Not equitable,not efficient: U.S. policy on low-level radioactive waste disposal

Elected officials and policy analysts alike often treat equity and efficiency as distinct concerns. In this case study, focusing on U.S. policy for disposing of low-level radioactive waste, we consider an instance where the distinction between equity and efficiency is difficult to sustain. The “equity, then efficiency” approach embodied in the compact system of regional agreements is largely to blame for the current crisis facing generators, regulatory officials, and citizens. We find that nearly three times more waste disposal facilities are being contemplated than are financially viable. More generally, it is claimed that the approach for achieving an equitable solution must be very carefully designed, and that the concept of economic efficiency must be considered (at least in this case study) as part of the definition of equity. This case study is unusual, because we are able to make a recommendation that improves both efficiency and equity.     

Teachers’ strikes in Argentina: Partisan alignments and public-sector labor relations

In a context of increasing teachers’ militancy in Argentina, this article provides the first empirical analysis of teachers’ strikes in all twenty-four Argentine provinces during the 1990s. Using a cross-provincial statistical analysis, it explains the wide variation across provinces and across time of Argentine teachers’ strikes. It demonstrates that political alignments between provincial governors and teachers’ unions explain these patterns better than organizational and institutional variables, which strongly shape public-sector labor relations in other countries. We emphasize the discretion of provincial governors, for both the application of labor regulations and budgetary appropriations in the politicization of provincial public-sector labor relations in Argentina, especially after the decentralization of education resulted in the provincialization of teachers’ protests. Maria Victoria Murillo is associate professor of political science and international affairs at Columbia University. She was previously an assistant professor at Yale University, a Peggy Rockefeller Fellow at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, and a Fellow at Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies. She is the author ofLabor Unions, Partisan Coalitions, and Market Reforms in Latin America (Cambridge University Press 2001) and various articles on the politics of market reforms, labor protest, and privatization of public utilities in Latin America. the authors acknowledge the useful suggestions of the editor and three anonymous reviewers, and the comments of Ernesto Calvo, Javier Corrales, Tulia Faletti, Miriam Golden, Frances Rosenbluth, Andrew Schrank, Kenneth Scheve, J. Samuel Valenzuela, James Vreeland; and the participants in the Seminar on Globalization and Labor Struggle at Columbia University, the Latin American Seminar of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University, the seventh annual meeting of LACEA, and the Business School seminar at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. M. V. Murillo acknowledges the support of the Yale Center for International and Area Studies and the Carnegie Program for the Study of Globalization, and L. Ronconi acknowledges the support of the CEDI at the Universidad de San Andrés.     

The Echo of Tlatelolco in Contemporary Mexican Protest Poetry

The shooting of a student demonstration in La Plaza de las Tres Culturas in the Tlatelolco district of Mexico City on 2 October 1968 has been the subject of many literary works, among which the Tlatelolco poetry addresses not only the event itself but also the aftermath of the massacre. Both approaches examine the relationship between the 'yo'/'nosotros' and 'ellos' constructs, focusing on the 'nosotros' construct as the result of this interaction. The following analysis of this process is based on the theory of self and Other, especially René Girard's theory of the mimetics of violence and the process of scapegoating as a basis for the relationship between the individual and society within the context of a violent conflict.     

Association of Ignitable Liquid Residues to Neat Ignitable Liquids in the Presence of Matrix Interferences Using Chemometric Procedures*,†

Abstract: In fire debris analysis, weathering of ignitable liquids and matrix interferences can make the identification of ignitable liquid residues (ILRs) difficult. An objective method was developed to associate ILRs with the corresponding neat liquid with discrimination from matrix interferences using principal components analysis (PCA) and Pearson product moment correlation (PPMC) coefficients. Six ignitable liquids (gasoline, diesel, ultra pure paraffin lamp oil, adhesive remover, torch fuel, paint thinner) were spiked onto carpet, which was burned, then extracted using passive headspace extraction, and analyzed by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. Both light and heavy burn conditions were investigated. In the PCA scores plot, ignitable liquids were discriminated based on alkane and aromatic content. All ILRs were successfully associated with the corresponding neat liquid using both PCA and PPMC coefficients, regardless of the extent of burning. The method developed in this research may make the association of ILRs with corresponding neat liquids more objective.     

Blind lineup administration as a prophylactic against the postidentification feedback effect

Confidence and other testimony-relevant judgments may be distorted when witnesses are given confirming postidentification feedback, and double-blind procedures-wherein the lineup administrator does not know the identity of the suspect-are a commonly proposed, but untested, remedy for this effect. In the current study, mock witnesses viewed a staged crime video followed by a target-present or target-absent lineup where the administrator was or was not presumed to know the identity of the suspect. After making an identification decision, witnesses were or were not given realistic, but nonidentification-specific, feedback, and then confidence and other judgments were assessed. A significant interaction was found between blind condition and feedback such that feedback inflated confidence and other judgments in presumed nonblind conditions only; feedback had no effect on participants in presumed blind conditions. As predicted by the selective cue integration framework-a theoretical model suggested to explain the interaction between presumed blind administration and feedback-this interaction was significant only for inaccurate participants. These results suggest that blind administration may serve as a prophylactic against the negative effects of postidentification feedback. In addition, the effectiveness of our subtle feedback in influencing judgments suggests that lineup administrators should take care not to provide any feedback to eyewitnesses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Paying for the crimes of their children: Public support of parental responsibility

Parental responsibility laws, varying greatly within and among the states, appeared as one answer to the questions surrounding juvenile crime. Although these laws would seem to garner great public support under the new punitive attitude toward juveniles, no recent empirical studies were conducted on this topic. The current research examined public support of parental responsibility for crimes children commit. Contrary to expectations, public support was found to be relatively low. The public did place some responsibility on the parents when a juvenile crime occurred; however, agreement with blaming and punishing the parents was low. Political ideology and educational status served as possible predictors of support. Overall, however, demographic variables proved not predictive in determining who would support these measures.