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.

This article examines the contributions of Bert Bolin, the first chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to the collective understanding of the panel’s nature, operations and results, as well as his efforts to safeguard the credibility of the IPCC process in the face of criticism. Based on the scholarship on expertise and its relationship with the political process, I argue that Bolin’s contribution to that process can be summarized in three points. First, he acted as a mediator between producers of climate change knowledge and its users, in this case governments and corporations. Second, he selected and emphasized some of the information provided by the IPCC and used it to advocate for immediate action to tackle climate change. Third, he played a major role in legitimizing the IPCC as the best possible assessment organization, especially through boundary work. Additionally, it is suggested that Bolin’s role in the advisory process was not static but changed within an evolving political and social context. Through this case study, I aim to contribute to the scholarship that examines how environmental problems are defined and brought into the political arena, and the role of experts in this complex process.

This paper examines the complex political-economic processes that shape contemporary forced displacement from Guatemala to the U.S. The study was driven by the following research question: How does capitalism and the historical context of forced migration in Guatemala relate to the creation and development of migrant-led organizations in the U.S. and the various types of leadership and political participation? Examining the political economy of Guatemalan migration to the Greater Los Angeles region and the activities of migrants and community organizations, I argue that neoliberal capitalism not only provokes the displacement of Guatemalan migrants as a social class of people from multiple racial and ethnic backgrounds, but it has also contributed to the emergence of distinct political Guatemalan diaspora organizations in the U.S. at the community, national, and transnational level. Furthermore, due to historical social relations in Guatemala, organizations have emerged in Southern California along ethnic, racial, and gender lines. Moreover, activism emerges within destination countries because exploitation and exclusion take on distinct forms beyond the specific economic and political forces that generate displacement in migrants’ origin countries. As such, these organizations have made significant contributions by safeguarding the human rights of Guatemalan migrants in the U.S. and have emerged based on the differences and inequalities faced by indigenous communities compared to non-indigenous (mestizo/ladino) groups as they and their organizations endure processes of “exclusionary inclusion” in the U.S.

Scholarship on Roman political thought and its legacy, especially anglophone, has rapidly expanded over the last decade. The main drivers of this renewed attention to Roman political ideas and institutions are an historical interest in the collapse of the Roman republic; a philosophical interest in republicanism; and a growing sensitivity to the originality of Roman thinkers, especially Cicero, in contrast to the older view that they were simply derivative of the Greeks. In this essay I will discuss recent publications on Cicero and Roman political ideas. After offering an overview of key themes in this new scholarship, I seek to suggest promising directions for future research and encourage the growing interest in Roman political thought and Cicero in particular. Cicero provides a fascinating link between ideas, institutions and action on the ground and he is therefore with good reason at the centre of much of the rapidly expanding literature on Roman political thought. In addition, given his interest in developing a theory of justice as the foundation of the state (res publica), a focus on Cicero will help explore the legacy of republicanism from the angle of his ideas about justice while paying attention to scholarship placing these ideas into their historical and institutional context.