Colonial Amnesias,Photographic Memories,and Demographic Biopolitics at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA)

This article provides readers with a biopolitical critique of the recent debates that have swirled around the renovations at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (rmca) and the ‘Memory of Congo’ exhibits. The author argues that the rmca has become a contested site of memory, where some older photographs that were once used in Congo Reform Movements have been reappropriated in (post)colonial disputes about the epistemic and demographic features of what Adam Hochschild has called the forgotten Congolese ‘holocaust’.     

A simple magneto-optical method for the restoration of erased markings in metals

There are different techniques for the restoration of erased markings in metals. Non-destructive methods are generally preferable. The only frequently used non-destructive method is the magnetic technique. The different kinds of magnetic restoration methods are discussed in the article. In the experiments described, the applicability of magneto-optical methods for the restoration of obliterated markings was examined. The results show that the methods are suitable and the required equipment does not cause high expenses.     

Voter uncertainty and failure of Duverger’s law: an?empirical analysis

Real-world simple plurality elections rarely bear out the strong Duvergerian prediction that, in equilibrium, only two competitors receive votes. Recent advances in strategic voting theory demonstrate that voter uncertainty about competitors’ true support levels in the constituency may lead to limited strategic voting, and hence incomplete desertion of trailing parties. This is the first attempt to estimate empirically the impact of uncertainty on incentives to vote strategically. Calibrating a model of strategic voting to voting results from simple plurality elections in German constituencies, it is found that strategic voters operate under high levels of uncertainty. These results support the proposition that uncertainty about party support impedes formation of Duvergerian equilibria.     

An experimental validation study of the SASSI: Predicting alcohol related behavior in law enforcement applicants

This investigation evaluated the validity and utility of two versions of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI, SASSI-2; Miller, 1988, 1996) for determining alcohol related risks among law enforcement applicants. Three hundred and seventy applicants were assessed in two separate studies to determine the degree to which SASSI classification corresponds with self-reported a) number of drinks per month, b) admissions to having recently driven while intoxicated, and c) adminissions to having ever been worried about one's drinking behavior. Analyses revealed a pattern of poor discrimination for both versions of the SASSI, raising concerns regarding its use as a clinical assessment tool.     

THE SHORT‐TERM EFFECTS OF EXECUTIONS ON HOMICIDES: DETERRENCE,DISPLACEMENT, OR BOTH?*

Does the death penalty save lives? In recent years, a new round of research has been using annual time‐series panel data from the 50 U.S. states for 25 or so years from the 1970s to the late 1990s that claims to find many lives saved through reductions in subsequent homicide rates after executions. This research, in turn, has produced a round of critiques, which concludes that these findings are not robust enough to model even small changes in specifications that yield dramatically different results. A principal reason for this sensitivity of the findings is that few state‐years exist (about 1 percent of all state‐years) in which six or more executions have occurred. To provide a different perspective, we focus on Texas, a state that has used the death penalty with sufficient frequency to make possible relatively stable estimates of the homicide response to executions. In addition, we narrow the observation intervals for recording executions and homicides from the annual calendar year to monthly intervals. Based on time‐series analyses and independent‐validation tests, our best‐fitting model shows that, from January 1994 through December 2005, evidence exists of modest, short‐term reductions in homicides in Texas in the first and fourth months that follow an execution—about 2.5 fewer homicides total. Another model suggests, however, that in addition to homicide reductions, some displacement of homicides may be possible from one month to another in the months after an execution, which reduces the total reduction in homicides after an execution to about .5 during a 12‐month period. Implications for additional research and the need for future analysis and replication are discussed.