Women in government, public corruption, and liberal democracy: a panel analysis

Ever since a 2001 World Bank report, many policymakers have come to accept a gender-based approach to corruption control, which posits that women in government reduce corruption because females are more ethical than males. An alternative explanation asserting the spuriousness of the gender-corruption link suggests that both gender equality and lower corruption result from a functioning liberal democracy. In this study, eight hypotheses are formulated and tested with longitudinal data for 204 countries. Findings demonstrate that neither the level of women in government nor a change in it has any impact on the prevalence and/or short-term trend of corruption. But both the strength of liberal institutions and an increase in this strength predict the prevalence and trend of corruption.     

Application of Micro‐Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to Ink Examination in Signatures Written with Ballpoint Pen on Questioned Documents

Questioned documents examined in a forensic laboratory sometimes contain signatures written with ballpoint pen inks; these signatures were examined to assess the feasibility of micro‐attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as a forensic tool. Micro‐ATR FTIR spectra for signatures written with 63 ballpoint pens available commercially in Korea were obtained and used to construct an FTIR spectral database. A library‐searching program was utilized to identify the manufacturer, blend, and model of each black ballpoint pen ink based upon their FTIR peak intensities, positions, and patterns in the spectral database. This FTIR technique was also successfully used in determining the sequence of homogeneous line intersections from the crossing lines of two ballpoint pen signatures. We have demonstrated with a set of sample documents that micro‐ATR FTIR is a viable nondestructive analytical method that can be used to identify the origin of the ballpoint pen ink used to mark signatures.     

The effects of the IMF on expropriation of foreign firms

This paper seeks to explain the determinants of foreign expropriation in the developing world. We argue that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) helps to reduce the likelihood of nationalization because of the direct leverage the Fund holds over borrowers, especially as expropriation is a blatant violation of international property rights. Using expropriation data from 1961 to 2006, and several different measures for the Fund, we find that countries under IMF agreements are less likely to nationalize foreign firms. We also show that the Fund’s influence is greatest when the IMF loan represents a larger share of the borrower country’s gross domestic product (GDP) as well as in countries with weaker political institutions. The takeaway is that IMF continues to influence policy choices in the developing world.     

Why Japan and Russia have failed to solve the territorial dispute: the 1956 Joint Declaration and the mechanism of political coherence

Despite the several chances of agreement, Japan and Russia have failed to solve the dispute over the Northern Territories/South Kuril Islands. The 1956 model seems to be the most plausible method, but the lack of political coherence of the central politics and the will of negotiation became the factors that hinder the two countries from reaching an agreement. By reviewing the conflicting footprints and strategies of the two countries, the authors argue that the more democratized and diffused a political system is, the more difficult it is to come to an agreement in negotiations. This intensifies the existing theory of foreign policy decision-making process emphasizing the influence of domestic constituents.     

TOF‐SIMS Analysis of Red Color Inks of Writing and Printing Tools on Questioned Documents

Time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF‐SIMS) is a well‐established surface technique that provides both elemental and molecular information from several monolayers of a sample surface while also allowing depth profiling or image mapping to be performed. Static TOF‐SIMS with improved performances has expanded the application of TOF‐SIMS to the study of a variety of organic, polymeric, biological, archaeological, and forensic materials. In forensic investigation, the use of a minimal sample for the analysis is preferable. Although the TOF‐SIMS technique is destructive, the probing beams have microsized diameters so that only small portion of the questioned sample is necessary for the analysis, leaving the rest available for other analyses. In this study, TOF‐SIMS and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR‐FTIR) were applied to the analysis of several different pen inks, red sealing inks, and printed patterns on paper. The overlapping areas of ballpoint pen writing, red seal stamping, and laser printing in a document were investigated to identify the sequence of recording. The sequence relations for various cases were determined from the TOF‐SIMS mapping image and the depth profile. TOF‐SIMS images were also used to investigate numbers or characters altered with two different red pens. TOF‐SIMS was successfully used to determine the sequence of intersecting lines and the forged numbers on the paper.     

Fluorescence Imaging of Posterior Spiracles from Second and Third Instars of Forensically Important Chrysomya rufifacies (Diptera: Calliphoridae),

Entomological protocols for aging blowfly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae to estimate the time of colonization (TOC) are commonly used to assist in death investigations. While the methodologies for analyzing fly larvae differ, most rely on light microscopy, genetic analysis, or, more rarely, electron microscopy. This pilot study sought to improve resolution of larval stage in the forensically important blowfly Chrysomya rufifacies using high‐content fluorescence microscopy and biochemical measures of developmental marker proteins. We established fixation and mounting protocols, defined a set of measurable morphometric criteria and captured developmental transitions of 2nd instar to 3rd instar using both fluorescence microscopy and anti‐ecdysone receptor Western blot analysis. The data show that these instars can be distinguished on the basis of robust, nonbleaching, autofluorescence of larval posterior spiracles. High‐content imaging techniques using confocal microscopy, combined with morphometric and biochemical techniques, may therefore aid forensic entomologists in estimating TOC.     

Dual-System Families: Cash Assistance Sequences of Households Involved With Child Welfare

Dual-system families, those involved with the child welfare system and receiving public cash assistance, may be more vulnerable than families connected to only one of the two systems. This study advances our understanding of the heterogeneous and dynamic cash-assistance histories of dual-system families in the post–welfare reform era. With merged administrative data from Washington over the period 1998–2009, we use cluster analysis to group month-to-month sequences of cash-assistance use among households over the 37-month period surrounding child removal. Close to two thirds of families who received any assistance either had a short spell with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or lost TANF. Smaller percentages had steady support. Families who lose assistance are less likely than average to reunify while those who connect to benefits are more likely, suggesting that coordination between systems may serve dual-system families well.     

马来西亚国民型华文小学多元化现象

马来西亚国民型华文小学(华小)是以华语为媒介语的小学。现今一些华小,学生的族群背景已开始从单一种族走向多元种族,即从早期以华裔学生为主到近期非华裔学生人数不断增长,学生来源不再维持单元化。多元化的学生背景给教学和行政带来了改变,尤其是校内的交际语言。根据对一所多元种族学生的华小所进行的观察,全校学生不只是华裔,三分之一是马来人、印度人和其他种族。校内的各族学生并用华语、马来语或其他各自母语来沟通。老师中也包括不谙华语的马来教师,因此校内行政运作的语言是华语和马来语并用,但逐步转向单用马来语。华小的各种改变和现状调查对国内外关心华文教育者有重要的参考价值。华小学生和教师的族群和母语背景不再单元化,意味着华文教育本质发生变化。华小走向多元化,是华文教育的一大挑战。     

农民行动单位与行动逻辑 ——以江西省丰城市梅林村为个案

农民行动单位可以是血缘关系为纽带的宗族、户族和小亲族,也可以是国家在农村建立的行政村和村民组,行动单位的有效性在于其首先是一个认同单位。在江西省丰城市梅林村,其在10个家族村落基础上划分村民组,小组自我管理并部分延续着生产队治理模式,小组有完整的组织架构。村民组建立在以单一姓氏的家族共同体为基础时,实现了农民认同单位和行动单位的统一。行政村作为集体治理单位,村民组作为共同体治理单位,村民自治呈现出集体自治而非共同体自治,集体自治之下继续着共同体自治,两者遵循不同的行动逻辑。