Evidencing the benefits of cluster policies: towards a generalised framework of effects

Policy Sciences - Regions around the world employ cluster-based policies as part of their industrial, innovation and development policy mixes. They have become a key tool in smart specialisation...     

Domestic Violence Alleged in California Child Maltreatment Reports During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal of Family Violence - During the COVID-19 pandemic, reports to child abuse and neglect hotlines have dropped significantly across the United States. Yet, during this same period, calls to...     

POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF PROPOSED PRICE GOUGING LEGISLATION ON THE COST AND SEVERITY OF GASOLINE SUPPLY INTERRUPTIONS

The rise in gasoline prices that followed the devastation causedby Hurricanes Rita and Katrina has led to proposals for federal"price gouging" legislation. This paper analyzes the potentialeconomic costs of such proposals in light of the experiencegained from prior episodes of gasoline supply interruptionsand efforts to impose price controls. Studies of previous spikesin the price of gasoline, including those after Katrina andRita, have consistently found that price increases were dueto the normal operation of supply and demand and not price manipulation.Studies of gasoline price controls find that neither consumersnor the economy benefit, because the apparent monetary savingsto consumers are transformed into costs of waiting or otherforms nonmarket rationing that exceed the monetary savings.Price controls also make shortages worse by reducing the incentiveto provide additional supplies. We apply these lessons to estimatethe additional economic cost that would have been incurred hadprice controls like current legislation been in effect afterthe hurricanes, and conclude that economic damages would havebeen increased by $1.5–2.9 billion during the two-monthperiod of price increases.     

Detection of gunpowder stabilizers with ion mobility spectrometry

This study is the first reported ion mobility detection of ethyl centralite and diphenylamine (DPA) smokeless gunpowder stabilizers, together with the nitroso and nitro derivatives of diphenylamine. First, the applicability of the ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) for the substances of interest was determined. The existence of numerous peaks, both in positive and negative modes, clearly demonstrates the success of these experiments. All mono and di-nitro derivatives of DPA tested were detected with this method. Unfortunately, many of the ions generated were not accurately identified. However, reduced mobility constants representative of each ion generated under defined operating conditions could be used for purpose of compound identification. The method was then successfully tested on real gunpowder samples. By the use of IMS, we managed to establish a rapid, simple and sensitive screening method for the detection and identification of smokeless gunpowder organic components.     

SURREPLY

This is a follow‐up to our previous “Comment” responding to an article by William How and Hugh McIsaac.     

From conditions of equality to demands of justice: equal freedom,motivation and justification in Hobbes,Rousseau and Rawls

Equal freedom is the common starting point for most contractual theories of justice from Hobbes and Rousseau to Rawls. But while equal freedom defines a common starting point for these theories, this does not result in a general consensus on the conception of justice. On the contrary, different ways of conceptualizing the contractual starting point leads to different conceptions of the demands of justice. To fully understand the relationship between equal freedom and justice we therefore first need to explicate how and why the initial condition of equality is transformed into demands of justice. In this paper we discuss how this transformation takes place in the theories of Hobbes, Rousseau and Rawls, with particular emphasis on the vexed relationship between motivation and justification.     

The personality assessment inventory as a selection device for law enforcement personnel

The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is a recent development in psychological assessment which has attracted attention because of the breadth of its coverage and the fact that it includes a four-point scale of item agreement. Matrix, Incorporated, is a psychological assessment center that specializes in the assessment of law enforcement personnel. Matrix has collected performance variables on 800 police officers who had taken the PAI prior to being hired. Correlational analysis was performed and there was a significant effect in the data. Discussion focuses upon the criteria in relation to the PAI variables, particularly with regard to aggression, antisocial characteristics and the validity scales. The data clearly demonstrate that the PAI has good potential for the selection of law enforcement officers. Emily DeCoster-Martin was an undergraduate psychology major at The University of Evansville at the time this paper was written