France in ten slices: An analysis of aggregate data

Many causal relationships cannot be detected by national averages, whether based on regression analysis of aggregate data or on survey data, because the local social context explains an important part of the variance. An analysis by deciles of aggregate data shows the great territorial diversity of social contexts in France. The unit of analysis is the French canton. The 2,450 cantons are distributed by deciles of such variables as religious practice, social structure, and vote. In the second part, six extreme deciles are analysed: the most leftist part of France, the most rightist, the most industrialized, the most agricultural, the most devout, and the most irreligious. For a country with such a territorial diversity, generating a polymorphism of parties, the national averages based on aggregate data or on survey data are largely fallacious, particularly those concerning the causal relationships. Slicing in deciles is the most efficient method for analysing aggregate data     

Accidental Hanging Deaths in Children in Konya,Turkey Between 1998 and 2007*

Abstract: In general, hanging cases are the result of suicide, and accidental and homicidal hanging cases are rarely seen. This study retrospectively investigated 4571 death examinations and autopsies that were performed at The Konya Branch of the Forensic Medicine Council (Turkey) between 1998 and 2007; hanging was involved in 201 (6.5%) of the cases. There were a total of 13 accidental hanging cases, where 12 of these involved children. In seven of the cases, the accidental hanging involved a scarf that wraps around swing‐like cradles and is intended to prevent infants from falling down. It was concluded that accidental hanging deaths can be reduced by replacing swing‐like cradles with cribs that are designed for children, removing ropes in and around the house, and preventing children from reaching and/or playing with rope‐like objects.     

Decapitation and Dismemberment of the Corpse: A Matricide Case*

Abstract: Dismemberment of a corpse has always been viewed by society to be a more hideous crime than the homicide itself. In this study, we present a case of a 57‐year‐old woman who was decapitated and her right arm and both hands were dismembered. It was determined that the victim was murdered and dismembered by her 33‐year‐old daughter, who had been receiving treatment for schizophrenia for 15 years. On the victim’s head and back there were 71 incised and stab wounds in total. They were superficial, except the five stab wounds which were connected to the right chest cavity and which incapacitated the victim. Although there is not a regulation for the act of dismembering the corpse in the Turkish Penal Code, since this type of case is rare, the crime scene and the autopsy findings were evaluated together with other pertinent data available in the literature.     

The Young Turk Historical Imagination in the Pursuit of Mythical Turkishness and its Lost Grandeur (1911–1914)

Based on a comprehensive reading of the 1912–1914 issues of the journal Turkish Homeland, the highbrow intellectualist periodical of the Turkist intellectuals and the ruling Committee of Union and Progress, this article argues that sublime Turkishness envisaged by the Young Turks can be construed as a character build-up. The article also examines how history was utilized as an arsenal from where the sublime ‘Turkish character’ was extracted in a decade in which interest towards Turkic history burgeoned, arguing that valiant Turkic heroes from the glorious Turkic past were discovered or rediscovered to stand out as exemplary men and epitomes of incorruptibleness inspiring the new youth.     

Comitology: Little procedures with big implications

Comitology refers to a collection of procedures by which various committees of national experts moderate the Commission's powers of implementation under EU legislation. These procedures establish the rules which inform front‐line administrative operations and embrace a dimension of the implementation activity which has been largely ignored by the academic literature. The nature and incidence of the comitology procedure seriously challenge the notions of competence transfer and national interest which inform the key debates in integration theory. Comitology suggests a complexity and issue specificity to Union politics which confound the institutional determinism of both neo‐functionalism and neo‐realism, and support more recent integration theory derived from public management and international political economy which concentrate on policy outcomes, rather than institutional processes.     

Transparency and political moral hazard

This paper analyzes the effects of asymmetric information on the public control of politicians in a world where the politicians’ pre-election promises are not credible. We study a model with identical politicians and a representative voter whose interests conflict with those of the politicians’. The voter’s decision to reelect the politician depends on both observable policies of the politician and the outcome of the unobservable policies. In equilibrium, either optimal decisions for the voter are not taken by the politician or if taken, the politician would extract more rent. In the latter case, politicians are also replaced more frequently.     

Accidental Ligature Strangulation by an Ironing Machine: An Unusual Case*

Abstract: In this paper, we present a case of a 53‐year‐old woman who had her headscarf catch on the cylinder ironing machine in the laundry of the hospital where she worked. The hospital workers found the woman dead with her head stuck to the ironing machine. After the death scene investigation and autopsy were completed, it was determined that the death occurred as a result of accidental ligature strangulation. Accidental ligature strangulation in which an article of clothing is caught in such an electrical machine and strangles the wearer is very rare. This case highlights the fact that these kinds of machines can be hazardous to work around and that increased safety measures should be taken to insure worker safety; additionally, the people who use these machines should be educated on the potential hazards.