In August 2006, Portugal approved a new quota law, called the parity law. According to this, all candidate lists presented for local, parliamentary, and European elections must guarantee a minimum representation of 33 per cent for each sex. This article analyses the proximate causes that led to the adoption of gender quotas by the Portuguese Parliament. The simple answer is that the law’s passa...

Mass gatherings (MGs) occur for many different reasons including religious, social, cultural, political and sporting events. There are two types of spontaneous and organized MGs. The first one takes place when a population displaces due to natural disasters or conflicts, whereas the second one is seen in a preplanned program. Mass gatherings are associated with health risks of infectious diseas...

The growing perception that the Internet is becoming an engine of global economic and social change has inspired both governments and intergovernmental agencies to accelerate the diffusion of the Internet around the globe via multimillion dollar programs and initiatives. Unfortunately, few empirical studies guide these initiatives. The purpose of this research is to investigate the causes that ...

introduction hydrops fetalis is a serious condition in fetal period, characterized by the presence of serous fluid accumulation in at least two potential spaces in fetus including pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, and ascites. the incidence of hydrops fetalis is one per 2500-3000 pregnancies. this condition is followed by different diseases. fetal hemolytic anemia and its hypoxemia due to...

Following the demise of Soviet-type regimes most countries of postcommunist Inner Asia either experienced initial political openings followed by reversion to authoritarianism or moved directly from one type of harsh authoritarianism to another. Mongolia is exceptional. The extent of political opening there during the 1990s far exceeded anything seen in any neighboring country and the gains of t...

Social norms and customs shape many economic decisions, but they have not always been at the forefront of economic analysis. Indeed, social influences were more prominently acknowledged by the founders of the discipline than by neoclassical theorists of the last century. J.S. Mill, for example, argued that custom was a potent force in setting the terms of contracts and also the wages paid to la...

Both candidates and voters have increased their use of the Internet for political campaigns. Candidates have adopted many internet tools, including social networking websites, for the purposes of communicating with constituents and voters, collecting donations, fostering community, and organizing events. On the other side, voters have adopted Internet tools such as blogs and social networking s...

This paper examines the production of risk and blame discourses during the 2003 SARS epidemic and responses to those messages in New York City's Chinatown, a community stigmatized during the SARS epidemic despite having no SARS cases. The study consisted of 6 weeks participant observation and 37 semi-structured, open-ended interviews with community members. Stigmatizing discourses from the late...