The Politics of Federal Technology Policy: 1980–1988

This paper examines the politics of federal initiatives in technology during the period 1980–1988 that promote economic competitiveness. It finds that the ideological consistency of these new initiatives with the prevailing political climate, and the presence of business constituencies for technology are key to the adoption of new technology initiatives. In the absence of a strong business interest, agency politics and efforts dealing with the budget deficit dominate. Progress by new technology policy initiativesfbunders m is incremental at best. This paper also discusses the trend toward "industry-led" technology policy.     

The impact of psychological autopsies on medical examiners' determination of manner of death

This study evaluated the impact of psychological information on medical examiners' determination of manner of death in equivocal cases. Ten cases, a typical and equivocal case for each of five case types (single car, child, autoerotic, psychotic, and Russian roulette death) were evaluated for manner of death by 195 medical examiner subjects. From this sample 95 control subjects received 10 cases made up of physical and circumstantial evidence, while 100 experimental subjects received the same 10 cases expanded with brief psychological autopsies. Psychological information was shown to have a statistically significant impact on subjects' determination (and certainty) of manner of death is equivocal cases and even in some typical cases.     

Parental attachment and emotional distress in the transition to college

The continued attachment to parents and peers in adults has been examined in two ways: the individual difference approach, examining characteristic attachment styles across relationships, and the general intensity approach, examining the salience of emotional and behavioral reactions to a particular separation. The present study examines the intensity of attachment to parents at the transition to college. This voluntary separation from parents was expected to elicit heightened attachment for college students, especially residential students, which would decrease over time. In addition, it was expected that high levels of parental attachment at the beginning of college would predispose students to later depression. Results indicate that parental attachment decreases during the first semester of college only for residential students. In addition, maternal attachment is significantly higher for females than for males. Finally, high levels of parental attachment in males at the beginning of college were predictive of high levels of depressed mood at the end of the first semester, while no relationship was found for females.Received Ph.D. from Yale University. Involved in the study of adult attachment in both healthy and pathological populations.Received Ph.D. from University of Massachusetts, Amhearst. Involved in the study of adult attachment and desperate love in both healthy and pathological populations.     

Workplace Relations: Friendship Patterns and Consequences (According to Managers)

This article examines orientations toward workplace friendship. Based on a survey of senior managers in cities with populations over 50,000, it addresses the following questions: Do senior managers promote, condone, or discourage workplace friendship? What risks and benefits of workplace friendships do these managers perceive? What policies and strategies that affect workplace friendship are found in organizations? How do these organizational efforts affect perceptions of employee performance? This article finds that, despite the risks, orientations in favor of workplace friendships are widespread, and many jurisdictions engage in efforts to promote them.     

Operational criteria for the determination of suicide

Suicide is an important public health problem for which we have an inadequate public health database. In the United States, decisions about whether deaths are listed as suicides on death certificates are usually made by a coroner or medical examiner. These certification decisions are frequently marked by a lack of consistency and clarity, and laws and procedures for guiding these decisions vary from state to state and even from county to county. Without explicit criteria to aid in this decision making, coroners or medical examiners may be more susceptible to pressures from families or communities not to certify specific deaths as suicide. In addition, coroners or medical examiners may certify similar deaths differently at different times. The degree to which suicides may be underreported or misclassified is unknown. This makes it impossible to estimate accurately the number of deaths by suicide, to identify risk factors, or to plan and evaluate preventive interventions. To remedy these problems, a working group representing coroners, medical examiners, statisticians, and public health agencies developed operational criteria to assist in the determination of suicide. These criteria are based on a definition of suicide as "death arising from an act inflicted upon oneself with the intent to kill oneself." The purpose of these criteria is to improve the validity and reliability of suicide statistics by: (1) promoting consistent and uniform classifications; (2) making the criteria for decision making in death certification explicit; (3) increasing the amount of information used in decision making; (4) aiding certifiers in exercising their professional judgment; and (5) establishing common standards of practice for the determination of suicide.     

Municipal Government Financial Reporting: Administrative and Ethical Climate

This article examines financial disclosure in U.S. cities. It considers factors that affect the level of municipal financial disclosure, in particular the effect of administrative factors. It finds that participation in the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting program, and the Chief Financial Officer's familiarity with the activities of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board are positively associated with more disclosure. These latter factors are interpreted as measures of professionalism and are furthered by the adoption of municipal codes of ethics which stress openness and responsiveness to stakeholder interests. Such general policies are indirectly associated with heightened levels of financial disclosure. Financial disclosure is also associated with city size and demands from capital markets.