Breaking the Law to Ensure Order: The Case of Tijuana (2007–2012)

This paper explores how state agents and civilians justify human rights violations when the military perform police tasks. Based on a set of interviews and documents, it analyses the actions of the armed forces and the police during a military-led operation that targeted drug trafficking organisations in Tijuana. In a context of limited civilian control over the armed forces and the police, the paper identifies two discourses that supported the illegal action of state agents: the construction of a foreign other who does not belong to society and the need to use violence to accomplish a greater good.     

Identifying reliable ions for the statistical differentiation of structurally similar fentanyl analogs

Definitive identification of fentanyl analogs based on mass spectral comparison is challenging given the high degree of structural and, hence, spectral similarity. To address this, a statistical method was previously developed in which two electron-ionization (EI) mass spectra are compared using the unequal variance t-test. Normalized intensities of corresponding ions are compared, testing the null hypothesis (H₀) that the difference in intensity is equal to zero. If H₀ is accepted at all m/z values, the two spectra are statistically equivalent at the specified confidence level. If H₀ is not accepted at any m/z value, then there is a significant difference in intensity at that m/z value between the two spectra. In this work, the statistical comparison method is applied to distinguish EI spectra of valeryl fentanyl, isovaleryl fentanyl, and pivaloyl fentanyl. Spectra of the three analogs were collected over a 9-month period and at different concentrations. At the 99.9% confidence level, the spectra of corresponding isomers were statistically associated. Spectra of different isomers were statistically distinct, and ions responsible for discrimination were identified in each comparison. To account for inherent instrument variations, discriminating ions for each pairwise comparison were ranked based on the magnitude of the calculated t-statistic (t_calc) value. For a given comparison, ions with higher t_calc values are those with the greatest difference in intensity between the two spectra and, therefore, are considered more reliable for discrimination. Using these methods, objective discrimination among the spectra was achieved and ions considered most reliable for discrimination of these isomers were identified.     

A bit of basic,a bit of applied? R&D strategies and firm performance

The Journal of Technology Transfer - Most studies analysing the relationship between R&D and firm growth focus on total R&D investment. This paper aims to analyse separately each...     

Judicial review of regulatory decisions: Decoding the contents of appeals against agencies in Spain and the United Kingdom

Despite the important role that courts play to supervise the legality of regulatory agencies' actions, only few comparative studies analyze the contents of judicial appeals against regulatory decisions within European countries. This paper builds on the comparative administrative law scholarship and administrative capacities literature to analyze the content of 2,040 rulings against decisions issued by competition and telecommunications regulators in Spain and the United Kingdom. To understand the substance of the appeals, the study classifies cases according to the alleged administrative principles under breach and the regulatory capacities under challenge. Findings show a clear country-sector variation regarding the information contained in judicial disputes for both dimensions of analysis, which can be explained as a result of existing differences between the institutional settings of courts. These results offer a more in depth understanding of the political role of judicial oversight over regulatory agencies embedded in different institutional arrangements and policy sectors.     

Foreign Contacts of the Communist Party of China

THE Communist Party of China is a political party that is firmly rooted in national conditions,attaches great importance to contacts with the outside world,and excels in absorbing advanced experience from beyond its borders.The Party has sustained international exchanges throughout its 90-year history.In the course of the Chinese revolution,construction of New China and its later reforms,its outstanding ability to avidly develop foreign relations and make positive use of them is one of the secrets of its...     

国际冲突调停的理论与方法争鸣——评《调停国际危机》、《国际冲突调停》与《国际调停互动》

调停作为一种第三方干预冲突方式,近年来在国际冲突管理和解决中发挥着越来越重要的作用。传统的调停研究路径主要关注国家行为体的调停活动。然而,随着冷战的结束以及非国家行为体如联合国等在国际冲突调停中的作用的不断加强,传统的国家中心主义路径在调停研究中受到了极大的挑战,并开始逐渐失去其主导地位。在这些新的路径引导下,产生了一大批新的经验研究成果。本文结合三部代表国际冲突调停研究新方法的最新著作,围绕调停的发生、过程和效果三个层面,比较系统地梳理了当前学界关于国际调停的最新研究成果,展示了他们在理论与方法上的争鸣。最后,本文评估了这些研究的主要贡献和不足之处,并指出了有待继续拓展的一些议题。     

Political economy of financial crisis duration

Public Choice - Over the last four decades, banking crises around the globe have become longer. Along with the unprecedented government responses to the Great Recession of 2007–2008,...     

Minority Reconsidered: Towards a Typology of Latvia’s Russophone Identity

Abstract

Latvia’s Russophones are often seen as a consolidated ethno-linguistic unit. The goal of this essay is to test this assumption by exploring Russophones’ in-group differentiation over an extended period of time. Conceptually, the essay combines social representation theory with the quadratic nexus model. By analysing cross-sectional survey data it is argued that citizenship of Latvia and generational belonging are two major factors that explain the deviation from the standard model of identification that is primarily imposed by Russia as a symbolic homeland. The essay also suggests that the standard model has experienced inconsistent support over the years and this has opened up space for identification with a more emancipated in-group representation.