Economic crisis and elections: The European periphery

This paper introduces the articles in the symposium which address the issue of democratic accountability and economic voting in polities on the European periphery. The economic crisis that hit the world economy in 2008 has severely challenged the capacity of governments to steer the national economy and has had a strong impact on their electoral support. The papers discuss whether economic voting and democratic accountability are increasing or, on the other hand, they could be depressed by globalisation and by shifts of ruling competence from the national to the supranational European arena.     

The integration hypothesis: How the European Union shapes economic voting

Whereas economic perceptions influence the national vote in Western European countries, globalization, or international openness, conditions the influence of economic perceptions on that national vote. But how do attitudes toward the EU itself influence the economic vote? After establishing the presence of a national economic vote in Southern Europe (Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal) we test the hypothesis that heightened perception of European Union economic responsibility reduces the magnitude of the national economic vote coefficient. These tests are carried out on current (2009) survey data, via logistic regression analysis of fully specified voting behavior models, estimated country-by-country and in a data pool. Clearly, the national economic vote diminishes, to the extent the EU is held responsible for the economy.     

Fatalities temporally associated with the ingestion of ibogaine

Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive plant alkaloid that is used globally in medical and nonmedical settings for opioid detoxification and other substance use indications. All available autopsy, toxicological, and investigative reports were systematically reviewed for the consecutive series of all known fatalities outside of West Central Africa temporally related to the use of ibogaine from 1990 through 2008. Nineteen individuals (15 men, four women between 24 and 54 years old) are known to have died within 1.5-76 h of taking ibogaine. The clinical and postmortem evidence did not suggest a characteristic syndrome of neurotoxicity. Advanced preexisting medical comorbidities, which were mainly cardiovascular, and/or one or more commonly abused substances explained or contributed to the death in 12 of the 14 cases for which adequate postmortem data were available. Other apparent risk factors include seizures associated with withdrawal from alcohol and benzodiazepines and the uninformed use of ethnopharmacological forms of ibogaine.     

Palynological Investigation of Mummified Human Remains

Pollen analysis was applied to a mummified homicide victim in Nebraska, U.S.A., to determine the location of death. A control sample showed the normal ambient pollen in the garage crime scene. Ambient windborne types, common in the air of the region, dominated the control. Internal samples were analyzed from the sacrum, intestine, and diaphragm. Microfossils were recovered from the rehydrated intestine lumen. The intestinal sample was dominated by Brassica (broccoli). The sacrum sample was high in dietary types but with a showing of ambient types. The pollen from the diaphragm was dominated by ambient pollen similar to the control samples. The discovery of diverse pollen spectra from within a single mummy was unexpected. They show that ingested and inhaled pollen mixed in the corpse. The data linked the decedent to a specific crime scene in her Nebraska home in the southern tier of eastern counties on the border with Kansas.     

Suicide by cyanide: 17 deaths

We reviewed 17 intentional ingestions of cyanide that occurred in New York City over a ten-year interval. The toxicologic and postmortem findings were reviewed. Certain occupations and nationalities of the decedents predominated among this group of suicides. Scientists, jewelers. and metal workers were common occupations among the decedents. In addition, 8 of 17 fatalities were West Indian/Caribbean Island and South American decedents, including three decedents from Guyana. Fourteen of the 17 fatalities were male. Pink lividity, a "bitter-almond" smell. and a hemorrhagic gastric mucosa were not prevailing findings in these decedents. A color test was used for screening for cyanide with confirmation and quantitation using gas chromatography.     

Ecstasy (MDMA) deaths in New York City: a case series and review of the literature

MDMA ("ecstasy") has gained renewed popularity as a drug of abuse. To access the epidemiology and causes of death of MDMA-positive fatalities, all deaths investigated by the OCME that tested positive for MDMA (22 deaths) between January 1997 and June 2000 were reviewed. There were three deaths in each 1997 and 1998, eleven in 1999, and five in the first part of 2000. Of these 22 deaths, 13 were due to acute drug intoxications, 7 due to mechanical injury (blunt trauma, gunshot wounds), and 2 due to a combination of natural disease and acute drug intoxication. Evidence of recent opiate and/or cocaine use was found in 7 of the acute intoxication deaths and in none of the traumatic or combination natural/intoxication deaths. The race of all decedents was White between the ages of 17-41 years, and 18 of 22 were men.     

The happy land homicides: 87 deaths due to smoke inhalation

We reviewed all 87 deaths from the Happy Land Social Club fire. All deaths were due to smoke inhalation. The carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) concentrations ranged from 37 to 93% with a mean of 76.5%. The vast majority (97%) of the decedents had a COHb concentration over 50%. Cyanide blood concentrations ranged from 0 to 5.5 mg/L with a mean of 2.2 mg/L. Nine decedents had no cyanide detected, and seven had cyanide concentrations of less than 1 mg/L. Fewer than one third of the decedents had thermal injuries, and most were partial thickness burns involving less than 20% body surface area. Ethanol was detected in 72% of decedents with a range of 0.01 to 0.29 g% and a mean blood concentration of 0.11 g%. Cocaine or cannabinoid use was identified in 9% of the decedents. All decedents were visually identified, and all had soot in the airway extending to the major bronchi. Carboxyhemoglobin concentrations corresponded well with deaths from smoke inhalation. Cyanide concentrations did not correspond with the extent of smoke inhalation, and the role of cyanide in contributing to these deaths is doubtful. Hydrogen chloride inhalation, as evidenced by comparison of the pH of tracheal mucosa to controls, was not a factor.     

Charitable giving and the future of NGOs in Russia: what can we learn from individual data?

This study seeks to discuss the survivability of charitable nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Russia without foreign funding. We use cross-sectional data from a quantitative household survey conducted in April 2016 to investigate common giving patterns of Russians. We find that Russians prefer to give directly to people in need rather than to NGOs; the donations are small, spontaneous, and irregular; they are mainly targeted to supporting the poor and the sick. Involvement in religious activities and higher self-assessed income are two factors that contribute most to the probability of donating. Educated and younger donors are more likely to donate to NGOs compared to donating to particular people/families. The study suggests that private donations to NGOs will decline if no changes in public policy are made. NGOs supporting education, environment, culture, or civil organizations seem to be worst hit.     

Bringing the Past Back in: How Attitudes towards the Democratic Transition Influence the Portuguese Voter

Abstract

This article analyses the way in which attitudes towards the transition to democracy explain party identification and ideology in Portugal. This question is important because the transition to democracy in Portugal was a turbulent process marked by a rupture with the past and institutional fluidity. It has also conditioned the main political parties’ relationships with the electorate and each other since 1974. I compare the same explanatory model results from two surveys, conducted in 2004 and 2014, respectively, to understand the extent to which perceptions about the transition help characterise the Portuguese voter over the last decade.