‘“Keeping Tabs” on Coalition Partners’: a Theoretically Salient Case Study of Lithuanian Coalitional Governments

Portfolio allocation raises the potential for de facto abdication on a broad range of policy issues among coalition partners. Recent scholarship has addressed how parties in governing coalitions ‘keep tabs’ on each other in order to avoid such abdication. Two mechanisms have been identified: junior ministerial appointments and chairs of parliamentary oversight committees. We argue that the former is the most common method for intra-coalitional oversight in the Lithuanian parliament and that a combination of the two appears to be employed for monitoring the activities of the most important ministries. We conjecture that dependence on junior ministerial oversight is more likely among coalition partners in less institutionalised parliaments.     

Netzwerke und Koppelgeschäfte in der europäischen Elektrizitätspolitik

Within the field of political science package deals have come to be well known as a strategy to overcome decision blockades within the European Council. However, the following essay argues that besides the Member States’ Heads of State or of Government the European Commission and large firms can agree on package deals within negotiations at European level as well. By means of the example of the liberalisation of the electricity market this article shows that networks of European electricity policy constitute the institutional framework in which options for package deals between the two actors may arise. In addition, three main dimensions are examined to demonstrate the plausibility of package deals empirically. Firstly, the formal powers of the EC Commission and the exchange resources of large electricity firms respectively, secondly, the divergence of interests as well as, thirdly, the short-termed change in preferences of the Commissions’ and firms’ actors involved in an exemplary elucidated merger decision.     

Sell-out or challenge? The contradiction of a masters in women's studies

This is an account of planning a part-time Masters degree in Women's Studies at a British Polytechnic. We explain how we obtained approval from the necessary authorities for the course, and discuss the conflict between—on the one hand—the need to conform to these institutional procedures in order to get the course established, and—on the other hand—the desire to keep faith with the political origins of Women's Studies in the Women's Movement. We discuss a number of major issues which have confronted the members of the committee responsible for planning this course including the struggle to demonstrate within the college the academic legitimacy of WS; decisions about what kind of course to offer students—a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary curriculum, with or without optional elements—and how to defend these proposals during the lengthy process of seeking formal approval; the institutional politics of launching the course; and anticipated problems associated with the eventual teaching of the course.     

University-industry research links in Japan

Some analysts have argued that research links between universities and industry in Japan must be weak because Japanese universities do not produce high quality science and because regulations restrict links. This article begins by examining the structure and funding of universities and indicators of the performance of Japanese science. The results do not lend support to the view that the universities do not produce research useful to industry. In addition, the system is evolving in directions more favorable for university research excellence. Examining the regulations governing university-industry interaction, and their observance, reveals no insuperable barriers. Thus, it is not surprising that bibliometric indicators suggest Japanese companies collaborate with Japanese academics more than with foreign institutions. R & D managers describe long-lasting relationships with academics, perhaps originating in college days, which continue with mutual benefits and obligations on both sides and provide valuable access to the wider network of the scientific community-access that money alone cannot buy. The stories of individual research collaborations establish the substantive nature of the underlying work, the importance of experimentation performed on university instrumentation, and the crucial role of personnel exchange.     

Analysis and discrimination of electrical tapes: Part I. Adhesives

This study involved the comparative analysis and discrimination of 90 electrical tape adhesives. The objectives included the evaluation of the ability of individual techniques to discriminate samples and the assessment of the ability of the techniques combined to distinguish samples. The techniques utilized were stereomicroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). Stereomicroscopy, to assess adhesive colors of black, clear/colorless, and clear adhesives with brown tint, resulted in a discrimination of 53%. FTIR analysis yielded eight distinct groups with a discrimination of 67%. Py-GC/MS analysis resulted in 16 groups with a discrimination of 83%. These analyses confirmed and further subdivided the FTIR groups. SEM/EDS resulted in five separate groups at 17% discrimination, increasing the overall discrimination to above 85%.     

Analysis and discrimination of architectural paint samples via a population study

This study involved the comparative analysis and discrimination of 964 architectural paint samples collected in the United States and Canada. The samples were evaluated to determine the extent to which randomly collected architectural finishes can be discriminated following standard operating protocols for paint analysis. The study also provides a basis for assessing the significance of a result in which a pair or group are undifferentiated. The techniques utilized were stereomicroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with both backscatter electron imaging (BSI) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). To assess the layer characteristics (e.g., number, color, sequence, thickness), stereomicroscopy was used with FTIR and/or SEM as needed. The use of visual and microscopic evaluations in concert with FTIR resulted in 42 undifferentiated pairs, a discrimination of 99.99%. Adding SEM and Py-GC/MS analysis resulted in further discrimination of 31 pairs, resulting in eleven undiscriminated pairs of samples. At the conclusion of the study, samples that remained undifferentiated proved to originate from the same source. Therefore, no random pairs were indistinguishable at the conclusion of all examinations.     

Is Bigger Better? Activity and Success in Negotiations in the United Nations General Assembly

Theorists often claim that being bigger than one's counterparts offers advantages in multilateral negotiations. In this article, I examine that argument using data from negotiations in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The article analyzes and compares the activity levels of smaller and larger states in international negotiations, and sheds light on the conditions under which the latter “punch below their weight.” My analysis indicates that size directly affects participation, but not success rates. Bigger states can better formulate national positions on a broad range of issues, enabling their diplomats to more actively participate in negotiations, while smaller states are absent more often. Activity is conducive to success, which helps bigger states. But not every negotiation strategy is equally effective. In the UNGA's one‐state, one‐vote context, bigger states are not able to systematically exert disproportionate influence despite their often superior financial resources and bargaining strategies.