Poverty and Inequality in a Rapid Growth Economy: Chile 1990-96

Using parametric and non-parametric methods this article examines the evolution of poverty and inequality in Chile between 1990 and 1996. This period is interesting because of the rapid growth exhibited by the Chilean economy. Using the Datt-Ravallion decomposition economic growth accounts for over 85 per cent of poverty reduction. The evidence suggests that the sustained level of high inequality is not necessarily associated with a lower welfare level. By comparing the evolution of poverty and inequality over time, we observe a continuous decrease in poverty, while inequality remains stable. This pattern has left everyone (both poor and rich individuals) better off.     

Forensic value of 14 novel STRs on the human Y chromosome

We identified and characterized 14 novel short-tandem-repeats (STRs) on the Y chromosome and typed them in two samples, a globally diverse panel of 73 cell lines, and 148 individuals from a European-American population. These Y-STRs include eight tetranucleotide repeats (DYS449, DYS453, DYS454, DYS455, DYS456, DYS458, DYS459, and DYS464), five pentanucleotide repeats (DYS446, DYS447, DYS450, DYS452, and DYS463), and one hexanucleotide repeat (DYS448). Sequence data were obtained to designate a repeat number nomenclature. The gene diversities of an additional 22 Y-STRs, including the most commonly used in forensic databases, were directly compared in the cell line DNAs. Six of the 10 most polymorphic markers include the newly identified Y-STRs. Furthermore, these novel Y-STRs greatly improved the resolution of paternal lineages, above the level obtained with commonly used Y-STRs, in the European-American population.     

Exploring psychological features in adolescents who assault their parents: a different profile of young offenders?

This study aimed to explore some psychological features of adolescents who have been reported by their parents for being violent towards them, analysing how they differ from other young offenders and from non-offender adolescents. Concretely, the presence of clinical diagnosis was explored and whether these juveniles received some psychological/psychiatric treatment. Moreover, this study examined substance use and some variables that characterise the social-cognitive style of these juveniles, along with the level of self-esteem. Information concerning clinical diagnosis and psychological/psychiatric treatment was extracted from the young offenders’ legal files. Measures included the social-cognitive subscale from the attitudes and social-cognitive strategies questionnaire (AECS), Rosenberg self-esteem scale, and a structured interview to assess substance use. Results indicated that juveniles who assaulted their parents present a different profile when compared to the other groups, as they showed a higher presence of psychopathology and more social-cognitive difficulties. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the design and implementation of specific treatments with these aggressive adolescents.     

Forensic value of 14 novel STRs on the human Y chromosome

We identified and characterized 14 novel short-tandem-repeats (STRs) on the Y chromosome and typed them in two samples, a globally diverse panel of 73 cell lines, and 148 individuals from a European–American population. These Y-STRs include eight tetranucleotide repeats (DYS449, DYS453, DYS454, DYS455, DYS456, DYS458, DYS459, and DYS464), five pentanucleotide repeats (DYS446, DYS447, DYS450, DYS452, and DYS463), and one hexanucleotide repeat (DYS448). Sequence data were obtained to designate a repeat number nomenclature. The gene diversities of an additional 22 Y-STRs, including the most commonly used in forensic databases, were directly compared in the cell line DNAs. Six of the 10 most polymorphic markers include the newly identified Y-STRs. Furthermore, these novel Y-STRs greatly improved the resolution of paternal lineages, above the level obtained with commonly used Y-STRs, in the European–American population.     

Marx at Karlsbad

ABSTRACT

The ongoing Syrian conflict has triggered one of the worst humanitarian emergencies and the largest refugee crisis of the post-World War II era. What are the political-ecological factors leading to the emergence and spread of this conflict? To what extent have ecological injustices played a triggering or accelerating role in the Syrian conflict? The main argument of this article is that one of the most important causes of the Syrian tragedy relates to the outbreak of a political-ecological crisis whose origins are to be found in the long-term consequences of Syria's (a) oil-centered extractivist model of development adopted since the 1970s and its legacy reflected in the government's failure to generate adequate livelihood; (b) neo-liberal restructuring that has widened inequalities and bankrupted the agriculture since 2000; and (c) environmentally blind policies that have neglected the severity of droughts, encouraged water-intensive crops and the over-exploitation of water resources, and failed to address the modernization of the irrigation infrastructure. The environmental aspects of this crisis also concern inter-state and political-cultural conflicts as they apply to the control of Syria's water resources by Turkey and the so-called Islamic State.