Social Media and the 2014 Elections in Fiji

Abstract

After seven and half years Fiji returned to parliamentary democracy with elections on 17 September 2014. For the first time there was a ‘one’-day election, with the results confirmed a few days later. Reactions to the election results were swift, thanks to the media, particularly social media. While reactions to such events have often been sought from or dominated by political commentators and academics, a new trend emerged in post-election Fiji. Ordinary people through social media were actively participating in this process, extending conversations beyond their immediate family and community environments. Social media has been touted as a valuable tool for public participation. In Fiji the infancy of social media raises questions regarding whether it facilitates public participation and engagement, whether it has a place in Fiji’s new democracy and if it does, how it affects public discourse that, since December 2006, has been one-dimensional.     

Determination of Sex: Interest of Frontal Sinus 3D Reconstructions

Frontal sinuses (FSs) have been studied in radiology, anthropology, and forensic anthropology. This study aimed to determine whether it was possible to predict the age and sex of an individual using FS volume. Sixty‐nine anonymized CT scans were imported to MIMICS 10.01^® software (Materialise N.V.), and each FS volume was calculated in mm³. There was an absence of significant difference between right and left FS volume (p = 0.173) and an absence of correlation between age and FS volume (Pearson's test; p = 0.705). Sexual dimorphism was significantly different (p = 0.001). However, the most discriminant datum for determining sex was found to be the total FS volume (sum of an individual's right and left FS volumes) with linear discriminant Fisher's function coefficients of ?2.759 for the male group and ?1.275 for the female group. With this model, 72.5% of our sample was correctly classified according to sex.     

The Analysis of Colored Acrylic,Cotton, and Wool Textile Fibers Using Micro‐Raman Spectroscopy. Part 2: Comparison with the Traditional Methods of Fiber Examination

In the second part of this survey, the ability of micro‐Raman spectroscopy to discriminate 180 fiber samples of blue, black, and red cottons, wools, and acrylics was compared to that gathered with the traditional methods for the examination of textile fibers in a forensic context (including light microscopy methods, UV‐vis microspectrophotometry and thin‐layer chromatography). This study shows that the Raman technique plays a complementary and useful role to obtain further discriminations after the application of light microscopy methods and UV‐vis microspectrophotometry and assure the nondestructive nature of the analytical sequence. These additional discriminations were observed despite the lower discriminating powers of Raman data considered individually, compared to those of light microscopy and UV‐vis MSP. This study also confirms that an instrument equipped with several laser lines is necessary for an efficient use as applied to the examination of textile fibers in a forensic setting.     

How Authoritarianism Intensifies Punctuated Equilibrium: The Dynamics of Policy Attention in Hong Kong

The punctuated equilibrium theory contends that government attention allocation is universally leptokurtic in that long periods of stability are punctuated by bursts of rapid and radical change; the empirical evidence in support of this claim is however exclusively drawn from democratic systems. The absence of electoral politics and institutional decentralization in authoritarian regimes could presumably affect institutional friction; whether and how this might pose as a qualification to the thesis is of major interest. By analyzing four streams of government actions in Hong Kong from 1946 to 2007 straddling the colonial and postcolonial regimes, we have found that government processes are generally leptokurtic even under authoritarian regime institutions, with the degree of the dispersion of decision‐making power across the streams of actions affecting the magnitude of punctuation. We have also found that punctuation was greater when the political system was more centralized but declined as the political system democratized.     

Labouring in the Shadow of the British Political Tradition: The Dilemma of ‘One Nation’ Politics in an Age of Disunification

The British state is in flux and the Labour party is struggling to shape an effective response to the politics of disunification. This article reflects on the nature of Labour's governing project and its conception of modern statecraft which has evolved since the party became a serious contender for power in the aftermath of the First World War. We argue that Labour's initially pluralising instincts cultivated in opposition have been checked by the ongoing reality of a state‐centric mode of governing, in which the party continued to robustly defend the Westminster model operating within the parameters established by the British Political Tradition (BPT). Ed Miliband's conception of ‘One Nation’ Labour threatens to reinforce this historical pattern of reversion to the Westminster model, at precisely the moment when devolutionary forces are destabilising the existing political settlement. To break out of this impasse, Labour must look elsewhere in its ideological lexicon for inspiration, chiefly to the tradition of socialist pluralism and associationalism.     

The Mediterranean and the Global Sustainable Development Goals

Are global development initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals (agreed in September 2015) in any way relevant to a crisis-ridden region such as the Mediterranean? The SDGs are much more expansive than the MDGs; they cover a range of socio-economic and political issues, which certainly are of acute relevance to the Mediterranean. It is noteworthy that states from the region were not strongly involved in the formulation of the SDGs. Pan-regional institutions such as the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) could derive a new lease of life from leading efforts to implement them (in particular goals related to the environment, energy, water and infrastructure). However, the UfM remains a weak institution. There are commonalities between the EU’s development policy and the SDG norms, but there are also many elements of EU economic policy that diverge sharply from the global ideals. The SDGs are an effort at global norm promotion which are unlikely to affect much of the Mediterranean, at least while the conflicts continue.     

Human Identification Using Automatic and Semi‐Automatically Detected Facial Marks

Continuing advancements in the field of digital cameras and surveillance imaging devices have led law enforcement and intelligence agencies to use analysis of images and videos for the investigation and prosecution of crime. When determining identity from photographic evidence, forensic analysts perform comparison of visible facial features manually, which is inefficient. In this study, we will address research efforts to use facial marks as biometric signatures to distinguish between individuals. We propose two systems to assist forensic analysts during photographic comparison: an improved multiscale facial mark system in which facial marks are detected automatically, and a semi‐automatic facial mark system that integrates human knowledge within the improved multiscale facial mark system. Experiment results employ a high‐resolution time‐elapsed dataset acquired at the University of Notre Dame between 2009 and 2011. The results indicate that the geometric distributions of facial mark patterns can be used to distinguish between individuals.     

Smartphone Image Acquisition During Postmortem Monocular Indirect Ophthalmoscopy

The medical usefulness of smartphones continues to evolve as third‐party applications exploit and expand on the smartphones’ interface and capabilities. This technical report describes smartphone still‐image capture techniques and video‐sequence recording capabilities during postmortem monocular indirect ophthalmoscopy. Using these devices and techniques, practitioners can create photographic documentation of fundal findings, clinically and at autopsy, without the expense of a retinal camera. Smartphone image acquisition of fundal abnormalities can promote ophthalmological telemedicine—especially in regions or countries with limited resources—and facilitate prompt, accurate, and unbiased documentation of retinal hemorrhages in infants and young children.     

The Scary World of Online News? Internet News Exposure and Public Attitudes Toward Crime and Justice

Objectives

A substantial body of literature indicates that certain forms of media consumption may increase anxiety about crime and support for social controls. However, few studies have examined whether Internet news consumption is positively associated with such attitudes. The void is significant given the public’s increasing use of online news sources. This study addresses this research gap.

Methods

We draw on data from four national surveys conducted between 2007 and 2013, which collectively include interviews with more than 13,000 Americans. Using OLS and logistic regression, we assess the relationships between exposure to traditional and online media and perceptions of victimization risk, support for punitive crime policies, and views about police powers.

Results

Consistent with prior work, we find positive relationships between exposure to traditional forms of media—television news and crime programming—and anxiety about victimization and support for harsh crime policies. In contrast, Internet news exposure is generally not associated with anxieties about crime or support for getting tough on criminals. However, there is evidence of an interactive relationship between political ideology and Internet news exposure.

Conclusions

The results provide little support for cultivation theory in the context of Internet news consumption. We discuss the import of our findings, and suggest new lines of research to explore the correlates and the effects of exposure to online news sources.