The Effect of Fiscal Decentralization on the Financial Condition of Municipal Government

This study examines the effect of fiscal decentralization between states and their local governments on the financial condition of municipal governments. There are strong theoretical arguments on both sides of the federalism debate about the benefits for and against decentralization. Most of the research in this area investigates economic and social welfare consequences of fiscal decentralization. There is limited research, however, on the effects of fiscal decentralization on the financial health of local governments. Using data from the nation’s 150 largest cities, this study finds that intrastate fiscal decentralization results in weaker financial condition for municipalities in those states.     

Lowering the Bar: Privileged Court Filings as Substitutes for Press Releases in the Court of Public Opinion

In the civil lawsuit against Kobe Bryant for sexual assault, the judge admonished lawyers for engaging in “public relations litigation”—the use of pleadings to attract media attention and try cases in the court of public opinion. This article examines the legal ramifications of such practices and the doctrines of law that encourage some lawyers and litigants to use pleadings as a form of press release. These include the law of republication and the fair report and judicial privileges as well as the power of judges to gag trial participants. The article concludes that courts have adequate tools to control such practices, and lawyers and public relations professionals can responsibly use court documents to communicate with the public, so long as they do not abuse the judicial process.     

Trends in teaching public administration: a view from the proceedings of the national conferences on teaching public administration

This article identifies trends in research on teaching public administration. Topics receiving substantial amounts of attention within years, within multiple years, and across time are identified. Cumulation of research on certain topics is identified. This study is based on data from the Proceedings of the National Conferences on Teaching Public Administration between 1978 and 1989.     

The doctrine of ultra vires and the protection of shareholders,creditors and third parties in Ghana: a balancing act

The doctrine of ultra vires was at common law invoked to frustrate expectations of innocent parties that entered into transactions with companies outside their object clause. The common law doctrine of ultra vires is applicable in Ghana but with necessary modification under the Companies Code and it is an effective tool for the protection of shareholders, creditors and third party's interest in the company. Whilst third parties acting in good faith and without notice are protected under the law, shareholders and creditors may restrain the company from dealing with the third party in the case of future transactions. This ensures balance and in any event when an action is instituted the court is obliged to look at the equities involved.     

Outside looking in: non-accession to the WTO

Since its institutional birth in 1947, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) / World Trade Organization (WTO) has mushroomed from 23 original contracting parties to 157 members as of September 2012. Another 28 countries are currently observers, each at varying stages of the accession process. WTO members and observers cover some 99 per cent of the world's population and over 99 per cent of global trade. However, there are still 13 states outside the multilateral rules-based trading system. This paper argues that existing explanations of membership and accession do not fully explain why these states remain outside the WTO, with implications for membership in international institutions generally. The paper tests hypotheses of non-membership based on a lack of willingness (domestic support), ability (technical capacity) or external pressure, and augments these statistical findings with a comparative country-level narrative of WTO (non-)accession decision-making in two small island countries.     

Utility of immunoassay in drug screening in skeletal tissues: sampling considerations in detection of ketamine exposure in femoral bone and bone marrow following acute administration using ELISA

Detection of ketamine exposure in skeletal tissues by automated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD) is described. Rats (n = 18) received 0, 15, 30, or 75 mg/kg ketamine hydrochloride acutely (i.p.), and were euthanized within 15 min or 1 h. Ketamine was extracted from ground femoral bone by methanolic incubation followed by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), while marrow was homogenized in alkaline solution, and then underwent LLE. Extracts were analyzed by ELISA, and subsequently by GC-ECD following derivatization with trifluoroacetic acid anhydride. The effect of tissue type (i.e., diaphyseal bone vs. epiphyseal bone vs. bone marrow) on the immunoassay response was examined through determination of binary classification test sensitivity (S) and measurement of the relative decrease in absorbance (%DA, drug-positive tissues vs. drug-free controls) in each tissue type. The %DA varied significantly between different tissues examined under a given dose condition, and generally decreased in the order marrow > epiphyseal bone > diaphyseal bone, at all dose levels examined. Measured S values for marrow, epiphyseal bone, and diaphyseal bone were 100%, 77%, and 23%, respectively (75 mg/kg dose). These results suggest that the type of skeletal tissue sampled and position sampled within a given bone (diaphyses vs. epiphyses) are important parameters in drug screening of skeletal tissues.     

Governors and Higher Education--1983

For the most part, 1983 was a quiet year in the otherwise occasionallytumultuous relationship between higher education and the governorsof the American states. To be sure, there were growing indicationsof serious budget problems on the horizon, exacerbated by droppingenrollments and shifting needs among students, faculty, andsociety. There was also an increasing awareness throughout thecountry of the future significant role that high technologymight play in institutions of higher education; but these prospectsstill need to be worked on and sorted out. The year provides,therefore, a good opportunity to look back at the fundamentalrelationship between governors and higher education and to examinea few specific areas of longstanding concern so that we maybe better prepared for what lies ahead.     

Creating Convergence: Debiasing Biased Litigants

Previous experimental research has found that self-Serving biases are a major cause of negotiation impasses. In this study we show that a simple intervention can mitigate such biases and promote efficient settlement of disputes.