The Participation Divide? Political Participation,Trust in Government,and E‐government in Australia and New Zealand

Drawing on 438 telephone interview surveys in Australia and 500 in New Zealand, we find evidence of a 'participation divide' where those participating in politics do so using a range of means, including electronic ones. Those less likely to participate in politics, are less likely to participate across all means measured. Those with higher levels of education and income and of European ethnicity are more likely to participate. We confirm the existence of the so-called 'digital divide' with those that use e-government means and those that do not, being stratified by education, ethnicity, income, gender and age. Contrary to our expectations we find that lower levels of trust in government are associated with higher levels of some types of participation, including e-government ones.     

Prosecutor Risk,Maturation, and Wrongful Conviction Practice

In this article we rethink the connection between prosecutorial experience and conviction psychology that undergirds much of the academic literature about wrongful convictions. The conviction psychology account of prosecutorial behavior asserts that prosecutorial susceptibility to cognitive biases deepens over time, thereby increasing the risk that prosecutors will become involved in wrongful convictions the longer they stay in the profession. Our interviews with more than 200 state prosecutors call into question the basis for this asserted correlation between prosecutorial experience and risk of misconduct. The prosecutors we met consistently reported that, all else equal, prosecutors tend to become more balanced, rather than more adversarial, over time. Hence, the prosecutors who present the greatest risk of producing a wrongful conviction are those who are either inexperienced or resistant to the normal maturation process. For this reason, we suggest that wrongful conviction researchers and database designers pay closer attention to the variables associated with prosecutorial experience and resistance that might affect the development of prosecutorial maturity and the consequent risk of wrongful convictions.     

Challenging the Leadership: The Party Conference as a Platform for Dissenting Membership Voice in British and Danish Parties of the Left

According to A. O. Hirschman, party members who are dissatisfied with their party's policy have two options: they can either leave the party (exit) or try to change party policy (voice). Research has shown that leadership control over policy is extremely high, leaving membership influence virtually non-existent. On that basis, exit seems the only viable membership reaction to dissatisfaction with party policy. Nevertheless, research has also shown that voice is of great importance to members; hence it is voice that will be the main focus of this article, which examines the circumstances under which party members are likely to opt for voice over exit and what factors are likely to hamper voice. Using a study of the Danish Socialist Peoples Party, the Danish Social Democrats and the British Labour Party, the article shows that despite the odds stacked against them, some party members do make use of the opportunities for voice offered by the party conference, but also that they often face significant obstacles in exercising it.     

The Tax That Failed: The VAT in Niger

The value-added tax (VAT) requires considerable sophistication on the part of both the taxpayers and the tax authorities in order to function effectively; not all countries meet this criteria. After Niger implemented the VAT in 1986, instead of realizing an increase in tax revenue it witnessed a decline, creating a major budget crisis. This article discusses why the VAT was an inappropriate choice for Niger, analyzes the reasons for the decline in tax revenue, and proposes alternative policies consistent with the administrative capacity of the Niger government and the existing socioeconomic environment.     

Popular science,social science,metaphor and deception

He written widely on a variety of topics and is author or co-author of many books and articles. Among his books are Address Unknown: Homelessness in America; Homelessness and Health; After the Clean-Up: Long Range Effects of Natural Disasters; Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Firearms; Under the Gun: Weapons Crime and Violence in America;and The State of the Masses.His current research focusses on adolescent violence and on treament programs for homeless alcohol and drug abusers.