Communication policy and the search for new certainties

SUMMARY

The article discusses a midweek television programme on corruption in the horseracing industry. The Jockey Club of South Africa accused SABC TV of biased reporting and in this respect won a ruling from the Media Council. The article is concerned with “the myth of objectivity” in relation to the television actuality genre, and specifically to the Midweek report. It begins by tracing the origin of the concept of objectivity in relation to the notion of photographic realism and its implications for television. It follows with an analysis of the actual programme looking at it in terms of airtime given to pro and and spokespersons on the issue, the value of the linking commentary, the relationship between the image and the commentary and its paridigmatic and syntagmatic structure. It concludes with a discussion of objectivity in actuality programmes and suggests the futility of measuring it. It considers an alternative approach of defining the type of discourse involved and the sort of contract it strikes with its viewers.     

May increased partisanship lead to convergence of parties’ policy platforms?

Parties face a trade-off between motivating partisans to participate in the election and appealing to issue-oriented middle-of-the-road voters. We show that, consequently, parties may diverge from the median voters’ preferred policy by sending ambiguous messages to voters which include announcements of alternative platforms. Moreover, surprisingly, an increase in the size of a partisan constituency may lead to platform convergence towards the median voters’ preferred policy. We identify two conditions for this outcome. First, the electorate is sufficiently divided such that full convergence does not occur and, second, the majority of the non-partisan voters is more inclined to the party with increased support of partisans.     

Differential diagnostics of stomach contents showing blue discoloration

A 42-year-old man evidently had died from an intoxication. On the basis of the findings at scene it was primarily assumed that the man had ingested a larger quantity of an ethylene glycol-containing antifreeze for suicidal purposes. The man was said to have had an alcohol problem and did not only consume drinking alcohol, but also other alcoholic liquids. At autopsy, a bluish liquid with an aromatic smell was found in the oesophagus and stomach. However, toxicological analyses did not furnish evidence of ethylene glycol--as expected--but a potentially fatal concentration of ethanol (blood alcohol concentration 4.01 per mille). The blue colour (patent blue C.I.42051) came from a liquid used in the wind-screen washer system in winter, which now contains ethanol (denatured with 2-butanone) instead of ethylene glycol. The results of the toxicological findings including the analysis of congener alcohols and the differential diagnostics of blue-coloured stomach contents are discussed.     

The advantages of complementarity: US and European policies towards the middle east peace process

Russia-related problems remain prominent in the European security debate. While a minimalist goal would be to reduce mutual antagonism in the Russia--European security area, a more ambitious mission would be to make Europe part of the eventual solution of Russia's problems, and vice versa. Moscow's draft of a European security treaty was not met with overwhelming enthusiasm. But engaging in a serious re-thinking and re-building of the Euro--Atlantic security architecture seems to be increasingly perceived as a worthy endeavour. What is needed is an entire network of instruments for governance and joint actions, both in “traditional” security areas and in new ones. Some of these tools could appear within the framework of existing multilateral institutions or in conjunction with them, others could emerge from their reform (or, conversely, stimulate it), while certain structures would require a new basis. Within such an agenda, Russia's involvement in the Euro--Atlantic area as a respectable and responsible actor would be an essential factor in promoting security in it.     

Inheritance,succession, and familial transfer in rural Westphalia, 1800–1900

This article compares property transfer contracts between generations in two Prussian parishes where marital law differed significantly in the 19th century. Our sources focus on two critical phases in peasants' life cycles at the time. Whereas young people could find the resources to settle down, the older generation had to plan for their retirement. Although sons had a better chance of inheriting the farm, female successors were not rare. A peasant daughter's overall prospects of becoming a peasant by inheriting her parent's farm or marrying a farm successor were almost as good as her brother's. The situation for older women, however, was subject to their legal standing with regards to marital property. When couples held joint marital property, men and women had the same opportunities to arrange for retirement. In contrast, when couples held separate marital property and male succession prevailed, older women were at an evident disadvantage.     

Determinants of civil war in post-colonial Asia, 1950-1992: the role of trade openness and economic development

Although Asia has experienced civil war about as often as Sub-SaharanAfrica during the post-World War II era, there have been fewsystematic investigations into the determinants of civil warin Asia. This article examines the effects of trade opennessand economic development on the onset of civil war in post-colonialAsia, controlling for political, demographic, and geographicfactors. Analyzing data on post-colonial Asian states between1950 and 1992, we find that the onset of civil war is less likelywith increased trade openness. However, when taking into accountinteraction between trade openness and economic development,we discover that increased trade openness reduces the likelihoodof civil war onset significantly only in the context of higheconomic development. This result is robust with different modelspecifications.     

A hopeless case?

In a hollow covered with earth, a herb gatherer discovered a severely decomposed corpse mutilated by scavenging animals. Only small areas of the skin had remained intact. A conspicuous tattoo could still be distinguished on the left upper arm. Despite concrete evidence of violence (fracture in the occipital bone, subdural hemorrhage with a volume of 20 ml), the exact cause of death could no longer be established. Police enquiries identified a person in whom such a conspicuous tattoo had been photographed in an earlier criminal case. Eventually, the deceased person could be identified by DNA analysis of a stored blood alcohol specimen. Considered together, the autopsy findings and the results of the investigation of traces of blood on the putative tool used in the crime indicated that the man had been struck dead and the body had afterwards been buried in the wood. Although the prospects of success had been initially slight, it was not only possible to identify the victim, but also to reconstruct the crime.