Engineering a critical realignment of the electorate: The case of the socialists in France

For the first time, largely owing to the Socialists' ability to gain and retain the allegiance of the electorate, France has experienced a major electoral realignment without a concomitant change in governmental system. The Socialists' success results from three major factors: their pre‐1981 electoral strategy which involved refashioning their traditional ideology and rhetoric to appeal to a new, emerging portion of the electorate, the wage‐earners; their subsequent ideological flexibility, which included a move toward more pragmatic politics along with an opening to the centre; and the failure of their rivals on the moderate and the extreme right to mount a lasting challenge with their own counter‐ideologies and policy initiatives.     

Incentive Effects of Expanding Federal Mass Transit Formula Grants

Public subsidies to industries firms incentives to alter their behavior. When calculating the effects of such programs, previous assessments of transit subsidies have not included the effects of these incentives on the firms' output. This article reports the responses of mass transit firms to the federal transit subsidy program and changes the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21) made to that program, as predicted by a structural model of output choice. TEA 21 increases bus service in medium‐sized cities by 6‐8 percent, butincreases service in large cities by only 1‐2 percent. The formula's incentive tier is weak, and the size of the subsidy depends little on whether that output results in increased ridership. The formula could be redesigned to provide stronger incentives to lower cost and increase ridership, thus encouraging a more efficient response from transit firms. © 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Die Einflussmöglichkeiten der Europäischen Kommission auf die europäische Politik

The means of the European Commission to influence European policies are being discussed predominantly with view to its agenda-setting powers. Institutionalist analyses have shown how the Commission can use agenda setting to bring to bear its own political preferences on the Council. With view to other Commission rights, in contrast, there have not been similar systematic analyses to show the Commission’s impact on European policies. In this article it is shown how the Commission can use its rights following from its role as a guardian of the Treaty and from competition law strategically. By simultaneously imposing threats on the Member States, the Commission can present its proposals to the Council as a “lesser evil”, pressurizing the Council into acceptance. The paper shows the scope and limits of this strategy and takes into consideration how other studies discussing the Commission’s powers fit into this framework of analysis.     

Soziale Mechanismen und mechanismische Erklärungen

Researchers in all fields dealing with reality wish to explain facts once they have described them. The prevailing account of explanation in the philosophical literature is the “covering law model”. According to this opinion, to explain a fact is to deduce the proposition(s) describing it from a theory together with the appropriate data, such as initial conditions. This is not how explanation is conceived of in the advanced factual sciences. In these, to explain a fact consists in unveiling the mechanism that makes the thing in question “tick”. In turn, a mechanism consists in the process(es) characteristic of the given thing. For example, metabolism is the central mechanism of living beings, learning is that of schools, and trade that of markets. I call mechanismic this kind of explanation. Therefore, anyone wishing to control a concrete system had better start by finding out its typical mechanisms, so as to maintain or alter them. This is what social control mechanisms, from cooperation and charity to legislation and violence, are supposed to accomplish. Typically, social mechanisms involve at least two levels, micro (individual) and macro (institutional). Consequently they can be neither understood nor designed on the basis of either individualism or holism. I argue that only systemism, the view that every thing is either a system or a component of one, can satisfactorily account for the centrality of mechanisms. Warning: Merton, Giddens and others often called “structure” what I call “mechanism”. Following mathematical usage, I define the structure of a system as the set of all the relations (in particular cohesive bonds) among the system component (endostructure), as well as the relations between the system components and things in the environment.     

Speaking the Language of Friendship: Partnerships in the Political Construction of the Late Sixteenth-Century South-East Charcas Frontier

The present article discusses the importance of partnerships in the political construction of the south-east frontier of late sixteenth-century Charcas, focused on foundation and destruction of San Miguel de la Laguna. In a challenge to the narrative of ‘constant war zone’, the events are here framed as part of a process described as territorialisation, which transformed geographies into territories of the polycentric Catholic Monarchy, politically equipping the land with relations that were expressed through institutions. San Miguel was the product of the ‘friendship’ between its founder and the Chiriguanaes who inhabited the area. Its fate was not the result of untrustworthy natives.     

Modification of hematoma findings in the breast region

Subcutaneous bruises caused by blunt injury are common findings in medicolegal case work. If the hematoma involves the anterior thoracic wall, bruises are mostly absent in the region of the nipples and the surrounding areola. A similar phenomenon has already been described for hypostatic skin hemorrhages. A possible explanation for both phenomena is the special tissue texture in the nipple–areola complex. Based on four cases from the forensic autopsy material and two cases from clinical forensic examinations, the macromorphological findings and the histological correlates are presented.     

The Disappeared and the Mesa de Diálogo in Chile 1999–2001: Searching for Those Who Never Grew Old

This paper describes steps taken in order to deal with information regarding human rights abuses in Chile during the Pinochet regime, focusing on the most recent initiative, the Mesa de Diálogo (1999–2001) whose final report was given to president Lagos in January 2001. Two national initiatives, i.e. the establishment and reports of the Comisión de Verdad y Reconciliación (1991) and the following-up of this inquiry by the Corporación Nacional de Reparación y Reconciliación (1996) preceded La Mesa and are discussed in this paper. The paper concludes by suggesting that the Chilean transition to democracy will remain incomplete if the fate of the disappeared is not fully known and legally investigated.     

Using Stationarity Tests in Antitrust Market Definition

In this article it is argued that, if two products or geographicareas belong in the same market, their relative price must bestationary. Hence stationarity tests like the Augmented Dickey-Fullerand the KPSS can be helpful in delineating the relevant marketfor antitrust purposes, particularly for abuses of dominantpositions and agreements between competitors. The proposed procedureis strictly related to cointegration analysis but is simplerand has more general validity. An application to the Italianmilk market illustrates the technique.     

Myths about workplace violence, harassment and bullying

The objective of this article is to examine myths about various forms of violence which occurs in the workplace. Harassment, bullying or hounding at work, is a problem which has increased in magnitude and needs to be addressed. We therefore analyse the nature, perception, accusations and prevention of such myths with the objective of clarifying the tangible and intangible effects on the health of the victim, and the results such harassment provokes on the organisation of the workplace.