International relations theory and Japanese pacifism: Why didn’t Tokyo go ballistic over North Korean nukes?

Seen from the perspectives of the various Western theories of international relations, Japan’s peculiar armed pacifism can appear very different. Prominent neorealists have predicted that Japan will inevitably develop nuclear weapons; prominent liberals have cited Japan as the model pacifist nation of the future. Over the last five years, it became clear to Japan that North Korea either possessed, or was on the brink of acquiring, nuclear weapons. How would the Japanese government respond to such a critical threat to its security? The case of North Korean nukes suggests that policymakers should be wary of the grim expectations of Western neorealists, at least in regard to Japan.     

Falling From Grace: Nonestablished Brokerage Parties and the Weight of Predominance in Canadian Provinces and Australian States

Given the conventional meaning of party predominance—winninga majority of legislative seals in four or more consecutiveelections—all sixteen subnational political systems (SPS)in Australia and Canada have featured at least one predominantparty since the end of World War II. In Australia, no predominantparty has failed ever again to hold office, and failed to secureeven official opposition status for two consecutive elections,upon losing predominance. In Canada's central and Atlantic (CAC)provinces, only two of eleven predominant parties have failed.In Canada's four western provinces, however, three of six predominantparties have failed since governing after World War II. Severalfactors combine to produce differences among predominant partiesin Australia and Canada. When these parties engage in brokeragepolitics, and therefore lack entrenched social foundations,and where patterns of socialized party identification have beeninterrupted, the "weight of predominance" can become fatal.Upon losing power, these parties may cease to be relevant. Theworldwide proliferation of federal systems suggests that thelife-cycles of SPS as just described may become more relevantwith time.     

The effects of chemical and heat maceration techniques on the recovery of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from bone

Forensic anthropologists use a number of maceration techniques to facilitate skeletal analysis of personal identity and trauma, but they may unwittingly eliminate valuable DNA evidence in the process. This study evaluated the effect of 10 maceration methods on gross bone structure and the preservation of DNA in ribs of 12 pigs (Sus scrofa). A scoring system was applied to evaluate the ease of maceration and resulting bone quality while DNA purity was quantified by optical densitometry analysis, followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of three mitochondrial and three nuclear loci. The results demonstrated that while mitochondrial DNA could be amplified for all experiments, cleaning treatments using bleach, hydrogen peroxide, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid/papain, room temperature water and detergent/sodium carbonate followed by degreasing had low DNA concentrations and failed to generate nuclear PCR products. In general, treatments performed at high temperatures (90 degrees C or above) for short durations performed best. This study shows that traditionally "conservative" maceration techniques are not necessarily the best methods to yield DNA from skeletal tissue.     

The Morality of Divestment

Divestment from companies that produce or heavily utilize fossil fuels has become one of the biggest issues in the contemporary moral debate surrounding climate change. Universities and other institutions are being asked to divest themselves of their fossil fuel–related investments. In this article I argue that, while the case for divestment is morally strong, not all of the arguments used to support divestment are equally strong. Moreover, which of these arguments is employed matters a great deal for the strength of the conclusions regarding divestment. There are two major groups of arguments: what I call positive arguments for divestment, which stem from the claim that divestment is a response to general duties to take action to prevent dangerous climate change, and what I call negative arguments, which stem from a duty not to cause harm. In this article I will briefly characterize what divestment means and to whom it applies. I will then look at negative and positive duty accounts of the duty to divest before looking at the standard objections to both. Objections have tended to cohere around the claims that divesting is inconsistent, useless and/or harmful, or should be abandoned for better options to avoid dangerous climate change.     

Rapid economic development in Singapore and the future of the PAP

The economic development of Singapore has been such that it is frequently cited as a model for capitalist development. One of the most striking features of the Singapore development process has been its distributional consequences. Rapid economic growth has produced remarkably equitable outcomes and the average Singaporean has had little cause for complaint — or at least until recently. This article examines the latest trends with respect to inequality in Singapore, and attempts some assessment of the policy responses and the potential for social instability.