An experimental trial of a dog-training program in a juvenile detention center

Journal of Experimental Criminology - This research examines the effect of a dog-training program among juveniles ordered to a county juvenile detention facility in a large, Midwestern city. A...     

Causal inference and American political development: common challenges and opportunities

Public Choice - The causal inference (CI) movement has forced political scientists to think far more seriously about what can be learned from a particular research design and to be more attentive...     

The determinants of democracy: a sensitivity analysis

Public Choice - Numerous studies—operating with diverse model specifications, samples and empirical measures—suggest different economic, social, cultural, demographic, institutional and...     

NOAA's Resurrection of Program Budgeting: Déjà Vu All Over Again?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration instituted a Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution System (PPBES) in 2002. As supplemented by matrix management, PPBES was appealing as an effort to rationalize the performance of an agency with an especially high degree of functional overlap among its component parts. Although PPBES has had some salutary effects, the agency's experience to date consistent with accounts of the difficulties that led to the abandonment of program budgeting by the civilian bureaucracy almost 40 years ago. As such, it speaks to the limits of performance assessment as a means of reallocating resources and responsibilities across organizational boundaries.     

A basic tool set for a generalized directional model

In political science, there are two classes of spatial models: those which are based on a distance logic and those which are based on a directional logic. This distinction can be found in terms of diverse topics, as voting theory, coalition theory or legislative politics. While Tsebelis (Br. J. Political Sci. 25:289–325, 1995) among others discussed implications of distance models, the respective counterparts for directional models have not been explicitly derived in the existing literature. We try to close this gap by discussing discrepancies between both kinds of models and derive some of the most relevant tools for analyses based on directional models.     

A process for identifying social and environmental issues: a case of the US forest products manufacturing industry

• Application of an issues management approach to corporate social responsibility consists of identifying, evaluating and responding to those issues that an industry must address in order to be socially responsible. This research focussed on identifying social and environmental issues relevant to the US forest products manufacturing industry. Towards this end, 14 interviews were conducted with key‐informants drawn from non‐government organizations, government and political offices, forest products associations, a multilateral organization and an extension expert. A rich set of issues was generated covering social and environmental issues. However, such a set may contain issues that are far too radical and may be challenging for companies to pursue. Accordingly, in order to develop a doable, socially credible and concise set of issues, a Delphi technique was employed consisting of forest products management and marketing academicians from various US universities. A two‐round Delphi resulted in identification of six social and six environmental issues that the US forest products manufacturing industry must address in order to be socially responsible. This proposed two‐stage process may have special relevance for companies that are entering into new markets overseas.

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