This article develops the first dynamic method for systematically estimating the ideologies and other traits of nearly the entire federal judiciary. The Jurist-Derived Judicial Ideology Scores (JuDJIS) method derives from computational text analysis of over 20,000 written evaluations by a representative sample of tens of thousands of jurists as part of an ongoing, systematic survey initiative begun in 1985. The resulting data constitute not only the first such comprehensive federal-court measure that is dynamic, but also the only such measure that is based on judging, and the only such measure that is potentially multi-dimensional. The results of empirical validity tests reflect these advantages. Validation on a set of several-thousand appellate decisions indicates that the ideology estimates predict outcomes significantly more accurately than the existing appellate measures, such as the Judicial Common Space. In addition to informing theoretical debates about the nature of judicial ideology and decision-making, the JuDJIS initiative might lead courts scholars to revisit some of the lower-court research findings of the last two decades, which are generally based on static, non-judicial models. Perhaps most importantly, this method could foster breakthroughs in courts research that, until now, were impossible due to data limitations.

The article begins by understanding Karl Marx’s theory of primitive accumulation (PA) as a historical process integrated by both internal and external components. Situating itself within the Marxist tradition that views PA as an originating, historical process that experienced closure by the end of the colonial period, it draws on history and theory to delineate how the external dimension of PA, British colonialism, unfolded in Punjab. Operating in cahoots with local actors, this colonial form of the “original sin” succeeded in subordinating the pre-capitalist modes of production to capitalism and established a new private property order as well as permanent agricultural settlements, using political, legal, ideological, and coercive means. It makes a distinctive contribution to the debates around PA by arguing that the external of PA (in British Punjab) differed radically from its internal (in England): the accumulation project involved mass sedentarization as opposed to mass expropriation. The article concludes by examining how the dialectics between dissolution and conservation form the dominant feature of colonialist PA in Punjab and how that can help us redefine PA in colonies.

For a connected Lie group G and an automorphism T of G, we consider the action of T on Sub$_G$, the compact space of closed subgroups of G endowed with the Chabauty topology. We study the action of T on Sub$^p_G$, the closure in Sub$_G$ of the set of closed one-parameter subgroups of G. We relate the distality of the T-action on Sub$^p_G$ with that of the T-action on G and characterise the same in terms of compactness of the closed subgroup generated by T in Aut$(G)$ when T acts distally on the maximal central torus and G is not a vector group. We extend these results to the action of a subgroup of Aut$(G)$ and equate the distal action of any closed subgroup ${\mathcal H}$ on Sub$^p_G$ with that of every element in ${\mathcal H}$. Moreover, we show that a connected Lie group G acts distally on Sub$^p_G$ by conjugation if and only if G is either compact or is isomorphic to a direct product of a compact group and a vector group. Some of our results generalise those of Shah and Yadav.

Ergodic optimization aims to describe dynamically invariant probability measures that maximize the integral of a given function. For a wide class of intrinsically ergodic subshifts over a finite alphabet, we show that the space of continuous functions on the shift space contains two disjoint subsets: one is a dense $G_\delta $ set for which all maximizing measures have ‘relatively small’ entropy; the other is the set of functions having uncountably many, fully supported ergodic maximizing measures with ‘relatively large’ entropy. This result generalizes and unifies the results of Morris [Discrete Contin. Dyn. Syst. 27 (2010), 383–388] and Shinoda [Nonlinearity 31 (2018), 2192–2200] on symbolic dynamics, and applies to a wide class of intrinsically ergodic non-Markov symbolic dynamics without the Bowen specification property, including any transitive piecewise monotonic interval map, some coded shifts, and multidimensional $\beta $-transformations. Along with these examples of application, we provide an example of an intrinsically ergodic subshift with positive obstruction entropy to specification.

A well-defined territorial boundary is essential for the design and implementation of social policies, as it defines the scope of the political community. In states where territorial boundaries are contested, the contours of sovereignty remains ambiguous. This paper studies the effects of contested perceptions of territory on welfare states. The paper distinguishes between institutional solidarity (support for formal welfare arrangements) and intergenerational social solidarity (willingness to help the other generation at a personal cost) and argues that territorial state identity independently influences both, aside from national identities and nationalism. Employing Taiwan’s social security reform as the case, and using observational data derived from the 2019 nationally representative Taiwan Image Survey alongside data from an original survey administered in Taiwan in 2023, the article demonstrates that territorial state identity enhances support for both institutional solidarity and intergenerational social solidarity. This effect persists even when controlling for nationalism. This research underscores the importance of recognising territorial boundaries consistent with the welfare apparatus for the sustainability of welfare states.

How do actors seek to modify international hierarchies and improve their position in international society? To answer this question, this article develops a novel analytical approach to study a phenomenon it calls ‘the middling of international hierarchies’. This phenomenon consists of actors attempting to produce, occupy, and claim the ‘middle’ position in international hierarchies. The article focuses on one pathway through which actors pursue this strategy: the invocation of ‘middle’ categories. Actors engaged in middling seek to transform binary hierarchies into trichotomous ones, producing and claiming the ‘middle’ position in such hierarchies in the process. In doing so, these actors distance themselves from those categorised in the lower rungs of the hierarchy without directly challenging those sitting atop international pecking orders. Making use of an ‘uncommon foundations strategy’, the paper develops its claims through two illustrative cases: the emergence of the ‘Dominions’ category in the early 20th-century British Empire and the re-popularisation of the label ‘Central Europe’ during the late Cold War. The paper presents a general and theoretically novel approach to how actors seek to modify international hierarchies, while also revealing unexpected commonalities between social categories in world politics that might otherwise appear unrelated.

Existing multivariate versions of the logistic probability distribution generally lack some of the useful properties of the univariate logistic distribution, such as its bounded score function or the tractability of its density function, or lack the rotational symmetry necessary for many applications. This paper clarifies some of the properties of such distributions and proposes a multivariate distribution closely related to the univariate logistic that has a tractable density, including the necessary normalising constant, bounded score function and elliptical symmetry. Some properties of its marginal distributions are explored, particularly in the bivariate case.

Bacteria play a fundamental but often overlooked role in shaping insect communities in cattle (Bovidae) dung. To direct attention to this role, three experiments were performed with cattle dung autoclaved to reduce bacterial activity and the associated release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that attract coprophilous insects to deposits. In the first experiment, and consistent with expectations, fewer insects were recovered in pitfall traps baited with autoclaved versus control dung. In the second experiment, there was generally lower recovery of insects developing in autoclaved versus control pats colonised in the field. This result was attributed to reduced oviposition and lower survival of immature insects in the autoclaved pats. In the third experiment, no effect of autoclaved versus control dung was detected on the reproductive success of the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus (Linnaeus) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), possibly because adults carry with them the requisite bacteria for larval development. In summary, faecal bacteria produce VOCs to directly affect the composition of the insect species that colonise and oviposit in cattle dung. The survival of their progeny is affected by faecal bacteria that provide a source of nutrients or may be pathogenic.

Children vary in environmental sensitivity, reflecting heightened responsiveness to positive and negative environments. It is commonly measured through the temperament trait of Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS). Currently, no instruments exist in the German language to assess SPS in children. The present study translated the 21-item Highly Sensitive Child Scale (HSC-21) into German and evaluated its psychometric properties using caregiver reports (n = 367) and child self-reports (n = 112). Confirmatory factor analyses supported a bifactor model with a general sensitivity factor and three specific subdimensions (i.e., Ease of Excitation, Low Sensory Threshold, Aesthetic Sensitivity). The German HSC-21 demonstrated full configural, metric and scalar measurement invariance across sex and age groups and good to excellent reliability (internal consistency, test-retest reliability, interrater agreement). HSC-21 scores moderately predicted internalizing problems but not externalizing problems. Consistent with environmental sensitivity theory, Ease of Excitation and Low Sensory Threshold were linked to internalizing problems, whereas Aesthetic Sensitivity predicted better school performance, fewer peer problems, and greater prosocial behavior. The HSC-21 demonstrated meaningful correlations with temperament and personality traits, including positive associations with neuroticism, behavioral inhibition, and sensory sensitivity, and negative associations with extraversion and activity level. Thus, the German HSC-21 represents a reliable and valid measure of SPS and environmental sensitivity.

This research article examines the licensing of complementizer agreement with nominals (namely thematic subjects and objects) in the left periphery, focusing on data from Jordanian Arabic (JA). It demonstrates that obligatory complementizer agreement with A-bar elements is evident in JA grammar due to the effects of the Agree Identification Condition, which enforces an agreement inflection on the probe when the goal is not phonologically overt (e.g., a pro). This enforcement also applies when the probe agrees with a chain consisting of two silent links (e.g., when the complementizer agrees with a wh- or a focused element). This finding supports the proposal that the morphological realization of Agree dependencies is ruled by interface conditions, which are also proven to be responsible for the presence of an obligatorily overt complementizer when extraction of the embedded nominal takes place.

We argue affiliation with an American conservative legal movement key player, the Federalist Society (FedSoc), provides a low-cost, high-information cue to senators voting on nominees. We investigate how FedSoc affiliation shapes senator voting behavior on judicial nominations. Using a novel dataset of 35,602 roll call votes on all federal judicial nominations (1991–2020), we find Federalist Society affiliation dramatically impacts the likelihood of receiving a senator’s vote with Democrats less likely to vote for Federalist Society-affiliated nominees than Republicans across the federal judiciary. Senator ideology matters with more ideologically extreme Republicans – and more moderate Democrats – more likely to vote for FedSoc-affiliated nominees. Relatedly, Republican senators – regardless of their own affiliation with the group – reveal strong support for FedSoc affiliates. Taken together, we show nominee affiliation with the Federalist Society is a crucial cue when senators vote on judicial nominees.1

African newspapers have been the subject of scrutiny from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. However, comparably little attention has been paid to the early visual archives produced by these presses. This essay mines the pages of West African Pilot and other newspapers to explore the genesis of the practice and profession of press photography in Lagos, Nigeria. Over the course of three defining historical moments, press photographs became a record and consequence of the ways that professional, legal, and political contours of visual freedoms were defined in an increasingly anti-colonial city and nation-state.

European societies are increasingly grappling with the often violent and deceitful circumstances through which now-treasured artefacts made their way from their colonies to museums in the metropole. This article shows this emerging norm of colonial heritage restitution by describing key norm components and assessing the norm’s current strength. Moreover, the article analyses the norm’s implementation in two European states to better understand how and why states implement the colonial heritage restitution norm. The comparison shows that Belgium and the United Kingdom have implemented the norm differently and incompletely: while both states have seen extensive discourse surrounding colonial heritage restitution as a moral duty to right past wrongs among civil society and museums, domestic legal changes and museum policies have varied due to different institutional contexts and government positions on heritage restitution. The paper attests to the critical role of national governments’ norm support for explaining divergent implementation, while other domestic actors such as museums and civil society groups are advocating for heritage restitution. The paper contributes to emerging research on museums as norm entrepreneurs in International Relations and transitional justice in established democracies.

Future telecommunication systems are set to revolutionize connectivity, driven by advancements in technologies like 6 G, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT). However, this evolution brings significant challenges. Traditional silicon-based transistors struggle to meet demands for efficiency and power handling. Indium Phosphide (InP)-based Double Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (DHBTs) deliver excellent performance at sub-mm-wave frequencies while minimizing power loss and heat generation. Additionally, achieving reliable large-signal performance in high-frequency applications requires accurate large-signal modelling and advanced testing techniques, such as load-pull measurements. In this paper, we report the comparison between two InP/GaAsSb Double Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (DHBTs) with different collector epitaxial designs in terms of their small- and large-signal performance. The effect of the epitaxial design on the small- and large-signal performances is investigated and load-pull measurements in G-band are performed to assess the great power-handling and efficiency capabilities of the InP/GaAsSb DHBT technology. For both of the designs, THz cut-off frequencies with Power-Added Efficiency (PAE) > 30% are achieved. Moreover, the value of PAE = 39.2% reached in G-band represents the highest among any technology. Finally, the two different epitaxial designs are thermally characterized to investigate the effect of different layers on the thermal and RF-performances.