Electoral balancing,divided government and ‘midterm’ loss in German elections

This paper takes a fresh look at the midterm loss in German elections and argues that government type is a crucial determinant of midterm loss. Using panel regressions on a newly compiled data set covering all state elections during the period 1949–2004, we find that systematic midterm losses occur only when both chambers of the federal legislature (Bundestag and Bundesrat) are controlled by one party or a party coalition. Prior research has failed to discover this important regularity. These findings lend strong support to electoral balancing models while calling into doubt more traditional explanations of midterm loss.     

The extension of territorial waters

The oceans once belonged to everyone and to no one. Freedom of the seas served the world well for ages. But this anarchic principle is now hopelessly inadequate given the present environmental crisis involving massive water pollution and widespread extinction of marine species. The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea （UNCLOS） is all bark and no bite. Other international organizations are similarly ineffective including the International Whaling Commission, International Maritime Organization, and the International Seabed Authority. And regional bodies such as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and the Antarctic Treaty System are not much better. So, at least temporarily, it is up to coastal nations to police the waters of the world. The United States, as a superpower, should lead the way. The unilateral extension of U.S. territorial waters will enhance the prospects not only for environmental protection but also economic development and national security. It will also encourage other nations to do the same.     

Tim Cook: A Remembrance

Sparse literature exists on the topic of intimacy appeals in political advertising, so in this study Horton and Wohl's para-social theory was applied to explain the “relationship” in Israel between television performers (politicians) and spectators (voters) through the intimacy concept. Altogether, 442 political ads from two Israeli election campaigns (1996 and 1999) were analyzed to test three hypotheses on the use of intimacy appeals across campaigns and political parties. The intimacy appeal measure consisted of five intimacy techniques and was thus characterized as a macro-level variable. These techniques appear in the codebook as five questions that examine whether the spots present words of intimacy, intimate situations, families of politicians, nonverbal expressions, and children. The results indicate that intimacy appeals in political spots are quite popular. Religious and left-leaning parties tended to use intimacy appeals significantly more than nonreligious and right-leaning parties. We conclude that politicians indeed use the same intimacy strategies and techniques as other television performers do; therefore, para-social theory accords with the concept of intimacy in political advertising as much as in other communication settings.     

The political consequences of transitions out of marriage in Great Britain

This article uses British Household Panel Survey data to estimate the effects of divorce and widowhood on political attitudes and political behavior. In contrast to previous research, which mostly relied on cross-sectional data, a matched propensity score analysis does not find any effects of transitions out of marriage on policy preferences, party identification, or vote choice. The results also show that divorce (but not widowhood) substantially reduces electoral participation. Some preliminary evidence suggests that this effect of divorce on turnout is partially attributable to the increased residential mobility that accompanies divorce.     

Techniques for fingerprint recovery on vegetable and fruit surfaces used in Slovenia — A preliminary study

An examination was conducted to investigate whether certain dactyloscopic powders and reagents can recover latent fingerprints on vegetable and fruit surfaces (apple, banana, tomato and potato). Two fingerprint powders, Swedish Soot powder mixture (Swedish Black), Silver Special powder and cyanoacrylate fuming (CA), were investigated. The results have shown that detection with Swedish blackpowder is the most suitable procedure as the percentage finger marks which were of adequate quality for further examination, was higher than with any other technique examined.     

The GATS and financial services: the role of regulatory transparency

The World Trade Organization (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and its Annex on Financial Services provide the international legal framework for the regulation of cross-border trade in financial services. This paper analyses the main provisions of the GATS that relate to regulatory transparency of trade in financial services. The GATS generally provides a flexible framework for states to negotiate liberalisation commitments while providing WTO members with autonomy to promote their regulatory objectives. The extent to which states, however, must adhere to GATS disciplines regarding transparent regulatory practices has become a source of policy debate. Although the WTO has played no role in setting financial regulatory standards, the transparency obligations of the GATS have important implications for how financial regulators can achieve their objectives. Moreover, GATS transparency obligations can potentially create disproportionate administrative costs for developing countries and thus undermine their financial sector development. The paper argues that the principles of regulatory transparency in the GATS should be interpreted in a way that favours regulatory discretion to achieve financial stability and other prudential objectives. In the post-Doha era, WTO members should attempt to clarify GATS transparency obligations in a way that promotes financial development and regulatory autonomy.