Remittances and Happiness of Migrants and Their Home Households: Evidence Using Matched Samples

This paper explores how remittances influence happiness among migrants and their households of origin. It is based on a novel data set of matched samples of Bangladeshi migrant households (living in the UK and Malaysia) and their origin families in Bangladesh. Empirical findings suggest that remittances play a significant role in stimulating migrants’ happiness. We also find that the households of origin’s life satisfaction not only depends on receiving remittances from the emigrants, but also other factors such as number of migrants from the household living abroad and the migrants’ country of destination.     

STR Data for the AmpFlSTR Identifiler loci in three ethnic groups (Malay, Chinese, Indian) of the Malaysian population

Allele frequencies for the 15 STR loci in the AmpFlSTR Identifiler kit were determined and compared for the three main ethnic groups of the Malaysian population comprising 210 Malays, 219 Chinese and 209 Indians. Blood was placed on FTA paper and DNA was purified in-situ.     

The global importance of ‘illiberal moderates’, an exchange: partners in peace to precede a concert of democracies

The following is an exchange concerning the concept of ‘illiberal moderates’ and its implications for a new global architecture as well as for a worldview that sees the evolution of a global core of shared values which favour domestic and international security, in sharp contrast to the ‘clash of civilizations’ thesis. The original statement was published in the Cambridge Review of International Affairs (Etzioni 2006). A more extensive treatment can be found in Part III of Security first: for a muscular, moral foreign policy (Etzioni 2007b), which examines texts of four religious and two secular belief systems as well as review of relevant public opinion polls and ‘traveller notes’. Here follows a brief summary of the main thesis, followed by comments from prominent scholars and Etzioni's response to these comments.     

Validating crime prevention through environmental design construct through checklist using structural equation modelling

To date, there has been limited empirical exploration of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) measures to appraise their efficiency. The intention of the present study is to validate CPTED dimensions and its respective indicators developed to measure the CPTED construct. This construct is measured using four main dimensions, namely natural surveillance, access control, territoriality and exterior maintenance. The aim of this study is to identify factors that contribute in measuring the CPTED construct. The scale was administered by using on-site observation of a sample of 164 respondents in a typical residential area in Penang, Malaysia. The validation is carried out by employing the Confirmatory Factor Analysis using AMOS. The analysis was conducted by testing the higher order dimensionality of the CFA driven first-order solution by examining a second-order model. The final CPTED construct consists of four main dimensions with its respective indicators.     

Controversy over the concept ‘freedom’ during the Iranian constitutional revolution (1906– 09)

The Iranian constitutional revolution of 1906–09 paved the way for the establishment of new administrative institutions, adopting modern ideas and the hegemony of new political discourse over the archaic political reasoning. One of the most important aspects of the new discourse was the definition and internalization of modern concepts. This paper holds the view that the concept ‘freedom’ brought about a complicated problem for the socio-political sphere in the course of the Iranian revolution and, as such, deserves a thorough examination. Previous studies on the subject have usually neglected this aspect. Yet, this was exactly the main domain of the clash between traditionalism and modernity during the revolutionary years and brought about far-reaching results for Iranian society. This article attempts to contribute to this field by examining a number of Iranian journals of the period in order to evaluate their understanding of the concept ‘freedom’ and show the discrepancy between the constitutionalist and non-constitutionalist discourses.     

Internal validation of reduced PCR reaction volume of the Qiagen Investigator® Argus X-12 QS Kit from blood samples on FTA cards

The onus of proof in criminal cases is beyond any reasonable doubt, and the issue on the lack of complete internal validation data can be manipulated when it comes to justifying the validity and reliability of the X-chromosomal short tandem repeats analysis for court representation. Therefore, this research evaluated the efficiency of the optimized 60% reduced volumes for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification using the Qiagen Investigator® Argus X-12 QS Kit, as well as the capillary electrophoresis (CE) sample preparation for blood samples on Flinder's Technology Associates (FTA) cards. Good-quality DNA profile (3000–12,000 RFU) from the purified blood sample on FTA card (1.2 mm) were obtained using the optimized PCR (10.0 μL of PCR reaction volume and 21 cycles) and CE (9.0 μL Hi-Di™ Formamide and 0.3 μL DNA Size Standard 550 [BTO] and 27 s injection time) conditions. The analytical and stochastic thresholds were 100 and 200 RFU, respectively. Hence, the internal validation data supported the use of the optimized 60% reduced PCR amplification reaction volume of the Qiagen Investigator® Argus X-12 QS Kit as well as the CE sample preparation for producing reliable DNA profiles that comply with the quality assurance standards for forensic DNA testing laboratories, while optimizing the analytical cost.     

The career of Ozdemir: a Turkish bid for northern Iraq, 1921–1923

From 1921 to 1923, Turkey and the United Kingdom contended for control of the Vilayet of Mosul, now known as northern Iraq. The United Kingdom was the mandatory power in Iraq at that time. Although this crisis, which is known as the Mosul affair, was settled in 1925 in favour of Iraq, Turkey never totally relinquished its historical claim to this strategically important border region. Turkey's persistent claim to the area, and the fact that the region is predominantly inhabited by Kurds whose nationalism shows no signs of waning, make northern Iraq a potentially destabilizing factor in the region. The article will discuss the historical roots of Mosul frontier affairs, which is a legacy of colonialism in the Middle East. This international conflict has many dimensions, but the article will confine itself to the study of the distinguished career of Ali Shafiq, also known as Ozdemir, a Turkish statesman and the architect of Turkish policy during the Mosul affair. This is, to a large extent, a political history of the conflict and the author utilizes British and Turkish archival material and contemporary memoirs, journals, and relevant secondary sources in Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish, and English.