Bicommunalism in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is a bicommunal society in which Protestantsare numerically dominant; Roman Catholics constitute virtuallyall of the remaining population. On the island as a whole, Protestantsare heavily outnumbered; the Republic of Ireland (the "South")has a population that is about 96 percent Catholic. Social segregationof the two northern communities is relatively distinct, andthere is little crosscutting between groups that might lessenbicommunal conflict. A reciprocal relationship exists betweenthe social system and political structures. Northern Irish politicalinstitutions followed the Westminster model, which facilitatedthe political exclusion of Catholics and impeded social as wellas political integration. The bicommunal social structure hasimpeded the development of more accommodating political structures.Geographic issues and external linkages compound the politicalproblem. Northern Irish politics can be viewed as a "dual dyad"in which the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland arecritical components. Psychological dimensions of Northern Irishbicommunalism further exacerbate the conflict.     

Project USA: American competitiveness and what must be done to restore it

The United States today faces a loss of influence as a world power, a reduction in American independence as a policymaker, and a decline in the standard of living on which Americans have come to depend. History teaches that nations weaker and less productive than the United States can rise to become economic powerhouses and rapidly increase their standards of living. History also teaches that nations failing to recognize their fundamental problems will inevitably decline. American politicians must face what is abundantly clear: the United States is losing ground and must act quickly to reverse its course. This White Paper outlines what must be done. Information about the nation's current status must be analyzed and communicated. Incentives to improve the level of competence in government must be provided and maintained. The emphasis of government policy must be changed to reflect broad economic and technological interests as opposed to special interests. Savings must be encouraged and increased. Infrastructure must be improved Tax laws must be modified to help bring these changes about. Economic and technological issues must be elevated to the importance they require. American thinking must reflect the new realities: that the age of leadership through military power is over, that the requirements for success in the world of the 1990s and beyond require a sound and growing economy that is internationally competitive. The US can accomplish these goals only through foundation-shaking, comprehensive, fundamental changealong the lines we propose herein.This paper is the executive summary (with minor editing modifications) of a white paper that is available from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management.     

Juror decision making in the capital penalty trial

Two factors thought to influence jurors' penalty decisions in capital trials—the nature of the crime committed and the defense's portrayal of the convicted offender's character—were examined. Mock jurors were death-qualified and exposed to one of twelve simulated penalty trials. Each trial was comprised of one of three capital crimes and one of four defense strategies. Jurors were least punitive in robbery-murder conditions and most punitive in multiple murder conditions. A conceptual argument against capital punishment was the most effective defense; a mental illness defense was the least effective. Penalty decisions were mediated by three attributional variables: (a) juror perceptions of the defendant's volition, (b) juror perceptions of the defendant's future dangerousness, and (c) juror perceptions of the relative competency of the opposing attorneys.This article is based on the author's dissertation which received an Honorable Mention in the 1985 SPSSI Dissertation Prize competition. The research was made possible by grants from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Division 41 of the American Psychological Association. The author is indebted to Craig Haney, Elliot Aronson, and Dane Archer for their valuable suggestions and support.     

System of cities dynamics in newly industrializing nations

Rapid industrialization in such countries as Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan suggests that the complex functional structures of cities in the periphery may appear early in development. This paper proposes a 4-stage framework for the dynamics of a system of cities in a developing country undergoing industrialization and encompassing both nonindustrial and industrial development. The synthesis is assessed with evidence from the newly industrializing Asian nations of Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan. The 4 stages of cities' industrial change include 1) increasing primacy with industrial satellites, 2) increasing primacy with industrial satellites and nodal towns on a transport network, 3) rapidly increasing primacy with rapidly growing industrial satellites and nodal towns on the transport network, and 4) decreasing primacy with slowly growing industrial satellites and rapidly growing peripheral industrial towns. The 4-stage synthesis suggests that economic development in the periphery may occur even while the primate city maintains its hegemony over control and coordination functions. Peripheral industrial growth does not challenge this hegemony. The growth of industrial cities is, instead, part of a process of regional specialization in which the low cost labor in the periphery becomes an attraction for industry. These stages are not inevitable. Government efforts are necessary to develop rural areas in terms of social improvements (education and health), capital infrastructure (transportation and utilities), and fair payments to farmers for their outputs. These seem to be the lessons learned from the industrialization process in Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan.     

Adjunctive use of scanning electron microscopy in bite mark analysis: a three-dimensional study

An examination of a case in which adjunctive use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated the presence of unusual three-dimensional characteristics in a bite mark. Despite the fact that many bite marks do not show "depth," demonstration of the presence of this third dimension can produce significant data for evidentiary purposes. In some instances, these data may transform what seem to be class characteristics of a bite mark into individual characteristics and thus impart much more uniqueness to the evidence. Because of the high level of resolution and magnification of SEM, some three-dimensional characteristics not visible to the eye can be shown quite clearly by its use. Emphasis will be given to the value of SEM as a tool of the forensic odontologist in bite mark analysis.