Does Power Corrupt? An Empirical Study of Power,Accountability, and Performance Triangle in Public Administration

Foundational work in public administration has considered the relationship between administrative power, accountability, and performance in public organizations. Even with the vast literature addressing power, accountability, and performance, scholars are still theorizing on how they influence one another. This study proposes and empirically tests a theoretical model of the relationships between each of these three constructs. Data are analyzed from an original survey of a national sample of US local government public administrators—city managers. Using structural equation modeling, results show that there are positive relationships between power and accountability, power and performance, and accountability and performance. The article discusses theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

Militarism and Dual-Conflict Capacity

This research note examines how domestic institutions can moderate the relationship between domestic and interstate conflict involvement. Previous work has found that military dictatorships are more likely to become involved in either domestic or international conflicts, compared to party-based autocracies. We argue that the same institutional explanations for why military autocracies are more conflict-prone also make them less capable of successfully carrying out multiple conflicts at the same time. Analyzing interstate and domestic conflict involvement on a sample of dictatorships over the period 1947–2004, we show that military autocracies dealing with internal armed conflict are less likely than their nonmilitary counterparts to become involved in an international conflict.     

The discrimination potential of ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, thin layer chromatography, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for the forensic analysis of black and blue ballpoint inks

The knowledge of the discriminating power of analytical techniques used for the differentiation of writing inks can be useful when interpreting results. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectrophotometry, thin layer chromatography (TLC), and diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were used to examine a population of 21 black and 12 blue ballpoint writing inks. Based on corroborative results of these methods, the discrimination power for UV-VIS, TLC, and FT-IR was determined to be 100% and 98% for the black and blue inks, respectively. Generally, TLC and UV-VIS can be used to differentiate the colorant components (i.e., dyes and some pigments) found in inks. As FT-IR can be utilized to identify some of the noncolorant components, it was determined to be an excellent complementary technique that can be implemented into an analytical scheme for ink analysis.     

知识产权的兴起：一个前途未卜的观念（二）

三在18世纪,欧洲的文化生活经历了一场激烈的转变。从精读到泛读的转换以及中产阶级读者大众的崛起,导致了印刷业在18世纪的爆炸。在英国,每年的图书产量在18世纪被估计增长了4倍。法国也同样见证了识字率的显著提高和人们对现代世俗文学作品需求的激增。     

Global perspectives on scientists’ roles in legislative policymaking

Policy Sciences - The question of how scientists should engage in policymaking has spurred both pragmatic and philosophical debates for decades. Scant empirical research addressing how experts...     

A X-chromosome STR hexaplex as a powerful tool in deficiency paternity cases

The X-chromosome short tandem repeat (STR) markers have been described as very adequate tools for solving deficiency paternity cases and kinship tests when women are involved. In the absence of the alleged father, presumed paternal relationship can be more efficiently investigated by using a set of six to ten X-STR markers compared to fifteen autosomal STR. For this study, we compared the usefulness of a X-STR hexaplex developed in our laboratory (DXS7133, DXS7424, DXS8378, DXS6807, DXS7423 and DXS8377) and the commercial kit Identifiler in solving deficiency paternities. We have worked on distinct groups of caseworks involving daughters, their mothers and presumed paternal grandmothers or putative half sisters and their respective mothers. The PCR products were separated by capillary electrophoresis and detected in an ABI Prism 3100. In the majority of the caseworks (>90%), the likelihood ratio (LR) obtained by using the X-STR hexaplex was higher than the LR value observed when the Identifiler kit was used for genotyping. The combination of the two STR typing systems was able to solve all the cases.     

Addressing the mental healthcare needs of foster children: perspectives of stakeholders from the child welfare system

A qualitative study was conducted to better understand the factors that contribute to psychotropic medication (PM) overuse among children in the child welfare system in Kentucky, including barriers to providing psychosocial interventions that potentially minimize the need for PM. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with personnel in the Department of Community-Based Services (DCBS). Participants identified important areas to target for system-wide quality improvement efforts, which included improved exchange of health information, training, and communications on the use of PM, and measures to improve access to non-pharmacological psychosocial interventions to address the mental healthcare needs of children in the child welfare system.     

Childhood Physical and Verbal Mistreatment,Psychological Symptoms,and Substance Use: Sex Differences and the Moderating Role of Attachment

Sex differences in sequelae associated with levels of childhood physical mistreatment and verbal mistreatment were examined in a non-clinical sample of 272 university students. We predicted and found that both forms of mistreatment are related to attachment difficulties as well as various adverse psychological symptoms. We hypothesized, based on attachment theory, that the strength of a child’s attachment to one parent would moderate adverse emotional sequelae of mistreatment by the other parent. This prediction was only partially supported. Strength of the mother-daughter attachment moderated several of the adverse psychological symptoms in response to mistreatment by fathers, but mother-son attachment did not so moderate. Strength of the father-son attachment also did not moderate the symptoms associated with mistreatment perpetrated by mothers, nor did the father-daughter attachment. These results suggest that, among other relevant factors, sex differences should also be taken into account in treatment and prevention efforts.