Using threshold models to explain international relations

The outcome of political opposition or revolution is a public good, which suggests that free riding will diminish the effectiveness of these forms of collective action. The private gains from contributing to collective goals are increased, however, if individuals place some value on ideological conformity or group identity. Nevertheless, some external stimulus is often needed to set in motion a tendency toward social motivation that is strong enough to outweigh the free rider incentive. This paper investigates the extent to which international pressure and demonstration effects can serve to signal support for the objectives of domestic groups in a target country and thereby mobilize collective action in pursuit of their goals. It is of interest to know not only the extent to which inherent barriers to effective collective action are overcome by outside support, but also to show how foreign economic policy can have an impact on political processes in the target country even when that policy itself has minimal economic effects.     

Not anonymous: ministerial responsibility and the British accounting officers

Abstract: The doctrine of ministerial responsibility has three components: the collective responsibility of the cabinet; the individual responsibility of ministers; and the anonymity of the public servants. This paper examines one important exception to the doctrine of anonymity, the British accounting officers. These officers, normally the permanent secretaries (equivalent to deputy ministers), are responsible for the financial administration of departments and are held accountable for this by the Public Accounts Committee. A similar practice was proposed for Canada by the Lambert Commission but was rejected by the government, especially by the Privy Council Office. This paper argues that the pco did not adequately represent the structure or importance of the British practice of assigning direct responsibility to accounting officers and in so doing has foreclosed serious consideration of an important area of reform to the machinery of government: identification of areas of government where public servants rather than ministers should hold responsibility and accountability. As a result, Canada has lagged behind other parliamentary democracies in moving into this important area of reform. At the same time, the theory that ministers should be responsible for administration has not led to effective accountability to Parliament in Canada. Sommaire: La doctrine de la responsabilité ministérielle a trois volets: la responsabilité collective du conseil des ministres; la responsabilité individuelle des ministres; enfin, l'anonymité des fonctionnaires. Dans cet article, on examine une exception importante à la doctrine de l'anonymité: les agents comptables britanniques. Ces agents, généralement des secrétaires permanents (équivalant aux sous-ministres), sont chargés de l'administration financière des ministères et en sont tenus responsables par le Comité des comptes publics. Une pratique semblable, proposée pour le Canada par la Commission Lambert, a été rejetée par le gouvernement, et tout particulièrementpar le Bureau du Conseil Privé. Dans cet article, on affirme que le BCP n'a pas représenté de manière adéquate la structure ou l'importance de la pratique britannique qui revient à accorder la responsabilité directe aux agents comptables; ce faisant, il aurait empěché de considérer un élément important de la réforme du mécanisme gouvernemental, c'est-à-dire l'étude des domaines administratifs où la responsabilité devrait incomber aux fonctionnaires plutǒt qu'aux ministres. Par conséquent, le Canada a pris du retard par rapport aux autres démocraties pralementaires en ce qui concerne ce secteur de réforme très important. par contre, la théorie voulant que les ministres soient responsables de l'administration n'a pas créé, au Canada, une responsabilité de révision de comptes efficace au sein du Parlement.     

THE LEGITIMACY OF RACE AS VARIABLE IN THE DELIBERATIONS OF INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARDS

This paper investigates the issue of race as a variable in research ethics and the extent to which it is morally appropriate to regard the race of research subjects as a relevant factor for research outcomes. The author analyses the challenges posed to deliberation in Institutional Review Boards （IRB ＇s） on this matter. The first part of the paper consists of a conceptual analysis of the notion of deliberation, drawing on the work of Elster, Habermas, Rawls, Gambetta and others. Special attention is paid to the dialogical structure of deliberation and the complexities attached to the notion of race, as a social construct. Arguments in favour and against the proposal that race is a valid variable in biomedical research are systematically distinguished. The author comes to the conclusion, based on an extensive literature review, that race sometimes has to be taken into consideration, subject to clearly stated qualifications. In conclusion it is argued that deliberation, especially about such a controversial notion such as race should not be expected to yield definitive truths. The most we can expect is a series of （hopefully） progressive settlements that represent provisional beacons of insight on which we can draw in future conversations. Race represents a field of tension and contestation that will inevitably continue to permeate interpersonal contact and social relations for the foreseeable future.     

Simple laboratory experiments to replicate some of the stresses on vertebro-basilar arterial walls. An investigation of possible mechanisms of traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage

The hypothesis that reversed blood flow in transiently occluded vertebral arteries may be responsible for some cases of massive traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage has been investigated in vitro. Simple laboratory tests were performed on 25 vertebro-basilar arterial systems, and succeeded in producing either longitudinal tears in normally structured vertebral arteries, or tears at the origin of the posterior inferior cerebellar arteries. The results indicated that under such conditions, with systolic blood pressure in the physiological range, reversed blood flow had different characteristics and stressed the arterial wall to the point where it yielded.     

Differentiation of ballpoint pen inks by thermodesorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Differentiation and classification of ink entries with dated samples of a reference collection are important aspects in the examination of questioned documents. Classification of writing inks is presently achieved by analysis of dyes and colorants contained in the ink. This technique has its limitations in newly developed ink formulations with identical dye composition but differing in their solvents and binder resins. This paper introduces a method for the determination of solvents and binder resins of an ink sample directly from paper without sample preparation. This aim is accomplished by thermodesorption of the sample followed by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. The method was tested on numerous samples of ballpoint pen inks, which were subsequently grouped into several solvent and resin subgroups. A case study shows the applicability of the newly developed method.     

Feminisms, Islamophobia and Identities

There has been a tendency of late to conflate all Muslims as belonging to a single nation and aspiring to a single political aim. This effect has been achieved by some authors so as to accommodate Islamophobia, but by others to generate a sense of inclusive unity that encloses all Muslims. We contend that in the post 9/11 climate of Islamophobia women wearing the scarf, the mohajabehs, are making a political choice. They are publicly branding themselves as Muslims at a time when such a label carries the potential fear of making them vulnerable to open hostility. But the Islam that they embody is distinct and different from the stark, gendered divides envisaged by protagonists on both side of the Islamophobic divide. The unity demanded by some of the highly vocal and visible Islamic groups marginalises the contestations posed within these groups by women who may be described as feminists. The specificities demanded by those who envisage Islam primarily as an antagonistic political force in the UK are very different from the flexibility that many women envisage. They aspire to belong to the Umma or people of Islam, conceptualised as crossing ethnic, racial, geographical and political boundaries, an identity that is primarily inclusive rather than exclusive. The multiplicities of identities of many mohajabehs sit more easily within the permeable unbounded umma than the constrained gendered boundaries of the combative male political Islamism.