Interlocal Collaboration and Local Fiscal Structure: Do State Incentives Matter?

Interlocal collaboration is considered an important tool for cost-saving. States, therefore, have incentivized interlocal collaboration in different ways. To understand the budgetary consequences of interlocal collaboration and state incentives, we examine counties in Nebraska where the State uses two incentive mechanisms—resource restrictions and additional access to restricted revenues granted to counties with collaboration. This study finds that county expenditures are lower when they spend more through collaboration. While this lower spending is related to lower revenues in counties less constrained by state restrictions, the results for counties more constrained are unclear. State incentive structures may matter for such variations.     

Predicting Technology Success: Identifying Key Predictors and Assessing Expert Evaluation for Advanced Technologies

This study investigates a set of precursor factors that appear related to future technology success, and whether or not expert evaluators can a priori provide useful information during the technology review process. Sixty-nine highly advanced post 9–11 technologies are tracked over time. Based upon the results of this study, we conclude that a reasonably good predictive model can be constructed from organizational and technology factors, such as firm size, stage of development, and strategic partnerships. The results also indicate that the incremental value of expert reviewers and technology evaluators to predict future technology success is relatively small. Reviewers that provided the greatest predicative power, however, had current scientific responsibilities. These results raise important issues regarding the capability of developing predictive models of technology success.      

One step up, two steps back: The progression of perceptions of women's work in prisons and jails

The corrections workplace has undergone tremendous change during the past quarter century. Judicial intervention, public and media attention, and “get tough on crime” initiatives have all led to a variety of changes. Opportunities to work in corrections, in all positions, have increased dramatically. In an effort to determine how correctional staff today regard the presence and capabilities of women in the work environment, questions were specifically developed that addressed this issue and included in a more broadly conceived questionnaire administered to correctional staff in several prisons and jails in a western state. In this article, findings are reported regarding the gender-related items. It was found that, while jail and prison staffs generally shared similar views regarding most gender-related issues, there were some significant differences between both male and female respondents and those with prior military experience on the items regarding the competency of female staff.