Planning and conducting federally funded scientific research in Nigeria

During the past two decades Nigeria has invested heavily in scientific research, by developing country standards. Yet these investments at best have had only marginal impacts on the activities of the production and service sectors even though there are many priority development activities which could benefit from inputs from Nigerian researchers. At the national level efforts to direct or even co-ordinate the planning and budgeting of research have been seriously hampered by frequent changes in organizational responsibilities and by repeated budget cuts. Historically, the activities of the federal research institutes have been poorly tuned to the interests and capabilities of the potential users of their research products. Neither these institutes nor the universities with research activities are in a position to develop products or processes which can compete with imported technologies that are saturating the economy. However, the research institutes, and to a lesser extent the universities, should make greater contributions in applying science to improved use of the nation's natural resource endowments, although significant changes in research management at the project level are needed if this objective is to be realized. The Government should provide incentives to the multinational companies operating in Nigeria to develop joint programmes with the research institutes and universities as one mechanism for diffusing the administrative and technical capabilities of the companies. Meanwhile, selected public sector enterprises should be encouraged to expand technological innovation efforts which could be directly applied to their production activities.     

Suicide by Cop Among Officer-Involved Shooting Cases

Abstract: The frequency and characteristics of suicide by cop cases (SBC) among a large (n = 707) nonrandom sample of North American officer-involved shootings (OIS) were investigated. “Suicide by cop” is when a subject engages in behavior which poses an apparent risk of serious injury or death, with the intent to precipitate the use of deadly force by law enforcement against the subject. Thirty-six percent of the OIS in this sample were found to be SBC with high interrater agreement (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.93) for category classification. SBC cases were more likely to result in the death or injury of the subjects than regular OIS cases. Most SBC cases were spontaneous, but had clear verbal and behavioral indicators that occurred prior to, and during the event. Findings confirm the trend detected in earlier research that there was a growing incidence of SBC among OIS. SBC individuals had a high likelihood of possessing a weapon (80%), which was a firearm 60% of the time. Half of those with a firearm discharged it at the police during the encounter. Nineteen percent simulated weapon possession to accomplish their suicidal intent. Other findings highlight the histories and commonalities in this high risk group.     

The Early Cold War and American Political Development: Reflections on Recent Research

This paper is a review essay of three books representing new research into the relationship between Cold War mobilization and postwar American political development: Michael Hogan, A Cross of Iron: Harry S. Truman and the Origins of the National Security State, 1945–1954 (Cambridge University Press, 1998); Guy Oakes, The Imaginary War: Civil Defense and American Cold War Culture (Oxford University Press, 1994); and Peter Trubowitz, Defining the National Interest: Conflict and Change in American Foreign Policy (University of Chicago Press, 1998).