Imperialism and the Middle Kingdom: the Xi Jinping administration’s peripheral diplomacy with developing states

This article applies the Nexon/Wright concept of ideal-type empire to the study of China’s post-2012 peripheral relations to demonstrate that the Xi administration is engaged in a concerted imperialist policy towards its developing neighbour states. Using the Nexon/Wright framework, the article demonstrates how the establishment of a China-centric regional network structure undergirds the Xi administration’s key foreign policy concepts and how these concepts, in turn, inform China’s bilateral relations with its peripheral states. To demonstrate how China employs imperialist tactics to its pursuit of a regionally based order, the article examines China’s bilateral relations with the developing states on its periphery: Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam.     

The Nature of Contracting Hazards in Public–Private Partnerships—Evidence from Ireland

The use of public–private partnerships (PPP) for the procurement of infrastructure and related services can be a complex and challenging process. This article adopts a transaction cost regulation perspective to examine two PPP cases from Ireland that encountered significant obstacles to successful procurement. It finds that both procurements met hazards including uncertainty about the viability of the bids and opportunistic behavior by preferred bidders that held quasi-monopoly positions. The public nature of both cases provided a fertile ground for opportunistic behavior by political opponents and other “interested” parties. The analysis shows how the governance of PPPs is shaped by the attributes of the transactions and the interaction of economic and political hazards that create transaction costs.     

The Public Cost of Unilateral Action

Scholarship on democratic responsiveness focuses on whether political outcomes reflect public opinion but overlooks attitudes toward how power is used to achieve those policies. We argue that public attitudes toward unilateral action lead to negative evaluations of presidents who exercise unilateral powers and policies achieved through their use. Evidence from two studies supports our argument. In three nationally representative survey experiments conducted across a range of policy domains, we find that the public reacts negatively when policies are achieved through unilateral powers instead of through legislation passed by Congress. We further show these costs are greatest among respondents who support the president's policy goals. In an observational study, we show that attitudes toward unilateral action in the abstract affect how respondents evaluate policies achieved through unilateral action by presidents from Lincoln to Obama. Our results suggest that public opinion may constrain presidents' use of unilateral powers.     

Encouraging Residential Moves to Opportunity Neighborhoods: An Experiment Testing Incentives Offered to Housing Voucher Recipients

Substantial benefits can accrue from living in low-poverty neighborhoods, yet approximately 80% of the 2.2 million Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) recipients rent homes in moderate- or high-poverty census tracts. The Chicago Regional Housing Choice Initiative tested several ways to promote opportunity moves. It included the first experiment that tests whether two types of light-touch incentives induce opportunity moves for HCV recipients who had requested a moving voucher. Based on the 2,005 HCV recipients in the study, we found that neither the offer of a $500 grant nor the offer of a $500 grant coupled with free mobility counseling induced opportunity moves. The receipt of mobility counseling also did not boost opportunity moves. Regardless of the type of offer, 11%–12% of participants moved to opportunity neighborhoods. Despite requesting a moving voucher, half of the study participants remained in place, indicating significant barriers to moving. We offer potential reasons for the results and conclude with two recommended pilots to increase opportunity moves.     

Supportive Community Resources Are Associated with Lower Risk of Substance Use among Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,and Questioning Adolescents in Minnesota

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Research has indicated that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer/questioning (LGBQ) adolescents have disproportionately high rates of substance use compared to...     

Haplotype analysis for Irish ancestry

Forensic haplotype analysis of the male Y chromosome is currently used to establish the number of male donors in sexual assaults, the number of male bleeders in blood pattern analysis, and for ancestry correlation to genetic founder populations in biogeographic studies. In forensic laboratory applications, its primary use is for DNA profile generation with trace amounts of male DNA in the presence of excess female DNA (e.g. spermatozoa identification, male component of fingernail scrapings). Our study supports the potential use of the Y chromosome in a “dragnet” approach (most haplotypes are unique) similar to that described by Kayser in 2017 for solving a cold case sex assault and homicide in The Netherlands. Our study also researched the potential for the identification of an ancestral Irish genetic “footprint” linked to surname O’Brien and identified multiple founder group origins in Ireland and England as well as three samples with the Dal Riata (a Gaelic overkingdom) ancestral haplotype. This study indicates correlation to ancestral Irish ancestry by haplotype but not conclusively to the O’Brien surname.     

Documenting Disparity in Minority Contracting: Legal Requirements and Recommendations for Policy Makers

The challenge of advancing policy goals and public administration is compounded when legal compliance rests on data and complex analysis. This is true of disparity studies that support local government‐sponsored minority contracting programs. How can local governments prepare to work with such programs in this complex environment? The authors analyze several court cases challenging minority contracting programs and illustrate the difficulty of administering public programs at the juncture of public policy goals, subtle changes in law, and demands for quality statistical analysis. Many public agencies, especially at the local level, are not prepared to address the data requirements demanded by these programs. To help with this challenge, the authors develop a set of guiding principles to help practitioners satisfy the legal requirements and meet the policy goals of minority contracting and similar programs. This includes a new emphasis on continuous gathering of valid, local‐level data.     

Common Sense, Competence, and Talent in the Public Service in the USA: Finding The Right Mix In A Complex World

In the career civil service the US federal government has long been guided by a merit system. This article traces how the principle of merit in appointment and promotion has developed since the nineteenth century and examines contemporary applications of competency frameworks in the US – their development, character, strengths and weaknesses. If core competency discussions and frameworks are to have a broader impact at both the government wide and the agency level, the frameworks will have to be disentangled. Existing notions of competencies for the political appointees, the leadership echelons of the career service, the rest of the career service, the entire government, central agencies, individual agencies, and badly needed future leaders not only suggest superhuman abilities, but also contain seriously conflicting expectations.