The Free-Market Economy Is Fundametally Healthy

Though another Great Depression seems to have been averted for the moment, great geo-economic shifts are in the works as a result of the global meltdown emanating from Wall Street. Four Nobel laureates in economics take a look at where we are headed.     

A Methodology for Improving the Investment Portfolio Management Process for the Homeland Security Department using Quality Function Deployment

In this paper, we describe a methodology for improving homeland security investment decisions. The objective is to evaluate multitechnology, multiyear investment choices and the associated development and deployment risks associated with new technologies. The budgeting process in the Homeland Security Department is a complex multicriteria decision problem involving a distributed network of decision makers with diverse areas of expertise. The decision problem in Homeland Security involves game‐theoretic aspects as the terrorists are likely to alter their strategies depending on the defensive counter measures selected in the budget. We propose a two‐phased systems approach. The first phase employs a visualization tool based on Quality Function Deployment to develop an initial budget allocation. The second phase involves an iterative approach to project selection that dynamically adjusts the investment portfolio based on anticipated reactions taken by the terrorists. This paper is based on a study done as part of a research project for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). We present a high‐level view of the methodology and illustrate it with examples.     

Daubert and the Exclusionary Ethos: The Convergence of Corporate and Judicial Attitudes towards the Admissibility of Expert Evidence in Tort Litigation*

The article traces the way admissibility jurisprudence following Daubert has come to emphasize the importance of strict judicial gatekeeping; making it more difficult for plaintiffs to succeed in tort and product liability litigation. This exclusionary ethos appears to have been shaped by a range of values and interests which appear closely aligned to the perspectives promoted by corporate-sponsored proponents of tort and evidence reform. The effects of the exclusionary ethos are explored through an example of judicial gatekeeping in recent mobile telephone litigation and a review of judicial surveys of post- Daubert attitudes toward expert evidence. The role of corporate-sponsored amicus briefs in the influential Supreme Court Kumho Tire Co. Ltd. v Carmichael appeal, extra-legal mobilization by conservative think tanks in litigation around electric and magnetic fields (EMF), and a qualitative citation analysis of federal court judgments, are then used in a preliminary attempt to trace the influence of corporate lobbying and social problem rhetorics on judicial attitudes and practice.     

Evaluating expert judgments

Abstract.  Although expert surveys have gained a prominent place in comparative studies of party positions on issues, their validity has been called into question. In this article, some of the validity concerns are evaluated in the context of the authors' own expert survey on national party positions vis-à-vis European integration. One goal of the article is to demonstrate that this expert survey produces valid measures of party positions. An equally important goal, however, is to suggest some methods that can help in assessing the quality of expert survey data. These methods, which are rooted in psychometric theory, are applicable in a variety of contexts and are easily implemented.