Analyzing Roll Calls with Perfect Spatial Voting: France 1946–1958

A recent methodological advance in legislative roll-call analysis is especially relevant to the study of legislative behavior outside the setting of the United States Congress. We argue that Poole's (2000) optimal classification method for roll-call analysis is preferable to parametric methods for studying many legislatures. This is because the nature of party discipline, near-perfect spatial voting, and parliamentary institutions that provides incentives for strategic behavior lead to severe violations of the error assumptions underlying parametric methods. The robustness of the nonparametric method to the stochastic nature of the data makes it an ideal candidate for studying strategic behavior in legislatures. We illustrate these points with an analysis of data from the French Fourth Republic (1946–1958) .     

Quantitative determination of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol in cadaver blood.

We have described a highly sensitive, accurate, and selective method for the determination of delta 9-THC in postmortem blood. Although the method requires the use of fairly complex and sophisticated equipment, the procedure is straightforward and has been reproduced many times in our laboratories. It is thought that this procedure will serve as a useful adjunct to the forensic scientist in his armamentarium for determining physiological levels of important, abused drugs in postmortem analysis.     

Current Issues

In June and early July 2000, the European football championships were held in the Netherlands and Belgium. It was a large-scale event for both countries. The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations assigned the Crisis Research Center (COT Leiden University) to study the organisation and implementation of the event in the Netherlands and to draw lessons for future large-scale events. The researchers set out the general conclusions and resultant information in this article.     

suicidal adolescents: Family dynamics and the effects of lethality and hopelessness

The purpose of this study was to develop a profile of the family dynamics of suicidal adolescents regarding the constructs of overprotection, enmeshment, rigidity, and conflict avoidance. The relationship of the family dynamics, and adolescent's degree of hopelessness, and the lethality of the suicidal behavior were also examined. The Structural Family Interaction Scale, Marital Satisfaction Inventory, Hopelessness Scale, and lethality rating were utilized to assess the families and groups. The total sample (N=49) was comprised of two groups: the families with suicidal adolescents groups (N=34), and the nonsuicidal, symptomatic adolescents group (N=15). Results supported hypotheses that the families were similar in overprotection and enmeshment, and that suicidal families were more rigid and conflict avoidant. Hopelessness and lethality were not significant, although lethality contributed to the variance in the perceptions of marital relationships in suicidal families.Private practice in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Graduate student, currently completing a Ph.D. in counseling and human development, at The University of Iowa. Research interests include marriage and family therapy and adolescents.Received a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York. Main research interests are in family stress, and the impact of physical illness on family organization and dynamics.     

The “new” view of investment decisions and public policy analysis: An application to green lights and cold refrigerators

Recent research in investment theory emphasizes the importance of sunk investment costs, uncertainty in returns, and flexibility in investment timing. Allowing for the presence of these characteristics alters traditional discounted cash flow rules for when to invest. Those rules will recommend investing at lower rate-of-retum thresholds than is optimal. This article describes this research and suggests the range of potential situations to which the theory applies. It also discusses the implications for policy analysis and suggests that government programs to encourage investment may, in some cases, be inappropriate. After discussing a wide array of possible applications, we focus on one in particular: programs to encourage energy-efficient investment. The examples suggest the importance of applying the new investment theory for economic analysis of investment in energy-efficient technologies.     

Evaluation of technology transfer by peer review

We report the outcome of an experiment in the field of program evaluation. Because of the rapid outward growth of technology transfer from federally funded laboratories, it was judged necessary to devise a new, yet effective, way of evaluating technology transfer programs and comparing them to conventional research and development projects. Specifically, technology transfer projects within the High-Temperature Superconductivity program of the Department of Energy were subjected to peer review evaluation by a panel of researchers who themselves conduct technology transfer activities. The evaluation criteria and procedures resembled those used for peer review of basic research, but were adapted to the characteristics of technology transfer projects. We include both the viewpoints of a laboratory being evaluated and of the panel chairman. We comment on the degree of success of this evaluation, and draw some conclusions about how it might be modified for the future.     

Competing Approaches to the Study of American Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations

The development of theory in the study of American federalismand intergovernmental relations has long been marked by divergentapproaches. This article reviews the literature produced byfive "schools" within the field: (1) dual federalism, (2) cooperativefederalism, (3) pragmatic federalism, (4) noncentralized federalism,and (5) nation-centered federalism. As different as these approachesare, scholarly work in this field has made only sparing useof two other potentially useful approaches: distributive justiceand public choice theory. This article suggests how these alternateapproaches might contribute to reinvigorating a field that appearsto be otherwise at an intellectual impasse.