Globalisation from Above? Corporate Social Responsibility, the Workers' Party and the Origins of the World Social Forum

In its assessment of the origins and early development of the World Social Forum this article challenges traditional understandings of the Forum as representing ‘globalisation from below’. By tracing the intricate relations among elements of business, civil society, and the Workers’ Party in the first years of the Forum, this article reveals the major role played by a corporate movement stemming from the Brazilian democratisation process in the 1980s, and how this combined with the transformed agenda of the Workers’ Party as it gained higher political offices to constrain the Forum’s activities from the outset. In so doing, this article challenges not only widespread conceptions of the Forum as a counter‐hegemonic alternative but also current critiques concerning its subsequent limitations. Furthermore, it reveals how traditional understandings of the World Social Forum and of global civil society are underpinned by flawed assumptions which typecast political activities in the global ‘South’

Genetic variants in the SHISA6 gene are associated with delayed cognitive impairment in two family datasets

Introduction Studies of cognitive impairment (CI) in Amish communities have identified sibships containing CI and cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals. We hypothesize that CU individuals may carry protective alleles delaying age at onset (AAO) of CI. Methods A total of 1522 individuals screened for CI were genotyped. The outcome studied was AAO for CI individuals or age at last normal exam for CU individuals. Cox mixed-effects models examined association between age and single nucleotide variants (SNVs). Results Three SNVs were significantly associated (P < 5 x 10(-8)) with AAO on chromosomes 6 (rs14538074; hazard ratio [HR] = 3.35), 9 (rs534551495; HR = 2.82), and 17 (rs146729640; HR = 6.38). The chromosome 17 association was replicated in the independent National Institute on Aging Genetics Initiative for Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease dataset. Discussion The replicated genome-wide significant association with AAO on chromosome 17 is located in the SHISA6 gene, which is involved in post-synaptic transmission in the hippocampus and is a biologically plausible candidate gene for Alzheimer's disease

Reconciling Emotion and Rational Choice: Negativistic Auto Theft, Consequence Irrelevance, and the Seduction of Destruction

Objectives: We explore negativism in the context of auto theft and examine its broader phenomenological significance for Rational Choice Theory. Methods: Data were drawn from qualitative, in-depth interviews with 35 active auto thieves operating out of a large Midwestern U.S. city. Results: Negativistic offending is malicious, spiteful, and/or destructive conduct whose purpose is typically more hedonic (i.e., short-term gratification) than instrumental (i.e., resource-generating) or normative (i.e., moralistic). It is made possible by the notion of ownership without responsibility: Offenders controlled a vehicle that was not theirs, promoting consequence irrelevance which in turn unleashed reckless conduct. Conclusions: Consequence irrelevance clarifies negativism’s logic and permits linkage between affect-based and rational choice decision-making models