Social Determinants and E-Disclosure： Empirical Evidence From Spain

In the last few years, new communication tools have been changing the relationship between administration and citizens in order to enhance public accountability that is essential for government transparency. Public accountability and transparency on the web are topics that have attracted the interest of several scholars, who have begun to investigate the determinants of disclosure. The local government＇s websites have become the main channel for communication with stakeholders and the most important disclosure tools. This paper explores the use of websites by local governments; especially, its aim is to find out which social determinants predict the diffusion of e-disclosure in the public sector in light of agency theory and neo-institutional theory. In particular, the paper contributes to increasing the literature on the e-disclosure, moreover, the scoring system for the e-disclosure analysis in public local government is proposed. The analysis is carried out on a sample of local governments （LGs） in Spain during 2012.     

Neuropathological findings associated with retained lead shot pellets in a man surviving two months after a suicide attempt

We describe the neuropathological findings in a 30-year-old man who died two months after attempting suicide with a shotgun. We focused our study on lesions associated with retained lead shot pellets and distant therefrom, as well as lesions distant from the principal site of injury. At the sites of the retained lead shot pellets, we found macrophage proliferation and astrocyte activation, together with axonal spheroids and signs of neuronal damage. In the remaining white matter we observed axonal swellings, astrocyte activation and rarefaction of the neuropil; regressive phenomena of the neurons were also present. All axonal spheroids immunoreacted with antibodies against APP, alphaB-crystallin, NF subunits and ubiquitin. Most reactive astrocytes were positive for GFAP and alphaB-crystallin immunostaining. Some neurons immunoreacting with alphaB-crystallin were also found. These data indicated that an important local reaction developed at the sites of lead shot retention, and mild signs of diffuse axonal damage were found throughout the brain.     

What goes around,comes around? Access and allocation problems in Global North–South waste trade

Infamous cases of toxic waste trade and research on its health and environmental implications have made the global waste trade a prominent environmental and social justice issue. Recently, such trade has shifted towards extracting resources from waste as recyclable components and used goods which could create income-generating opportunities and reduce the environmental burdens of waste trade from Global North to Global South countries. Nevertheless, studies highlight persistent problems in the access to these resources and allocation of responsibilities, risks and burdens from processing and disposal of traded waste in Global South countries. This article aims to contribute to the lessons learnt on access and allocation with respect to waste trade by focusing on issues of equity, fairness and distributive justice. Two cases are analysed: trade in discarded electronic and electric equipment (EEE) between the EU and Africa and trade in plastic materials between the UK and China. This study shows that exports of used EEE and recyclable plastic materials exacerbate the environmental burdens of Global South countries while also exporting new environmental risks and social burdens. At the same time, new demands for justice have emerged from Global South countries through waste ship back initiatives, and new international measures have also been adopted. While the access and allocation lens enabled the identification of persistent problems in Global North–South waste trade, directing future Earth System Governance research to the demands emerging from the Global South countries could offer insights into how to better address these problems and deal with growing global inequalities.

     

Transcultural body spaces: re-inventing and performing headwrap practice among young Congolese women in London

ABSTRACT

This article examines embodied representation of race, ethnicity, and gender, questioning ideas of cultural appropriation. Using the London-based Congolese transnational fashion brand Kiyana Wraps as a case study, the article addresses how young Congolese designers re-invent their cultural heritage to conceive the label stylisation and construct meanings of Blackness/Africanness. The article also explores the brand’s social spaces, where the headwrap ritual is used by different actors to perform hybrid identities. In addition, wearing the headwrap reveals symbolic metaphors of empowerment, through which intertwined ‘feminist’ and ‘feminine’ identities are evoked. The paper examines how Congolese women are creatively taking inspiration from the environment of London to produce innovative fashion trajectories as lived socio-cultural experiences. It argues how the headwrap ritual signifies an aesthetic and material process through which specific racial and ethnic boundaries are transcended, fabricating transcultural body spaces which encompass individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds.     

Y chromosome haplotypes in Central-South Italy: implication for reference database

One hundred and fifty individuals have been sampled across Central-South Italy and genotyped for Y chromosome STRs by PowerPlex Y system. Comparison with previous Italian databases revealed that majority of Y chromosome variation still need to be sampled. Identification of locus duplications, distribution of genetic variation and firstly identified alleles point to the necessity of more focused sampling strategies for reference databases.     

The law applicable in Italy to the capacity of natural persons in relation to trusts

This article highlights the substantive law categories of capacityof natural persons and the corresponding characterization accordingto international private law; the law applicable to the capacityof the settlor; the law applicable to the capacity of the trustee,of the protector and of other persons in a similar positionof the first one; the law applicable to the capacity of thebeneficiary; the law applicable to the capacity to choose thegoverning law of the trust, and the law applicable to the capacityto stand in legal testings of the Trusts subjects.     

The Determinants of E-Disclosure Attitude: Empirical Evidences from Italian and Spanish Municipalities

Research investigates the attitude to the information disclosure via website, analysing a sample of 287 Italian and Spanish municipalities. A Tobit regression approach is adopted to explore the main determinants of e-disclosure. The findings show that municipality’s factors like Internet visibility, wealth and leverage play an important role to determine the level of e-disclosure. In addition, a cluster analysis highlights that in Italy there is a greater level of e-disclosure than in Spain, revealing a set of specific elements that characterize municipalities with higher disclosure.     

Tubali's trip: Rethinking informality in the study of West African labour migrations

This article focuses on the work and travels of Tubali, a Hausa-speaking migrant from the region of Tahoua in the Republic of Niger. In a journey that lasted four years and took him across Niger, Nigeria, Cameroun, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo, Tubali operated in contexts usually characterised as “informal”: he travelled without documents or work permits, and was supported by institutions that elude state control and yet grant access to financial resources, travel support and employment opportunities to travellers unable or unwilling to follow official avenues. These migrants rely on the operation of relationships that, in Tubali's case, are mostly impromptu, formed on the basis of shared ethnicity, religion and region of origin. This article interprets Tubali's trip in relation to the meanings attributed to this way of working and travelling in Tahoua's society. It investigates the conceptual and political consequences of characterising these migrants' practices as “informal” and discusses analytical alternatives.