What happens when majority rule breaks down?

Computational results of Niemi and Weisberg are extended to investigate the number of alternatives in the top cycle set (possible winning alternatives in a sequence of pairwise votes) when there is no Condorcet winner. With n alternatives we assume a large number of voters each equally likely to select any of the n! preference orderings. If no Condorcet winner exists, the number of members of the top cycle set is always more likely to be n or n?1 than between 3 and n?2 inclusive. As n grows the probability that all alternatives are in the top cycle set approaches 1.     

Reforming Central Banking STEPHEN KIRCHNER

This book is about which monetary institutions and monetary regimes are most likely to promote: price stability. As such it is a welcome addition to the literature on this much debated question, especially because it provides such a lucid account of Kirchner's side of the debate. The questions he explores are important because central banks have become much more significant in recent times. Indeed, momentous changes in political economy, especially in the last decade in the wake of global and domestic financial deregulation, have propelled monetary policy and central banks to a new prominence.     

Clinical forensic medicine

This article discusses the merits of participation by medical examiners in the area of clinical forensic medicine. The present connotation that we deal after the fact should be abandoned with enhanced involvement in assisting the living. The paper focuses on a broad range of categories where forensic scientists by virtue of their training and experience could be most helpful in the application of medical knowledge to the solution of questions of law.     

A Hazy Concept of Equality

K.B. is a woman working for the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) with a transsexual male partner. Her partner's male gender was not legally recognised in the United Kingdom and consequently they could not marry. Whilst the NHS pension scheme provides for the payment of a survivor's pension, this is only in respect of married partners. The European Court of Justice held that the combination of circumstances that prevented K.B.'s partner from receiving the survivor's pension amounted to sex discrimination in pay contrary to Article 141 of the Treaty establishing the European Community. At first sight, this decision appears to represent a strengthening of the concept of gender equality in European Union law. Yet, the reasoning provided by the Court lacks clarity and coherence. Moreover, the reach of equality is compromised by the Court's determination to exclude any confrontation with the privileged status of heterosexual marriage. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Idiopathic precocious puberty in girls: Psychosexual development

A promising model syndrome for the examination of the role of physical maturation in the development of female sexuality is idiopathic precocious puberty (IPP). In this first controlled study of psychosexual development in IPP females, 16 females between 13 and 20 years of age with a history of IPP were compared to 16 control subjects with a history of normal puberty pair-matched to the index subjects on the basis of sex, race, age, socioeconomic level, and menarcheal status. The psychosexual history and the current psychosexual status were assessed by a systematic half-structured interview. The IPP females on average passed the psychosexual milestones at an earlier age than their normal maturing peers, with a particularly early onset of masturbation. Those who were sociosexually active tended to report a higher total orgasmic outlet and a higher sex drive. There was no increase in homosexuality among IPP girls. The timing of puberty has a (modest) influence on psychosexual development in females.This work was supported by NIMH Center Grants MH 30906-01A and MH 30906-03 and by a grant from the Spencer Foundation.     

Framing and dominant metaphors in the coverage of North Korea in the Australian media

Through the selective allocation of attention, framing and metaphors in covering foreign affairs and countries, media narratives often act to delegitimise, marginalise and demonise international actors. Focusing on Australian reportage of North Korea in The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald and from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2012, this paper explicates how the framing mechanisms utilised in media point to media complicity in reinforcing a negative, adversarial orientation towards North Korea. It also discusses implications for how Australians view the North Korean people, Australian–North Korean relations, and policy pertaining to Northeast Asia more broadly.     

LOCAL REGIMES: Does Globalization Challenge the “Growth Machine”?

This article explores the possible impacts that globalization might have upon the nature of local governments and the economic development policies that they adopt. We begin by outlining the theory of how “corporate regimes” dominate most urban centers, why they implement skewed economic development policies, and why globalization appears to be exacerbating these problems. Research on state‐and‐local economic development outside urban centers indicates that several types of business development exist and that they differ significantly in their implications for improving conditions in a community. This suggests that other types of corporate regimes are possible. The logic of globalization points toward the need to establish more progressive corporate regimes willing to implement some of the reforms advocated by critics of the “growth machine.”