Incentives,challenges, and dilemmas of TANF: A case study

This paper compares the incentives inherent in TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), the U.S. welfare system in place after the 1996 reforms, with those of TANF's predecessor, AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), using the experience in one state, Wisconsin, as an example. Is the new program successful in avoiding the “poverty trap” of the old welfare system, in which the marginal tax rates imposed on earnings and benefits were so high that they discouraged work effort outside a narrow earnings range? As women receiving assistance begin working more hours and earning more, income‐conditioned benefits (Food Stamps, EITC, Medicaid, and subsidies for child care) are reduced and withdrawn, in effect constituting a “tax” on earnings. Under TANF, there is more support for these families, at least in Wisconsin, and so economic well‐being should be higher for most women with earning in this range than it was under AFDC. But marginal tax rates under TANF remain high, and in some income ranges they are higher than under AFDC. Once in the work force, former TANF recipients have earnings over the long run that expose them to very high marginal tax rates, which decrease the benefits of working harder and make it very difficult to gain full eonomic independence. Evidence from other sources suggest that most low‐skilled women have earnings in the same range and so are likely to face similar reductions in benefits such as child care subsidies or the EITC as their earnings increase, even if they are not receiving welfare‐related benefits. © 2002 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

The Contingent Effects of Risk Perception on Risk-Taking Behavior: Adolescent Participative Orientation and Marijuana Use

Viewing marijuana use as a risk-taking behavior, we find that the perception of high risk related to regular use of marijuana has no simple direct effect on that risk-taking behavior. Rather, the effect of risk perception is contingent upon the extent of youth participation in activities such as going to parties, going to bars, attending concerts and visiting friends. The perception of risk suppresses marijuana use most effectively in the context of activities where such a risk-taking behavior is most prevalent. These findings are congruent with recent literature on actions of risk-taking that takes into account the subjective meaning orientation as a moderator between perception and action. These lead us to conclude that a behavioral-specific approach can augment the conventional approach to common factors underlying the youths' proneness to problem behaviors.     

Administrative devolution and accountability: the case of the non-profit housing program

Abstract: The problem of bureaucratic accountability has received considerable attention in the literature of public administration, but few studies have considered the extent to which extra-governmental agencies are held accountable to governments or legislatures. This paper examines administrative devolution and the problem of accountability, using the non-profit housing program as an example. It argues that devolution of programs, without adjusting for the resulting loss of bureaucratic control, leaves governments with little information about, or control over, the people who make decisions about large expenditures of public funds. It concludes that if the advantages of using the voluntary sector for social service delivery are to outweigh the problems of reduced accountability, forms of control -such as incentives for compliance and internal professional standards - which do not limit the autonomy of these groups, but which can enhance pre-audit accountability, need to be developed. Sommaire: Si le problème de la responsabilité bureaucratique a fait I'objet de nombreuses études dans les textes de I'administration publique, peu d'entre elles, en revanche, ont pris en considération la mesure dans laquelle les organismes paragouvernementaux sont tenus de rendre des comptes aux gouvernements ou législatures. Cet article examine la décentralisation administrative et les problèmes de responsabilités, en utilisant comme exemple le programme de logement à but non lucratif. Il suggere que la décentralisation des programmes, sans ajustement qui tienne compte de la perte de contrôle bureaucratique en résultant, laisse les gouvernements avec peu de renseignements ou de contrôle sur les personnes qui prennent des décisions concernant d'importantes dépenses de fonds public. En conclusion, I'auteure dit que, si les avantages résultant de I'utilisation du secteur bénévole pour fournir les services sociaux doivent I'emporter sur les problèmes de diminution de la responsabilité, il faut mettre en place certaines mesures de contrôle (tels les encouragements à se conformer à des normes professionnelles internes), qui ne restreindraient par I'autonomie de ces groupes, mais pourraient accroître la responsabilité avant le contrôle.     

A novel fluorescence-based method in forensic science for the detection of blood in situ

Full DNA profiles can be generated from just a few cells; however these profiles can be contaminated from other cell types present at the crime scene. We report here on the development of an immunofluorescent technique to spatially locate human-specific blood in situ and also on the ability of this technique to detect individual leukocytes and the DNA contained within them. Four monoclonal mouse anti-human antibodies were evaluated; anti-glycophorin A to detect erythrocytes and anti-CD45, anti-myeloperoxidase (MPO) and anti-histone H1 to detect the nucleated leukocytes. Each antibody was labeled with either Alexa Fluor 488 or 568 for direct application to blood smears which allowed the simultaneous detection of erythrocytes and leukocytes. Furthermore, because histones are DNA binding proteins, the application of anti-histone H1 allowed the detection of DNA within a blood smear. Importantly it was found that full DNA profiles could be achieved after using this method with similar peak area ratios compared to untreated cells. The fluorescent antibodies were found to be human-specific with the exception of anti-histone H1 due to its conserved sequence. However, used in combination with anti-CD45 or anti-MPO the location of DNA from human-specific leukocytes could be detected. The technique was also tested on older blood stains and was still found to be sensitive and cell-specific after 4 months. Following the optimization of the methodology, the fluorescent antibodies were applied to short lengths of black cotton fibres covered with human blood spots. Although the background fluorescence from the cotton was found to be high, erythrocytes and even individual leukocytes could easily be detected, indicating that this technique could be used to detect extremely minute amounts of blood. Used in combination with laser capture microdissection (LCM), this method could be used to pick off individual leukocytes for LCN DNA techniques.     

Digital Restructuring: Gender,Class and Citizenship in the Information Society in Canada

‘Digital restructuring’ denotes a phenomenon integral to but also distinct within economic and political restructuring broadly conceived. The concept of restructuring can be modified with ‘digital’ to forefront the important technological dimension of global restructuring, as well as to indicate developments associated with the new ‘information economy’. Digital technology and digitization have been integral to the scope and speed of the global economic and political restructuring of recent decades. They have constituted the technological conditions for some of the more characteristic aspects of this process; from the flexiblization or outright shedding of labour, to the mobility of production and capital and the globalization of trade and financial markets. This paper seeks to debunk much of the corporate and state mythology of digital restructuring currently in circulation by drawing upon the analyses of digital technology and restructuring advanced by critical scholars and progressive social movements, and to highlight the dangers to progressive political movements and discourses posed by the very nature of these representations.