Discussion's Impact on Political Allocations: An Experimental Approach

In this study, we unite two experimental traditions to examinethe impact of discursive processes on political decision making.We directly manipulate the presence and timing of discussionin the "divide-the-dollar" game to assess the effects of discussionon participants' allocations and perceptions of the game's legitimacy.To investigate the influence of structure, we also manipulatethe presence of a majority/minority cleavage among participants.The dependent measures in all instances are the players' allocations,the outcome of the game, and psychometric indicators of legitimacyperceptions. Results indicate that the presence of discussioncan generate outcomes that are perceived as more equitable andfair in some circumstances—namely, when a cleavage ispresent. These findings establish the utility of this paradigm,as well as an important baseline for assessing the probableimpacts of proposals to integrate deliberation into politicaldecision making.     

Dimensional Reduction of Word-Frequency Data as a Substitute for Intersubjective Content Analysis

This paper presents a method for using dimensional reductionin the analysis of political content. We draw inspiration fromlatent semantic analysis (LSA) theory, which posits that factoranalysis can successfully model human language. We suggest thatthe factor analysis of word frequencies generated from any politicaltext—for example, open-ended survey responses—providesadequate content analysis categories and can substitute formore commonly practiced techniques. The method proceeds in threesteps: data preparation, exploratory factor analyses, and hypothesistesting. This method may produce other benefits by allowingthe data to speak more clearly in the development of codingdictionaries while avoiding the problems of inferential circularitycommon in other data-driven approaches. We demonstrate the methodusing responses collected in the execution of an experimentaldesign dealing with the topic of partial-birth abortion andassess the demonstration by presenting a human coding of thesame material.     

The possible influence of micro-organisms and putrefaction in the production of GHB in post-mortem biological fluid

In recent years, the post-mortem production of the drug of abuse gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in biological fluids (e.g. blood and urine) has caused various interpretative problems for toxicologists. Previously, other researchers have shown certain microbial species (Pseudomonas spp. and Clostridium aminobutyricum) possess the necessary enzymes to convert GABA to GHB. A preliminary investigation involving putrefied post-mortem blood indicated there was no observed relationship between "endogenous" GHB concentrations and concentrations of common putrefactive markers (tryptamine and phenyl-2-ethylamine). Microbiological analysis identified the presence of various micro-organisms: Clostridia spp., Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Enterococcus faecalis and Aeromonoas spp. Equine plasma, human blood and urine samples were inoculated with these and an additional micro-organism (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and incubated at 22 degrees C for 1 month. Following comparison with control samples and pre-inoculation concentrations, the data indicated an apparent production of GHB in unpreserved P. aeruginosa inoculated blood (2.3 mg/l). All other fluoride-preserved and unpreserved samples (including controls) had GHB concentrations <1mg/l. Although this concentration is lower than is typically associated with "endogenous" post-mortem GHB concentrations, this paper proposes a potential microbial production of GHB with time.     

Nonsexual boundary violations: sauce for the gander

Numerous articles in the mental health literature concern sexual contact between therapists and patients, which is explicitly prohibited by all four mental health professions' ethical codes. There is relatively little about nonsexual boundary violations, which are often covert and much more difficult to recognize (particularly in their early stages) than sexual violations; what little there is assumes that the clinician has the power in the relationship and uses that power for personal advantage. In this article the authors discuss the situation, rare in civil mental health facilities but common in correctional and forensic mental health facilities, in which personality-disordered patients manipulate and coerce clinicians to cross appropriate professional nonsexual boundaries for the patients' benefit; this reversal of the usual power dynamics between treaters and patients requires recognition of the role reversals present and requires different strategies for preventing such violations (hence "sauce for the gander").     

Interests and information in referendum voting: An analysis of Swiss voters

Abstract. Referendums impose considerable informational demands on voters. Recent theoretical and empirical research has emphasized the different shortcuts and heuristics they may employ in deciding how to vote. Relying on a substantial series of votes at the national level in Switzerland, we provide empirical tests on how Swiss voters cope with the informational demands in referendum voting. We combine simple heuristics, like partisan cues and endorsements, with indicators of instrumental interests to explain citizens' choices in a series of votes.     

Moral hazard in work organizations: A comment on Gaynor,Eswaran and Kotwal,and Holmström

A key question in the economics of organization is whether it is possible to induce a group of employees to produce some quota of labor desired by the director of their organization. Holmström (1982) argued that it is possible to achieve the desired result via a simple incentive scheme. The essence of the scheme is to pay the employees only if they reach the quota; if they fail, the director is allowed to take what they have produced and use it for his own compensation. In response, Eswaran and Kotwal (1984) pointed out that because the director's compensation is smaller if the employees succeed in reaching the quota than if they fail, he has an incentive to bribe an employee to shirk, thus guaranteeing that the quota is not reached. The director, in other words, is subject to moral hazard. In a recent issue of Public Choice, Gaynor (1989) criticized the Eswaran-Kotwal argument by suggesting that it is possible to design incentive schemes which eliminate the director's moral hazard problem. In this note, we defend the Eswaran-Kotwal argument, and raise further questions about the assumptions upon which Holmström's incentive scheme is based.