Religion and Euroscepticism: Direct,Indirect or No Effects?

Taking as starting points the (growing) political significance of religion and increasing scepticism towards European integration, this study sets out to investigate the impact of religious divides and religiosity on attitudes towards the EU, both on the micro and on the macro level. In addition to considering direct effects, it focuses on the mediated nature of relationships between religion and Euroscepticism through immigration attitudes and authoritarian value orientations. Drawing on data from the 2006 European Social Survey the authors find that individuals' religious attachments have only indirect relevance for explaining Euroscepticism when controlling for immigration attitudes and value orientations. Religious context, however, does contribute to explanatory models of Euroscepticism, with citizens of Protestant countries being more Eurosceptic than those in religiously mixed or in Catholic countries. The authors furthermore show that both authoritarianism and anti-immigration attitudes are to some degree influenced by individuals' denomination and level of religiosity and in turn predict Euroscepticism. Yet, even indirect effects of religion on Euroscepticism are small or appear to cancel each other out. The article concludes that religion on the micro level is largely irrelevant for explaining Euroscepticism, whereas it is an important macro-level explanatory variable.     

Evaluation Processes,Local Cadres' Behaviour and Local Development Processes

This study investigates the impact of political evaluations on the behaviour of leading county and township cadres in rural China. The article is structured in two parts. In the first section the institutional foundations of the evaluation system for local administrations in rural China will be introduced. The section will conclude with a brief overview of policy reforms initiated by the centre to tackle some of the perceived shortcomings of the present system. The second part of this article will feature the behavioural responses of local cadres to evaluations as identified in our field research interviews and secondary literature. It becomes obvious that the performance evaluation system and its targets have become an important point of orientation for local cadres—although there are important variations among different groups of officials. Finally, in the conclusion the argument for an alternative perspective on performance evaluations in the context of rural China will be developed: on the one side a channel for specialised political communication, steering cadres' behaviour and promoting an incentive system; on the other side a trigger to a multitude of social responses of leading local cadres. In the end these social responses might have more influence on cadre behaviour than the incentives embodied in the evaluations themselves.     

Data for Y-chromosome haplotypes in Fang and Bubi populations from Bioko (Equatorial Guinea)

Haplotype frequencies for 16 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (DYS456, DYS389I, DYS390, DYS389II, DYS458, DYS19, DYS385a/b, DYS393, DYS391, DYS439, DYS635, DYS392, Y GATA H4, DYS437, DYS438 and DYS448) loci, included in the AmpFLSTR Yfiler PCR Amplification Kit, were analysed in 110 Fang and 133 Bubi individuals from Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. The diversity was higher in Fang population, probably since they were originally from the mainland, with which they maintain tribal village and family links, and to which they travel frequently. Comparisons were made with previously published haplotype data on European and African populations, and significant differences were found between them.     

Allele frequencies and population data for 17 Y-STR loci (AmpFlSTR Y-filer) in a Northern Portuguese population sample

Allele frequencies and population data for 17 Y-STR loci included in a new commercial kit that has recently been available, the AmpFlSTR Y-filer PCR amplification kit (Applied Biosystems), that permits the simultaneous amplification of all the markers included in the actually used European "extended haplotype", DYS19, DYS189I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385I/II, DYS438, DYS439 and also DYS437, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635 and Y GATA H4, were obtained from a sample of 175 healthy unrelated males and 45 father-son pairs from the North of Portugal. A total of 171 haplotypes were identified, of which 167 were unique and 4 were found in 2 individuals. The haplotype diversity (99.97%) and discrimination capacity (95.43%) were calculated. We report some non-standard situations, such as allele duplications and mutations. We also report a case of disputed paternity in which duplicated alleles plus an inconsistency of the transmitted alleles appeared.     

Detecting Domestic Violence: Spanish External Validation of the Index of Spouse Abuse

The aims of the study were to assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA), and to validate it against external criteria of intimate partner violence. The Spanish version of the ISA was administered to 223 non-abused women and 182 victims of intimate partner violence. Internal consistency coefficients oscillated between 0.88 and 0.98. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis failed to replicate the original two-factor structure. Using Exploratory Factor Analysis, a two-factor solution was found: physical (ISA-P) and non-physical (ISA-NP), but the items included in each factor were slightly different from the original two subscales. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed an AUC value for the ISA global score of 0.99 (95% CI: 0.98–0.99), with the optimal cut-off of 12 for detecting intimate partner violence. The Spanish version of the ISA is a valid instrument for detecting intimate partner violence in a female population.     

Commercial‐in‐Confidence: An Obituary to Transparency?

This article addresses the issue of accountability and transparency in relation to the use of commercial-in-confidence clauses to withhold information. The issue is contentious. On the one hand some like the Senate Finance and Public Administration Reference Committee (SFPARC) argue that: 'Put simply there can be no accountability if there is no information' (SFPARC 2000).
On the other hand, an alternative view is: 'I think that the sanctity of contract ... [is] a fundamental pillar of our legal system, and if private businesses enter into contracts with governments that specify confidentiality, then that ought to be respected' (Paterson 1999).
This paper is an abridged version of a keynote address to CPA Australia (Queensland Division) Audit Intensive Day 2000, Brisbane Hilton, 10 November 2000.     

Incomplete Contracts, Intellectual Property and Institutional Complementarities

In the New Property Rights model ownership of assets should be assigned to the most capable agents. While, in a world of incomplete contracts, the application of the model to IPRs provides insights on the nature of their second best allocation, suggesting a direction of causation going from technology to property rights, also the opposite direction of causation may arise: owners of IPRs tend to develop more capabilities in the production of new IPRs. For some firms and countries, a virtuous complementarity between the development of IPRs and skills arises. For others, the disincentive effect of the exclusion from intellectual property has more damaging consequences than the lack of access to material capital.