Private Schools and the Parents that Choose Them: Empirical Evidence from the Danish School Voucher System

Research on the effect of school choice on student performance has generally been based on small-scale experiments or comparisons of Catholic and public schools in the United States. Recent studies indicate, however, that the market competition stemming from school vouchers does not affect all private schools equally. This study makes use of individual-level register data on the performance of more than 30,000 students in Denmark, where private schools have been voucher-financed for more than 100 years, while public schools are governed and financed by the politico-administrative system. Using an instrumental variable model to exclude selection effects, the results show no significant average effect of private schooling on final examination scores. However, a multilevel model shows that private schools of high socio-economic status perform better than similar public schools, while private schools of low socio-economic status under-perform – even for individual students with high socio-economic status. This indicates that the institutional setting of a voucher system is not enough to raise educational performance in general, arguably because some parents choose schools on the basis of non-academic criteria.     

Democracy as a Latent Variable

We apply formal, statistical measurement models to the Polity indicators, used widely in studies of international relations to measure democracy. In so doing, we make explicit the hitherto implicit assumptions underlying scales built using the Polity indicators. Modeling democracy as a latent variable allows us to assess the "noise" (measurement error) in the resulting measure. We show that this measurement error is considerable and has substantive consequences when using a measure of democracy as an independent variable in cross-national statistical analyses. Our analysis suggests that skepticism as to the precision of the Polity democracy scale is well founded and that many researchers have been overly sanguine about the properties of the Polity democracy scale in applied statistical work.     

Two-Level Security Management and the Prospects for New Democracies: A Simulation Analysis

Most new democracies face serious internal, ethnic/separatist conflicts; in addition, some face international threats. The literature on the growth of democracy in the global system and its impact on world politics does not fully account for the dual threats all states must address in managing their security. Based on theoretical work by Starr (1994) which describes the "common logic" of conflict processes in war and revolution, we outline a model of how states respond to security threats from both external and internal sources. Using computer simulation, we analyze the model and evaluate the relative importance for state security of factors such as system size, numbers of democracies in the system, extraction/allocation strategy pursued by new democracies, and government legitimacy level. Our results show that new democracies thrive in systems that are predominantly democratic. Also, ally support can provide crucial resources for new democracies facing internal threats. Finally, "endangered" democracies can recover security by attempting to buy off domestic threats rather than deter them, and by improving legitimacy.     

A Cannabis sativa STR Genotype Database for Australian Seizures: Forensic Applications and Limitations*

Abstract: A genetic database was established with the aim of documenting the genetic diversity of Cannabis sativa in Australia for future utilization in forensic investigations. The database consisted of genotypes at 10 validated short tandem repeat loci for 510 plants representing drug seizures from across Australia and 57 fiber samples. A total of 106 alleles and 314 different genotypes were detected. All fiber samples exhibited unique genotypes while 55% of the drug samples shared a genotype with one or more samples. Shared genotypes were mostly found within seizures; however, some genotypes were found among seizures. Statistical analysis indicated that genotype sharing was a consequence of clonal propagation rather than a lack of genetic resolution. Thus, the finding of shared genotypes among seizures is likely due to either a common supplier, or direct links among seizures. Notwithstanding the potential intelligence information provided by genetic analysis of C. sativa, our database analysis also reveals some present limitations.     

A Grass Molecular Identification System for Forensic Botany: A Critical Evaluation of the Strengths and Limitations*

Abstract: Plant material is frequently encountered in criminal investigations but often overlooked as potential evidence. We designed a DNA‐based molecular identification system for 100 Australian grasses that consisted of a series of polymerase chain reaction assays that enabled the progressive identification of grasses to different taxonomic levels. The identification system was based on DNA sequence variation at four chloroplast and two mitochondrial loci. Seventeen informative indels and 68 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms were utilized as molecular markers for subfamily to species‐level identification. To identify an unknown sample to subfamily level required a minimum of four markers or nine markers for species identification. The accuracy of the system was confirmed by blind tests. We have demonstrated “proof of concept” of a molecular identification system for trace botanical samples. Our evaluation suggests that the adoption of a system that combines this approach with DNA sequencing could assist the morphological identification of grasses found as forensic evidence.     

Population data from the New South Wales Aboriginal Australian sub-population for the profiler plus autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci

It is a requirement that forensic DNA profiling evidence be accompanied by an estimation of its weight, in order that the court can assign an appropriate probative value to it during legal proceedings. There are various models by which this estimation can be made, but each relies on approximations of the allele frequencies in the relevant population. This report provides the results of population genetic analyses at nine autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci for the Aboriginal Australian sub-population of New South Wales, Australia.     

The Europeanisation of International Development Policies: The Case of Central and Eastern European States

This article examines the EU's role in the emergence of international development policy in the 10 member states from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Development policy provides useful insights into policy making as it is a key way that states operationalise their foreign policy. Thus, development policy gives us insights into the foreign policy priorities of the new member states. This article reviews the emergence and elaboration of policy relating to international development in the new member states and explores how far we have witnessed the Europeanisation of development cooperation in CEE states.     

The United States of Amnesia: US foreign policy and the recurrence of innocence

This article interrogates the ways in which the United States ‘forgets’ the consequences and effects of its foreign policy in the making of its identity. In particular, the article argues that such forgetting enables the United States government to frame its interventions in world affairs as innocent and morally driven. Literature on collective memory and the forgetting that enables the production of such memory informs one element of the argument. Three contemporary films from the amnesia genre are analysed to provide insights into the kind of American identity forged in the acts of remembering and forgetting, illustrating the argument that remembering and forgetting are complex, voluntary and at times mendacious processes. The article concludes with the observation that the processes of forgetting past action when framing the context of new interventions make the United States a dangerous force in global affairs.     

Suicide by Intentional Air embolism

Venous air embolism occurs when air enters the venous system. The main causes of venous air embolism include medical procedures, neck and head trauma, and injuries of the genitals. Self‐induced suicidal (and intentional) air embolism is extremely rare. The authors report a rare case of a suicidal air embolism committed using a self‐made tool composed of a plastic bottle and an infusion set, injecting nearly 2000 mL of air into the cubital vein. The toxicological analysis suggested that midazolam, together with air, was also injected into the circulation using the same bottle and infusion set.