Book reviews

Jonathan Michie and John Grieve Smith (eds), Managing the Global Economy, (Oxford University Press, Oxford 1995). 343pp. ISBN 0–19–828968–5 (pb).

Hilary Rose, Love, power and knowledge: towards a feminist transformation of the sciences, (Polity Press, Cambridge 1994). 336pp. ISBN 0–7456–1001–3 (pb).

Daniele Archibugi and David Held (eds), Cosmopolitan Democracy, (Polity Press, Cambridge 1995). 190pp. ISBN 0–7456–1380–2, 0–7456–1381 0 (pb).

Olivier Roy, The Failure of Political Islam, (I B Tauris, London 1994). 224 pp. ISBN 1–85043–880–3.

T. Gallagher, Romania After Ceausescu, (Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 1995). 276pp. ISBN 0 7486 0613 0 (pb).

John Gray, Beyond the New Right: Markets, Government and the Common Environment, (Routledge, London and New York 1993). 195pp. ISBN 0–145–09297–3 9, 0–145–10706–7 (pb).

Anthony Giddens, Beyond Left and Right: the Future of Radical Politics, (Polity Press, Cambridge 1994). 276pp. ISBN 0–7456–1438–8, 0–7456–1439–6 (pb).

Nicola Field, Over the Rainbow: Money, Class and Homophobia, (Pluto, London 1995). 193pp. ISBN 0–7453–0825–2.

Red‐Green Study Group, What on earth is to be done? A red‐green dialogue, (Red‐Green Study Group, Manchester 1995). x+69pp. ISBN 0–9525784–0–9.

Darrow Schecter, Radical theories: Paths beyond Marxism and social democracy, (Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York 1994). x+205pp. ISBN 0–7190–4385–9.     

Parents,public policy,and youth smoking

This paper jointly examines the importance of parental influences, prices, and tobacco control policies on the smoking behavior of youths. Data are drawn from the Audits & Surveys (A&S) 1996 survey of high school students across the United States from “The Study of Smoking and Tobacco Use Among Young People” to examine the impact of parental influences on the probability of youth smoking in the context of both specific observable parenting behaviors and in terms of youths' perceptions of the importance of their parents' opinions. The key finding is that specific parental influences (such as communication/bonding (extent of discussions about daily issues between parent/adult and child), limit‐setting with regard to free time, home smoking rules, and parental smoking behavior) and the extent to which teenagers value their parents' opinions play a significant role in youth smoking decisions. Our results by age reveal that specific modifications related to improving communication channels and implementing home smoking rules and more general changes that improve the quality of the parent‐child relationship so teens place a higher value on their parents' opinions are likely to be particularly effective in the early teen years. © 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

A time course study on STR profiles derived from human bone, muscle, and bone marrow.

The use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to define deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) types at several loci was investigated. PCR was used to amplify nine short tandem repeat (STR) loci along with the amelogenin locus on the X and Y chromosomes using the AmpF/STR Profiler Plus PCR amplification kit (Perkin Elmer). Rib bones were collected from 12 individuals. Five cm portions were buried at a depth of approximately 30 cm and 5 cm portions were left on the surface of the ground. Samples were exposed to the environment for periods of time ranging from two weeks to 17 months. Dried blood standards were prepared for use as reference standards for each rib sample. Bone, muscle, and bone marrow were collected from each sample. DNA from each tissue type was extracted. Complete profile results were obtained from the surface bone samples out to an exposure time of 17 months. None of the muscle or bone marrow samples produced complete profile results beyond eight weeks. All DNA typing results from complete or incomplete profiles were consistent with DNA typing results of the corresponding blood standard. Results suggest that using the AmpF/STR Profiler Plus PCR Amplification Kit is a valid way to establish the DNA profile of tissue types from human remains.     

Government Strength, Power Dispersion in Governments and Budget Deficits in OECD-Countries. A Voting Power Approach

We test for the influenceof government strength and dispersion ofpower among the parties of coalitiongovernments on the size of annual debtaccumulation through budget deficits inOECD-countries from 1970 to 1999.Government strength and power dispersion incoalition governments are measured by theBanzhaf index of voting power, respectivelythe standard deviation of Banzhaf indicesof coalition parties. We believe that theseare better-suited proxies than most of whathas been applied so far. Governmentstrength turns out to be insignificant.However, coalitions with equally strongpartners run significantly higher deficitsthan coalitions with one dominating party.     

A cup of coffee in Bishkek: insights into the emerging coffee culture in Kyrgyzstan's capital

ABSTRACT

This study deals with the contemporary dynamics of urban life in Bishkek. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Central Asian societies have experienced widespread political, economic and socio-cultural transformations. In this context, Western or globalized cultural modes and trends influence Kyrgyzstan's social and cultural life. One of these trends is the increasingly popular coffee culture, with its attendant high-grade coffee brands and fancy cafés changing established consumption patterns. This article focuses primarily on cafés as new places of consumption and communication, but it also examines the intentions and strategies of the café pioneers. We reflect on the emergence of coffee and cafés in Bishkek and show how they have integrated in urban life as ‘third places’. Coffee is breaking away from its commonly soluble form and moving toward an expensive lifestyle product, while the new cafés offer a place for communication that has not existed before.     

The determinants of structural changes in public budgets: a theoretical and empirical analysis for the Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract. Since there is no generally accepted and satisfactory theory that can explain structural changes in public budgets over time, this article focuses on the determinants of the budget structure and its changes over time. Thus, it would already be an improvement in the development of a complex and coherent theory of budgetary structures and its changes if initially appropriate variables could be identified which could explain in the short, intermediate and long runs the structural changes in public budgets with respect to the various governmental levels. Potential candidates for explaining structural changes could be socio-economic, political and institutional variables. These sets of variables will be analyzed here in detail for the Federal Republic of Germany for the time period 1964–1978. The results are very similar to those found in various U.S. studies. In comparably developed nations with similar political (federal) structures, institutional factors seem to play the dominant role in determining and explaining changes in the budgetary structure.     

The Democratic Quality of Institutional Regimes: a Conceptual Framework

Lijphart's spectrum of democracies – recently expanded by Jack Nagel to a sub-majoritarian sphere of pluralitarian systems which use disproportional electoral systems in order to manufacture majority governments from minorities in the electorate – is based on only one dimension: inclusion of preferences. Political scientists in the Lijphartian tradition wrongly assume that inclusion of preferences, which is an input characteristic, automatically leads to responsiveness, which refers to actual policy decisions and hence is an output characteristic. We therefore add 'responsibility' as a second input characteristic and employ it alongside the inclusiveness of institutional regimes. We argue that in representative democracies there exists a trade-off between inclusiveness and responsibility. This trade-off helps us to measure the democratic quality of institutional regimes. The now expanded spectrum of democracies based on these two dimensions shows that majoritarian democracy proper – in which governments represent a majority of individual preferences but not more than necessary – is the best possible combination of the two democratic values.