Polls as Public–Politic Linkage: A Comparative Analysis of Poll Use and Roles of MPs in Parliamentary Debate

Opinion polls as a linkage mechanism between the public and politics have rarely been examined in a parliamentary context. In our comparative study (Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) we analyse if and how polls are invoked by MPs with different roles in parliamentary debates. Focusing on three theoretical aspects (responsiveness, populism and deliberation), we find that polls are indeed invoked to bring the views of the public into parliamentary debate to some degree, but they are also often used merely to support policies already developed in the political realm. Fears of the populist effect of polls are exaggerated; polls, in fact, have a positive influence on the discursive quality of parliament. Looking at parliamentary roles, we find very different patterns of poll use: while MPs oriented towards their constituencies use polls in the most direct and participatory vein, others mediate public opinion as displayed by polls through different institutions (the party, the parliament) or through expertise.     

Online Tallies and the Context of Politics: How Online Tallies Make Dominant Candidates Appear Competent in Contexts of Conflict

In this article, we extend the classical notion of online tallies to shed light on the psychology underlying the rapid emergence of dominant political leaders. Predicated on two population-based panel surveys with embedded experiments, we demonstrate that citizens (1) store extremely durable tallies of candidate personalities in their long-term memory and (2) retrieve different tallies depending on the context. In particular, we predict and demonstrate that when contexts become more conflict-ridden, candidate evaluations rapidly shift from being negatively to positively associated with online impressions of candidate dominance. Although the notion of online tallies was originally proposed as an explanation of why citizens are able to vote for candidates on the basis of policy agreement, we demonstrate how the existence of context-sensitive online tallies can favor dominant candidates, even if the candidate is otherwise unappealing or does not share policy views with citizens on key issues.     

Psychical and physical symptoms after torture. A prospective controlled study

This is the first controlled study of torture victims published. Ten persons who alleged subjection to torture were examined by two different medical teams during the first months after torture. The testimonies of the probands were found to be credible and the method of examination was found to be reliable. The state of health of the probands was inferior to that of the control persons (P less than 0.01) which reflects the effect of torture on health. The most frequent symptoms were psychological: depression, anxiety, emotional lability, reduced ability for contact, disturbed sleep, nightmares, impaired concentration and memory.     

Risk,responsibility and roles redefined: is counterterrorism a corporate responsibility?

This article discusses the role of the private company in the fight against terrorism. It argues that the private company has become politically important to counterterrorism efforts, but the economic logic guiding the risk thinking of private companies is hardly compatible with the aim of providing national security. By examining whether and in what manner the risk of terrorism is considered a corporate responsibility, the article seeks to answer whether and how the political role ascribed to the company finds any resonance in the risk practice of private companies. The article approaches this question by examining how Danish food and infrastructural companies conceptualize the relationship between terrorism risks and corporate responsibility. It demonstrates that a distinction between safety and security discursively facilitates an exclusion of national security concerns from the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and thereby works to deresponsibilitize the company in the fight against terrorism.     

The use of Hemastix® severely reduces DNA recovery using the BioRobot® EZ1

Abstract: The choice of reagents for presumptive tests for blood, and subsequent extraction methodologies, can significantly affect both the quantity and quality of purified DNA. Blood samples directly tested with Hemastix^® yielded <1% of the DNA recovered from untested samples when purified using the Qiagen BioRobot^® EZ1 and EZ1^® DNA Investigator kit. Full short tandem repeat profiles were obtained from both tested and untested samples, suggesting that the Hemastix^® reagent(s) affect DNA binding, rather than produce DNA damage. The Hemastix^® inhibition of DNA yield could be overcome by the addition of MTL buffer to the sample prior to extraction. Laboratories may wish to modify current procedures for extracting blood samples, utilize other extraction/purification methodologies, or inform their submitting agencies to avoid direct exposure of questioned bloodstains to Hemastix^® reagents.