Recommending a scheme of reason: Political theory,policy science,and democracy

It is the task of policy science, as of political theory generally, to recommend a scheme of reason that will presumably result in better public decisions. This may seem profoundly undemocratic, for in a democracy, should not the people be free to think precisely as they please? Yet all political theory intimates an idea of political reason and unreason. The problem then is which ideal of reason to teach in the name of a policy science of democracy. Herein I compare three common schemes of reason: utilitarian calculation, liberal rationalism, and practical reason. My conclusion is that there is no reason to suppose that the capacity for the more public-spirited forms of deliberation is less widely distributed in the population than calculated self-interest, and that either liberal rationalism or practical reason, or some combination of the two, is more compatible with democracy than utilitarian calculation.     

Marcia and erikson: The relationships among ego identity status,neuroticism, dogmatism,and purpose in life

Implicit in James Marcia's writings and in the many studies that have employed his measure of ego identity is the assumption that his four ego identity statuses are developmentally ordered along a continuum from “being identity diffused” to “achieving” an ego identity. In order to assess the validity of this assumption, hypotheses were generated and tested concerning the relationship between the above ordering and Erikson's writings regarding the role played in the process of identity formation by the following three variables: neuroticism, dogmatism, and a sense of purpose in life. If one assumes that Erikson's perspective is valid, then the results of this study fail to support Marcia's continuum assumption. While some of the identity statuses appear to classify persons in a manner consistent with Erikson's writings, not one instance of the postulated ordering of Marcia's four statuses is observed. It is concluded that Marcia's measure is not an adequate operationalization of Erikson's perspective on identity formation.     

Work tests for welfare recipients: The gap between the goal and the reality

In the past, work tests have largely failed to reduce the rising cost of welfare programs. Part of the reason has been a slippage between the objective and the way it has been implemented. The slippage, according to one major study, has been due to a number of causes: a failure to translate the objective into operating rules consistent with the objective; the difficulties of enforcing the requirement in the field; and the unwillingness to penalize innocent dependents of uncooperative welfare recipients. But more effective implementation may be possible through a number of measures.     

Accidental methylene chloride fatality

A case of accidental methylene chloride poisoning by inhalation is presented. The methylene chloride concentration in post-mortem blood was 29.8 mg% as determined by a headspace gas-chromatography technique. The accidental death was attributed to improper ventilation of vapors.