REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT: An Economic Study of the British Factory Inspectorate

The British Factory Inspectorate is the body responsible for enforcing occupational health and safety legislation in the manufacturing industries. The concept of economic efficiency is used to link the compartmentalized disciplines involved in regulation. Many enforcement practices in social regulation can be seen as attempts to minimize social costs of disobeying regulations subject to institutional, political, and budgetary constraints.     

Dangerousness of civil commitment candidates

This study followed a large, statewide sample of civil commitment candidates both in and out of the hospital for 6 months following their postcourt hearings to determine their postcourt dangerousness. It objectively measures dangerousness by dividing it into five legal components of behavior: (1) type, (2) object, (3) frequency, (4) weapon/means, and (5) severity of outcome. Using data from ward charts, readmission evaluations, recommitment affidavits, and arrest and community mental health center records, it describes candidates' dangerousness in terms of those, five components and compares that dangerousness with the alleged dangerous behavior that brought them into the civil commitment process. It finds that candidates do not tend to be dangerous in the 6 months following their court hearings.     

The Evolution of the Office of Management and Budget Under President Reagan

This article introduces a series of retrospective articles on the Reagan administration. The Office of Management and Budget became a major actor in the budget debate over the last eight years. The Reagan administration has seen a change in OMB's role from that of an advisor to the president, to an agency with a central role to play in the development of the president's foreign and domestic policy within budgetary constraints. The article focuses on how OMB has reacted to these changes producing budget conventions and techniques unique to the 1980s.     

Some effects and noneffects of campaign commercials: An experimental study

This paper addresses the question of how TV commercials can be used to build support for a candidate. Employing experimental methods, the authors tested the independent effects of several advertisement variables. Spot advertisements of an actual congressional candidate were produced by the authors and shown to groups of viewers who had no other information about the candidate. Evaluation of the candidate differed little among experimental groups, and the lack of extreme differences suggests that the extent to which voters can be manipulated by manufactured images is severely limited. The implications of these findings for candidates and campaign professionals are discussed.     

A new method for locating saliva stains-spotty paper for spotting spit

A convenient method of locating saliva stains has been devised. Filter paper covered with blue coloured starch fragments is laid on the material to be tested. Salivary amylase hydrolyses the starch on the areas of paper corresponding to saliva stains, which are then delineated as clear zones whereas negative areas remain speckled with blue particles.     

FOOD SECURITY AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Despite petrodollars, ideological and economic divisions in the Middle East make for difficult agricultural development. High food deficits plague the area and projections are for Increased consumptlon and food shortfalls. However, the area has seen some dramatic production and development growth and external food aid t ofurther this development seems worthwhile for the Middle East and the West.