COVID-19 and Historical Global Rupture in Latin America

This article contrasts two significant ruptures in globalisation. World War I in 1914 was a significant break from the Latin American export-oriented development that was firmly connected to economic globalisation. This article uses the Argentine case study to reveal the ramifications of the post-1914 global breakdown for the republic's internationally dependent development. It draws comparisons with the current COVID-19 crisis as a significant departure from rapid globalisation. Both events altered the trajectory of international activity. Analysis of the 1914 rupture exposes the parallels with COVID-19 and its potential severity for Latin America's internationally connected development.     

Donors,Primary Elections,and Polarization in the United States

I examine the influence of partisan donors on the district-level ideological polarization of congressional candidates in the United States. I use data from 2002–10 U.S. House elections, which provide for the placement of major party primary winners on the same ideological dimension as their primary, general election, and partisan donor constituencies. Using this unique data set, I find strong evidence that the influence of donors in nominating contests is a source of polarization in the United States. House nominees are more responsive to their donor constituencies than either their primary or general electorates. I also find some evidence that the lack of general election competition affects nominee extremity. In safer districts, Democratic incumbents appear more responsive to donors. However, Republican donors seem to demand proximity regardless of district competitiveness. Overall, the polarizing effects of donor constituencies dominate any moderating effects, resulting in ideologically extreme nominees and, ultimately, members of Congress.     

Beyond Negativity: The Effects of Incivility on the Electorate

There is much concern among pundits and political observers that incivility undermines our electoral process. Yet we have little evidence that actually documents whether incivility has such pernicious effects. This article seeks to advance our understanding of the influence of incivility on the electorate. We argue that three dimensions are central to understanding both the perceptions and effects of different types of campaign messages: tone (negative versus positive); civility (civil versus uncivil); and focus (issue versus trait-based message content). Using an experimental manipulation on a large national sample that examines these three dimensions, we find that uncivil attacks in campaigns do not appear to be as worrisome as its detractors fear. While uncivil messages in general—and uncivil trait-based messages in particular—are usually seen by the public as being less fair, less informative, and less important than both their civil negative and positive counterparts, they are no more likely to lead to detrimental effects among the public. In fact, incivility appears to have some modest positive consequences for the political engagement of the electorate. These findings are important, since attacks and counterattacks will continue to shape the American political landscape.     

The scope of political jurisdictions and violence: theory and evidence from Africa

Public Choice - Is there more violence in areas with many small countries or only a single large one? I build on Bernholz (The international game of power: past, present and future 1985) to create...     

Measuring the performance of research and technology programs: A balanced scorecard approach

Research programs, like other government programs, are now being requested to demonstrate relevance and value added to national social and economic needs. Complexity, unpredictability and other factors make it difficult to define specific performance measures for R&D programs. This paper describes the performance measurement efforts of one technology development program within the U.S. Department of Energy and proposes a strategy for applying this balanced scorecard approach to a fundamental research organization. Simple logical models of the inputs, activities, outcomes and long term results of R&D programs are proposed. A critical few measures of performance that answer questions from multiple audiences are then chosen across this performance spectrum. This paper describes work performed by Sandia National Laboratories Energy Policy and Planning Department, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC0494AL85000. The continued support and enthusiams of Darrell Beschen in the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Iran Thomas in DOE Office of Energy Research, Basic Energy Sciences, is appreciated. The authors also acknowledge the contributions of John Reed and the training in the logic chart and performance spectrum provided by Ron Corbeil and Steve Montague. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the opinions of the U.S. Department of Energy.     

Stalking acknowledgement and reporting among college women experiencing intrusive behaviors: Implications for the emergence of a “classic stalking case”

Research confirms the risk of victimization faced by women who attend the nation's universities. While stalking began to receive heightened attention in the 1990s, relative to other types of victimization, research regarding college women's stalking experiences is in its infancy. In particular, relatively little is known about victim acknowledgement of stalking and the process whereby victims decide to report to police. Drawing upon data from 1,010 female university students, this study provided important advances in understanding stalking-related victimization for college women, highlighting the influences that fear, offender relationship, types of behaviors involved, and other victimization experiences have on victim acknowledgement and police reporting. Findings offered important advancements in defining a “classic stalking case.” This study had implications for university and public policymakers, educators, and police officers who could benefit from improved understanding of women's perceptions of stalking and their formal help-seeking behavior in response to stalking-related behavior.