Symbolism of the Spirit of the Laws: A Genealogical Excursus to Legal and Political Semiotics

The spirit of the laws is a symbol reflecting the ontological status and transcendental ideals of the system of positive law. The article analyses historical links between the romantic philosophy of the spirit of the nation (Volksgeist), which subsumed Montesquieu’s general spirit of the laws under the concept of ethnic culture, and recent politics of cultural and ethnic identity. Although criticising attempts at legalising ethnic collective identities, the article does not simply highlight the virtues of demos and the superiority of civic culture against the vices of ethnos and the regressive nature of ethnic politics of identity. Instead, the author argues that the civil democratic concept of political identity is part of the more general process of social differentiation: unlike the pre-political ethnic concept of identity, it can be converted to generalised democratic procedures and thus dismantle the totalitarian claims of cultural identity politics.

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Impact of takeovers on profitability of target companies: Evidence from Croatian companies

It is possible to find scientific confirmation of positive, negative or neutral influence of takeovers on company's profitability. Therefore, this study aimed to highlight the sensitivity of research results on manipulation in terms of used methodology and indicators. Using t-test for paired samples and five selected profitability indicators for target and peer companies, it has been proven that it is possible to obtain significantly different results even when using the same sample and the same reference period. The research has been performed on the sample of Croatian companies, which were taken over in the period from year 2003–2008.     

Reform of International Monetary System andConstruction of Global Monetary SecurityMechanism: Connections and Problems

The international monetary system is the basis to establishing acomprehensive global financial safety mechanism. To understand the internalconnections between the reform of the international monetary system and the globalsafety mechanism has important policy implications. The reform of the internationalmonetary system and the construction of the global safety network are inherentlyrelated to each other. Risk management and crisis response are the functions ofthe international monetary system and serve to ensure the safety of the globalfi nancial system; liquidity management and international exchange rate coordinationare conducive to the maintenance of the stability of the global financial system.International exchange rate coordination, the control of spillover effect of US monetarypolicies and the reform of governance structures of the international monetary systemcontribute to global fi nancial safety. However, the reform of the international monetarysystem and the establishment of the global fi nancial safety mechanism are faced withproblems such as Triffin Dilemma, the technical shortcomings of global financialsystem, the ill coordination of global and regional fi nancial security network and thegrowing number of political issues involved. In order to build a sound global fi nancialsafety system, cooperation should be enhanced in the following fi ve aspects: to promotethe reform of the Bretton Woods institutions; to build the global financial safetynetwork; to establish the liquidity management system; to facilitate the construction ofthe super sovereign currency; and to deepen regional monetary cooperation.     

Modelling the relationship between counter‐knowledge and open‐mindedness for policy development

Counter‐knowledge refers to flaws in citizens' mental models arising from utilization of rumours, inappropriate knowledge structures, outdated routines or procedures. When counter‐knowledge is applied to civil servants, it may result in problems of efficiency, equity and motivation. This paper examines the relationship between counter‐knowledge and open‐mindedness to model a framework for improving city marketing and policy development. This study tested two measurement models. While the theoretical model represents the effect of counter‐knowledge on city marketing and that the latter has a negative effect on open‐mindedness, the alternative model involves that counter‐knowledge has a positive indirect impact on open‐mindedness. These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 203 Spanish city halls. The results show a potential positive indirect effect of counter‐knowledge on open‐mindedness through city marketing programmes. This paper clarifies the existing literature, which tries to contribute to the discussion of city marketing, and helps us to obtain meaning out of the relationship between counter‐knowledge, city marketing and open‐mindedness. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Why join the party in a one-party system?: Popularity versus political exchange

The paper investigates empirically the determinants of political stability in one-party states, taking as an example socialist Yugoslavia. We assume that the number of the Party members is an indicator of the stability of the regime and perform a time series analysis for the six Yugoslav republics in the 1953–1988 period. We find that rents distributed to the population were far more important than the popularity of economic policies and perhaps even more important than repression. These findings provide strong empirical support for economic models of dictatorship based on the notion of political exchange.     

Travar el saber: Travesti-Centred Knowledge-Making and Education

This article focuses on what we call, following Argentinean thinker and activist Lohana Berkins, travar el saber. Travar el saber is travesti theorising; rooted in Berkins's conceptualisation of travesti as a political identity, it works to understand, question, and transform the tenets and practices that uphold and reproduce exclusionary dynamics. Our analysis draws on efforts taking place at the Bachillerato Popular Travesti y Trans Mocha Celis, the first high school created to meet the needs of travesti and trans students in Buenos Aires. The school seeks to create a travesti-centred transformative educational framework and praxis.     

Usefulness of DNA quantification in diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathies A preliminary study

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathies (HCM) are a frequent cause of sudden death in both young people and adults. Different cardiomyopathies can be distinguished according to the etiological agent and, although there are morphological differences too, alterations in the quantity of DNA in the cardiomyocytes may play an important role in their pathogenesis and evolution. To understand the characteristics and the behaviour of the DNA index in hypertrophic cardiomyopathies, we have studied thirty cases (10 primaries or essential, 10 hypertensives and 10 toxic) and compared the results with those obtained for 10 macroscopically normal hearts. The results showed that the different cardiomyopathies were statistically related with age, heart weight and ventricle thickness. The normal hearts showing a diploid DNA index, hypertensive cardiomyopathies (CM) hearts a tetraploid index and both toxic CM (1.1-1.9) and essential CM (>2) heart showing an aneuploid index. Statistically significant associations (p < 0.001) were observed when the DNA values were compared with the type of CM, the age, the thickness of both ventricles and the heart weight. Therefore, we think that the technique described may be of great help in the differential diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathies.     

Autosomic STR population data in two Caribbean samples from Colombia

In this work, a sample of 124 unrelated individuals from San Andres Island and Santa Marta City (Colombia) was studied for the nine STRs included in the AmpFlSTR Profiler kit (CSF1PO, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D13S317, FGA, TH01, TPOX and vWA). Although these two populations are geographically apart, San Andres is an Island in the middle of Caribbean Sea (about 480 miles northwest the Colombian mainland) and Santa Marta City located in the coast, exact test showed no differentiation between both population samples (P=0.39445+/-0.0805). Therefore, allele frequencies and parameters of forensic interest were estimated for the global sample.     

Hedging Against China: Japanese Strategy Towards A Rising Power

Debates about how states deal with rising powers have been mainly concentrated on a continuum comprising on balancing and bandwagoning strategies. While theory has principally offered realist and liberal explanations, Japanese behavior vis-à-vis China does not match with them. Japan is not powerful enough to balance against China but remains too strong to bandwagon. Accordingly, Tokyo is pursuing a mixed strategy of both containment and engagement, which may be better described as a hedging strategy against Beijing. This article analyzes which strategies states can adopt when dealing with a rising power and proposes a framework to analyze Japan’s recent policy towards China based on Kuik’s analysis. We argue that Japan’s hedging strategy towards China is consistent with how middle-power states deal with rising power.