Accountability and Coalitions: Evidence from a Negotiation Experiment

This article tests the effect of accountability on negotiation outcomes in a face‐to‐face classroom experiment. Student participants were asked to form coalitions in groups of three. In the treatment condition, negotiators were held accountable by a personal forum during the formation of the coalition. In the control condition, negotiators were not held accountable. Results show that accountability leads to lower group performance in coalition negotiations. Accountability also reduced the willingness of negotiators to include all negotiators in a “grand coalition.” Rather, accountable negotiators reached agreement with a subset of negotiators. Accountability increased the odds of reaching no agreement. These findings challenge the idea of increased performance as a result of public accountability in the context of coalition negotiations.     

Anise oil as para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA) precursor

These days, MDMA is one of the most popular drugs of abuse. Due to its illegality, MDMA and its chemical precursors are watched by governmental organizations in many countries. To avoid conflicts with legal instances, underground chemists have tried to market several new unregulated amphetamine analogues, such as 4-MTA. Para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA), on the other hand, is regulated by law but its precursors are easily obtained since they are cheap and unwatched. This article presents such a case, namely the large scale synthesis of PMA using anethole, a main constituent of anise oil, as precursor. Anethole has been converted to its phenyl acetone analogue via peracid oxidation, while PMA itself has been synthesized using this ketone as precursor in the Leuckart synthesis. The synthesis of PMA using anethole as starting product has been investigated applying GC/MS and GC-HSPME/MS techniques, hereby discovering new specific (4-methoxyphenol) and already identified synthesis impurities (4-methyl-5-(4-methoxyphenyl)pyrimidine, N-(beta-4-methoxyphenylisopropyl)-4-methoxybenzyl methyl ketimine, 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-N-(2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-methylethyl-2-propanamine, 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-N-methyl-N-(2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-methylethyl-2-propanamine, N-(beta-4-methoxyphenylisopropyl)-4-methoxybenzaldimine). The new impurity 4-methoxyphenol is specific for the application of a peracid oxidation method where anethole is used as precursor.     

An unusual form of fatal ethanol intoxication

Forensic pathologists are very familiar with deaths due to ethanol intoxication. The overwhelming majority of these deaths are a result of the oral ingestion of ethanol. We report an unusual case of an individual who expired in his secured residence after self administration of a wine enema. Toxicology showed an ethanol concentration of 0.40 g/dL in the blood and 0.41 g/dL in the vitreous fluid. Scene investigation was of paramount importance in determining the unusual method by which the decedent absorbed the alcoholic beverage.     

New directions in social stratification and income distribution: Introduction

The contributors to this special issue address important problems in the area of social stratification and income distribution. More specifically, Van der Sar and Van Praag offer a solution to the problem of measuring the relative importance of a social position by referring to the individual utility function. Hermkens and Boerman test hypotheses derived from functionalist and marxist theory concerning the degree of value consensus associated with the differential allotment of income and prestige to social positions. Shepelak points to the effects of a prevailing system of norms and values — beliefs about meritocracy, fair shares and opportunity — on the equalization of incomes. Arts and Van Wijck study social constraints to income equalization and focus on the inadequacy of decision-making processes and imperfect implementation of decisions. In the final contribution to this issue, Jasso examines the behavioral and social consequences of the simultaneous operation of two distinct considerations on courses of action: the individual's own well-being and the societal common good.     

A Small State? The Size of the Netherlands as a Focal Point in Foreign Policy Debates, 1900–1940

Do small states behave in an appreciably different fashion than their larger counterparts? Social scientists and historians have, for decades, searched for the defining features that set small states apart from larger ones and have come up empty. This analysis suggests that rather than searching for another set of membership criteria, focus should be on the explanatory power of the discourses surrounding the size of states. As this article demonstrates, based on a reading of Dutch international history from the late nineteenth century to the advent of the Second World War, the changing shape of discourses surrounding the “smallness” did historically influence foreign policy practices.     

Master of the Game: The Relationship between the United States and Iran Revisited, 1969-1972

ABSTRACT

How and why did the Richard Nixon Administration end up with an Iran policy more in line with the preferences of the Shah of Iran than of the United States? At its onset, the Administration did not have a clearly defined or formalised Persian Gulf policy. Attempts to create over-arching guidelines regarding American conduct toward Iran were of little consequence, as the pro-Iranian inclinations of leading decision-makers led to day-to-day decisions that strongly favoured the Shah. This limited room for manoeuvre amounted to little more than acceptance of what was already established procedure. The Shah’s strenuous lobbying of American decision-makers, using their common Cold War considerations to his advantage and the effective sidelining of critical voices within the Nixon Administration, explain this outcome.     

Has Structural Economic Vulnerability Decreased in Least Developed Countries? Lessons Drawn from Retrospective Indices

The Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI) is a well-recognised measure of the structural vulnerability of developing countries and is regularly used and published by the United Nations for cross-country comparison purposes, primarily to review the list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). However, due to the revisions in methodology occurring over time, the official EVI cannot be used to assess the changes in vulnerability. In this paper, we use two retrospective series of the EVI, based on constant definitions. The real change in vulnerability is thus isolated from the impact of revisions in the design of the index, allowing comparison of the evolution of LDCs and non-LDCs. The implications of the revisions in the EVI design are then discussed.