The political and economic causes of satisfaction with democracy in Spain – a twofold panel study

This study tests the links between political and economic performance and satisfaction with democracy (SWD) in Spain. Contrary to the dominant theoretical paradigm that explains the aggregate evolution of and the individual-level differences in SWD mainly by means of economic factors, the article presents evidence that evaluations of the political process are equally relevant to account for both changes in individuals’ SWD over time and the evolution of SWD at the national level. Unlike most existing literature, this study supports its argument by combining analyses of a micro-level panel dataset (CIUPANEL) and of a pooled aggregate-level panel dataset based on the Spanish samples in the Eurobarometer and the Latinobarómetro between 1986 and 2014.     

On the nature of power: an examination of the governing elite and institutional power in Spain, 1939–92

This article summarizes a study of the political, bureaucratic and economic elites in Spain, from the Franco regime through the democratic transition to the socialist governments of the 1990s. Data on the people holding posts in one or more of these elite groups were used to test and extend the theory of elite circulation first formulated by Vilfredo Pareto. The data confirms that Spanish elites became more open to others in the democratic period. Up to the present time, they continue to be integrated through multi-positionality – many bureaucrats also hold political or economic posts – though to a lesser extent than in the past. Our empirical findings enable finer distinctions to be made about the different modes of elite circulation. These results show the changing nature of the networks that form when posts in different sectors become associated through multiple post-holding. These networks are an important component of the social fabric in Spain and elsewhere and deserve further investigation.     

A Fatal Case of Anaphylactic Shock During Paragliding

Abstract: The growth in popularity of flying ultralight aircraft and paragliding has been associated with an increased involvement of Emergency Medical Services because of various types of trauma suffered from both inexperienced and skilled individuals. This case presentation reports on a paraglider pilot, who was seen spinning “unusually” rapidly toward the ground, without visible attempts to regain control of the aircraft. Besides the bilateral mydriasis and the absence of any ECG activity, there was a significant swelling of face, lips, neck, and tongue. Upon opening the mouth, a dead bee was found over the tongue, underneath the palate. A fatal anaphylactic shock was the likely cause of death of the pilot while still “in mid‐air.” This case is certainly different from the commonly reported accidents during paragliding. An updated review of the medical literature shows no reported cases of fatal anaphylactic shock during the practice of paragliding.     

Age estimation in children by measurement of open apices in tooth roots: Study of a Mexican sample

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to test the accuracy of Cameriere's European formula for age assessment in a large sample of Mexican children. The accuracy of dental age estimation was defined as how closely real age, measured as the difference between chronological age (CA) and dental age (DA), could be predicted. Digitalized orthopantomographs of 502 Mexican children (254 girls and 248 boys), aged between 5 and 15 years, were analyzed. The seven left permanent mandibular teeth were evaluated using Cameriere's method. Intra- and inter-observer variability for this technique was tested on a small random sample. Dental age was estimated for each individual and compared with known chronological age. Accuracy was measured as the difference between known chronological age and dental age and tested for significance with the mean prediction error (ME). The standard deviation and 95% confidence interval of the mean difference were also calculated. ME was 0.63 years for girls and 0.52 years for boys. ME was found to be slightly overestimated by 0.10 years for girls, but was correctly estimated for boys with an accuracy of 0.00. In conclusion, this method is very useful and may be recommended for practical application both in clinical dentistry and forensic procedures on the Mexican population.     

Family (Law) Assemblages: New Modes of Being (Legal)

This article advances a new model for family law to address emerging non‐conventional family formations, particularly between parents and children. We contend that the conventional model of kinship categories as static, predefined statuses should be replaced with a model whereby the state accommodates kinship categories the law users themselves produce within their fluid and nomadic family assemblages and that they actively revise when negotiating state recognition. We claim that this model would better reflect and govern the emerging kinship system. We corroborate this by drawing on insights from family research that takes issue with the fragmentation of kinship, particularly the fragmentation of motherhood. We then elaborate on a conception of state recognition as the capacity to trace connections and identify normative frameworks, one that valorizes the self‐organizing force of social practices but at the same time holds onto the filtering role of the state.     

Age estimation by pulp/tooth ratio in canines by peri-apical X-rays

Estimation of age in individuals has received considerable attention in forensic science, in which it is a widely used method for individual identification, together with paleo-demographic analyses to establish mortality patterns in past populations. The present investigation, which is a continuation of a previously published pilot study, was conducted to examine the possible application of the pulp/tooth area ratio by peri-apical images as an indicator of age at death. A total of 200 peri-apical X-rays of upper and lower canines were assembled from 57 male and 43 female skeletons of Caucasian origin, aged between 20 and 79 years. They belong to the Frassetto osteological collection of Sassari (Sardinia) and are housed in the Museum of Anthropology, Department of Experimental and Evolutionistic Biology, University of Bologna. For each skeleton, dental maturity was evaluated by measuring the pulp/tooth area ratio on upper (x(1)) and lower (x(2)) canines. Very good agreement was found between intraobserver measurements. Statistical analysis was performed in order to obtain multiple regression formulae for dental age calculation, with chronological age as dependent variable, and gender, and upper and lower canines as independent variables. Stepwise regression analysis showed that gender did not contribute significantly to the fit (p=0.881) whereas variables x(1) and x(2) and the first-order interaction between them did. These two variables explained 92.5% of variations in estimated chronological age and the residual standard error was 4.06 years. Lastly, two simple linear regression equations were obtained for age estimation using canines from the maxilla and mandible separately. Both models explained 86% of variations in estimated chronological age and allowed an age-at-death estimate with a residual standard error of about 5.4 years.     

Age estimation by pulp/tooth ratio in canines by mesial and vestibular peri-apical X-rays

Changes in the size of the pulp canal, caused by apposition of secondary dentine, are the best morphometric parameters for estimating age by X-rays. The apposition of secondary dentine is the most frequently used method for age estimation in adult subjects. In two previous papers, we studied the application of the pulp/tooth area ratio by peri-apical X-rays as an indicator of age at death. The aim of the present study was to test the accuracy of age evaluation by combined analysis of labio-lingual and mesial peri-apical X-rays of lower and upper canines. A total of 200 such X-rays were assembled from 57 male and 43 female skeletons of Caucasian origin, aged between 20 and 79 years. For each skeleton, dental maturity was evaluated by measuring the pulp/tooth area ratio according to labio-lingual and mesial X-rays on upper (x(1), x(2)) and lower (x(3), x(4)) canines. Very good agreement was found between intra-observer measurements. Statistical analysis showed that all variables x(1), x(2), x(3), and x(4) and the first-order interaction between x(1) and x(3) contributed significantly to the fit, so that they were included in the regression model, yielding the following regression formula: Age = 120.737 - 337.112x(1) - 79.709x(2) - 364.534x(3) - 65.655x(4) + 1531.918x(1)x(3) . The residual standard error of estimated ages was 3.62 years, with 94 degrees of freedom, and the median of the residuals was -0.155 years, with an interquartile range of 4.96 years. The accuracy of the method was ME = 2.8 years, where ME is the mean prediction error. The model also explained 94% of total variance (R(2) = 0.94).     

The Incumbent Electoral Defeat in the 2011 Spanish National Elections: The Effect of the Economic Crisis in an Ideological Polarized Party System

Abstract

This article examines the effect of the economic crisis on voting preferences in the 2011 Spanish national election. Specifically we demonstrate that Spanish voters' reactions to the economic crisis were not uniform and that their evaluations of the economic situation and final electoral decisions were conditioned by prior ideological preferences. Our findings have several important consequences for the economic voting model. First, in a more polarized party system how voters evaluate the economic performance of the incumbent is a better predictor of vote choice than evaluations of the economy as a whole. Second, this effect varies depending on where parties are located and competing ideologically. Finally, those effects are more conditional on voters' ideological predispositions than the effects of voters' evaluations of the situation of the economy.     

Accuracy of Three Age Estimation Methods in Children by Measurements of Developing Teeth and Carpals and Epiphyses of the Ulna and Radius

Abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of three methods for age estimation in children: the measurements of open apices in tooth roots (T), the ratio between the total area of carpal bones and epiphyses of the ulna and radius (HW), and the combined method (THW). The sample consisted of 288 Caucasian Italian children (152 boys and 136 girls) aged between 5 and 15 years. Accuracy was determined as the difference between estimated age and chronological age, and accuracy was assessed by analyzing individuals’ orthopantomograms and hand‐wrist radiographs. Accuracies were 0.41 years for girls and 0.54 years for boys with the THW method; for the HW method, 1.00 years for girls and 0.92 years for boys; and for the T method, 0.62 years for girls and 0.71 years for boys. THW is the most accurate technique for age estimation in these children.     

Genetic data on nine STRs (CSF1PO, TPOX, THO1, F13AO1, FESFPS, vWA, D16S539, D7S820 and D13S317) and two VNTRs (D1S80 and D17S5) in Rosario population, Santa Fe Argentine

Allele frequencies for nine short tandem repeats (STRs) loci (CSF1PO, TPOX, THO1, F13AO1, FES/FPS, vWA, D16S539, D7S820 and D13S317) and two variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs) were obtained from a sample of 270 unrelated individuals born in the Rosario city, Santa Fe province of Argentina.