Surge and stability in presidential nominations

Party nominations, we attempt to show by example, can be better understood by explicitly adapting certain aspects of electoral theory to the study of parties. Specifically, the common view (based mostly on impression instead of evidence) that McGovern's nomination was the result of a surge of amateurs is considered first. The implicit surge-and-decline mechanism underlying this view is elaborated in a manner making it applicable to convention delegates; then it is used for the 1972 Democrats to demonstrate that such a surge, properly interpreted, did in fact occur. The surge approach appears, however, to be useful also in the comparison of diverse nominations, to assess even a nomination representing the very opposite of an insurgent's—the nearly unanimous renomination of a president. To illustrate the potential for broader applicability, the 1972 Republican delegates are considered within the framework of amateur surges. To the extent that this approach can be successfully applied to 1972, and beyond, the study of parties may benefit from electoral theory.     

The International Court of Justice and International Law-making: The Judicial Activism/Self-Restraint Antinomy

The antinomy between judicial activism and self-restraint, wellknown to students of the US Supreme Court, has implicationstoday also for international tribunals. The resort to judicialsettlement of international dispute is still predicated upona certain basic homogeneity of legal cultures and values goingwith them. When, however, social and cultural values are infundamental tension or collision with each other, there maybe an inclination towards activism to try to resolve the conflictsor contradictions. Any such activism on the part of the InternationalCourt of Justice, after the way seemed opened by the landmarkadvisory opinion in Nambia in 1971, effectively "overruling"earlier, more static jurisprudence, seems, however, to havebeen tempered by a perceived obligation of judicial respectfor the constitutional role and missions of the other policy-makingUN organs and other main players in the international community.As a result, this tends to lead to a situation in which theCourt may be dealing with no major, high political–legaltension-issues of the day.     

Ability, Effort, and Performance Among First-Year Law Students at Brigham Young University

This study considers the relationships between first-year law students' admission credentials, the amount of time they spend in study, and the grades they receive on examination. Findings include that there is a significant drop in effort during the first year, that while effort invested in study pays off in improved grades this effort is much less significant in explaining grades than is student ability as measured by LSAT and undergraduate grades, that students in the middle and bottom of the class are helped more by substantial study than are those in the top, that class attendance is much more valuable in raising grades than is equivalent time in other study, and that none of the various study techniques examined could be linked with major differences in results.     

Coparent Support and Conflict in African American Single Mother-Headed Families: Associations With Maternal and Child Psychosocial Functioning

This longitudinal investigation examined main and interactive effects of coparent support and conflict on mother and child adjustment in 248 low-income, African American, single mother-headed families. The findings indicated that coparent conflict was a more robust predictor of mother and child maladjustment both cross-sectionally and longitudinally than was coparent support. Moreover, findings revealed that coparent conflict and support interacted to predict one parenting behavior, monitoring, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Coparent relationships characterized by high levels of support and low levels of conflict were associated with the highest levels of parental monitoring behavior, whereas coparent relationships characterized by low levels of support and high levels of conflict were associated with the lowest levels of monitoring. The findings highlight the importance of examining both positive and negative aspects of coparent relationships in this at-risk, but understudied, group.