Gender and Homosexuality as a Major Cultural Cleavage

In post‐modern society cultural cleavages are becoming at least as relevant as socio‐economic ones. They can only be properly researched by the survey method, which opens up a whole new area for both micro and macroanalysis. So, first, we pinpoint some of the main problems of research into value orientations. Second, we suggest a new analysis of attitudes towards gender and homosexuality, employing both micro and macro data. One key finding here is that attitudes towards gender and homosexuality are linked at the micro level, which explains some of the saliency of gender and homosexuality as a new emerging cleavage in advanced societies. At the macro level, the main finding is that attitudes towards gender and homosexuality are strongly embedded in cultural or civilisational differences among countries. The evidence suggests therefore that these attitudes do constitute a new cleavage in advanced societies.     

Clinical presentation of malingerers diagnosed by experienced forensic psychologists

Little is known about the incidence of malingering or the diagnostic criteria for malingering employed by forensic clinical psychologists conducting pretrial evaluations for the criminal justice system. The clinical presentations of 39 criminal defendants diagnosed as malingering psychotic symptoms were contrasted with 25 defendants diagnosed as genuinely psychotic. The incidence of diagnosed malingering was 8% in a series of 314 consecutive evaluations. Malingerers differed from psychotics on 14 of 24 clinical presentation variables, including measures of general presentation, affect, hallucinations, delusions, and formal thought disorder. Results indicate consistent clinical features associated with the diagnosis of malingered psychosis.A summary of this study was presented at the 1988 Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Atlanta, Georgia. We very much appreciate the contribution made by the six forensic clinical psychologists at the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry who volunteered to participate in this study.     

The EU and Ukraine: Rhetorical Entrapment?

Recently there has been a trend towards the development of two rival sets of alliances in Eurasia: in effect, one Western‐oriented alignment led by the United States and Turkey, including Israel, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. On the other hand, a group of states resisting American and Turkish influence in the Caucasus and Central Asia is developing, led by Russia and Iran, including Syria and Armenia. One of the most important questions for the development of these alignments is their expansion into Central Asia; in this context Uzbekistan's role is crucial. Uzbekistan is the only Central Asian state to pursue a proactive and independent foreign policy, as exemplified in its relations with both its neighbors and great powers. Tashkent has developed close military and security relations with NATO and for a time seemed to hedge its bets on US support, but has lately shown signs of turning back toward increasing security cooperation with Russia and China. Given the strategic value of Uzbekistan and its role as a regional player in its own right, the future course of the country's policies is of great importance to the security of Eurasia.     

Estimating the probability of allelic drop-out of STR alleles in forensic genetics

In crime cases with available DNA evidence, the amount of DNA is often sparse due to the setting of the crime. In such cases, allelic drop-out of one or more true alleles in STR typing is possible. We present a statistical model for estimating the per locus and overall probability of allelic drop-out using the results of all STR loci in the case sample as reference. The methodology of logistic regression is appropriate for this analysis, and we demonstrate how to incorporate this in a forensic genetic framework.     

The United States and central Asia: in the Steppes to stay?

11 September 2001 elevated the importance of the South Caucasus and Central Asia in US global strategy. The Central Asian republics proved crucial bases for military and intelligence operations. The South Caucasus, in turn, provided the only realistic air corridor for the deployment of Europe‐based US forces to Afghan territory. As its Central Asian footprint grows, Washington must consider the interests of key Eurasian powers and demonstrate a sustained economic and political commitment to the region.     

Money matters: The role of public sector wages in corruption prevention

Economic theory as well as conventional wisdom from corruption-ridden countries suggest that low wages among public employees lead to corruption, but cross-sectional empirical research has largely failed to confirm this relationship. In this article, we investigate the relationship between experiences of corruption and wage levels for public sector employees, utilizing both objective and expert survey data, with global coverage. The statistical analysis shows that higher wages, as compared to the average wage in the country, is associated with less corruption. There is also some support, but weaker, for the hypothesis that corruption increases when wages fall below subsistence levels.     

Democracy in microstates: why smallness does not produce a democratic political system

To fully understand the function of volatility in today's European democracies, it is necessary to employ the principal-agent model. Where democracy is exercised in the form of party government, then it is especially essential to enquire into how the electorate can monitor politicians. Electoral volatility may increase the responsiveness of the party system to the electorate and increase the accountability of politicians. Party system instability is persistently higher in the east European democracies than in western Europe. System transition in eastern Europe passes through the party system, as new parties enter the electoral arena. Political innovation in western Europe also passes through the party system, where new movements appear alongside the established parties. However, there are signs of decreasing volatility in the east, whereas volatility is on the rise in several west European democracies. There will be convergence between west and east European democracies: both will experience considerable volatility in the future. This is a positive gain for democratic vitality in Tingsten's conception. The level of party system fractionalization is already the same over the regions of Europe. The principal-agent model would favour several agents as well as agent switches, which means a moderate level of party system instability.