The Farm Crisis and the Future of Rural Local Governments

America's farmers are facing difficult financial times, andtheir problems are spilling over to rural local governments.Declining farm incomes and farm property values erode the localtax base. At the same time, demand for publicly provided servicesmay increase, creating a squeeze between falling revenues andhigher costs. This article documents the impact the farm crisishas had on local government tax bases in eight multi-countyregions in the Midwest. The impacts found, while severe, wouldgenerally be manageable in the absence of other shocks. However,when changes in the intergovernmental aid system–suchas the elimination of General Revenue Sharing and other cutsin federal aid—are factored in, local governments in agriculturallydependent areas can encounter financial stress. Higher taxesand lower service levels may permanently change the qualityof life in rural America.     

Cannabis use and the transition to young adulthood

Despite the significance of role changes during the process of transition from adolescence to young adulthood, there have been few investigations of how transitional problems may result in increased illicit drug use. Recent structural changes in the economy may have produced a greater likelihood of such transitional difficulties. The present research uses longitudinal panel data from a sample of graduating high school students in three Canadian cities to test a model that predicts change in cannabis use from late adolescence to early adulthood. Young adults with less job stability, weaker occupational and educational commitment should be freer from informal social controls and therefore more at risk for an increased level of cannabis use. However, none of the measures of informal social control processes was an important net predictor of change in cannabis use. Rather, prior cannabis use in high school was of overwhelming importance in predicting use two years later. There was also evidence that having delinquent friends led to increased cannabis use. These results are discussed and suggestions are given for additional research on this topic.Revised version of a paper presented to the American Society of Criminology, November 1991, San Francisco. Financial assistance was provided by the Solicitor General Canada through the contributions grant to the Centre of Criminology, University of Alberta. Major funding for the larger project was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Alberta and Ontario governments, the cities of Edmonton and Toronto, the University of Alberta and Laurentian University.Received Ph.D. from Indiana University. Current research interests are attitudes toward young offenders, role transition and crime, and female crime trends.     

IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND DEMOCRATIC POLITICS

The advent of impact assessment as a tool of policy is the latest chapter in our understanding of the relationship between science and politics. As such, it presents at least two challenges to democratic politics. Given its emphasis on appropriate procedural character of conteniporary democratic systems. And by raising the value of technical and scientific information in environmental disputes, impact assessment poses a challenge to existing concepts of popular sovereignty, based as they are on interest and preference rather than knowledge. These challenges, however, do not rep- resent irreconcilable differences. Although there may be an inherent ten- sion between impact assessment and democratic politics, there are also areas of affinity between the two. And we are destined to accept and adapt to this tension because, in fact, understanding is one of our principal defenses against tyranny.     

Camels and gnats: The malthusian fundamentalism insurgency

His research has included the use of census microdata to profile important but relatively unstudied sectors of the older population. He has served as a reviewer of research proposals funded by the National Institute on Aging; and he is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Gerontology, Research on Aging, Comprehensive Gerontology,and the Journal of Applied Gerontology.     

Estimating property tax base elasticity over time: Evidence on the revenue maximizing politician

The Laffer curve analysis suggests a possible policy conflict between short-run revenue maximization and long-run fiscal health. This paper estimates short-run and long-run property tax base elasticity in order to test whether such a conflict exists for the property tax in central cities. A stock adjustment model is used and separate time-series estimates for four New York State central cities lend empirical support to such a conflict. The results show that while disincentive effects associated with property tax rate increases are not strong enough to reduce proeprty tax revenue in the short-run, they are substantial enough to reduce long-run revenue in all but one city. The paper also tests for asymmetric response to property tax rate changes and finds significant results for only one city.     

Behavior problems of handicapped adolescent female students

Adolescent girls aged 12 through 16 years, identified as either educable mentally retarded, behaviorally disordered, learning disabled, or nonhandicapped, were rated by their teachers on the Behavior Problem Checklist. Analysis of these ratings revealed significant differences for pupil category, Behavior Problem Checklist dimension, and category-by-dimension interaction. Behaviorally disordered students showed a greater degree of maladjustment than the retarded and nonhandicapped students on all four checklist dimensions, and exceeded the learning disabled on three dimensions (not Personality Problem). Implications for further research and special educational practices based on the present findings are discussed.Received Ed.D. from University of Virginia. Main interest is the handicapped adolescent.Received Ms.Ed. from Northern Illinois University. Main interest is emotionally disturbed children.Received Ed.D. from University of Virginia. Main interest is educational programming.Received Ms.Ed. from Northern Illinois University. Main interest is educational research.     

Major study commencing into genetic discrimination in Australia

This article describes a nationwide empirical study that will be undertaken during the next three years into the newly emerging phenomenon of genetic discrimination. In particular, the study aims to investigate the nature and extent of genetic discrimination in Australia across three key perspectives: consumers, third parties and the legal system. Further, the study aims to examine the social and legal implications of genetic discrimination, with a view to making recommendations for use in the Australian legal and policy context. It is anticipated that the data produced from this multifaceted investigation will assist in identifying areas where legal or other reforms are required. It will contribute significant baseline data for facilitating ongoing assessment of the nature and extent of the problem, as well as for longitudinal evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of any reforms which may be introduced in the future to address the issue.