Welfare Reform, Mississippi Style: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Search for Accountability

Through an examination of the implementation of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act in the state of Mississippi, we explore the adequacy of traditional two-actor principal-agent theory. Using this as our lens, we suggest that the choices made by Mississippi in the area of welfare reform to privatize much of the work and to add several layers to the existing principal-agent relationship substantially reduced accountability and the effectiveness of the monitoring systems. We conclude that not only is traditional principal-agent theory an insufficient tool for understanding the complex interrelationship between democratic actors in this particular case, the decisions of the state of Mississippi to complicate the principal-actor relationship through privatization also undermined the reform effort itself in ways that may have general implications for other like-minded efforts in other policy areas.
There are those who are undermining what we are trying to achieve ...
—Bud Henry, Director of Economic Assistance, Mississippi Department of Human Services     

Negotiatory Alchemy: The Court Special Master as Scientist and Mediator

An environmental health scientist and mediator was appointed for the first time as a special master to oversee cleanup of a hazardous waste site in California. The case analysis examines the creative assimilation of Integra-live/mutual gains bargaining (mediation) into a distributive/zero-sum bargaining construct (litigation). The special master played multiple, overlapping, and conflicting roles as the case unfolded. The interfaces and tensions of these roles produced a hybrid style of dispute resolution, termed mediation-negotiation by the author.     

Analysis of psilocybin and psilocin in Psilocybe subcubensis Guzmán by ion mobility spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A new method has been developed for the rapid analysis of psilocybin and/or psilocin in fungus material using ion mobility spectrometry. Quantitative analysis was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after a simple one-step extraction involving homogenization of the dried fruit bodies of fungi in chloroform and derivatization with MSTFA. The proposed methods resulted in rapid procedures useful in analyzing psychotropic fungi for psilocybin and psilocin.     

Empathy and Strategic Interaction in Crises: A Poliheuristic Perspective

Empirical evidence supports the poliheuristic (PH) theory of decision making, which states that leaders typically employ a two-stage non-compensatory decision-making process. In stage one leaders reject options that do not meet some minimum criteria of acceptability on one or more dimensions, and in stage two they choose among the remaining options using a more rational utility-maximizing rule. While PH theory has primarily been applied at the monadic level, to explain the process and content of states' decisions, we contend it has important implications for strategic interaction and can help to explain outcomes in world politics. Specifically, we argue that a crucial variable shaping crisis outcomes is the degree to which leaders' non compensatory decision criteria in stage one include options' acceptability to the opponent. When leaders empathize with their opponent and screen out those options the opponent considers unacceptable, crises will be resolved more quickly and with a lower likelihood of escalation. Empathy introduced during the second, utility-maximizing stage, may also dampen conflict but is less effective than stage one empathy. We illustrate this dyadic non compensatory model by examining two cases involving the U.S.–China and U.S.–Iraq bilateral relationships.     

How do professionals perceive the governance of public–private partnerships? Evidence from Canada,the Netherlands and Denmark

In public–private partnerships (PPPs), the collaboration between public and private actors can be complicated. With partners coming from different institutional backgrounds and with different interests, governing these partnerships is important to ensure the projects' progress. There is, however, little knowledge about the perceptions of professionals regarding the governance of PPPs. This study aims to exlore professionals' viewpoints about governing PPPs, and to explain potential differences using four theoretical governance paradigms. Using Q methodology, the preferences of 119 public and private professionals in Canada, the Netherlands and Denmark are explored. Results show four different viewpoints regarding the governance of PPPs. Experience, country and the public–private distinction seem to influence these viewpoints. Knowledge of these differences can inform efforts to govern PPPs and contribute to more successful partnerships.