Local Renewable Energy Initiatives in Germany and Japan in a Changing National Policy Environment

Our article explores the contribution of local initiatives to the creation of path dependencies for energy transition in Germany and Japan in the face of resistance from entrenched incumbents at the national level. We use a process‐tracing methodology based partly on interviews with local participants. In particular, we explore the role of local initiatives in securing “socio‐political space” for the expansion of renewable energy (RE) and in embedding themselves in “ecosystems” of public and private institutions. German energy activists were more successful than their Japanese counterparts in expanding this space and creating positive feedback in part because they were able to build horizontal networks that anchored the energy transition firmly in local communities. Although problems with grid technology have led to retrenchment in both cases, Japanese activists' reliance on vertical networks has limited their ability to weather a backlash from national government and utility actors. Our study demonstrates the interaction of political, economic/technological, and legitimation paths to energy transition and highlights the importance of the latter two.     

Administrative Management: Does Its Strong Executive Thesis Still Merit Our Attention?

Tasked with the responsibility of finding new and innovative ways of improving administrative management, Arthur W. Macmahon, James W. Fesler, and Herbert Emmerich creatively enriched the final report of the President's Committee on Administrative Management with their analyses. But that is not the only reason for celebrating this work today. These documents still merit attention because they are historical landmarks that draw attention to the continuing tensions between Congress and the president over which branch of government should have control over executive branch agencies. This study makes the case for a strong executive in a manner that has rarely been as clearly and forcefully stated as it was in 1937. It reminds the field that policy decisions remain nothing but aspirations until they are turned into action. Reading this study is like reading any classic treatise on government—it generates thought.     

The determinants of the effectiveness of medical disciplinary boards: 1960–1977

The results of an empirical study to determine the reasons why some state boards of medical discipline are more active in disciplining physicians than others are presented. The study concluded that for most of the years between 1960 and 1977, the principal determinant of board vigilance was the degree to which they werenot dominated by physicians. But it was also shown that even if all the boards were controlled exclusively by nonphysicians, board activity, stated in absolute terms, would still be very small. This then leads to the inference that current efforts to change the composition of the board and create obligations for reporting miscreant physicians for various sectors in the health services industry will not produce acceptable levels of medical disciplinary board performance.     

Rapid determination of carbohydrates in heroin drug seizures using capillary electrophoresis with short-end injection

A simple and rapid method for the analysis of carbohydrates in heroin samples by capillary electrophoresis utilizing a borate complexation method is described. Separations were performed using an uncoated fused silica capillary, 50 cm x 50 micro I.D. x 360 microm O.D. with an effective separation length of 9 cm. The system was run at 60 degrees C with an applied voltage of -8 kilovolts. Injection of each sample was for 1 sec at -50 mbar. UV detection was employed with the wavelength set at 195 nm. The background electrolyte consisted of 65 mM borate, pH 12.0. Samples and standards were prepared in the run buffer containing 2 mg/mL of mannose as an internal standard. Under these conditions a test mixture containing glucose, sucrose, lactose, mannitol and mannose as an internal standard was resolved within 5 min. The method was used to determine the concentration of carbohydrates in heroin seizure samples and synthetic heroin samples. The results were in good agreement with the reported values.     

Normative Beliefs and Relational Aggression: An Investigation of the Cognitive Bases of Adolescent Aggressive Behavior

The relations between normative beliefs about different forms of aggression and corresponding aggressive behaviors were investigated in 2 studies of adolescents. In Study 1, we revised an instrument designed to assess normative beliefs about aggression to include beliefs about the acceptability of relational aggression, and we examined the psychometric properties of the instrument. In Studies 1 and 2, the unique associations of normative beliefs about relational and physical aggression with self-reported relational and physical aggression were examined. Findings across both studies revealed that beliefs-behavior associations were specific to aggression forms. In other words, beliefs about relational aggression were uniquely associated with engagement in relationally aggressive acts, whereas beliefs about physical aggression, but not relational aggression, contributed unique information about adolescents’ level of physical aggression. No gender effects were found. Results are discussed within a social-cognitive framework, and implications are explored for future prevention and intervention efforts to reduce aggressive behaviors.Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington. Dr Werner received her PhD from the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities Campus. Her research focuses on social-cognitive, peer, and family relationship correlates of relational and physical aggression.Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, Pennsylvania. Dr Nixon received her PhD at West Virginia University. Her primary research interests include prevention and intervention of relational aggression and program evaluation.