Policy voting in U.S. House primaries

ABSTRACT

This paper uses exit surveys of voters in four House primaries to ask how well voters are able to use primaries for the purpose of giving policy direction to their congressional parties. The surveys found that nearly half of voters could not recall the names of any candidate and that 11% were uncertain or could not recall for whom they had just voted. The surveys also found that nearly 40% of voters could not offer a political evaluation – that is, a like or dislike having political content – about any candidate, and that fewer than a quarter could offer political evaluations of as many as two candidates. The surveys found no evidence of policy-motivated voting in three of the four primaries, but substantial evidence of it in one. Yet even in that one race, voters split their support among three candidates sharing majority voter opinion on the key election issue and thereby opened the way for nomination of a candidate not sharing majority opinion. The paper concludes from this evidence that voters in these House primaries, and probably more widely, made little use of them for the purpose of giving policy direction to their parties.     

Investing in international security: rising powers and organizational choices

How do rising powers choose to allocate their finite resources among the multiple global and regional security organizations? Building on the literatures on forum shopping and rising powers, we argue that the different organizational investment choices of rising powers are explained by varying regional ideational affinities. Organizational settings have ideational foundations that can look very different from region to region. We argue that regional ideational affinity leads rising powers to invest in regional rather than global organizations. However, if the ideational composition of the region is highly diverse, global organizations are a better vehicle to accommodate rising powers’ emergent ambitions. To demonstrate our argument, we examine the choices of Brazil and South Africa in terms of their material and ideational investments in regional and global organizations.     

Responses of Police Officers to Cases of Officer Domestic Violence: Effects of Demographic and Professional Factors

Although the perpetration of domestic violence by police officers has received more attention lately, little research has examined the topic. This study investigated common responses of police officers (n = 1108) to officer-perpetrated domestic violence case scenarios and the relationships between officer characteristics and such responses. Common responses included encouraging the victim to file a formal report, assisting in finding help for domestic abuse, and referring the offending officer to an employee assistance program (EAP) or counselor. Arrest was a likely response when officers were asked to imagine they witnessed a victim’s injuries and heard statements about an assault in a case scenario. Supervisors had the most victim-supportive responses, suggesting they may be very good trainers of front-line officers.     

Toward a Constitutional School for American Public Administration

A central tenet of The Federalist is that good government depends on good administration. Two hundred and twenty‐three years have passed since Publius began writing this extraordinary text. As American democratic institutions have grown larger and more complex than what the founders ever imagined, many of the ideas expressed in The Federalist remain as relevant today as when James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay first advanced them in 1787. The author argues that public administration should move toward a constitutional school that would connect the U.S. Constitution with all aspects of American public administration theory and practice. While the author readily acknowledges this new school’s apparent defects, its most important contribution recognizes that the American Constitution matters, and indeed should serve as a lodestar for our entire field.     

Rebuilding Social Fabric in Failed States: Examining Transitional Justice in Bosnia

This paper examines the importance of reconciliation in post-conflict state-building. We argue that while the economic and political aspects are vital components of the state-building tool-kit, states can hardly be reconstructed without the support of the society. Individuals and communities are central to the re-establishment of peace and democracy. We will conduct a case study analysis focusing on Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter Bosnia). After more than 10 years of international supervision, Bosnia remains fragmented by ethnic tension, and continues to need the guidance of the United Nation’s Office of the High Representative and European Union Special Representative. The Dayton Accord provided little direction for how to proceed with reconciliation beyond a state-centered peace-agreement and constitution. This study suggests that the peacebuilding process that has taken place in Bosnia over the past decade has been unable to foster reconciliation and re-create social trust, two necessary elements for ensuring lasting peace in the aftermath of conflict.     

A Preliminary Assessment of the Identification of Saw Marks on Burned Bone*

Abstract: This study assesses the degree of modification to the saw mark characteristics of dismembered skeletal remains when exposed to a controlled outdoor fire of limited duration. The sample consists of 36 adult pig hind limbs which were dismembered fleshed. Six handsaws and six power saws were used, with three limbs dismembered and burned for each of the saw types. Results indicate that fire exposure affects the visibility and identifiability of saw mark striae. With the handsaws, the bow saw, hacksaw, and keyhole saw were consistently recognizable. In the power saw group, the saw marks of the jigsaw, reciprocating saw, and chainsaw remained identifiable. Although the bone ends exhibited thermal alterations, the false starts were well preserved with minimal damage. Given the parameters of this study, it is possible to identify the class of saw based on the diagnostic characteristics present on the cremated bones.     

The problem of human trafficking in the U.S.: Public frames and policy responses

Nine years after the passage of federal anti-trafficking legislation in the United States, fewer incidents of trafficking have been identified than original estimates of the problem predicted. Some scholars and commentators suggest that changes in the public framing of the trafficking problem aimed at advancing particular agendas are to blame. Yet no studies to date had measured such a reframing process and its attendant consequences. Using a natural history of social problems model (Spector & Kitsuse, 1973) as the theoretical framework to examine the framing of trafficking, this study analyzed text from U.S. newspaper articles about human trafficking from 1990 to 2006. Findings suggest the public framing of human trafficking has changed over time corresponding with the adoption of policies focused on national security and the identification, apprehension, and criminal prosecution of trafficking perpetrators. Challenges following such definitional shifts are discussed.     

Informing public policy on science and innovation: the Advanced Technology Program’s experience

The Advanced Technology Program (ATP) collected a unique source of data from highly innovative firms beginning in 1993. These data follow the OECD’s guidelines for collecting innovation data and provide important insights for understanding the innovation process within firms. Although the data are not representative of the population of firms, there is sufficient number of firms in the dataset to test hypotheses and to provide a starting point for calls for innovation metrics. Because of the confidential nature of the data, ATP worked with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) to create a Data Enclave so that researchers could remotely access the ATP data in a secure environment. To initiate the use of ATP data in the Data Enclave, the ATP program funded researchers to undertake research projects that use ATP data. Other organizations have joined the Data Enclave, including the Department of Agriculture and the Kauffman Foundation.

Assisting the Factually Innocent: The Contradictions and Compatibility of Innocence Projects and the Criminal Cases Review Commission

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) was the first publiclyfunded body created to investigate claims of wrongful conviction,with the power to refer cases to the Court of Appeal. In othercountries, such as Australia, Canada and the United States,many regard the CCRC as the optimal solution to wrongful convictionand, for years, Innocence Projects in these countries have calledfor the establishment of a CCRC-style body in their own jurisdictions.However, it is now Innocence Projects which are being introducedin England and Wales to try to assist applicants who are innocentbut convicted. This article reviews why the CCRC was created,discusses the role of factual innocence within this body andwithin the criminal justice system generally and explores whyInnocence Projects are being created in England and Wales, despitethe presence of the CCRC. It explains how these different organizationsmay work together to assist factually innocent people who havebeen wrongly convicted, and the role Innocence Projects mayplay generally in criminal justice reform and legal education.     

The Dissociative Subtype of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Forensic Considerations and Recent Controversies

Psychological Injury and Law - This article provides an overview of the evidence concerning the dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its relevance in forensic contexts....