Social capital formation: The role of NGO rural development programs in Bangladesh

Social capital can be generated by the expectations of the rural poor who are victimized by government and market failures. The demands of the rural poor of Bangladesh for economic and social goods and services, for example, have been instrumental to their economic and social well-being. Cooperation based on mutual trust and norms of reciprocity contributes to the creation of other kinds of capital, especially economic and human capital, that are mutually reinforcing. Both governments and the NGOs make use of social capital as a tool for implementing poverty policies.     

The Complexity of 'Political Islamism'

Books reviewed
The Future of Political Islam , by Graham Fuller. Palgrave. 228pp. £19.99.
Secularism, Islam and Modernity: Selected Essays of Alam Khundmiri , edited by M. T. Ansari. Sage. 308pp. £29.99.
Law and Power in the Islamic World , by Sami Zubaida. I. B. Tauris. 248pp. £35.00.
Islamic Leviathan: Islam and the Making of State Power , by Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr. Oxford University Press. 220pp. £33.99.
False Necessity: Anti-Necessitarian Social Theory in the Service of Radical Democracy , by Roberto Mangabeira Unger. Verso. cxxix + 661pp. £28.00.
Preachers of Hate: The Rise of the Far Right , by Angus Roxburgh. Gibson Square Books. 312pp. £18.99.
A Mandarin's Tale , by Roy Denman. Politico's. 282pp. £20.00.
The Macmillan Diaries: The Cabinet Years, 1950–1957 , edited with an introduction by Peter Catterall. Macmillan. 676pp. £25.00.
Memoirs from the Left , by John Saville. Merlin. 197pp. £14.95 (pb).
Zones of Conflict: US Foreign Policy in the Balkans and the Greater Middle East , by Vassilis Fouskas. Pluto Press. 177pp. £45.00 (hb), £14.99 (pb).     

A Comparison of Palmar Dermatoglyphics in Two Ethnic Indian Populations of North Bengal,India*

Abstract: Dermatoglyphic print comparisons can be utilized to establish personal identification in forensic cases. The northern part of the state of West Bengal, India, is the home to many ethnic populations. Two such populations are the Rajbanshi and the Mech. Palm prints were collected from 192 adult Rajbanshi (105 men and 87 women) and 100 adult Mech (50 men and 50 women) individuals for print comparison using the standard ink and roll print method. The dermatoglyphic variables studied were mainline formulae, termination of mainline, positional variation of axial triradii, and true pattern of hypothenar and thenar configuration area. There were differences between the Rajbanshi and Mech individuals with respect to these dermatoglyphic variables. The uses of these variables appear to be limited only to ethnic identification, not personal identification. The present investigation further highlights the racial affinity, sex, and bilateral differences among Rajbanshi individuals using dermatoglyphic palmar variables.