Reviews

Work, Culture, and Identity: Migrant Labourers in Mozambique and South Africa, c.1860–1910 by Patrick Harries. Witwatersrand University Press, Johannesburg; Heinemann, Portsmouth NH; and James Currey, London. 1994. 328 pp. including photographs, maps and tables. R75.00 paperback.

African Workers and Colonial Racism: Mozambican Strategies and Struggles in Lourenc.0 Marques, 1877–1962 by Jeanne Marie Penvenne. Witwatersrand University Press, Johannesburg; Heinemann, Portsmouth NH; and James Currey, London. 1995. 242 pp. including maps, halftones and tables. R86.00 paperback.

Historical Dictionary of Namibia by John J. Grotpeter. The Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, New Jersey and London. No 57 in the African Historical Dictionaries series. 1994. xxvi plus 725 pp. including a chronology, map, appendices and bibliography. $89.50 hardback.

Out in the Cold: Academic Boycotts and the Isolation of South Africa by L.J. Haricombe and F.W. Lancaster. Information Resources Press, Arlington, Virginia. 1995. xiv plus 158 pp. including tables, bibliography and index. $29.50 hardback.

The Foreign Policy of Zimbabwe by Ulf Engel. Institute of African Affairs, Hamburg. 1994. vii plus 479 pp. including diagrams, tables, notes, bibliography and indices.

The Politics of Two Sudans: The South and the North 1821 ‐1969 by Deng D. Akol Ruay. The Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Uppsala, Sweden. 1994. 183 pp. £14.95.

Namibia's Liberation Struggle: The Two‐Edged Sword edited by Colin Leys and John S. Saul. James Curry, London and Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio. 1995. x plus 212 pp. including maps, notes and index. £12.95 paperback.

Namibia and External Resources: The Case of Swedish Development Assistance by Bertil Oden, Henning Melber, Tor Sellstrom and Chris Tapscott. Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. Research Report No. 96, Uppsala. 1994. 122 pp. including map, references and tables. £5.95 paperback.

Short‐Cut to Decay: The Case of the Sudan edited by Sharif Harir and Terje Tvedt. Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Uppsala. 1994. 275 pp. £19.95.

Divided Sisterhood: Race, Class and Gender in the South African Nursing Profession by Shula Marks. Witwatersrand University Press, Johannesburg (South Africa), Macmillan Press Ltd (Great Britain), and St. Martin's Press, Inc., (USA). 1994. xiii plus 306 pp. including notes, bibliography and index. R82.00 paperback.

Transition to Democracy in Nigeria (1985–1993) by Tunji Olagunju, Adele Jinadu and Sam Oyovbaire. Spectrum Books Ltd., Ibadan and London. 1993. 278 pp.     

Referendum on Renzi: The 2016 Vote on the Italian Constitutional Revision

The 2016 constitutional referendum could have marked a new phase in Italian politics, producing a clear shift towards a majoritarian (and de facto presidential) democracy. But a substantial majority of voters rejected the reforms promoted by Matteo Renzi, leading to his resignation as Prime Minister. Once again, an attempt to redesign the Italian institutional framework failed due to party conflicts. This time, the referendum turned into a vote on Renzi himself. This article examines the background to the institutional reforms and the changing dynamics of the referendum campaign. Discussing the final outcome, it argues that this could produce a sort of U-turn in the long Italian transition.     

Electoral foundations of parliamentary questions: evidence from the European Parliament

Parliamentary questions (PQs) provide a useful tool for members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to control the executive at supranational level and to promote their reputation among relevant groups (party, interest groups and constituency). Previous works have just focused on macro-functions of questions, neglecting the opportunity for MEPs to use them as a re-election and re-selection strategy (micro-functions). In this article, it is argued that PQs are a relevant instrument in the hands of parliamentarians in order to increase their reputation and build up their political image. In particular, it is considered how variation in electoral systems might affect legislative behaviour and, especially, the number of questions asked. Using a new data set on oral and written questions to the European Commission and the Council, the article demonstrates how candidate-centred electoral systems incentivise MEPs to ask more questions than legislators elected under party-centred systems.     

Statistical analysis of DNA mixtures using peak area information and allelic drop out

A case of a woman killed in Perugia is reported. The woman was beaten to death and the body showed evidence of bites, kicks and punches. The request of the Court was to verify the presence of bites and if they belonged to humans. Morphological examination and genetic analysis with human Y-specific markers were performed in order to verify the origin of the bites. The DNA profile from the surrounded area of the traces was compared with the profile of the victim's husband (the suspect).The results showed a match between the profile of the suspect and that of the traces for all loci examined. Due to the fact that also other relatives of the husband's male lineage lived in the same house, it was not possible to identify the man who really contributed to the traces. Therefore, the analysis was implemented with autosomal STR markers, which showed a mixed genetic profile. In order to verify the number and the identity of the contributors, statistical analysis based upon peak area information was performed with Probabilistic Expert Systems.     

Party policy diffusion in the European multilevel space: what it is,how it works,and why it matters

ABSTRACT

Almost since the end of World War II, transnational cooperation among political parties has been a common feature of European politics. This paper makes the case for studying transnational partisan cooperation in the European multilevel space, focusing in particular on the phenomenon of “party policy diffusion.” At the heart of the paper is a conceptual discussion of party policy diffusion in the EU. Specifically, we look at the (1) aims that lead parties to learn from or emulate parties in other countries; (2) the mechanisms through which this may work; and (3) the wider implications of this practice both for domestic and European politics. Drawing on this conceptual discussion, the paper then goes on to offer leads as to how the phenomenon of party policy diffusion can be studied in the European multilevel space. To this end, we briefly point to possible ways of testing hypotheses about party policy diffusion using spatially explicit modeling strategies such as spatial regression models and exponential random graph models for transnational party networks.     

Supine Hypotensive Syndrome as the Probable Cause of Both Maternal and Fetal Death

Abstract: Supine hypotensive syndrome is characterized by severe supine hypotension in late pregnancy, whose clinical presentation ranges from minimal cardiovascular alterations to severe shock, resulting from inferior vena cava compression by gravid uterus. We report a case of a 41‐year‐old 39‐week‐pregnant woman found dead supine. Autopsy revealed the following: cyanosis of the limbs; congestion of the jugular and subclavian veins; abundant abdominal subcutaneous fatty tissue; uterus displacing intestine and diaphragm; collapsed inferior vena cava; both femoral veins dilated and filled with blood; edematous and congested lungs; and placenta 790 g, fetus 3475 g, amniotic fluid 800 cm³. The diagnosis of supine hypotensive syndrome as the probable cause of death is supported by the position of the body and autopsy findings. This syndrome can be considered as the first stage of the physio‐pathological mechanism that led to death in the case presented herein and should be considered by pathologists as a cause of sudden death.     

Two cases of acute propane/butane poisoning in prison

Hydrocarbon inhalation is seldom chosen as a means to commit suicide. This practice is exclusively a prerogative of the prison population; it is, however, only exceptionally found in this environment. The two cases of lethal inhalation of propane/butane gas observed by us over a very short time occurred in this context. Toxicologic analyses were performed by means of gas chromatography (head space) and revealed a propane/butane mixture in all specimens (heart blood, bile, and urine) except vitreous humor. Although fatal arrhythmia posthydrocarbon gas abuse is well known, the concentrations of the two hydrocarbons were sufficient to induce death by asphyxiation and were distributed (fairly) homogeneously in all biological fluids and organs examined, a parameter permitting one to assume that death occurred within a relatively short period of time. The absence of finding in vitreous humor and the trace amount in urine suggests that both men died very quickly.