Veterans interests and the transition to government growth: 1870–1915

Civil War veterans were the first interest group to use their political power to obtain substantial monetary transfers from the U.S. Treasury. Veterans supported the Republican party, and in exchange Republicans provided increasingly generous veterans benefits, placing a strain on the Treasury that led toward a demand for increased taxes. Veterans also established a precedent that other groups could follow to petition the goverment for economic benefits, shaping the transformation of American government in the Progressive era which led to the substantial growth of the federal government in the 20th century.     

Thermal shrinkage of small single acrylic fibers — A technique of forensic potential

Single fibers less than 1 mm long of nine types of acrylic fibers were thermally shrunk from 85°C to 285°C by hot stage optical microscopy. A surprisingly wide variety of behavior was observed. The temperature for the onset of shrinkage ranged from 105°C to 190°C; total contraction ranged from 2% to 64%; and some fibers contracted rather steadily, whereas others contracted abruptly. Reproducibility of shrinkage was excellent for most monocomponent fibers but was less reproducible for bicomponent fibers. In general, it was found that the technique may be used to discriminate among fiber types within a single fiber generic class using submicrogram sized samples.     

Unionization and Work Attitudes: How Union Commitment Influences Public Sector Job Satisfaction

This article explores whether union commitment dampens public sector job satisfaction. By examining the connection between union commitment and two workplace attributes that are presumed to be more prevalent in public sector workplaces—perceptions of higher red tape and greater public service motivation—this article develops three hypotheses exploring the direct and indirect relationships between union commitment and public sector job satisfaction. The findings from a series of structural equation models indicate that union commitment directly increases members’ job satisfaction, but it more prominently increases members’ job satisfaction indirectly by reducing perceived red tape and enhancing public service motivation.