Implementing the Borda outcome via truncated scoring rules: a computational study

This study is an attempt to empirically understand the likelihood of choosing the Borda outcome through a truncated scoring rule when n voters are asked to report only part of their linear preferences over m alternatives. We run Monte Carlo simulations through a grid search algorithm as we employ an impartial culture model to sample voters’ preferences. Given the range of parameter values we consider, we report the truncated scoring rules that maximize the likelihood of implementing the Borda outcome and how the maximum likelihood changes with m and n. We also present our results on the relative performances of some popular truncated voting rules, such as plurality and approval voting, in implementing the Borda outcome and demonstrate that two-level approval voting performs significantly better than the plurality rule. Moreover, we propose the expected Borda rule as a good proxy for the best implementor of the Borda rule among all truncated rules.     

Is low self-control associated with violence among youths in Turkey?

Self-control theory is tested in relation to violence on a sample of university students in Turkey. The primary findings indicate support for the theory net of the impacts of strain, deterrence, differential association, social bonding, and routine activity theories: The greater the low self-control, the greater the violence. No subdimensions of self-control have consistent significant impacts on violence. Most high-opportunity measures have positive impacts on violence. Interaction effects occur only among subdimensions of self-control and opportunity variables. Social class and age are significant even when low self-control measures were controlled.     

Selective colorimetric determination of TNT partitioned between an alkaline solution and a strongly basic Dowex 1-X8 anion exchanger

The Meisenheimer anions formed from TNT in KOH solutions in alcohol or acetone were used in screening tests for TNT among possible nitro-explosives. The same reaction was used for the spectrophotometric assay of TNT in soil by CRREL (Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory of the U.S. Army) method, also known as Jenkins' method, but the color stability was too dependent on the solution composition and the water tolerance was low, necessitating complete drying of soil samples (which may cause partial analyte decomposition) prior to analysis. This study reports the development of a colorimetric method based on the solid phase extraction (SPE) of the Meisenheimer anion formed from TNT and aqueous NaOH into a strongly basic anion exchange resin Dowex 1-X8 (OH(-) form). The orange-red color that developed both in the solid resin and solution phases was persistent for at least 1h. The resin was let to swell in alcohol, washed first with 1M aqueous NaOH, and then with H(2)O before use. To 5 mL of 4-400 ppm TNT solutions in 1:1 (v/v) acetone-water, 0.5 mL of 5% NaOH was added, diluted to 50 mL with 1:1 acetone-water, and the resulting solutions (containing the orange-red Meisenheimer anion of TNT) were agitated at room temperature with 0.9 g resin for < or =50 min. TNT exhibited a reasonably constant distribution coefficient between the resin and aqueous phases. The absorbance of the filtered solutions was measured against a reagent blank at 500nm. The TNT-loaded resins were regenerated with 1M HCl containing sodium sulfite. The calibration line of filtrate absorbance versus analytical concentration was linear over two orders of magnitude between 0.4 and 40 ppm TNT in final solution. Unlike Jenkins' method, the method was tolerant to 100-fold (by mass) of common soil anions like sulfate, nitrate, and chloride. The basic advantages of the developed colorimetric method over the similar CRREL/Jenkins' method may be summarized as color stability, water and common ion tolerance, lowering of the LOD, and widening of the linear range. As opposed to Jenkins' method, the charge-transfer bands characteristic to colorimetric detection were not obscured by the presence of water. The method is suitable for on-site applications, because the color developed in heterogenous solution was stabilized, and the method can be easily practiced with a portable colorimeter to large numbers of samples.     

Chemical Imaging of Human Fingermark by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a widely used technique to characterize the surface chemistry of materials. It plays a crucial role in accessing qualitative and quantitative information and in detecting the presence of chemical functional groups on the surface of any material. The forensic methods available to detect and identify elements and organic/inorganic compounds are often destructive, so evidence cannot be re-analyzed. However, XPS allows rapid analysis of samples without damaging them. Recently, an increasing number of forensic researchers have begun to study certain chemical information on fingermarks. In this study, the authors aimed to present the applicability and power of XPS imaging in fingermark analysis which can also provide specific information about the fingermark chemical composition. Herein, monochromated X-ray (Al Kα) spot size was fixed at 50 μm. XPS mapping resulted in the acquisition of spectra at each pixel, in an array of 41 × 30 pixels with a step size of 50 μm. Then, a simple discussion has been made about how the scanned surface spectrum and basic snapshot spectra are used to identify different components at a fingertip of a scanned surface area (~3 mm²). Hence, a fingermark pattern contaminated with caffeine, TiO₂, and Pb/PbO deposited on the silicon wafer can be chemically mapped and visualized by XPS using principal component analysis (PCA). Thus, the present study showed the possible applicability of XPS for the identification of illicit drugs of abuse, gunshot residue, and skin care products on latent fingermark by mimicking a crime scene evidence.     

Leviathan resists: the endogenous relationship between privatization and firm performance

Using a panel dataset of privatized cement firms in Turkey, this paper models and finds support for the simultaneous relationship between privatization and firm performance. It is found that favorable short-run performance, weak market potential, higher employment, lower socio-economic development, concentrated voter preferences, and weaker representation of right-wing parties in the firms’ locality delay the timing of privatization. The paper also finds that privatization increases output in the medium-term by reducing the labor stock and promoting the adoption of more advanced technology, such that production shifts from constant to decreasing returns to scale.     

Why Do Peace Negotiations Succeed or Fail? Legal Commitment,Transparency, and Inclusion during Peace Negotiations in Colombia (2012–2016) and Turkey (2012–2015)

This article examines the ways in which the negotiation framework—i.e., the legal guarantees, information management mechanism, and degree of inclusivity in peace negotiations—shapes the likelihood of concluding a peace agreement. Codifying the peace negotiations in law, publicizing information about the content of negotiations, and including mediators and civil society actors in peace talks is likely to increase a government's short‐term costs. However, doing so alleviates the adversaries' information asymmetry and commitment problems, sets guidelines to insure the process against exogenous shocks, and increases the number of actors taking part in conflict management. Comparing the recent peace negotiations to end intrastate wars in Colombia and Turkey, this article argues that a legalized, public, and inclusive framework made a peace agreement possible in Colombia, while the lack of such a framework caused Turkey's peace talks to fail.     

Livestock Production,Rural Poverty,and Perceived Shocks: Evidence from Panel Data for Vietnam

This paper assesses the contribution of livestock to reducing rural poverty and examines the determinants of livestock assets with panel data from Vietnam. The findings show that livestock production contributes to reducing poverty and livestock assets are influenced by the number of shocks that households faced during the last three years, access to credits, farmland size, education of household head, irrigation system, and access to the national electricity. We suggest that empowering rural households to better cope with shocks contributes to developing livestock and consequently to reducing rural poverty.     

European Union civil society support and the depoliticisation of Turkish civil society

Despite growing critical literature on external funding, the link between EU funding to Turkish civil society organisations (CSOs) and their depoliticisation remains understudied. This article fills this gap. This article explores EU funds in Turkey and shows the incentives it creates for a depoliticised civil society. Drawing on an original set of interviews with 45 CSOs, this article analyses how Turkish CSOs interact with EU funding and how this support impacts on Turkish civil society. This article argues that EU funding’s short-term, activity-based, measurable outcome and visibility-oriented structure contributed to the depoliticisation of those CSOs benefited from EU funds.     

Vietnam: riding the Chinese tide

Vietnam's perception of China is nuanced and complex, a mixture of challenge and opportunity. Given its geographic proximity and overwhelming power, China represents a permanent strategic challenge Vietnam cannot escape. However, the two countries are partners in the defence of socialist ideals and communist rule. These circumstances have clearly shaped Vietnam's China policy, which is a mixture of cooperation and struggle. Vietnam's strategy is not about confronting China directly but finding a way to live with and benefit from its power.