Identifying the bandwagon effect in two-round elections

Albert Heckscher (1857–1897) was a Danish lawyer. In his dissertation (Bidrag till Grundlæggelse af en Afstemningslære), accepted in 1892 at the University of Copenhagen, Heckscher dealt with numerous issues related to voting, especially those related to vote-aggregation in parliaments, courts and committees. He knew the works of Condorcet and Borda quite well, and analyzed many topics that would nowadays fall into the domain of the theory of social choice. These include Condorcet-cycles, differences between Condorcet-effective rules and the Borda rule, strategic voting, the influence of the voting order under the parliamentary voting rules, the likelihood of single-peaked preference profiles, and the problems created by non-separable preferences. Heckscher’s treatment of the Judgment Aggregation Paradox is especially noteworthy. Although Kornhauser and Sager (Yale Law Journal 96: 82–117, 1986) are usually mentioned as the inventors of this problem, Heckscher’s earlier treatment confirms the suspicion that the problem is not of recent origin. Numerous issues studied in the post-Arrowian theory of voting may already be found in Heckscher’s dissertation; some of them have become subjects of systematic study only in the twenty-first century. It is argued that Albert Heckscher, the unknown nineteenth century Danish lawyer, deserves a place in the pantheon of the theory of social choice alongside his better known contemporaries Charles Dodgson and E. J. Nanson.     

The physical competence test of the Dutch National Police: The effects of wearing a police uniform on test performance

ABSTRACT

In this study, we investigated the effects of wearing a police uniform and gear on officers’ performance during the Physical Competence Test (PCT) of the Dutch National Police. In a counterbalanced within-subjects design, twenty-seven police officers performed the PCT twice, once wearing sportswear and once wearing a police uniform. The results showed clear indications that wearing a police uniform influenced the performance on the PCT. Participants were on average 14 seconds slower in a police uniform than in sportswear. Furthermore, performing the test in uniform was accompanied by higher RPE-scores and total physiological load. It seems that wearing a police uniform during the test diminishes the discrepancy between physical fitness needed to pass the simulated police tasks in the PCT and the job-specific physical fitness that is required during daily police work. This suggests that wearing a police uniform during the test will increase the representativeness of the testing environment for the work field.     

Punctuated equilibrium in the energy regime complex

The concept of a regime complex has proved fruitful to a burgeoning literature in international relations, but it has also opened up new questions about how and why they develop over time. This article describes the history of the energy regime complex as it has changed over the past 40 years, and interprets this history in light of an interpretive framework of the sources of institutional change. One of its principal contributions is to highlight what Stephen Krasner referred to as a pattern of “punctuated equilibrium” reflecting both periods of stasis and periods of innovation, as opposed to a gradual process of change. We show that the timing of innovation depends on dissatisfaction and shocks and that the nature of innovation—that is, whether it is path-dependent or de novo—depends on interest homogeneity among major actors. This paper is the first to demonstrate the empirical applicability of the punctuated equilibrium concept to international regime complexes, and contributes to the eventual development of a dynamic theory of change in regime complexes.     

Willing Suspension of Disbelief: A Study in Online Learning Through Simulation,and Its Potential for Deeper Learning in Higher Education

This article describes the replacement of a “traditionally taught” law of probate course (lectures and workshops/tutorials) with an on-line collaborative learning exercise using simulation and role-play which is referred to hereafter as the Transactional Learning Project (TLP). The article considers the theory that the emotional engagement that comes about through role play in simulation leads to deeper learning, a process (Maharg in Simulation and the affective domain, Cambridge, 2010) has dubbed as the “integration of the cognitive and the affective”. The article includes statistical analysis of student feedback on the TLP in an attempt to measure how easy it is to carry students predisposed to expect information to be “given” rather than “acquired” along the journey leading away from traditional didactic teaching. The project was motivated partly by the dearth of such learning practices on the Legal Practice Course. It is suggested that the findings of the project add to the body of research (Keats and Boughey in High Educ 27:59–73, 1994) which tends to illustrate the success in terms of student learning from working in leaderless (i.e where the Tutor is absent from the collaborative group) groups engaged in practical tasks involving simulation.     

Validation of the Attitudes About Aggression in Dating Situations (AADS) and the Justification of Verbal/Coercive Tactics Scale (JVCT) in Spanish Adolescents

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of two instruments that assess attitudes justifying use of aggression in adolescents?? dating relationships: the Attitudes About Aggression in Dating Situations (AADS) and the Justification of Verbal/Coercive Tactics Scale (JVCT). The sample was made up of 2,856 adolescents from different high schools of Madrid. Results supported the three-factor structure for the AADS and the six-factor structure for the JVCT, which was consistent with the theory and with previous research. As expected, the relation between attitudes and aggressive behavior was between small and moderate but significant in most cases. Furthermore, attitudes differed depending on the type of violence, the respondent??s sex, and on whether aggression is carried out by a man or a woman. Finally, the potential applications of these two scales are discussed, and it is concluded that both constitute useful tools to assess justification of aggression in dating relationships in young couples.     

Incorporating a Healthy Living Curriculum within Family Behavior Therapy: A Clinical Case Example in a Woman with a History of Domestic Violence,Child Neglect,Drug Abuse,and Obesity

Women reported to child protective service agencies frequently report problems that significantly interfere with the health and well-being of their children and themselves. Behavioral treatment programs appear to be effective in managing these co-existing problems, such as domestic violence and substance abuse. However, evidence-supported interventions are rarely exemplified in complicated clinical cases, especially within child welfare settings. Therefore, in this case example, we describe the process of adapting an evidence-supported treatment to assist in managing significant co-existing health-related problems in a mother who was referred due to child neglect and drug abuse. At the conclusion of therapy, the participant reported improvements in perceived family relationships, illicit drug use, child maltreatment potential, whereas other health-related outcomes were mixed. Most improvements were maintained at 4-month follow-up. Issues relevant to implementing evidence-based treatments within community contexts are discussed, including methods of increasing the likelihood of valid outcome assessment, managing treatment integrity, and adjusting standardized treatments to accommodate co-occurring problems.     

Domestic Violence and Social Support in a Clinical Sample of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Women

The present study examined domestic violence and perceived social support in a clinical sample of Deaf and Hard of Hearing women. Forty-six adult Deaf and Hard of Hearing females receiving outpatient mental health services completed a modified version of the Conflict Tactics Scale and the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List. Results showed that nearly three-quarters (71.7%) of the sample related experiencing psychologically abusive behaviors, and over one-half (56.5%) reported a history of physical violence from a partner. In addition, participants reported experiences of domestic abuse directly related to their deafness. Level of perceived social support did not differ for participants with a history of domestic violence victimization compared to those with no such history. Findings underscore the need for increased awareness of Deaf and Hard of Hearing women as a population at high risk, and warranting further investigative attention, with regard to domestic violence.     

What is Tort Law For? Part 1. The Place of Corrective Justice

In this paper I discuss the proposal that the law of torts exists to do justice, more specifically corrective justice, between the parties to a tort case. My aims include clarifying the proposal and defending it against some objections (as well as saving it from some defences that it could do without). Gradually the paper turns to a discussion of the rationale for doing corrective justice. I defend what I call the ‘continuity thesis’ according to which at least part of the rationale for doing corrective justice is to mitigate one’s wrongs, including one’s torts. I try to show how much of the law of torts this thesis helps to explain, but also what it leaves unexplained. In the process I show (what I will discuss in a later companion paper) that ‘corrective justice’ cannot be a complete answer to the question of what tort law is for.     

Superfilling technology: transferring knowledge to industry from the National Institute of Standards and Technology

In the mid-1990s, the semiconductor industry manufactured devices with critical circuit dimensions of between 0.35 and 0.25 μ, and it used aluminum or an aluminum copper alloy to interconnect device components. However, the critical dimension needed to be reduced so that devices could become faster and more efficient. At circuits dimensions of 0.18 μ or less, aluminum no longer conducts electricity well enough to maintain the circuit’s efficiency; thus, the industry determined that copper—a superior conducting material—would be needed to help the industry produce smaller and faster semiconductor devices. Still, technical barriers existed, preventing a seamless transition from aluminum to copper. Thus, in the 1990s, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) began focused research on superfilling aimed at assisting the semiconductor industry during this period. In this paper, we document the net economic benefits (private and social) accruing from NIST’s core research investments in superfilling during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Using traditional evaluation methodology and metrics, we calculated economic impact estimates, and the results suggest that NIST’s public resources were, from a social perspective, used efficiently.     

Research expenditures,technology transfer activity,and university licensing revenue

In this paper we relate university licensing revenues to both university research expenditures and characteristics of the university and the university technology transfer office. We apply the Hausman–Taylor estimator for panel data with time-invariant explanatory variables and the Arellano–Bover dynamic panel model to unbalanced panels for the years 1991–2003 and balanced panels for the years 1995–2003. We find conflicting evidence regarding the short-term impacts of research expenditures on licensing revenues. On the other hand, both early initiation of technology transfer programs and staff size increase expected licensing revenues. Staff size and early entry appear to be substitutes, however. One-year lagged licensing revenue has strong predictive power for current licensing revenue. Further research is necessary to analyze changes in technology transfer office efficiency over time and the contribution of technology transfer to larger university missions.