Domestic Reform in sub-Saharan African Governments under International Influence

Books reviewed:
Ladipo Adamolekun, ed. Public Administration in Africa: Main Issues and Selected Country Studies
Joshua Bernard Forrest, Namibia's Post-Apartheid Regional Institutions: The Founding Year     

All Votes are Equal? Significant Legislation and Party Competition in the Danish Folketing

In nearly all studies on legislative party competition, all votes are treated equally. It is argued in this article that the cooperation between parties varies substantively depending on the type of legislation analysed. However, establishing a measure of the relative significance of votes has challenged legislative studies for decades. A novel measure for legislative significance is therefore proposed: length of debate. Using parliamentary votes from 23 legislative periods in the Danish parliament from 1953 to 2003 and debate length as measurement for bill significance, analyses are presented that focus on between‐party voting patterns on significant and non‐significant legislation and the presence, extent and features of legislative cartels is discussed. The results suggest that looking only at significant legislation reveals more clearly the legislative cartels within the legislature. These findings challenge the traditional assumption of treating parliamentary votes equally, and they allow for a better understanding of legislative cartels in the Folketing.     

Old and New Forms of Civic Engagement

Maxwell A. Cameron, Eric Hershberg, and Kenneth E. Sharpe, eds., New Institutions for Participatory Democracy in Latin America: Voice and Consequence. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Tables, figures, bibliography, index, 263 pp.; hardcover $100, paperback $30. Jean‐Paul Faguet, Decentralization and Popular Democracy: Governance from Below in Bolivia. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2012. Maps, tables, figures, bibliography, index, 372 pp.; hardcover $85, paperback $35, e‐book $35. Sharon F. Lean, Civil Society and Electoral Accountability in Latin America. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Tables, figures, bibliography, index, 197 pp.; hardcover $95; ebook. Eduardo Silva, ed., Transnational Activism and National Movements in Latin America: Bridging the Divide. New York: Routledge, 2013. Tables, figures, bibliography, index, 212 pp.; hardcover $140, paperback $42.95. Guillermo Trejo, Popular Movements in Autocracies: Religion, Repression, and Indigenous Collective Action in Mexico. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Maps, tables, figures, bibliography, index, 339 pp.; hardcover $109.99, paperback $27.99, e‐book $22.     

The Effect of Image Quality and Forensic Expertise in Facial Image Comparisons

Images of perpetrators in surveillance video footage are often used as evidence in court. In this study, identification accuracy was compared for forensic experts and untrained persons in facial image comparisons as well as the impact of image quality. Participants viewed thirty image pairs and were asked to rate the level of support garnered from their observations for concluding whether or not the two images showed the same person. Forensic experts reached their conclusions with significantly fewer errors than did untrained participants. They were also better than novices at determining when two high‐quality images depicted the same person. Notably, lower image quality led to more careful conclusions by experts, but not for untrained participants. In summary, the untrained participants had more false negatives and false positives than experts, which in the latter case could lead to a higher risk of an innocent person being convicted for an untrained witness.     

Ontogeny of Size and Shape Sexual Dimorphism in the Pubis: A Multislice Computed Tomography Study by Geometric Morphometry

Few studies have been conducted to determine sex differences in the immature coxal bone and the results were often contradictory. The authors studied sexual dimorphic differences of the pubis using geometric morphometric analysis of five osteometric landmarks recorded by multislice computed tomography (MSCT), based on three‐dimensional reconstructions of 188 children (95 boys, 93 girls) living in the region of Toulouse, southwestern France, ranging in age from 1 to 18 years old. They used geometric morphometric methodology first to test sexual dimorphism in size (centroid size) and shape (Procrustes residuals) and second to examine patterns of shape change with age (development) and size change with age (growth). Based on statistical significance test results, the pubic shape became sexually dimorphic at 13 years old, although visible shape differences were observed as early as 9 years old. This work showed that the trajectories of pubis shape (development) and size (growth) differed throughout ontogeny and between sexes.     

Determination of Herbicides Paraquat,Glyphosate, and Aminomethylphosphonic Acid in Marijuana Samples by Capillary Electrophoresis

In this work, two methods were developed to determine herbicides paraquat, glyphosate, and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in marijuana samples by capillary electrophoresis. For paraquat analysis, sample was extracted with aqueous acetic acid solution and analyzed by capillary zone electrophoresis with direct UV detection. The running electrolyte was 50 mmol/L phosphate buffer (pH 2.50). For glyphosate and AMPA, indirect UV/VIS detection was used, as these substances do not present chromophoric groups. Samples were extracted with 5 mmol/L hydrochloric acid. The running electrolyte was 10 mmol/L gallic acid, 6 mmol/L TRIS, and 0.1 mmol/L CTAB (pH = 4.7). The methods presented good linearity, precision, accuracy, and recovery. Paraquat was detected in 12 samples (n = 130), ranging from 0.01 to 25.1 mg/g. Three samples were positive for glyphosate (0.15–0.75 mg/g), and one sample presented AMPA as well. Experimental studies are suggested to evaluate the risks of these concentrations to marijuana user.