Adjustment, Stabilisation and the Analysis of the Employment Structure in Turkey: An Input- Output Approach

The aim of the paper is to examine the effects on employment of the large-scale structural adjustment programme undertaken by Turkey from the early 1980s onwards. In this respect, we particularly analyse how appropriate the choices of factor intensity after structural adjustment programme have been in the domestic production in comparison with the availability of domestic factor endowment. Our findings show that foreign trade in intermediate goods creates extra use of domestic labour, which can be considered as the labour cost of importing intermediate goods. This is the case in the majority of industries in the pre- and post-liberalisation period in Turkey. However, the capacity of using extra labour as a result of importing intermediate goods appeared to have decreased in the post-liberalisation period.     

Hungary

European Journal of Political Research -     

Applicability of the ParaDNA® Screening System to Seminal Samples

Seminal fluid represents a common biological material recovered from sexual assault crime scenes. Such samples can be prescreened using different techniques to determine cell type and relative amount before submitting for full STR profiling. The ParaDNA^® Screening System is a novel forensic test which identifies the presence of DNA through amplification and detection of two common STR loci (D16S539 and TH01) and the Amelogenin marker. The detection of the Y allele in samples could provide a useful tool in the triage and submission of sexual assault samples by enforcement authorities. Male template material was detected on a range of common sexual assault evidence items including cotton pillow cases, condoms, swab heads and glass surfaces and shows a detection limit of 1 in 1000 dilution of neat semen. These data indicate this technology has the potential to be a useful tool for the detection of male donor DNA in sexual assault casework.     

Party Unity,Ideology, and Polarization in Primary Elections for the House of Representatives: 1956–2012

Increasing party polarization in Congress is a vexing phenomenon for political scientists, as it offers a theoretical conundrum. Members of Congress have become increasingly ideologically divided by party in recent years, which seems counterintuitive as the public electorally punishes representatives for excessive partisanship and ideological behavior. One explanation for this result is that members receive benefits for such behavior during primaries. This article examines the effect of ideological and partisan behavior on primary challenges and primary vote totals for incumbent House members. The results show that incumbents receive benefits in the primary from greater levels of partisanship but not greater levels of ideological extremity. This finding is substantively important as it provides further insight into the motivation of congressional incumbents and offers a partial explanation for the rise in congressional polarization.     

A Natural Experiment in Political Decentralization: Local Institutions and Citizens' Political Engagement in Uruguay

The potential democratizing effect of political decentralization reforms has been a matter of substantial theoretical and empirical debate. This article analyzes the effect of local democratic institution building on the political attitudes and behavior of citizens living in small towns in Uruguay. More specifically, using a natural experiment design, this research seeks to establish the causal impact of recently established elections of local authorities on individuals' political engagement. It develops a comparative case study analyzing the consequences of this institutional innovation in two towns. It shows that individuals from the town where citizens have the opportunity to elect their local authorities have more positive attitudes toward politics than those from the town without such elections.     

Non-Traditional Overall National Security Outlook

The “New Security Concept” put forward by the Chinese authorities at the turn of the century, with “mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, and coordination” at its core, dealt mainly with non-traditional security approaches and measures in external security. However, it did not touch upon internal security or other traditional or non-traditional security issues in a broader sense. Therefore it is a low form of non-traditional security outlook and a low form of non-traditional national security outlook. When reviewing overall national security issues besides external security and international security, China has stuck to a traditional national security outlook. In comparison, taking “the people’s security as its aim,” the Overall National Security Outlook (ONSO) embodies non-traditional thinking and “attaches importance to both traditional and non-traditional security.” It is, therefore, an advanced non-traditional national security outlook. Though incorporating rich non-traditional national security issues, the ONSO deals with various traditional national security issues, as well. The ONSO is non-traditional in that it handles and highlights non-traditional national security issues; it is holistic because it pays dual attention to both traditional and nontraditional national security issues; it is advanced as it incorporates both traditional and non-traditional national security issues by means of non-traditional thinking.     

Self-Referencing and Political Candidate Brands: A Congruency Perspective

Although political and marketing analysts commonly describe political candidates as brands, the conceptualization of political candidates as brands within academic research and popular culture is uncommon. This paper presents empirical evidence in support of viewing candidates as such. Using data from a nationwide study that measures the self concept of Mexican voters and their perceived images of the presidential candidates in Mexico's 2006 election, the paper demonstrates that voters see themselves and each candidate as a distinct brand. Furthermore, this view of a voter's self-brand influences his or her perception of a political candidate's brand image. The academic and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

Leveraging Administrative Data to Better Serve Children and Families

The challenge of complex social issues drives the need for data systems that can connect information across multiple service delivery systems. Integrated data systems provide significant value for needs assessment, program planning, policy decision making, and collective impact evaluation across a range of social issues. This case study describes a mature county‐based integrated data system. The case study has three aims: (1) to highlight the value of integrated data systems to research, (2) to outline common challenges that such initiatives face, and (3) to present several ongoing considerations for the field that could inform policy recommendations to facilitate the use of integrated data. The authors present examples from the experience of developing this integrated data system, including involvement in the design and evaluation of the first county‐level social impact bond. The case study highlights the benefits and limitations of integrated data use in research and the potential to advance evidence‐based social decision making.     

The container security initiative costs,implications and relevance to developing countries

Following 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security established the Container Security Initiative (CSI) programme in 2002 in response to the threat from terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction transported by cargo containers. This project establishes the tracking and targeting of ‘high risk’ containers and their subsequent scanning with X‐ray machines before loading onto the U.S. bound ships. To date, 44 of the world's largest ports have agreed to become CSI‐compliant, the majority of which are located in industrialised countries, while developing and least developed countries are under‐represented. CSI‐eligibility requires that ports represent a considerable volume of U.S. bound container traffic and invest in container scanning devices. Every non‐intrusive inspecting device (NII) costs several million dollars while investments in IT and existing infrastructure often triple the compliance costs. Containers originating in a CSI port are expedited through U.S. customs, representing a comparative trade barrier for exporters from non‐CSI ports. Thus, CSI acts as a tool for the U.S. to improve security, while representing a challenge to exporting countries' market access. This article provides an evaluation of the impacts this plan will have on the export competitiveness of developing countries. It reviews the potential benefits this programme offers in terms of improved trade facilitation, as well as proposing recommendations for its expansion to include developing countries. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.