An analysis of variance type test for comparing clusters of DNA sequences based on randomization test methodologies

SUMMARY A method for comparing groupings of DNA sequences is presented, which utilizes randomization test methods to assign significance levels to a test statistic defined in terms of the Hamming distance between two sequences. The method, which is intuitively motivated by the analysis of variance procedure, partitions the variation caused by differences between clusters from the variation attributable to differences at random base pair locations within clusers. Implementation issues are discussed, and an example of the application of the method is provided.     

Why I am not an Individualist

In his defence of emergence, David Elder‐Vass assumes that my hermeneutic position represents a form of individualism. Although a common reading of my position, the claim that I am in individualist is incorrect; I, too, recognize the centrality of collective phenomena to social reality. In fact, there is a close convergence between emergence and the hermeneutic sociology I advocate. However, there also remains an important divide between us. Despite his care to avoid reification, Edler‐Vass descends into ontological dualism, conceptualizing society in terms of structure and agency.     

The International Economy and Presidential Approval

There is widespread consensus that the state of the economymatters for presidents' standing in public opinion. To thispoint, however, the economy that has been taken to influencepresidential approval has been exclusively domestic. We showthat the domestic economy continued to matter in the 1990s,but so too did America's international economic performance,as measured by the national trade balance and inflation in theprice of imported goods. We further show that not all tradingpartners are equal in their implications for the president'spublic standing. Disadvantageous trade relations with Canadahave no effect on the president's approval ratings, while similarrelations with Japan depress them significantly. We explainthis difference by patterns of media coverage, showing thatthe volume of media coverage of trade relations with the twocountries has contrasting effects on presidential approval ratings.     

Researching the food processing-farming chain: the case of Nova Scotia

Cette communication se propose d'examiner le débat sur le destin des petits producteurs agricoles dans les sociétés capitalistes avancées. On examine ce problème avec une étude empirique du complexe agro-alimentaire de la Nouvelle Écosse. L'étude a démontré une concentration rapide des industries agro-industrielles dans la province, et le rôle important du secteur de vente en détail dans ce domaine. Nos recherches montrent aussi que les industries agro-alimentaires préferent avoir des contrats direct avec les fermiers pour les produits périssables, et que ces industries jouent un rôle important dans la concentration d'exploitations agricoles. Une comparaison avec la situation en Ontario indique que les conseils de la mise en marché peuvent améliorer la situation économique des agriculteurs en négotiations avec les industries agro-alimentaires. This paper attempts to shed further light on the debate over the fate of petty commodity producers in advanced capitalism. Arguing for a more comprehensive analytical framework, this problem is examined through an empirical study of the food processing-farming complex in Nova Scotia, Canada. The study found evidence of rapid corporate concentration in food processing in recent years and support for the thesis that food retailer concentration is at least partly responsible for this. Preference for contract farming arrangements was apparent, but only in the case of especially perishable agricultural commodities. The impact of contract farming on producer independence is assessed. Some evidence of food processors fostering the concentration of farm operations also came to light. A comparison of process crop prices and contract conditions in Nova Scotia and Ontario suggest that producer controlled marketing boards can significantly enhance the economic position of farmers vis-a-vis corporate processors.     

False allegations in child sexual abuse: the pattern of referral in an area where reporting is not mandatory

SUMMARY. This retrospective study considers all referrals received by child health, social services and police of suspected child sexual abuse between the years 1986–1989, within South Glamorgan, Some 410 children were referred and of these 197 were found to have been abused. Of those cases where abuse was not proven, only 63 were judged to be due to false allegations, some of which were considered |malicious. This pattern, of approximately half of referrals being unsubstantiated, is similar to that reported from the United States, where reporting is mandatory. The criteria for diagnosis, and the identifying and presenting features surrounding possible explanations of false allegations are discussed.     

A Challenge to Critical Understandings of Race

In this article, I demonstrate fundamental weaknesses in the ability of critical understandings of race to produce reliable knowledge of how social actors use social comparisons as a way to align self with ingroup. I trace these weaknesses to two sources: The first is relying on social status as an explanation for race‐based assessments, ingroup motivations, and social constructions of otherness. This is opposed to leaning on assessments grounded in social psychological research that links properties of human cognition to the development and maintenance of social identities. The second weakness is an open support for activist research that is often situated in radical multiculturalism. Because critical race scholars openly side with racial minorities’ interests, they tend to establish incomplete assessments of social behaviors and social constructs linked to racial identities in order to maintain their stated political allegiances. To demonstrate these and other weaknesses, I draw upon the theoretical insights of social identity theory which is used to reassess Bell and Hartmann's (2007) critical race analysis of diversity dialogue in American society.