"Soft" Concepts and "Hard" Data: A Research Review of Elazar's Political Culture

This introduction suggests that research on Daniel J. Elazar'sconcept of political culture falls into several genres. Theseare origins, political theory, cultural attributes of the politicalsystem, the policy process, policy outputs, and attitudes incitizens and elites. Research illustrating these genres is analyzedand further research needs are pointed out. The genres may becategorized by David Easton 's heuristic of system analysis.These concepts frame comments on the contributors' articles.     

Parliamentary oversight and corruption in the Caribbean: comparing Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada

Parliamentary oversight is a key determinant of corruption levels. This article presents research findings on parliamentary oversight in two Caribbean countries: Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada. Our results cast doubt on the results of previous research and also indicate that certain facets of ‘the Westminster’ system need to be relaxed, to reflect contextual reality in smaller island economies. Political will to adopt our recommended reforms is critical, but, as in other countries, inertia often dominates the political environment. Until citizens demand that their elected representatives establish various oversight and anti-corruption mechanisms and ensure these mechanisms are free of political influence, the institutions will be ‘window dressing’ and corrupt actions will go undeterred and unpunished.     

Interpersonal Dependency Among Court-Ordered Domestic Violence Offenders: A Descriptive Analysis

In the effort to improve treatment programs for batterers, researchers have begun to examine the role of interpersonal dependency in the etiology and maintenance of domestic violence. Recent empirical investigations of interpersonal dependency among maritally violent men have discovered that these men exhibit increased levels of interpersonal dependency when compared to nonviolent men. This study examined the level of interpersonal dependency of 105 adult men court-ordered into a treatment program for domestic violence offenses, and 25 nonviolent men. Results indicated no significant difference in level of interpersonal dependency between the court-ordered batterers and the nonviolent men. Possible explanations for the failure of this research to replicate earlier findings were explored and discussed. These findings indicate that more research is needed before the role of interpersonal dependency in the etiology and maintenance of domestic violence can be understood.     

TENNESSEE'S ADOPTION LAW

Tennessee has recently enacted legislation increasing access to adoption records, allowing adult adoptees to obtain their birth certificates and other information contained only in their adoption records. After that controversial statute became law, it was challenged in Doe v. Sundquist . After 3 years of litigation, the Tennessee Supreme Court held that the statute was constitutional. The authors discuss the history of Tennessee's adoption law, demonstrating how certain events led to the passing of the controversial statute. They also discuss the adoption triad, including the birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees, noting the interests of each party. Following that is a discussion of the Tennessee statute and how it operates. The commentary continues with a detailed look at Doe v. Sundquist , including the procedural and substantive issues in both federal and state court. The authors conclude that the Tennessee law is a practical and reasonable solution to the controversy over sealed adoption records.