By-elections,changing fortunes,uncertainty and the mid-term blues

If voters care about the size of the government's majority, then by-election votes should exaggerate national swings. Moreover, if there is uncertainty about the outcome of the general election and if voters” preferences are skewed in such a way as to give more weight to the “downside” outcome (least favourite party wins) than the “upside” (favoured party wins with a larger than preferred majority), then there will be a systematic tendency for governments to lose by-elections, regardless of any changes in national support. These predictions go beyond those generated by conventional explanations. The theory is successfully tested against data from 383 post-War elections.     

Core Values, the Magistracy, and the Auld Report

In this article I shall first examine the core values underlying criminal justice about which there is some consensus. I then briefly review the current arrangements and decision making processes in magistrates courts in England and Wales before relating the core values to those arrangements and processes. This leads me to certain conclusions about the magistracy that I contrast with Auld's conclusions and recommendations.     

Men's attitudes toward affirmative action: Justice and intergroup relations at the crossroads

Two studies were conducted to examine some factors that may motivate support of or opposition to affirmative action programs for women. In the first study, a sample of 96 French-speaking male managers and professionals were presented with one of three versions of an affirmative action program to benefit women in blue-collar jobs. The men were asked about their endorsements and beliefs about the program described to them and (using a neosexism scale) about sex equity. Results indicate that neosexist attitudes influence support of the program presented, and articulating adherence to a merit principle in affirmative action influences perceptions of fairness. The second study evaluated reactions to an affirmative action program targeting jobs similar to those of the participants. Four conditions were designed to determine which element or combinations of elements of information presented in the first merit condition might have a stronger impact on fairness evaluations. A total of 131 francophone male managers and professionals participated in this study. Results reveal that neosexist attitudes influence level of support for the program. Both neosexism and the four conditions had an impact on evaluations of fairness.     

Hungarians and Germans: A literaryHassliebe

Originally presented as a paper at the Biennial Conference on Central and Eastern Europe, University of South Florida, March 30–April 1, 1995.