Fighting on: emotion and conflict termination

Why do states persist in enduring, expensive conflicts when the costs seem so high, the potential benefits, at best, somewhat ambiguous? This article suggests that emotional psychology can provide some insights into this problem. Decision-makers construct a vision of the future that is greatly informed by affect. How they feel in the present has a big impact on their conception of events and their decisions about them. The risks they are prepared to take, the desires they anticipate having in future, the lessons of the past they draw on—all are constructed under the influence of current emotions, and all may encourage the persistence of conflict beyond a point at which more dispassionate minds might desist. This theoretical argument is then illustrated with a discussion of US policy-making in the Vietnam War.     

Proverbs and the Evolution of Public Administration

Herbert Simon, in his 1946 essay “The Proverbs of Administration,” indicted public administration as having conflicting and contradictory theories and an absence of a knowledge base that could provide a guide to practice. Simon proposed that public administration define concepts, adopt efficiency as its objective, focus on the study of decision making, and construct models that could predict efficient results. This 75th‐anniversary article revisits Simon's essay in light of contemporary public administration. It examines the progress that has been made and what still needs to be accomplished, and it ends with a list of barriers to further progress.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this issue. Carlos Eduardo Poggio Teixeira, Brazil, the United States, and the South American Subsystem: Regional Politics and the Absent Empire. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2014. Abbreviations, bibliography, index, 169 pp.; hardcover $80, paperback $36.99, ebook $22.07. Matthew E. Carnes, Continuity Despite Change: The Politics of Labor Regulation in Latin America. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2014. Tables, figures, bibliography, index, 256 pp.; hardcover $65. Tasha Fairfield, Private Wealth and Public Revenue in Latin America: Business Power and Tax Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015. Figures, tables, acronyms, appendixes, bibliography, index, 364 pp.; hardcover $99, ebook $79. Eduardo Moncada, Cities, Business, and the Politics of Urban Violence in Latin America. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2016. Bibliography, index, 248 pp.; hardcover $65, ebook. Teri L. Caraway, María Lorena Cook, and Stephen Crowley, eds., Working Through the Past: Labor and Authoritarian Legacies in Comparative Perspective. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2015. Photographs, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index, 296 pp.; hardcover $79.95, paperback $27.95. Elin Skaar, Camila Gianella Malca, and Trine Eide, After Violence: Transitional Justice, Peace, and Democracy. New York: Routledge, 2015. Figures, tables, index, 232 pp.; hardcover $145, paperback $54. David A. Steinberg, Demanding Devaluation: Exchange Rate Politics in the Developing World. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2015. Illustrations, figures, tables, appendix, notes, bibliography, index, 288 pp.; hardcover $45. UN Women, Progress of the World's Women 2015–16: Transforming Economies, Realizing Rights. New York: United Nations, 2015. Figures, tables, maps, notes, index, bibliography, 342 pp.; web version, http://progress.unwomen.org/en/2015     

Fatal Case of Hydrophilic Polymer Emboli

Hydrophilic polymers are used to coat catheters and other intravascular devices. In general, these polymers have many salutary properties; however, in some instances, fragmentation of hydrophilic polymers coating intravascular devices can occur with fatal consequences. This report details the histopathologic changes in the lung seen following polymer fragmentation and embolization from a central venous catheter. Polymer emboli detected microscopically are intravascular and consist of basophilic, lamellated, and nonrefractile elements. Typically, an inflammatory response is present to a variable degree. Embolization can result in severe tissue injury with ischemia and infarction.     

Do identity and status matter? A social identity theory perspective on the adaptability of low‐status expatriates

The study aims to investigate the effect of identify and status in the field of global mobility and expatriate management. It conceptualizes perceived prejudice towards low‐status expatriates (LSE) though the social identity theory (SIT) lens and examines the effect it has on two state self‐esteem domains, that is, performance self‐esteem and social self‐esteem. The study also highlights that the moderation roles education level and age of expatriates play towards their adaptability. In doing so, it seeks to expand the expatriate management domain by investigating the negative side associated with expatriation. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyze responses from 373 LSE working in China. The results provide evidence indicating the significance attached to status and identity, thus indicating that perceived prejudice significantly affects expatriate's self‐esteem negatively and that age and education level mitigate these effects by moderating the relationship. Age and education level attained by the expatriates are found to be significant moderators in this relationship. The study therefore proposes the use of SIT as a powerful theoretical lens for understanding LSE.