Classifying Corruption

Why is corruption wrong? This article argues that there are two main approaches to conceptualizing the “wrong” of corruption: first, corruption as an abuse of power; and second, corruption as inequality. In addition, I claim that there is a conceptual convergence between these two approaches. As a result, many forms of corruption can be framed as either an abuse of power and/or as a violation of equality. I show that even quid pro quo corruption can be framed in equality terms — a surprising outcome given the Supreme Court’s acceptance of quid pro quo corruption and rejection of equality-based corruption. This article also raises two queries about Lawrence Lessig’s theory of dependence corruption. My first claim is that dependence corruption is not fully consistent with an originalist understanding of corruption, and my second suggestion is that the “wrong” at issue in dependence corruption is ultimately a concern about representation. In addition to developing a conceptual map of corruption, this article focuses on the theoretical puzzles and challenges posed by corruption. For corruption as inequality, I identify seven forms that it could take, and I show how some of these forms have manifested in the Court’s campaign finance decisions. For corruption as the abuse of power, I identify three conceptual challenges (involving corrupt political gain, the public interest, and legislative independence). I argue that these conceptual challenges make it difficult to distinguish corruption from ordinary democratic politics

The Fragility of Constitutional Democracy

Is the survival of constitutional democracy in America at serious risk? Given the actions of the Trump administration, and given the decline of democracy and concomitant rise of authoritarianism the world over, there is genuine cause for alarm. In light of these fears, it is worth remembering that the authors of The Federalist Papers were notably pessimistic about the survival chances of republican government. To what extent have their constitutional design innovations contributed to present woes, and conversely, to what extent will the Constitution ensure the survival of democracy? This Essay argues that while the design of the Constitution is both helpful and harmful, much will ultimately turn on the political dimension. In particular, this Essay claims that the republic will survive only if the ongoing practices of democracy re-affirm its central values. But there are significant challenges to maintaining constitutional democracy. In addition to President Trump in the White House, current challenges include the decline in the democratic norms of civility and compromise, the rise of ideological warfare and hyperpartisanship, and the ever-deepening polarization between opposing camps—not only in government but also in the public at large. In the coming years, the continued vigilance and resistance of individuals and institutions will be crucially important to ensure the survival of constitutional democracy in America

ANALISIS RESEPSI PENONTON TENTANG DISORGANISASI KELUARGA PADA FILM NGERI-NGERI SEDAP (Studi pada Mahasiswa UMM penonton film "Ngeri-Ngeri Sedap" dengan latar belakang keluarga disorganisasi dan terorganisasi)

Film komersial panjang “Ngeri-Ngeri Sedap” ini merupakan film drama keluarga yang dibalut dengan adat Batak yang cukup kental. Film ini rilis di tengah maraknya fenomena sosial dalam masyarakat yakni disorganisasi keluarga. Dengan rumusan masalah Bagaimana penerimaan khalayak oleh mahasiswa Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang dengan latar belakang disorganisasi dan terorganisasi keluarga tentang film “Ngeri-Ngeri Sedap”?. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana penerimaan khalayak dari khalayak dengan latar belakang disorganisasi dan terorganisasi keluarga pada sebuah film yang berisikan pesan disorganisasi keluarga yakni ‘Ngeri-Ngeri Sedap’. Penelitian ini menggunakan dua teori yaitu teori dari Stuart Hall yakni Teori Analisis Penerimaan Khalayak dengan Encoding & Decoding yakni pengelompokkan khalayak dalam penerapan pada tiga posisi reseptif terhadap pesan media , dan teori dari Melvin De Fleur yakni Teori Komunikasi Massa tentang perbedaan individu dan teori kategori sosial. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan tipe dan dasar kualitatif deskriptif. Teknik pengumpulan data menggunakan interview personal yang kemudian dilanjut dengan FGD (Focus Group Discussion). Subjek penelitian ini adalah Mahasiswa Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang yang merupakan penonton film “Ngeri-Ngeri Sedap” dan memiliki latar belakang terorganisasi disorganisasi keluarga. Hasil dari penelitian penerimaan pesan film oleh subjek-subjek sebagai berikut, yang pertama, film ini mampu menyampaikan begitu banyak sekali pesan moral yang bisa ditangkap dari berbagai perspektif berpikir. Subjek mengatakan film ini menggambarkan fenomena sosial dalam keluarga yang sedang banyak terjadi di keluarga-keluarga di masyarakat Indonesia. Kedua, film ini menjadi sebuah edukasi bagi para subjek tentang bagaimana sebuah komunikasi di dalam keluarga dapat menjadi efektif meskipun terjadi disorganisasi di dalamnya

Providing a Gender Perspective to Integration in Western Europe. Muslim Women\u2019s Agency between Multicultural and Assimilationist Policies

While scholars have tried to assess the presumed increase of the civic integration approach and the failure of multiculturalism in Western Europe, little research has been conducted to uncover the ways in which these two understandings of integration could promote Muslim women\u2019s agency within their communities and in the broader national space. This analysis will address the possible implications of each model\u2019s integration policies targeting second and third generation Muslim women, taking into account the role played by religion to justify life choices with family and community members in the specific context of European Islam. A younger generation of Muslim women refers to religious identity and knowledge of \u2018Pure Islam\u2019 as resources to gain personal worth and respected roles within their communities. This article will first challenge the alleged backlash of Multiculturalism through a gender lens and then it will provide a framework of understanding of Muslim women\u2019s agency. To conclude, the article argues that multicultural policies rather than more assimilationist or universalist measures, could have a better impact on the promotion of Muslim women\u2019s agency. Measures such as those listed by the Multicultural Policy Index, developed by Keith Banting and Will Kymlicka at Queen\u2019s University, are more likely to provide women with the tools used to negotiate life choices and their presence in the public space

The Relationship between the UniProt Knowledgebase (UniProtKB) and the IntAct Molecular Interaction Databases

IntAct provides a freely available, open source database system and analysis tools for protein interaction data. All interactions are derived from literature curation or direct user submission and all experimental information relating to binary protein-protein
interactions is entered into the IntAct database by curators, via a web-based editor. Interaction information is added to the SUBUNIT comment and the RP line of the relevant publication within the UniProtKB entry. There may be a single INTERACTION comment present within a UniProtKB entry, which conveys information relevant to binary protein-protein interactions. This is automatically derived from the IntAct database and is updated on a triweekly basis. Interactions can be derived by any appropriate experimental method but must be confirmed by a second interaction if resulting from a single yeast2hybrid experiment. For large-scale experiments, interactions are considered if a high confidence score is assigned by the authors. The INTERACTION line contains a direct link to IntAct that provides detailed information for the experimental support. These lines are not changed manually and any discrepancy is reported to IntAct for updates. There is also a database crossreference line within the UniProtKB entry i.e.: DR IntAct _UniProtKB AC, which directs the user to additional interaction data for that molecule. 
UniProt is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, European Commission, Swiss Federal Government and PATRIC BRC.
IntAct is funded by the European Commission under FELICS, contract number 021902 (RII3) within the Research Infrastructure Action of the FP6 "Structuring the European Research Area" Programme

A Model of Void Formation

We introduce a simple model for the formation of voids. In this model the underdensity of galaxies in voids is the product of two factors. The first arises from a gravitational expansion of the negative density perturbation. The second is due to biasing: galaxies are less likely to form in an underdense region. One feature of the model is an upper cutoff in void sizes. We calculate the volume filling factor of characteristic voids for different CDM models and find that our formation model points to $\Lambda$CDM models as preferred models of the power spectrum. A natural consequence of our model is that the underdensity of the dark matter inside voids is smaller than the galaxy underdensity.Comment: 15 pages, Latex, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in AP

Talking about breastfeeding - emotion, context and 'good' mothering

The benefits of breastfeeding are now recognised and promoted by governments and healthcare services internationally (WHO 2007),with feeding regarded as a significant part of the maternal role: in the words of the World Health Organization: ‘no gift is more precious than breastfeeding’. The idea that breastfeeding can be a ‘gift’ signifies the increasing, heavy cultural and emotional load of feeding for mothers. Feeding practices can be used to differentiate ‘good’ and ‘bad’ mothers, ‘high’ or ‘low’ social status and can also be associated with feelings of intimacy, estrangement, guilt, joy, failure or success. In this article we discuss the findings from the Open University's ‘Becoming aMother’ study (www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/ identities/findings/Hollway.pdf) in the light of these wider issues and current policy initiatives