A Longitudinal Study of the Interactive Effects of Impulsivity and Anger on Adolescent Problem Behavior

The current study examined the moderating effect of impulsivity on the relation between anger and adolescent problem behavior (substance use and delinquency). High levels of anger were associated with delinquency for impulsive, but not for nonimpulsive adolescents in cross-sectional analyses. This moderating effect was not supported for substance use. Gender-moderated links between temperament and problem behavior showed that anger predicted substance use for females only, and impulsivity was more strongly associated with delinquency for males. In prospective analyses, both anger and impulsivity predicted adolescent problem behavior, but impulsivity did not moderate the effects of anger. Overall, results provided partial support for the notion that temperament dimensions operate interactively to promote poor adjustment.     

The relationship between congressional spending and tenure with an application to term limits

Whether term limits would increase or decrease federal spending depends on the reason for the causal relationship between tenure and spending. We investigate this subject by empirically studying congressional spending and tenure for all United States House and Senate members who entered Congress between the 94th and 102nd Congresses (1975–1992). As our measure of congressional spending we use the National Taxpayers Union's Congressional Spending Scores. Our study finds that a statistically significant relationship exists between congressional spending and tenure for some groups of congressmen. We then test three hypotheses relating tenure and spending. No single hypothesis is consistent with all of our empirical results. Nevertheless, the small sizes of the empirical effects estimated in this study suggest that term limits would have an inconsequential impact on the level of federal spending – at least via the “moral hazard” mechanisms described in this paper.     

Transcultural comparisons of self-image in German and United States adolescents

Based on the Offer Selfimage Questionnaire (OSIQ), the selfimage of German and United States adolescents was compared. The German study was based on OSIQ protocols from 365 adolescents in West Berlin while the American sample comprised adolescents drawn from seven cities in the United States. With respect to three scales, United States adolescents report better adjustment than do the German adolescents. These scales were Mastery of the External World, Vocational and Educational Goals, and Superior Adjustment. In general, these two Western societies share more similarities than differences in the selfimages of their adolescents.Received M.D. and Ph.D in Psychology from the University of Hamburg, Germany. Research interests are high-risk studies, child psychiatric epidemiology, and adolescence.Received M.D. from the University of Chicago. Major interests are concepts of mental health and the developmental psychology of adolescence.Received J. D. from the University of Chicago School of Law; received Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Chicago. Research interests are adolescence and delinquency.Received Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Chicago. Major interests are psychotherapy research and adolescence.     

Formula budgeting: The economics and analytics of fiscal policy under rules

The dramatic change in aggregate fiscal policy in recent years has contributed to a shift from process rules to allocation rules in federal budgeting. Although the allocation rules inherent in formula budgeting seem to offer fairness in times of fiscal constraint, they actually impose arbitrary program-level budgets that reflect the peculiarities of baselines, accounting conventions, and time horizons. Formula budgeting also changes the analytical environment, forcing policy analysts to pay greater attention to institutional arrangements.     

Supreme Court Legitimacy and Group-Centric Forces: Black Support for Capital Punishment and Affirmative Action

The Supreme Court has addressed capital punishment and affirmative action many times and, as a result, has had sweeping policymaking effects. For that reason, we argue that black opinion on capital punishment and affirmative action will be shaped by diffuse support for the Court. We also recognize the important role of group-centric forces in shaping black opinion. We find that diffuse support for the Court leads blacks with lower levels of race consciousness to be more supportive of capital punishment and less supportive of affirmative action, positions in line with the Court's decisions on these issues but contrary to black interests. The Court, however, is not able to throw its cloak of legitimacy around its policy position for blacks with the highest levels of group consciousness.     

Postsecondary preparation and remediation: Examining the effect of the early assessment program at California State University

In this paper we investigate how participation in the Early Assessment Program, which provides California high school juniors with information about their academic readiness for college‐level work at California State University campuses, affects their college‐going behavior and need for remediation in college. Using administrative records from California State University,–Sacramento and the California Department of Education, we find that participation in the Early Assessment Program reduces the average student's probability of needing remediation at California State University by 6.1 percentage points in English and 4.1 percentage points in mathematics. Rather than discouraging poorly prepared students from applying to Sacramento State, EAP appears to lead students to increase their academic preparation while still in high school. © 2010 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Public–Private Partnerships and the Public Accountability Question

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are growing in popularity as a governing model for delivery of public goods and services. PPPs have existed since the Roman Empire, but their expansion into traditional public projects today raises serious questions about public accountability. This article examines public accountability and its application to government and private firms involved in PPPs. An analytical framework is proposed for assessing the extent to which PPPs provide (or will provide) goods and services consistent with public sector goals of effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. Six dimensions—risk, costs and benefits, political and social impacts, expertise, collaboration, and performance measurement—are incorporated into a model that assists public managers in improving partnerships’ public accountability.     

Iran’s 1907 constitution and its sources: a critical comparison

Scholars of Iranian constitutional history have long recognized the influence of the Belgian and Bulgarian constitutions on the Iranian 1907 constitution. The exact character and extent of these and other constitutional influences have remained unclear, however. This article provides an analytical comparison of the 1907 Supplementary Fundamental Laws with the 1831 Belgian, 1876 Ottoman and 1879 Bulgarian constitutions that served as models and sources of inspiration. We also provide an easily navigable annotated version of relevant constitutional provisions in the footnotes for scholars interested in tracing models for particular provisions and have provided a complete version of the 1907 Supplementary Fundamental Laws and its sources on our website. In doing so, this article and the accompanying materials hope to clarify where these influences begin and end, where they have been modified or ignored, and where Iran’s constitutionalists innovated by introducing more stringent separation of powers or new institutions. It is thereby demonstrated that Iran’s constitutionalists critically engaged with previous constitutional traditions, rather than merely copying provisions from earlier models. Thus, Iran’s 1907 Supplementary Fundamental Laws should be regarded as an organic engagement with and global extension of the European liberal tradition, rather than as a merely peripheral or derivative development.