Variability in Citizens’ Reactions to Different Types of Negative Campaigns

Do negative advertisements lower voters’ evaluations of the targeted candidate? We theorize that there is much to be gained by examining the variance in the content and tone of negative campaign messages and the variance in voters’ sensitivity to negative political rhetoric. We employ data from the 2006 Cooperative Congressional Election Study to investigate the impact of negative campaigning in U.S. Senate campaigns. We sampled 1,045 respondents in 21 of the 28 U.S. Senate races featuring a majority party incumbent and challenger. In addition to the survey data, we collected contextual data regarding the political advertisements aired during the campaigns and the news coverage of these campaigns in state newspapers. The evidence suggests that the impact of negative information is multifaceted, and under some circumstances, substantial. We find that uncivil and relevant negative messages are the most powerful, especially for people with less tolerance for negative political rhetoric.     

The Gapology of the Obama Vote in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primaries

In their competition for the 2008 Democratic nomination, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton developed distinct demographic bases of support. This study will analyze the demographic divides in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, focusing on the “gaps” that emerged in the support of Obama. Obama’s demographic bases of support were African-Americans, younger voters, educated voted, those with no religion affiliation, wealthier voters, males, political independents, and ideological liberals. Despite the considerable amount of attention given to the gender gap, a number of demographic gaps were more significant. Race was by far the most important gap and a key component of Obama’s victory was his tremendous support from African-American voters.     

Labor union membership and voting across nations

Despite a large literature on voter turnout around the world, our understanding of the role of labor union membership remains muddled. In this paper, we examine the relationship between union membership and voting. Using individual level International Social Science Program (ISSP) data from thirty-two countries, we find that union members are more likely to vote and that the substantive effect rivals that of other common predictors of voting. This relationship is also largely invariant across an array of demographic factors, indicating that unions tend to be “equal opportunity mobilizers.” We also find that unions have “spillover” effects: controlling for a variety of other factors, even non-union members are more likely to turn out to vote in countries with higher union densities. In sum, we find that labor unions have a consistent political influence across a wide set of countries.     

Contracting for Indigenous Health Care: Towards Mutual Accountability

In Australia and other industrialised countries, governments contract with the non‐government sector for the provision of primary health care to indigenous peoples. Australian governments have developed policies and funding programs to support this health sector, but the current arrangements are unduly complex and fragmented. The results of our study show that the complex contractual environment for Aboriginal Community‐Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) and their funders is an unintended but inevitable result of a quasi‐classical approach to contracts applied by multiple funders. The analysis in this article highlights potential policy and program changes that could improve the effectiveness of funding and accountability arrangements, based on the use of an alliance contracting model, better performance indicators and greater clarity in the relative roles of national and jurisdictional governments.     

Estimation of stature from static and dynamic footprints

The ability to estimate accurately from known parameters is a fundamental aspect of science and is evident as an emerging approach in the area of footprints and stature estimation within the field of forensic identification. There are numerous foot dimensions that have been measured in the literature to predict stature with varying degrees of confidence but few studies have tried to link the strength of estimation to anatomical landmarks. Such an approach is utilised in this study which estimates stature from the right footprints of sixty one adult male and female UK participants. Static and dynamic footprints were taken from each volunteer using the 'inkless paper system'. The prints were digitised and twelve length, width and angle measurements were chosen for the analysis. The highest correlations with stature were shown to be the heel to fourth toe print for the static group of footprints (r=0.786, p<0.01), and the heel to fifth toe print in the dynamic footprints (r=0.858, p<0.01). Collinearity statistics suggest the heel to fifth toe print length measurement is independent and not influenced by any other variables in the estimation of stature for the dynamic prints. Linear regression equations for this measurement presented the smallest standard error of estimate (SEE) and highest shared variance (R(2)) of all included variables (SEE 4.16, R(2) 0.74). Our study discusses a potential anatomical explanation as to why the lateral border of the foot and hence the impression it makes upon a hard surface, is a more stable indicator in the estimation of stature. The investigation recommends the use of Calc_A4 and Calc_A5 length measurements when estimating stature from footprint impressions.     

Analysis with the Combur-Test--special aspects in forensic trace examination

The Combur Test is a ready-made and easy-to-use pretest for blood. It is based on the oxidation of tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), which is catalysed by haemoglobin and its derivatives. Despite its high sensitivity, there are many known substances which are responsible for false positive and false negative test results. On the basis of experiments of our own, case reports and the pertinent literature special aspects of the application of the Combur Test in the forensic routine case work are discussed.     

Fixation of cells for analysis by laser microdissection--comparative studies in forensic trace material

This paper is focused on the preparation of samples for laser microdissection (LM) in forensic casework. In forensic genetics, it is essential to preserve and separate cellular traces during sample preparation, as they are usually gathered in very small amounts and are often contaminated with undesired cells. This is made possible by laser microdissection, a technique developed to cut cells or tissue of a certain type from a microscopical specimen by UV laser and catapult them directly into a PCR reactor. This method minimizes the risk of getting inconclusive, mixed DNA profiles due to contamination by foreign DNA and also supplies information about the cellular origin of a DNA profile. A method for optimized fixation and staining of spermatozoa for laser microdissection was established. Four different fixation methods combined with two staining methods were tested on two different microscope slides. Moreover, the effect of a blocker pen to contain the specimen on the slide was investigated.     

European Court of Justice rules on the protection of databases under the Database Directive (96/9/EC)

The European Court of Justice has ruled on the circumstances in which databases may be protected by the Database Directive. In a decision that renders the protection of databases a narrow concept, the ECJ appears to have introduced a new requirement that a database must comprise its author's “creative ability” in order to qualify for protection as a copyright work.     

An Evaluation of Six Brief Interventions that Target Drug-Related Problems in Correctional Populations

Finding brief effective treatments for criminal justice populations is a major public need. The CJ-DATS Targeted Intervention for Corrections (TIC), which consists of six brief interventions (Communication, Anger, Motivation, Criminal Thinking, Social Networks, and HIV/Sexual Health), were tested in separate federally-funded randomized control studies. In total, 1,573 criminal justice-involved individuals from 20 correction facilities participated (78% males; 54% white). Multi-level repeated measures analyses found significant gains in knowledge, attitudes, and psychosocial functioning (criteria basic to Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) and TCU Treatment Process Models). While improvements were less consistent in criminal thinking, overall evidence supported efficacy for the TIC interventions.