Agglomeration Effects: Productivity of the Informal Sector in Vietnam

This paper investigates agglomeration externalities on the productivity of informal household businesses in Vietnam. Although the paper finds heterogeneous impacts of agglomeration on the productivity of informal firms between urban and rural settings and across industries, it is found that technology transfers are not an agglomerative force for the informal sector of Vietnam. The disaggregation of local scale externalities into city types reveals that the highest developed cities in Vietnam may either be low-quality agglomeration or go beyond their optimal scale for the informal sector in some industries.     

Political Participation and Civic Courage: The Negative Effect of Transparency on Making Small Campaign Contributions

This study assesses whether public disclosure of campaign contributions affects citizens’ willingness to give money to candidates. In the American states, campaign finance laws require disclosure of private information for contributors at relatively low thresholds ranging from $1 to $300. The Internet has made it relatively easy to publicize such information in a way that changes the social context for political participation. Drawing on social influence theory, the analysis suggests that citizens are sensitive to divulging private information, especially those who are surrounded by people with different political views. Using experimental data from the 2011 Cooperative Congressional Election Studies, it demonstrates how individuals refrain from making small campaign contributions or reduce their donations to avoid disclosing their identities. The conclusion discusses the implications of transparency laws for political participation, especially for small donors.     

Skeletal indicators of pregnancy and parturition: a historical review

Over a century of scientific literature has documented the research and analysis relating to the possible skeletal evidence of pregnancy, parturition, and childcare, yet today, there still exists variation in methodology and interpretation. Historical perspective facilitates understanding of the growth and development of the theories and research currently available to the forensic science community. Review of the relevant literature clearly indicates that specific skeletal alterations are not exclusively connected to obstetrical events. Although parturition and related events have been shown to leave various alterations on bone, the research record also demonstrates that other factors can contribute to the same or similar changes. Additionally, such alterations can often be found in nulliparous women and men and are frequently absent in parous and multiparous women. This literature review calls for the continued exploration of skeletal alterations for determining parity status in human skeletal remains.     

Revisiting Licensed Handgun Carrying: Personal Protection or Interpersonal Liability?

No debate is more sensitive or polemical than the question of ??gun rights?? in the U.S., and licensing private citizens to carry concealed handguns is the most controversial ??right?? of all. The morally charged nature of this controversy is reflected in the disparate results reported by various researchers who analyze the effects of these laws, and also by the especially intense methodological scrutiny that follows published research. A National Science Academy review of existing gun policy research issues methodological recommendations which may help resolve scientifically the question of whether or how ??right to carry?? licensing effects rates of lethal firearm violence. Similar efforts have been published previously, but this study improves upon those earlier efforts by increasing the sample cross-section, by further refining the model specification, and by distinguishing conceptually ??shall issue?? RTC laws from ??may issue?? RTC laws. The results provisionally suggest that the former increases homicide rates whereas the latter decreases them.     

The official art of the Khrushchev Thaw: The Severe Style as an ambassador of the Estonian national school at Baltic art exhibitions in Moscow

In Estonian post-Socialist art history writing, the term ‘national’ has mostly been introduced as a defense mechanism against the Soviet regime. The aim of this article is to indicate that concept ‘national’ also played quite an important role in ‘official’ Soviet cultural politics, especially after Stalin’s death. The processes of cultivating ‘national particularities’ in the arts will be exemplified by the Baltic exhibitions in Moscow in the end of 1950s and 1960s.     

猪生殖和呼吸系统综合征的血清学调查

采用IDEXX公司生产的ELISA试剂盒对 2 0 0 1年 8月至 2 0 0 2年 8月湖北、河南、福建、浙江等省的大中型猪场猪生殖和呼吸系统综合征 (PRRS)的流行情况进行了血清学调查。共检测84 4份血清 ,检出阳性 382份 ,阳性率为 4 5 .2 6 %。其中湖北省猪场的 6 6 1份血清 ,检出阳性 2 4 9份 ,阳性率 37.6 7%。 4 83份种猪血清 ,检出阳性 2 4 4份 ,阳性率 5 0 .5 2 % ,36 1份仔猪血清 ,检出阳性 14 1份 ,阳性率 4 0 .0 6 %。在被检的 5 0个猪场中 ,检出PRRS血清学阳性猪的猪场 4 1个 ,占 82 .0 0 % ,其中湖北省的 38个猪场 ,检出PRRS阳性的 2 9个 ,阳性率 76 .32 %。     

法医DNA检验的现状及发展

DNA检验自被作为证据引入法庭诉讼以来 ,随着科技的发展 ,其检验手段和方法不断更新和完善 ,经历了一个从小到大、从复杂到简单、从手工操作到仪器自动化的发展过程。本文综述了利用DNA推断年龄及DNA提取、检测等方面的新进展。