The effectiveness of weapon system acquisition reform efforts

Most Americans believe that their nation's weapon acquisition system is one of the worst-managed activities in the public or private sectors. Although the process has been the subject of many reform efforts, it is reasonable to ask whether these reform efforts had any success. This article examines the effectiveness of such reforms by reviewing the results of the acquisition process. This analysis, using measures of the extent of cost growth and schedule slippage, indicates a trend toward improvement in the acquisition process, at least up to the 1980s. Acquisition results from the decade of the 1980s suggest some stalling in this trend. However, when the process is compared to other public and private sector acquisition systems, it appears to be performing well.     

Does inequality cause inflation?: The political economy of inflation,taxation and government debt

Public Choice - A democratic society in which the distribution of wealth is unequal elects political parties that are likely to represent the interests of poor people. It is in the interests of the...     

Cockfight in the cotton: A moral crusade in microcosm

Due to its unique socio-cultural heritage, Louisiana is one of only four states in which cockfighting is legal. During the 1980s various animal-rights advocacy groups have attempted to stigmatize and criminalize the activity. This situation has precipitated local and state-wide conflicts in which urban-cosmopolitan progressive New South boosters, allied with traditional and non-conventional animal-rights activists, are pitted against congeries of rural, blue collar sports-men who are, in turn, allied with state and national lobbying organizations of their own. Participant-observation, archival research, content analysis and life histories are used in the exploration of a clash of cultures, or more specifically, a clash of world-views. Not surprisingly, the present lobbying activity and proposed legislation contain many of the attributes of the prototypical moral crusade. In addition, the milieux of both cockfighters and reformers are described and contrasted.A single zealot may commence persecutor, and better men be his victim. — Thomas Jefferson     

Addressing the Affordable Housing Crisis for Vulnerable Renters: Insights From Broward County on an Affordable Housing Acquisition Tool

South Florida is experiencing an affordable rental crisis that is especially burdensome on those most vulnerable in society, low-income households. Rapid urbanization has resulted in inequitable land-use patterns that are a barrier to housing for the poor. As a solution to the crisis, local housing agencies seek to expand their affordable housing stock for vulnerable renters in opportunity-rich neighborhoods, but there is no standard framework for identifying properties for acquisition. Broward County serves as a case study to develop a housing acquisition tool. Using a combination of spatial statistics and principal components analysis, neighborhoods in which housing agencies may consider acquiring property are identified through the creation of an affordability surface in ArcGIS. Affordability is overlain by an opportunity surface derived from neighborhood quality and accessibility rankings. The results identify neighborhoods in Broward County that are both affordable and opportunity-rich, to better serve the county's most vulnerable renters.     

Calcium and Phosphorus Detection Using Benchtop Versus Handheld X‐ray Fluorescence Spectrometers

Elemental analysis of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) has been shown to be useful in differentiating skeletal and nonskeletal material. X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) is an attractive, nondestructive technique for forensic anthropologists, and the development of portable XRF instrumentation is promising for field applications. This study examines the performance of handheld XRF instrumentation operated in air compared to a traditional benchtop XRF device that has the ability to control the analysis atmosphere. Both instruments can be used to effectively distinguish skeletal from nonskeletal remains. However, as the measurement atmosphere affects detection levels for calcium and phosphorus, Ca/P ratios obtained from the instruments and analysis conditions were found to differ significantly, with analyses conducted in air showing significantly lower phosphorus detection. Consequently, comparison of Ca/P ratios to conclude skeletal versus nonskeletal origin must be based on data collected under similar analysis conditions.     

A Pilot Study Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Cortisol Awakening Response and Health Outcomes among Law Enforcement Officers

As first responders who are frequently exposed to job-related trauma, police officers are at an elevated risk of adverse mental and physical health outcomes. Evidence-based approaches to stress reduction are sorely needed to address the complex variety of problems that police officers face. In this pilot study we examined the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention designed to address police officer stress. A total of 43 police officers completed an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training (MBRT) program, which was designed to improve mindfulness, resilience, stress, health outcomes, and emotional functioning. Using multilevel models we found significant improvement in self-reported mindfulness, resilience, police and perceived stress, burnout, emotional intelligence, difficulties with emotion regulation, mental health, physical health, anger, fatigue, and sleep disturbance. Although there were no significant pre-to-post-MBRT changes in cortisol awakening response (CAR), while controlling for pre-MBRT increase area under the curve (AUC_I), change in mental health was a significant predictor of post-AUC_I. Implications of these findings and areas for future research are discussed.     

When Does an Administrative Order Resolve CERCLA Liability Sufficiently to Trigger a § 113 Contribution Action?

This article discusses how parties who are negotiating administrative agreements with regulatory agencies regarding the remediation of inactive hazardous waste sites can best protect their right to bring a contribution action against other responsible parties. The article discusses the relevant statutory provisions and the case law, much of which holds that parties failed to preserve their contribution rights, and provides advice regarding specific language to include in such agreements.     

Voting Weights and Formateur Advantages in the Formation of Coalition Governments

Over the last two decades a large and important literature has emerged that uses game theoretic models of bargaining to study legislative coalitions. To test key predictions of these models, we examine the composition of coalition governments from 1946 and 2001. These predictions are almost always expressed in terms of parties' minimal-integer voting weights. We calculate such weights for all parliamentary parties. In addition, we develop a statistical model that nests the predictions of many of these models of the distribution of posts. We find that for parties that join (but did not form) the government, there is a linear relationship between their share of the voting weight in parliament and their share of cabinet posts. The party that forms the government (the formateur) receives a substantial "bonus" relative to its voting weight. The latter finding is more consistent with proposal-based bargaining models of coalition formation and suggests that parties gain disproportionate power not because of their size but because of their proposal power.