Developing and transfering technology in state S&T programs: Assessing performance

By 1996, all states had established a program focusing on the development of technology and technology-based economic development. As more agencies move to performance-based management, state S&T programs are increasingly under pressure to report outcome and output data for their programmatic activities. This paper presents findings on the extent and use of performance measurement and evaluation efforts in state science and technology programs. The 1995–96 study was based on a series of eight case studies and a mail survey of science and technology-based programs in all fifty states. The findings show that three groups of measures emerged as most important to state science and technology programs: employment-related data, leveraged or matching fund data, and anecdotal evidence. State programs are especially pressured to report short-term outcomes, yet show economic benefits. Many state program managers find value in performance data—the reseacch shows that the primary reason that many states assess their performance is the value of performance information as a management tool. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations here are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the National Science Foundation. This research was supported under NSF Grant No. SBR-9422433 from the Program of Research on Science and Technology and through the second author's NSF Independent Research Plan. The research benefited greatly from the contributions of two tireless research assistants, Arlene Allen and Michael Turton.     

The Effect of Maternal Victimization on Children: A Cross-Informant Study

The impact of maternal victimization on the behavioral, social, emotional, and cognitive development in a group of 206 low-income, predominantly African American children from inner city, pediatric primary health care clinics was explored using mother, teacher, and self-report data. Results revealed that mothers with a victimization history reported more externalizing and internalizing behaviors in their children, compared to mothers who had not been victimized. Maternal victimization history was not related to teachers' ratings of children's behavior, child reports of social competence and depression, or standardized assessments of cognitive development. The relation between mothers' history of victimization and their reports of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in their children was mediated by pathways through maternal depression and disciplinary practices (verbal aggression). These findings provide evidence for the link between maternal victimization and children's behavior problems. Treatment for victimized mothers that reduces their depressive symptoms and promotes adaptive parenting practices may lead to fewer behavior problems in their children.     

Courting the President: How Circuit Court Judges Alter Their Behavior for Promotion to the Supreme Court

We examine whether circuit court judges sacrifice policy purity for career goals. We compare the behavior of contender judges–those most likely to be elevated to the Supreme Court–during vacancy periods with their behavior outside vacancy periods. We also examine the behavior of noncontender judges during those same times. The data show that during vacancy periods, contender judges are more likely to vote consistently with the president's preferences, to rule in favor of the United States, and to write dissenting opinions. Noncontender judges fail to evidence such behavior. These findings provide empirical support for the argument that federal judges adapt their behavior to specific audiences, and provide new avenues for research into judges' goals and the role of audiences in judicial decision making.     

An experimental study of responses to armed police in Great Britain

Journal of Experimental Criminology - This study tested whether the presence of a firearm changed the way people reacted to police among a British sample. In an online study, participants were...     

The intersubjective space–time of a Zulu choir/HIV support group in global perspective

This article draws from anthropology, conversation analysis, ethnomusicology, semiotics, and phenomenology, using the concept of intersubjectivity to model how the micro-organization of musical communication can be integral in social processes of support, identity maintenance, and activism amid structural inequality. This is based on ethnographic fieldwork in Durban, South Africa, with a Zulu gospel choir that functioned as a support group, activist organization, and performance troupe. Three distinct aspects (or levels) of intersubjectivity are discussed. The organization of these levels in music making is outlined through fine-grained discussion of how people with HIV coordinate bodies and voices in space as they make music together for each other and for international audiences. This article contributes to the further development of a musical semiotics, discussing how overlapping conceptualizations of intersubjectivity in multiple disciplines may be synthesized to analyze the performance of coordinated sonic action.