Violence and the perception of risk associated with hosting refugees

Public Choice - How do individuals’ experiences with political violence affect their perceptions regarding the risk associated with hosting refugees? This is an important question given that...     

On Formal Theory and Statistical Methods: A Response to Carrubba, Yuen, and Zorn

e-mail: sign{at}mail.rochester.edu The recent article by Carrubba, Yuen, and Zorn (2007) (CYZ)attempts to relate the strategic random utility models in Signorino(1999, 2002, 2003) and in Signorino and Yilmaz (2003) to existinggame theory practice and to existing statistical techniques.It contributes to this literature by reminding us that comparativestatics analysis can be applied to the equilibria of these models.There are a number of claims in CYZ, however, that require clarification.In particular, the article's primary claim is that comparativestatics analysis, in combination with one of three proposedstatistical estimators, provides a simpler alternative to methodspreviously advocated. This claim (or combination of claims)is incorrect. When one examines the procedure CYZ recommends,it is no simpler for substantive researchers than anything previouslyrecommended. Moreover, none of the proposed estimators are new:they are exactly the same methods introduced in Signorino (1999,2003), in Signorino and Yilmaz (2003), in Signorino, Walker,and Bas (2002), and in Bas, Signorino, and Walker (2007).     

Recovery of DNA and fingerprints from touched documents

This study investigated the various factors affecting DNA profiling from DNA recovered from fingerprints deposited on paper before and after fingerprint enhancement treatments. The DNeasy^® plant mini kit (QIAGEN^®) was found to improve DNA recovery from paper by over 150% compared with the QIAamp^® mini kit. A significant decrease in the amount of DNA recovered was observed following treatment with DFO and/or Ninhydrin. This decrease in yield did not have a comparably significant effect on the quality of the SGM Plus™ profiles. Furthermore, this study found that whilst certain paper types, such as newspaper, magazine and filter paper allowed for the good recovery of DNA, common office paper and white card, strongly interfered with the recovery of DNA resulting in poor quality profiles.     

Cutting the bars: thoughts on ‘prisoners and escapees’ in Bangladesh

The idea that problems in governance have deep roots in social structure has been revisited by Geof Wood in a recent article in this journal. His article takes a position in relation to an ongoing debate about how to improve public administration and management in Bangladesh, a debate that seems to be almost as ‘imprisoned’ in incompatible values and premises as, he argues, are the various Bangladeshi actors in society. But behind this debate are some very practical issues about how the administration there might be persuaded to work better. Key to his contribution is the idea of ‘room for manoeuvre’ or conditions for ‘escape’. This article argues that embedded institutions and values matter but that behaviour is also responsive to opportunity. ‘Old’ values can be put together into new institutional complexes if given a chance. The key to successful institutional change is effectiveness. ‘Escape’ is not only, or even primarily, a matter of changing values but of responding to circumstances and changing institutions—cutting the bars. A close look at institutional and organizational reform in any country, including the UK, shows that, whatever moral language and posture inform the reform agenda, it is constructive compromise that produces the structure that works. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY: IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING

Increasingly, the nations of the world are becoming more interdependent among themselves. This is true not only in an economic sense, but in a political sense as well. The field of public administration has become internationalized, presenting a new challenge to both teachers and students of the discipline. The article argues that special attention should be given to teaching students how to manage policy interdependency. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary approach is advocated as a method of broadening students' perspectives in public administration. In concluding the article, the author offers several recommendations for improving public administration programs.     

Development administration in the context of world economic recession: Some ideas on service provision in southern Sudan

This papers brings together several strains of thought around an outline suggestion for reform of education administration and finance in the Southern Sudan. Administration has to be seen in terms of incentives and disincentives to action. The administration of the Southern Sudan constitutes the largest part of the elite of that part of the country and consumes most public funds as salaries. In political interactions with sections of the public there is a more pressing need to respond to the demands of educated youth for salaries than to make adequate provision for non-salary expenses of services to the public. But the system is not in a stable state and the full contradictions of the situation, for politicians, bureaucrats and public, are revealed by the financial restrictions enforced as a result of national debt and international recession. Politically leaders in government service and disaffected leaders in military opposition in the bush both continue to demand a fairer distribution of central resources. But the possibility of generating, at the grass-roots, both the resources necessary for non-salary costs and the necessary influence to demand services, is something which could be further explored in the interests of all parties. This is a potential new direction for reform in development administration.     

Making Sense out of Nonsense: The Deconstruction of State-Level Sex Offender Residence Restrictions

Releasing a sex offender from prison or placing the offender on community-based sanctions, only to have the offender commit a new sex crime, is a policy-maker’s worst nightmare. Fueled by misperceptions and public fear, sex offender laws have developed piecemeal and without rigorous empirical insight and testing. While policies and practices are well-intended, they are unlikely to resolve the very real social problem of sexual violence and may inadvertently increase victimization. Such is the possibility with residence restrictions. This type of law is among the newest in an ever-growing barrage of legislation designed specifically for sexual criminals yet what little research that exists suggests there is no correlation between residence and sexual recidivism. This article identifies 30 states with state-level residence restrictions and conducts a content analysis of each state’s legislation. Geographical and other assessments are also conducted.