Results of four inter-laboratory comparisons provided by the Forensic Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (FIRMS) network

Between 2004 and 2008 the Forensic Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (FIRMS) network organised four Inter-Laboratory Camparison excercises with the aim of harmonising and validating isotopic measurements to be used for forensic applications.The samples distributed comprised materials of potential forensic interest such as packaging and pharmaceuticals to be analysed for δ²H, δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O composition. As many as 30 international laboratories participated in these comparisons. Results have shown overall improvements for both within- and inter-laboratory reproducibility with respect to δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N measurements.Only a small number of laboratories returned results for δ²H and δ¹⁸O analysis and these results highlighted a need for improvement in the reproducibility of these measurements and a need to address the exchange of hydrogen between samples and ambient moisture. Results also highlighted the importance of sample preparation procedures and the need to standardise both these procedures and calibration against Standard Reference Materials. Future Inter-Laboratory Comparison exercises will assess the suitability of laboratories to submit data to national and international databases similar to those currently operated for fingerprints, DNA etc.     

The Limits of Partisan Loyalty

Political Behavior - While partisan cues tend to dominate political choice, prior work shows that competing information can rival the effects of partisanship if it relates to salient political...     

On Measuring and Reducing Selection Bias With a Quasi‐Doubly Randomized Preference Trial

Randomized experiments provide unbiased estimates of treatment effects, but are costly and time consuming. We demonstrate how a randomized experiment can be leveraged to measure selection bias by conducting a subsequent observational study that is identical in every way except that subjects choose their treatment—a quasi‐doubly randomized preference trial (quasi‐DRPT). Researchers first strive to think of and measure all possible confounders and then determine how well these confounders as controls can reduce or eliminate selection bias. We use a quasi‐DRPT to study the effect of class time on student performance in an undergraduate introductory microeconomics course at a large public university, illustrating its required design elements: experimental and choice arms conducted in the same setting with identical interventions and measurements, and all confounders measured prospectively to treatment assignment or choice. Quasi‐DRPTs augment randomized experiments in real‐world settings where participants choose their treatments.     

Types of coproduction and differential effects on organizational performance: Evidence from the New York City school system

A growing body of literature explores the process of coproduction by citizens and government employees in providing goods and services, yet research that attempts to link coproduction to organizational performance offers contradictory findings. It is possible that these conflicting results are a consequence of trying to compare distinct categories of coproduction. This study identifies types of coproduction, classified by which organizational tasks citizens can influence during stages of policy design and implementation, and tests whether these types have different effects on student proficiency in Mathematics and English Language Arts using data from New York City schools between 2007 and 2009. This study then tests the degree to which different types of coproduction moderate the negative effect of environmental turbulence on performance. Results confirm that types of coproduction have varying effects on organizational performance and can reduce, and even eliminate, the negative effect of a turbulent environment on student outcomes.     

Nonmetric Cranial Trait Variation and Ancestry Estimation in Asian and Asian-Derived Groups

Traditionally, precontact Native Americans and Asian groups have been conflated for aspects of the biological profile due to their distantly shared genetic history, although this grouping remains largely unexplored. This study examines craniomorphic variability to ascertain whether Asian groups can be differentiated from each other and from Asian-derived groups using more fine-tuned models. Cranial and mandibular data for 35 nonmetric traits were recorded on precontact Native Americans (n = 150) and modern Japanese (n = 150) and Thai (n = 150) individuals. Chi-square analyses indicate that all groups exhibit statistically significant differences in most traits. Additionally, cross-validated binary logistic regression equations resulted in correct classification rates in the range of 65.0–93.3% and demonstrate that sex does not contribute to statistical models. Therefore, numerous traits provide discriminatory resolution that detects differences between the samples, thus highlighting the potential utility of nonmetric traits in identifying individuals beyond the traditional African, European, and Asian forensic ancestry groupings.     

Flexible for whom? Flex crops,crises, fixes and the politics of exchanging use values in US corn production

Flexible allocation of crops among food and non-food uses is a key driver of global agri-food system change. Focusing on United States corn production, I explore the dynamics of flex crops, scrutinizing agri-industrial relationships and the distribution of agri-food system value and control. I situate crop flexing as exchanging use value, as opposed to converting use into exchange value without altering the commodity's use. Asking ‘Flexible for whom?' in the context of agri-food system crises, I find: (1) flex crops exacerbate contradictory food security and over supply crises, and that the distribution of flexibility and benefit in the agri-food system they provide depends on the organization of labor; (2) crises of accumulation tie flex crops to agri-food system financialization, which subordinates use to exchange value, obfuscating their relationship and distancing agricultural products and uses from their basis in nature and labor; and (3) debates over US corn flexing illustrate the utility of focusing on power and politics in crop flexing decisions and demonstrate US corn flexing to be a fix for climate and accumulation crises. Findings suggest that examining the distribution of value and control and the positions of labor and nature in the agri-food system may be productive for global flex crop research and advocacy in the future.     

Economic Assistance to Peacebuilding and Reconciliation Community-Based Projects in Northern Ireland and the Border Counties: Challenges,Opportunities and Evolution

The International Fund for Ireland and the European Union (EU) Peace III Fund have provided external economic resources to local community projects in Northern Ireland and the Border region to support intercommunal relations, community development, economic development, peacebuilding and reconciliation. The British and Irish governments, the EU, and the USA see the economic aid as their commitment to support the peace process, nurture the local voluntary sector, and build the peace dividend. The research findings demonstrate that the reality on the ground is more complex. Some believe that the economic assistance has created employment opportunities, built capacity, and localized peacebuilding knowledge. Others are more sceptical and perceive that the aid has created dependency, facilitated a competitive milieu, and has not transformed relationships in a sectarian environment.     

Public Regulation and Private Lawsuits in the American Separation of Powers System

This article investigates causes of the legislative choice to mobilize private litigants to enforce statutes. It specifies the statutory mechanism, grounded in economic incentives, that Congress uses to do so, and presents a theoretical framework for understanding how certain characteristics of separation of powers structures, particularly conflict between Congress and the president over control of the bureaucracy, drive legislative production of this mechanism. Using new and original historical data, the article presents the first empirical model of the legislative choice to mobilize private litigants, covering the years 1887 to 2004. The findings provide robust support for the proposition that interbranch conflict between Congress and the president is a powerful cause of congressional enactment of incentives to mobilize private litigants. Higher risk of electoral losses by the majority party, Democratic control of Congress, and demand by issue‐oriented interest groups are also significant predictors of congressional enactment of such incentives.