The strange case of a national anthem without lyrics: music and political identities in Spain (1785–1913)*

Over the course of the long nineteenth century, between 1785 and 1913, Spain underwent processes of national construction similar to those experienced in other European countries. This phenomenon can be analysed through the crucial aspect of national symbols. Music played a leading role in these processes and engendered two opposing models, the product of internal political divisions. One, influenced by the style of the French Revolution, gave rise to a great many popular songs and was represented most of all by the Himno de Riego or “Riego Hymn,” the preferred anthem of the liberal and democratic left. The other, following a monarchist template inspired by the United Kingdom, was embodied in the Marcha Real or Royal March, a piece of ceremonial music without words that was promoted by conservative sectors opposed to popular political mobilization. The struggle between the two resulted in the adoption of the latter march as Spain’s official national anthem, although its association with the monarchy and the Catholic religion impeded the formation of a broad consensus around it. Contrary to the arguments maintained by many historians until a few years ago, the case of Spain cannot be considered as exceptional, although it did have certain peculiarities deriving from conflicts between different versions of Spanish nationalism and between the nationalism of the state and the sub-state nationalist movements that emerged towards the end of this period.     

Economic Crisis and Support for Democracy in Europe

The study of the impact of the economic crisis on attitudes toward democracy tends to be focused on satisfaction with specific democratic institutions. This article expands upon previous research to explore how the current economic crisis can affect core support for democracy as a regime. Based on European Social Survey data for the Eurozone countries, the findings are twofold. It is shown, firstly, that perceptions of the state of the economy have an impact both on satisfaction with and support for democracy, and, secondly, that citizens’ support for democracy is greater in bailed-out countries. In countries that have experienced intervention, the more critical citizens and those less satisfied with the outputs of democracy are the stronger advocates of democracy. The article argues that this is connected with the tendency of critical citizens in bailed-out countries to blame external agents for the economic situation while increasing the saliency of democratic rules as a reaction to the imposition of unpopular measures.     

Do Formalist Judges Abide By Their Abstract Principles? A Two-Country Study in Adjudication

International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique - Recent literature in experimental philosophy has postulated the existence of the...     

Y-chromosome STR haplotypes in the Açores Archipelago (Portugal)

Allele and haplotype frequencies of 10 Y-chromosome STR loci were co-amplified in a sample from the A?ores Islands (Portugal). We found high haplotype diversity in the A?ores sample (0.998). The genetic profile of this population revealed to be statistically different from that of Madeira Island and from North Portugal, two related populations with already a fairly amount of published data. This result stresses the importance of using local databases in forensic genetics.     

Is There an Informative Effect of Law? An Experimental Test

Debates on how the law affects citizens' behaviour have traditionally focused on two mechanisms: deterrence and perceptions of legitimacy. In recent years, some scholars have suggested that the law may also affect compliance through expressive mechanisms that reveal information about the world (for example, by eliciting the risks associated with a particular behaviour). Dharmapala and McAdams have called this the informative effect of law. However, to date very little empirical evidence of the existence of such an effect has emerged. In this article, we present the results of an experiment that tests for three different hypotheses as to how this effect may be produced. Our findings show that legislators' sincerity or their access to expert knowledge is not sufficient to produce information effects. Instead, we suggest an ‘asymmetry’ hypothesis: the fact that a law is passed or rejected has an asymmetrical information effect on subjects' risk perceptions.     

Rethinking cross-border Euregionalism as self-organising system

Studies of cross-border regions in the European Union have struggled conceptually with an apparent ambiguity of Euregionalism: namely that cross-border regions seem to be the manifestations of reterritorialising state governance on the one hand, but have clearly failed to substantially challenge the Westphalian state territorial system on the other. The aim of the present paper is to develop a conceptual framework that helps us understand this paradoxical nature of cross-border regions. To this end, we draw on the systems theory of Niklas Luhmann and the semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce, and propose to regard Euregionalism (and regionalisms more generally) as a self-organising system. Self-organisation entails the process in which self-referential communication, rather than a set of actors, employs spatial concepts, such as the region, to enable system-specific entanglements with physical space, either short-lived or enduring, and possibly – but not necessarily – involving governance.     

Alcohol and Domestic Violence: A Cross-Over Study in Residences of Individuals in Brazil

The objective of this study was to investigate psychological or physical violence associated with the use of alcohol, in residences of individuals in Brazil and, also describe the social characteristics of aggressors and victims. Therefore, this study expects to contribute to studies in Brazil that seek to clarify the relations between alcohol and violence in residences. A total of 454 respondents, 12–65 years old, were assessed, they were sorted by the Kish method, and the residences randomly. The SAMHSA questionnaire was utilized after translated and adapted to Brazilian conditions. 26% of the individuals reported psychological violence, and 16% reported physical violence. The study’s main results set the differences in the reports for physical violence (OR 7, 95% CI: 4–13) and psychological violence (OR 5, 95% CI: 3–8) in residences where someone arrived or became intoxicated with alcohol (P < 0.05). 50% of the aggressors were under the effects of alcohol, and 77% of the victims were relatives of their aggressors. Acts of violence are not necessarily associated with alcohol consumption. Men and women reported acts of domestic violence; psychological violence was the most prevalent form. Men are currently the primary aggressors, while women are primarily the victims     

Single cells for forensic DNA analysis--from evidence material to test tube

Abstract: The purpose of this project was to develop a method that, while providing morphological quality control, allows single cells to be obtained from the surfaces of various evidence materials and be made available for DNA analysis in cases where only small amounts of cell material are present or where only mixed traces are found. With the SteREO Lumar.V12 stereomicroscope and UV unit from Zeiss, it was possible to detect and assess single epithelial cells on the surfaces of various objects (e.g., glass, plastic, metal). A digitally operated micromanipulator developed by aura optik was used to lift a single cell from the surface of evidence material and to transfer it to a conventional PCR tube or to an AmpliGrid^® from Advalytix. The actual lifting of the cells was performed with microglobes that acted as carriers. The microglobes were held with microtweezers and were transferred to the DNA analysis receptacles along with the adhering cells. In a next step, the PCR can be carried out in this receptacle without removing the microglobe. Our method allows a single cell to be isolated directly from evidence material and be made available for forensic DNA analysis.