Sources of Competition in State Legislative Primary Elections

Primaries are an important but understudied component of American elections. In this article, I examine competition in state legislative primaries across 25 states during the 1994 and 1996 election cycles. My findings indicate that competition varies greatly and is affected by a number of factors on the state and district levels. The presence of an incumbent reduces competition, but strong district support for a party leads to greater competition in that party's primaries. Population size and social diversity do little to affect competition, but urbanism and unified party control have a positive impact. Further, legislative professionalism is associated with greater competition, particularly in open‐seat races. Overall, the results have important implications for theories about the conditions that enhance or inhibit competition across different types of elections.     

African Troops in Asia

Although several notices have appeared of particular engagementsfought by African troops in South-East Asia, or on other aspectsof their work, this article is, so far as we know, the firstgeneral review of their achievements as a whole. It is by aTanganyika District Officer, who accompanied the Duke of Devonshireon his tour of African units in India and Burma last spring.     

Women who molest children

In only nine of approximately 600 cases of child molestation in New Hampshire and Vermont was the perpetrator found to be a woman. Case histories and some testing data show a history of sexual assault as a child, frequent offense in the company of a dominant male partner, and a major disinhibition as a result of severe character disorder or limited intelligence. These factors not only interfered with maternal bonding and nurturing behavior but also contributed to suspension of judgment about the appropriateness of sexual contact with children.     

Conflict resolution symposium derails a potential tobacco “war”

Conclusion While it is, of course, very satisfying to see measurable results from a conflict resolution initiative, the immeasurable byproducts of the symposium are no less important. All who were present will never forget the evening at dinner when a preeminent cancer surgeon diagnosed skin cancer on the face of the oldest tobacco farmer and offered to fly across country to help treat him. The doctor who had earlier almost resorted to blows when the symposium began, made a commitment to visit North Carolina and see the plight of tobacco farm families firsthand.In debriefing the symposium's design and outcomes, many of the participants expressed desires that such processes could be used more routinely. Value was seen in having meetings throughout the country to teach such skills and model the processes of alternative dispute resolution. One member of the Congress even expressed a desire that training be offered on Capitol Hill, so that all members could benefit from becoming better at resolving disputes.What the tobacco symposium participants experienced is not unique. It demonstrates the positive experiences that can occur when people in conflict are empowered to resolve their differences in ways that uplift them and result in mutual gain. Instead of focusing on each other as enemies, their creative powers were focused on common problems and redirected; they were then able to design creative solutions. Dayle E. Powell is a Fellow and Director of Conflict Resolution Programs at the Carter Center of Emory University, One Copenhill, Atlanta, Georgia 30307. The Center, founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan institution focusing on conflict resolution, human rights, international affairs, and health policy.     

The percentage deposit bail system: An alternative to the professional bondsman

Bail bondsmen in the United States help defendants gain pretrial release. The preminums paid to bondsmen are not returned to the defendants. A percentage deposit bail project in two Massachusetts courts allowed defendants to gain their release by depositing 5% of the amount of bail with the court. These deposits were returned in full to the defendants upon completion of their cases, saving them large sums of money. Moreover, the rate at which defendants failed to appear in court as scheduled was no higher under this percentage deposit system than under the traditional bail bondsman system.