Legal Treatment of Cohabitation in the United States*

This article discusses the variety of ways state legal systems in the United States treat cohabitation, both by same-sex and heterosexual couples. The different approaches are described along a spectrum that ranges from one extreme, under which cohabitants have essentially no rights against one another or against third parties, to the other extreme, under which cohabitants are to be treated as though they were married under state law. Different areas of law are discussed, including the rights of cohabitants both against one another (remedies upon dissolution, inheritance) and against third parties, such as state benefits, tort claims, health-related benefits, and rights concerning children. The article concludes with speculations concerning why the remedies offered to cohabitants in the United States are so limited, as compared with other countries.     

Diversity on Campus: A Reassessment of Current Strategies1

The underrepresentation of minorities in higher education evokes a widely shared sense of urgency among educational policymakers. Allan Oster, president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, has described the persistent gap between minority and white participation rates as "[o]ne of the most pressing issues facing higher education today" (American Council on Education, 1988b, p. iv). Eliminating the gap and overcoming the other educational inequalities faced by minorities "is not an option, but a necessity; and the need is not eventual, it is immediate" (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990, p. 14). Failure to take timely and decisive action not only threatens the moral and intellectual integrity of higher education as a whole, but our nation's economic well-being (American Council on Education, 1988b, p. 1). As officials at Smith College so eloquently said, "[i]t is no exaggeration to say that the future of the nation and the future of higher education depend on the ability of the educational establishment to become more inclusive" (Smith College, 1989, preamble).     

Field Study on the Attraction and Development of Insects on Human Meconium and Breast‐fed‐Infant Feces

Urogenital myiasis of newborn infants, although rare, is usually considered to indicate neglect due to attraction of flies to feces; however, infant feces have not been determined to attract insects. Human meconium and breast‐fed‐infant feces were used to determine attractiveness to insects and to examine subsequent colonization and growth patterns of insect larvae. Despite small amounts of fecal material present, adults of Lucilia sericata arrived at breast‐fed‐infant feces within five minutes; insects were rarely observed on meconium. Oviposition and growth of L. sericata larvae occurred only on breast‐fed‐infant feces; however, the larvae did not progress beyond the second instar. These data suggest that urogenital myiasis by L. sericata in newborn human infants within the first few days postpartum would not be expected, but desiccation and depletion of infested feces may provide a possible pathway for urogenital myiasis in older newborn infants.     

Fertile soil: explaining variation in the success of Green parties

Comparative political science has largely ignored the marked cross-national variation in Green party electoral performance. This article uses a unique aggregate dataset of 347 parliamentary elections from 32 countries over the course of 45 years to test competing theories about the causes of Green party success. The findings show that voter demand, institutions and mainstream party strategy all affect the Green vote. Green parties do well in societies with post-materialist conflicts caused by high levels of wealth or the presence of a tangible environmental dispute. The article also shows that regional decentralisation helps Green parties, but electoral systems have little effect on their vote share. Most importantly, it demonstrates that the impact of mainstream party strategy on Green electoral strength is dependent on the age of the Green party. While mainstream parties can undermine young Green parties by adopting the environmental issue, this effect is reversed once the Greens have survived a number of elections. Thus ‘accommodative’ mainstream party strategies eventually boost the Green vote by increasing the salience of the key Green issue.     

Love Thy Neighbour: A Social Capital Approach to Local Government Partnerships

While controversy surrounds compulsory consolidation as a means of improving the operational efficiency of local government, the literature suggests that gains can accrue to groups of local councils which form voluntary alliances as platforms for shared service delivery. However, real‐world experience has demonstrated that voluntary alliances in local government are difficult to establish and do not always endure in the longer term. After reviewing the limited extant scholarly literature on shared services and local council voluntary alliances, as well as applications of the social capital approach to inter‐organisational endeavour, such as the Weber and Weber (2010) venture capital model, this article argues that the social capital approach can offer insights into local council cooperative alliance and shared service models.