Small parties in the new bundesländer: Bündnis 90/die grünen in brandenburg

This article considers party system development in the eastern Länder looking at the fate of the small parties that have seen their aggregate share of the vote dwindle at successive state elections to the extent that the eastern states display a three‐party system comprising the CDU, the SPD and the PDS. Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and the FDP are notable casualties, since they are now extra‐parliamentary parties, having previously enjoyed the status of coalition partners. Bundnis 90/Die Grünen in the Land of Brandenburg is singled out for detailed analysis as a representative of this fate. Paradoxically, the fact that Biindnis 90 had been successful in the 1990 Landtag elections contributed to its downfall in 1994. This position of power meant that there was no incentive for key members to meet compromises and merge with the Greens. The resulting split in the party following an exceedingly acrimonious merger process did not help the party's chances at the next Landtag elections.     

Advantage of affinity histochemistry combined with histology to investigate death causes: indications from sample cases

Mast cell histochemistry has been proposed in addition to classic histological methods to estimate the course of traumatic events before and after death. We have addressed the utility of this approach on nine victims of different types of trauma. Sections of wounded skin were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and with fluorescent avidin to tag mast cells. Mast cell numbers were evaluated by both direct and digitalized counts. Intact skin was used as control. The results on mast cells implemented the findings upon hematoxylin and eosin stain and helped to put the wounds and death in chronological sequence. Digitalized morphometry allowed to reduce intra- and inter-observer variation. We conclude that combined histological and histochemical analyses can be of practical use in forensic pathology, that a preliminary setting of the reference values is needed for each laboratory, and that image analysis can be of help for the quantification of the results.     

Reconsidering the southern Europe model: Dowry, women's work and marriage patterns in pre-industrial urban Italy (Turin, second half of the 18th century)

This paper aims to investigate and analyse the impact of the dowry and the endowment system on marriage and household patterns and on the labour market in 18th century Turin. At the same time it enquires into the reliability of the northern/southern Europe pattern for the study of this topic. Two points are developed. Firstly the paper shows that the dowry system coexists with a relatively high age at marriage because of the specific role played by the dowry in Turin society. Indeed, this was not a once-and-for-all established asset but was a negotiable and flexible resource that could be manipulated by the different actors concerned in the endowment. Moreover, the payment did not always take place immediately upon marriage, nor was the money quickly available. At the same time the paper examines the economic role of dowry in Ancien Régime households: by means of a juridical procedure couples could alienate this property, and use or invest it to ensure their well-being and/or their economic situation. Finally, the second part investigates the relationship between the dowry system and the participation of young girls and married women in the local labour market: their significant and crucial presence demonstrates that the dowry and its expectation was not a sufficient incentive to keep them out of the labour market.