Manners of Killing and Rituals in Apulian Mafia Murders*

Abstract: The Apulian (South of Italy) territory saw the birth of a criminal organization called Sacra Corona Unita (SCU, United Holy Crown) which transformed the rules of traditional mafia organizations. This work examined 83 victims of the SCU between 1980 and 2000. The bodies were mainly of SCU members and in some cases, of police and law enforcement officers and other citizens caught in the crossfire. Some of these were discovered; thanks to the collaboration of “repented” SCU members who became police informers. The condition of the bodies varied in relation to the date and manner of killing. In some cases anthropometric research methods were necessary. In 73% of the cases, lesions of the head were the only marks left on the body. In conclusion, the existence of some social aspects connected with the symbolisms and membership rites that characterized the origin, evolution, and decline of the SCU is stressed.     

Canine Population Data Generated from a Multiplex STR Kit for Use in Forensic Casework*

Abstract: Canine biological specimens are often part of the physical evidence from crime scenes. Until now, there have been no validated canine‐specific forensic reagent kits available. A multiplex genotyping system, comprising 18 short tandem repeats (STRs) and a sex‐linked zinc finger locus for gender determination, was developed for generating population genetic data assessing the weight of canine forensic DNA profiles. Allele frequencies were estimated for 236 pedigreed and 431 mixed breed dogs residing in the U.S. Average random match probability is 1 in 2 × 10³³ using the regional database and 1 in 4 × 10³⁹ using the breed dataset. Each pedigreed population was genetically distinct and could be differentiated from the mixed breed dog population but genetic variation was not significantly correlated with geographic transition. Results herein support the use of the allele frequency data with the canine STR multiplex for conveying the significance of identity testing for forensic casework, parentage testing, and breed assignments.     

Women in parliament: assessing the effectiveness of gender quotas in Poland

Gender quotas aim to increase women’s parliamentary representation. However, the effectiveness of quotas varies. This article explores this issue further by examining the case of Poland, where gender quotas were introduced in 2011. The Polish case presents an interesting puzzle. Although the overall number of women candidates increased almost twofold in comparison with the pre-quota period, this translated into only a slight increase in the number of women deputies in 2011 and 2015. Hence, the impact of quotas was limited. However, the partisan analysis shows that there was a significant variation among individual parties: whereas some parties promoted wholeheartedly women’s access to political office, other parties did not facilitate it. By drawing on rational choice institutionalism, this article shows that institutions and preferences of political parties matter for the effectiveness of gender quotas. In the case of ineffective gender quota policy, political parties have a final say in women’s parliamentary representation.     

Transnationale Migration jenseits von Assimilation und Akkulturation

Classic theories of migration describe international migration as one-way movements and investigate the cultural adjustment of migrants into a “majority society”. Contrary to this view, the article raises the question of new conceptual possibilities to describe migrants’ assimilation and acculturation without conceptually focusing on a nation-state frame. In doing so, it makes reference to theories of transnational migration which define migration as a circular process connecting both sending and receiving contexts. This perspective enables, first, to analyze “structural assimilation” as multiple simultaneous inclusions of individuals into societal institutions in different nation-state locations. Secondly, it suggests to consider acculturation as a cultural adjustment of migrants’ knowledge patterns, which goes hand in hand with the maintenance of cultural “otherness”.     

Damoklesschwert Referendum? Die indirekte Wirkung ausgebauter Volksrechte auf die Rechte religiöser Minderheiten

Die indirekte Wirkung der Volksrechte auf den parlamentarischen Prozess bleibt gerade im Bereich der Minderheitenrechte meist unberücksichtigt. Anhand der Analyse von Anerkennungsprozessen für religiöse Minderheiten in den Schweizer Kantonen soll ein Beitrag zur Schliessung dieser Lücke geleistet werden. Es wird argumentiert, dass Parlamente prinzipiell minderheitenfreundlicher entscheiden als das Volk, wenn es sich um schlecht integrierte Minderheiten handelt – drohende Referenden können diesen Effekt jedoch verringern. Die systematische Analyse der entsprechenden Parlamentsprozesse mittels einer Fuzzy Set‐QCA zeigt auf, dass Minderheitenrechte eher innerhalb von Totalrevisionen von Verfassungen umgesetzt werden, in denen keine Debatte über eine mögliche Ablehnung durch das Volk geführt wurde. Restriktive Regelungen entstehen hingegen, wenn diese Gefahr der direkten Demokratie thematisiert wurde. Zudem spielt der Islam eine besondere Rolle – allerdings führt er nur dann zu restriktiveren Regelungen, wenn befürchtet wird, dass eine Öffnung gegenüber Muslimen die Ablehnung der Vorlage durch das Volk zur Folge haben könnte.     

Diversifying British Political History

This article explores what the diversification of British political history might look like. Building on an expanded definition of citizenship and attention to ‘ordinary’ politics, it suggests several questions which might diversify political history's content and approach. Whom do we count as political actors? Who has access to democratic processes and where does politics happen beyond these processes? To what forms of political thought do we attend? Drawing on examples from my own research on refugees and asylum seekers in modern Britain, and on the wider field of modern British history, I demonstrate the possibilities of diversification as a way to enliven political history's future.     

The Politicization of Marriage in Contemporary American Public Policy: The Defense of Marriage Act and the Personal Responsibility Act

The sexuality politics terrain in the United States is currently marked by a complex and contradictory set of developments‐non-traditional family structures are becoming more common, popular opinion is moving in a more tolerant direction, and the lesbian and gay rights movement has enjoyed some victories, but conservative family values and patriarchal heterosexual marriage have been vigorously promoted by influential right-wing social movements and more deeply institutionalized through important public policy initiatives and court decisions. This article considers the theoretical implications of these developments with respect to the conceptual approaches to citizenship and sexuality. It then analyses two major pieces of federal legislation in depth: the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the Personal Responsibility Act (PRA). DOMA effectively encourages the states to ban same-sex marriages. The PRA is generally considered as a welfare 'reform' law that imposes compulsory 'workfare' schemes and time limits for benefit recipients. It nevertheless has a significant sexual regulation dimension. Both the religious right's campaign against same-sex marriage and the welfare reformers' attack on the rights of single mothers contribute to a reactionary politicization of marriage. In conclusion, the article contends that it is only insofar as lesbian and gay rights issues are understood more broadly as but one aspect of sexual regulation and citizenship rights struggles that we can develop more effective ways of advancing the sexual liberation movement as a whole.     

Gender Quotas for Corporate Boards: Depoliticizing Gender and the Economy

Gender quotas for corporate boards can be seen as a way of drawing attention to gendered power within the economy as well as a way to democratize the economy, yet the debate about them has focused on the economic and business benefits of gender equality rather than on gender justice or democracy. This article examines how women’s under-representation in economic decision-making was constituted as an economic problem in the European Union’s gender-equality policies and how the economization of the debate on gender quotas for corporate boards affects understandings of gender equality and the economy. The article contributes to research on gender and neoliberalism through developing an approach for analysing the depoliticizing effects of economized gender-equality discourses. It argues that the depoliticized understandings of gender and the economy put forward in the debate water down the politicizing potential of the proposed EU gender-balance directive and that the debate about gender quotas has enhanced the neoliberalization and corporatization of EU gender-equality discourse.     

Do Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies Predict Deviant Peer Affiliation and Subsequent Substance Use?

Recent evidence suggests parent-adolescent discrepancies regarding adolescent disclosure can provide insight into parent-child relations and adolescent adjustment. However, pathways linking discrepancies to adjustment are not well known. We tested a model linking parent-adolescent discrepancies in disclosure to adolescent substance use through affiliation with deviant peers. Using three annual waves of data from a community-based study (N?=?357; 91% African American; 53% female; M_age?=?13.13 years, SD?=?1.62 years at baseline), findings revealed that adolescent-reported secrecy and deviant peer affiliation were positively associated with substance use one and two years later, respectively, but there was no evidence of mediation. The results highlight associations of adolescent secrecy and adjustment, and the role peers play in adolescent substance use behaviors.     

It is all about value: How domestic party brands influence voting patterns in the European Parliament

Research on the European Parliament finds legislative voting patterns remained constant following the Eastern enlargement of the European Union. This article shows that Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from these new member states are actually more likely to vote along European party lines. Given that these MEPs often come from less institutionalized domestic party systems that lack norms of legislative discipline, we should expect them to exhibit more erratic voting behavior than MEPs from mature systems. Why would stronger party discipline at the European level be associated with more volatile and fragmented domestic party systems? This article argues MEPs from less institutionalized systems rely more on the brand of their European party, which provides better information and career opportunities than their parties at home, and thus are more likely to vote along European party lines. I find support for this theory using data from the sixth European Parliament (2004–2009).