Implications of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 for the "Devolution Revolution"

From an economist's perspective, the fiscal and administrativegoals of the so-called "devolution revolution" include lessfederal intergovernmental aid, especially if fiscally equalizing;the substitution of block grants for matching grants; greateradministrative flexibility for the states; and fewer underfundedmandates. This article uses these devolulionary yardsticks toanalyze the major provisions of the federal Balanced BudgetAct of 1997. These provisions fall far short of a "devolutionrevolution." The act increases the level of federal assistance,leaves Medicaid as an open-ended entitlement, and preservesa strong role for the federal government in shaping intergovernmentalgrants. The article discusses the political forces moderatingthe act's devolutionary impact.     

How China's Political Leadership Elevates Progress

I have been coming to China for more than 30 years. I have traveled all across the country,visiting over 100 cities together with my long-term partner, Adam Zhu, for research and interviews, books and essays, television and documentaries. I have given much thought, over the years, as to what has brought about China's develop-mental miracle. The underlying principles One, a people who work hard to im-prove the lives of their families and the destiny of their country.     

Evaluating the discriminating power of amino acid ratios on distinguishing dark colored hair samples

Human hairs are one of the most commonly encountered items of trace evidence. Currently, conventional methods for hair analysis include microscopic comparison and DNA analysis (nuclear and mitochondrial). Each approach has its own drawbacks. Hair proteins are stable and offer an alternative to DNA testing, as demonstrated with proteomics for distinguishing humans. However, proteomics is complicated and requires identifying peptides to remain intact following harsh sample preparation methods. Alternatively, the actual amino acid content of a hair sample may also offer important identifying information and actually requires proteins and peptides to be broken down completely rather than remaining intact. This study evaluated the discriminating power of using hair amino acid ratios to differentiate hair samples from 10 unrelated individuals with dark colored hair. Hair proteins were digested, derivatized, and analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Amino acid ratios were calculated for each individual and comparisons using ANOVA and post-hoc pairwise t-test with Bonferroni correction were made with amino acid ratios for individuals. Overall, out of the 45 possible pairwise comparisons between all hair samples, 38 (84%) were differentiable. Out of the 36 possible pairwise comparisons between brown haired individuals, 32 (89%) were considered differentiable using univariate statistics. Multivariate statistics were also attempted but, overall, univariate models were sufficient for exclusionary purposes. These results indicate that amino acid ratio analysis can potentially be used as an exclusionary method using hair if DNA analysis cannot be performed, or to corroborate conclusions made following microscopic analysis.     

Practice tips for managing challenges in parenting capacity assessments in child protection court

Courts frequently rely on parenting capacity assessments to make decisions about visitation and case progress in child protection court. Although these evaluations can provide valuable information to courts, they often involve assessing areas of human behavior that are not clearly defined in the literature. For example, mental health professionals are often tasked with identifying risk and protective factors for child maltreatment while identifying factors that can impede progress towards reunification. Although some of these factors may be easy to identify and assess (e.g., symptoms of mental illness or substance abuse), others may be more challenging. For example, factors such as denial and minimization about risk factors and maltreatment, a parent(s)’ ability to protect their child(ren) from future incidents of maltreatment, the parent(s)’ potential for change, and the consideration of what is in the best interest of the child are hard to assess. This article will provide a summary of the research in these areas, provide tips for managing these areas, and highlight directions for future investigation that will help inform parenting capacity assessments in child protection court.     

England,Englishness and Brexit

In the 1975 referendum England provided the strongest support for European integration, with a much smaller margin for membership in Scotland and Northern Ireland. By 2015 the rank order of ‘national’ attitudes to European integration had reversed. Now, England is the UK's most eurosceptic nation and may vote ‘Leave’, while Scotland seems set to generate a clear margin for ‘Remain’. The UK as a whole is a Brexit marginal. To understand the campaign, we need to make sense of the dynamics of public attitudes in each nation. We take an ‘archaeological’ approach to a limited evidence‐base, to trace the development of attitudes to Europe in England since 1975. We find evidence of a link between English nationalism and euroscepticism. Whatever the result in 2016, contrasting outcomes in England and Scotland will exacerbate tensions in the UK's territorial constitution and could lead to the break‐up of Britain.