Nation states vs. united empire: Effects of political competition on economic growth

Is political fragmentation, i.e., nation states, more favorable to economic growth than political unification, i.e., a united empire? This study develops an endogenous-growth model to analyze the growth effects of fragmentation versus unification. Under unification, the economy is vulnerable to excessive Leviathan taxation and possibly subject to the costs of unifying heterogeneous populations. Under fragmentation, the competing rulers are constrained in taxation but spend excessively on military defense. If capital mobility is above (below) a threshold, then fragmentation (unification) would favor growth, and this threshold is increasing in the degree of defense competition and decreasing in the costs of heterogeneity.     

Public Perceptions of Traumatic Events and Policy Preferences during the George W. Bush Administration: A Portrait of America in Turbulent Times

The American policy landscape during the George W. Bush administration was shaped by a series of traumatic events that confronted the nation and people of the United States. These included the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in 2001, the anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001, military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the threat of a flu pandemic in 2005 and 2006, the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, and the financial collapse of 2008. The results of the 2008 presidential election appear to be a rejection of the Bush administration's major policy responses to these events, but the variation in type and level of public support among different groups suggests a much more varied and dynamic portrait of America in turbulent times. Using a multiyear panel survey, an interdisciplinary team of political scientists and psychologists analyzed the behavior and political responses to the events by the American public. The findings suggest that even seven years after the events of 11 September 2001, people with higher levels of post-traumatic stress symptomatology related to 9/11 have significantly different interpretations of the threat of terrorism and the appropriate policy responses to it than do others. Perceptions of threat, the political salience of terrorism and other traumatic events, the level of support for political leaders and assessments of the government's actions vary over time and across different groups within society based on the psychological, political and social, and personal characteristics of the respondent. These results help to open the black box of aggregate public opinion by providing a detailed portrait of how psychological, social, political, and personal factors affected perceptions and political behavior during the George W. Bush administration.     

Interactions Between Rejection Sensitivity and Supportive Relationships in the Prediction of Adolescents’ Internalizing Difficulties

Rejection sensitivity, the tendency to anxiously or angrily expect rejection, is associated with internalizing difficulties during childhood and adolescence. The primary goal of the present study was to examine whether supportive parent–child relationships and friendships moderate associations that link angry and anxious rejection sensitivity to depression and social anxiety during middle adolescence in an ethnically diverse sample of 277 youth (M age = 14.30 years; 46.93% male). Analyses revealed that angry rejection sensitivity was related to depressive symptoms, but only for adolescents reporting low support from parents and friends. Friend support moderated the association between (1) angry rejection sensitivity and social anxiety, and (2) anxious rejection sensitivity and depressive symptoms. For adolescents reporting low support from friends, support from parents was positively related to social anxiety. Findings highlight the importance of considering relationships in studies of rejection sensitivity and adjustment during adolescence.     

Conduct Problems Among Children at Battered Women's Shelters: Prevalence and Stability of Maternal Reports

The present research was designed to (1) replicate prevalence estimates of clinical levels of conduct problems in a large (n = 401) sample of children residing at a shelter for battered women, and (2) assess the stability of mothers' reports of child conduct problems following shelter departure. According to mothers' reports on standardized questionnaires and diagnostic interviews obtained during shelter residence, approximately one third of the children between 4 and 10 years of age exhibited clinical levels of conduct problems. Prior research has demonstrated elevated maternal distress during shelter residence and suggests that such distress may influence mothers' reports of child conduct problems. To examine this issue, a subset of families with children exhibiting clinical levels of conduct problems (n = 68) was reassessed following their shelter departure. Mothers' reports of child conduct problems remained stable despite significant reductions in mothers' distress after shelter exit.     

The effect of chlorine and hydrogen chloride on latent fingermark evidence

Exposure of forensic evidence to either hydrogen chloride or chlorine can result in acidification to such an extent that enhancement of fingermarks with ninhydrin or cyanoacrylate is inhibited. Under these circumstances, pretreatment of samples with volatile bases such as triethylamine or ethanolamine prior to using these enhancement techniques can lead to successful visualization of fingermarks. Alternatively, physical enhancement techniques such as powder dusting or small particle reagent can be used on acidified non-porous substrates, although the former technique is subject to increased background under such conditions.     

Fair Weather Friend? Ethics and Australia's Approach to Global Climate Change

In this paper, I explore the Australian Government's approach to international cooperation regarding global climate change from its emergence as an international political issue in the late 1980s to the present. In particular, I reflect on the ethical assumptions underpinning Australia's approach, and the ethical arguments invoked to justify Australia's stance on climate change. I argue that Australia's position has regressed from support for the central ethical principles (here defined as distributive and retributive justice) underpinning the climate change regime to an ultimate rejection of these principles. This regression is concerning for what it tells us about the Howard Government's conception of ethical responsibility in global politics. Further, and in light of the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol in 2005, it is concerning given its potential to undermine meaningful international cooperation on a complex but pressing environmental issue.