. Methodological and substantive implications of this distinction are discussed. No differences across gender, age, or offense seriousness were found.