Biometric Elections in Poor Countries: Wasteful or a Worthwhile Investment?

Elections have emerged as a leading area for the application of biometric technology in developing countries, despite its high costs and uncertainty over its effectiveness. Why then do countries pursue such programs, often with the support of donors? The paper considers the costs and benefits of technology, where the latter involves its potential to reduce the probability of seriously disputed elections that escalate into violence. Based on the limited data available, it finds that a reduction in the probability of postelection violence by only a few percentage points could offset the cost of the technology. However, this is far from assured; we argue that biometric technology can only contribute to less disputed and less violent elections in particular settings, those where democracy is not yet well institutionalized but where political parties value the legitimacy conferred by elections that are sufficiently credible for their results to be accepted. One priority is therefore to screen potential cases carefully, before investing in costly programs that have a low probability of success. Another step toward using technology more effectively to underpin sustainable elections would be to build on voter registration drives to strengthen permanent identification assets such as civil registration and national ID programs that can serve as the basis for the voter roll.     

Technological Distribution in Uganda: Information and Communications Technology and the State in an Eastern African Nation

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) include old technologies—such as the radio and the television—as well as newer technologies—such as the Internet and wireless telephony. This study considers the process that the government of Uganda has used to adopt and implement ICT policy. This study also considers the techniques which the government of Uganda has used to distribute ICTS in public locations such as government offices, schools, and hospitals. In particular, this study attempts to consider the political motivations for distribution. The Ugandan government's attempt to distribute this technology reflects strengths in the area of distribution of artefacts, particularly to rural areas. Information and communications technologies are an important part of the Ugandan economy. In addition, ICTs strengthen the ability of citizens to communicate with each other across regional and language borders through shared access points. Methodologically, this paper uses the case study method. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with politicians, policy makers, civil society activists, citizens, academics, medical personnel, regional government officials, and business people. This paper argues that politicians use ICTs as a component of a basket of goods and services that they can distribute to witnessing publics. This paper argues that ICT should be viewed as a type of infrastructure, and that as a public good, it can be used as a “club” good or “pork.” Although several authors discuss the potential of ICTs as democratizing, this paper documents that the Ugandan government has employed ICTs in oppressive ways, including for the surveillance of opposition leaders, and for social control.     

University–Industry Linkage Framework to Identify Opportunity Areas

Although there are many studies of the collaboration between academia and industry in developed countries explaining the phenomenon and prescribing best practices, the findings cannot be extrapolated to developing countries. This article fills the gap by studying these interactions for the case of Mexico. To study these interactions, we performed a state‐of‐the‐art matrix analysis to obtain internal, structural, and environmental factors from literature. Then, an interpretative structural framework was built as a model to identify opportunities in the collaboration process. The results are presented in a map that describes how each element influences the others and highlights opportunities for improvement. The model shows that industry triggers collaboration and presents a highly complex internal organization for the academy. This study helps decision makers in government, the academy, and industry to understand the elements and how the system works to develop strategies that promote more effective collaboration.     

猪生殖与呼吸综合征病毒非结构蛋白nsp4基因的表达及其产物的纯化

根据GenBank中已登录的猪生殖与呼吸综合征病毒(PRRSV)全基因组序列,设计合成了1对特异性引物,对PRRSV非结构蛋白nsp4基因进行了RT-PCR扩增,将回收的目的基因片段克隆到大肠埃希氏菌表达载体pET28a中,构建了重组质粒pET-nsp4,测序结果证实了重组质粒pET-nsp4的可靠性。将pET-nsp4转化至大肠埃希氏菌表达菌株BL21(DE3),用IPTG诱导表达,SDS-PAGE结果表明,重组菌可表达分子质量约23 ku的蛋白。经镍离子亲和层析柱(Ni-NTA)纯化,获得了高纯度的重组蛋白,Western-blot分析结果表明,nsp4重组蛋白在大肠埃希氏菌系统中获得了正确表达。     

Grundrechtsverletzung durch mangelhafte Begründung des Haftbeschlusses

Jeder Beschluss eines Oberlandesgerichtes über die Fortsetzung der Untersuchungshaft muss einerseits mit Bestimmtheit angeben, welcher – in Hinsicht auf die mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit als begründet angesehenen strafbaren Handlungen rechtlich als entscheidend beurteilte – Sachverhalt angenommen wurde, und muss andererseits klarstellen, auf welchen ganz bestimmten Tatumst?nden (Beweisergebnissen) diese Sachverhaltsannahmen ruhen. Geschieht dies nicht, liegt eine Grundrechtsverletzung vor.     

Auftrag des Verlassenschaftsgerichts nach § 10 Abs 1 Z 2 WEG 1975 an den überlebenden Ehegatten-Wohnungseigentümer hat ab dem 1. 7. 2002 eine mögliche Eigentümerpartnerschaft (§ 14 Abs 1 Z 2 WEG 2002) zu berücksichtigen

Seit 1. 7. 2002 hat das Verlassenschaftsgericht im Auftrag gem § 10 Abs 1 Z 2 WEG 1975 an den überlebenden Ehegatten-Wohnungseigentümer nach § 56 Abs 8 iVm § 2 Abs 10 und § 14 Abs 1 Z 2 WEG 2002 auf die m?gliche Begründung einer Eigentümerpartnerschaft an den beiden zu gemeinsamem WE verbundenen H?lfteanteilen des Mindestanteils hinzuweisen.     

Gebührenrechtlich unbeachtliche Bedingungen im Mietvertrag

Gebührenpflicht für einen mit der beiderseitigen Unterzeichnung der Vertragsurkunde zustande gekommenen Mietvertrag, auch wenn das Mietverh?ltnis (und die Pflicht zur Zahlung des Mietzinses) erst mit bezugsf?higer übergabe des Bestandverh?ltnisses beginnen soll.     

La parité législative en France, 2002‐07: Les stratégies partisanes de contournement de la loi

L'article dresse un bilan critique de la loi dite de parité, à partir de son application stratégique par les partis, lors des législatives de 2002 et de 2007. A partir de ces deux « cas pratiques », il s'efforce d'apprécier, face à l'épreuve des urnes, la portée d'une loi complexe, en fin de compte peu adaptée à la logique du scrutin uninominal. Quelques éléments d'explication sont proposés pour tenter de comprendre pourquoi la loi laisse paraître une (relative) inefficacité, avant de pointer les raisons pour lesquelles la plupart des partis parlementaires ne se sont pas saisis, autant qu'ils auraient pu, de l'outil égalitaire qui leur était proposé pour faire progresser la représentativité des femmes et, au‐delà, diversifier et démocratiser le recrutement parlementaire. Enfin, est esquissé à grands traits le profil politique et sociologique des femmes députées de la « génération parité », donnant à voir les principaux atouts dont elles disposent pour se couler dans le moule de la profession politique.     

Aufspaltung des Pauschalmietzinses

Ein Antrag auf Aufspaltung des Pauschalmietzinses, der nicht den aktuellen, sondern den früher vereinbarten Pauschalmietzins betrifft, ist abzuweisen.