How we are,or how we say that we are: The post-war comparative politics of Hans Daadler and others

This article reviews Comparative EuropeanPolitics: The Story of a Profession (London: Pinter1997 and 1999), edited by Hans Daalder, one of thefathers of contemporary comparative politics. Such avolume is the collection of the autobiographies ofalmost all the major scholars of comparative Europeanpolitics during the post-war period. It can beconsidered a non tedious way of getting a picture ofthe sub-field. What is the European comparativepolitics that emerges from these autobiographies? Inreviewing the book the answer is provided through theanalysis of four main features: first, what are thethemes and methods that prevail; second, is itpossible to single out the factors which form thebasis of the growth in the field? – a question Daalderalso asks; third, what are the ``lessons'' to be learntfrom these scholars; and fourth, what are the mostevident and noteworthy differences that exist betweenthe work of the scholars who wrote a contribution forthis book and those of the younger generations.

     

Boards of directors in international organizations: A framework for understanding the dilemmas of institutional design

This article develops an analytical framework for studying international organization (IO) boards of directors and applies the framework to a sample of 12 international organizations. It argues that the boards of IOs are asked by their political masters to play four distinct roles: (1) political counterweight, (2) performance police, (3) democratic forum, and (4) strategic thinker. Because there are trade-offs among them, no IO board can play all four roles effectively. Policymakers must therefore choose among them, and they must make choices of institutional design accordingly. The article also shows how in practice, international organizations fall into three governance “models” based on the characteristics of their boards of directors. Each model has a different combination of strengths and weaknesses. The analysis suggests that because trade-offs are inescapable, state actors sometimes willingly surrender a measure of control in order to strengthen other aspects of institutional performance. IO autonomy is often not something that surprises or annoys governments, but rather something that was been built into the institutional design as the result of a conscious trade-off.     

Land Accumulation Dynamics in Developing Country Agriculture

Abstract

Understanding land accumulation dynamics is relevant for policy-makers interested in the economic effects of land inequality in developing country agriculture. We thus explore and simultaneously test the leading theories of micro-level land accumulation dynamics using unique panel data from Paraguay. The results suggest that farm growth varies systematically with farm size – a formal rejection of stochastic growth theories (that is, Gibrat’s Law) – and that titled land area may have considerable influence on land accumulation. Furthermore, our estimates indicate that a dualistic agrarian structure is the likely product of the unfettered operation of land markets.     

Brandom on Norms and Objectivity

The aim of this paper is to investigate Brandom’s conception of the objectivity of norms. In Making It Explicit Brandom supports a weak notion of objectivity based on his understanding of the perspectival structure of linguistic practices. In his following works, he resorts to the Hegelian notion of recognition, adding a historical dimension to his account. I contend that this notion of objectivity can be successfully defended against the objections raised by the commentators. In particular, it does not jeopardise the same possibility of communication, as claimed by Habermas and others, unless a strongly objective notion of communication is assumed. However, the paradigm shift from a strong to a weak understanding of objectivity entails a consequent revision of the conception of social criticism.     

From bureaucratic centralism to self‐regulation: The reform of higher education in Spain

Theories of self‐regulation in higher education claim that autonomous institutions are better able to fulfil their educational and scientific goals. The reforms initiated in Spain in thel970s and which finally crystallised in the Ley de Reforma Universitaria (University Reform Act) in 1983 have taken this path, granting autonomy to the universities and acknowledging that the policy network has been enlarged through the incorporation of new actors (students, junior lecturers, regional political elites), and that this is no longer the exclusive domain of the university professors. However, this article argues that the reforms have not had the expected results insofar as quality is concerned: deregulation has been introduced without establishing the conditions for the institutions to become fully responsible for their decisions, so encouraging the persistence of self‐interested and often anti‐scientific attitudes among many academics.     

Death secondary to a donkey's bites

We present a unique case of death due to the assault and bites of a donkey on a 65-year-old man. The farmer, found dead in his farmyard, had a very deep wound in the anterior region of the neck, with a sharp transection of the trachea and severe bleeding by several minor vessels wall disruptions. The cause of death was established to be massive bleeding combined with asphyxia due to aspiration of the blood. Moreover, multiple contusions with associated skin abrasions and perforations were present. The general impression of the injuries was consistent with an animal's bite marks. Herbivorous or omnivorous bite attacks on humans are rare; instead, these animals attack by kicking, trampling, and kneeling, resulting in secondary blunt injuries. The donkey is usually a docile animal, but its behavior can be aggressive during the mating season, and the possibility of biting should not be underestimated, as illustrated by the 2 cases published previously as well as by the case presented here.     

The current state of medical school education in bioethics, health law, and health economics.

Current challenges in medical practice, research, and administration demand physicians who are familiar with bioethics, health law, and health economics. Curriculum directors at American Association of Medical Colleges-affiliated medical schools were sent confidential surveys requesting the number of required hours of the above subjects and the years in which they were taught, as well as instructor names. The number of relevant publications since 1990 for each named instructor was assessed by a PubMed search. In sum, teaching in all three subjects combined comprises less than two percent of the total hours in the American medical curriculum, and most instructors have not recently published articles in the fields they teach. This suggests that medical schools should reevaluate their curricula and instructors in bioethics, health law, and health economics.     

Medicolegal aspects of an unusual uterine perforation with multiload-Cu 375R

Perforation of the uterus is one of the most serious complications associated with insertion of intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUD). According to recent studies, this lesion occurs in 0.87 per 1000 cases, but statistics generally fluctuate between 0.05 and 13 per 1000 insertions. "Primary" perforations occur at the time of IUD insertion, and "secondary," or delayed, perforations are usually assumed to be caused by reactive uterine contractions. We report an unusual case of uterine perforation, which occurred 9 days after the insertion of a Multiload-Cu 375 IUD. The criteria for differential diagnosis between primary and secondary complications are discussed, particularly from the perspective of medical malpractice cases.