The effects of fiscal contraction on innovation in the public sector

Beginning in the mid-1970s, fiscal limitation laws, shrinking revenue bases in older cities, and reductions in state and federal grants all have reduced the resources available to carry out the functions of local government. What do these changes portend for the amount of innovation in local government, the types of innovations that are introduced, and the processes of introduction? This paper examines these questions by reviewing the literature on factors related to innovation in public service agencies and reorienting its implications in the new fiscal environment. We conclude that on the whole the innovative process in the public sector has fallen on hard times. Yet, we identify those factors that a creative, innovative administrator can use to advantage in a period of fiscal constraints to bring about innovation. We also identify types of innovations that are likely to succeed.     

The puzzle transformed: Explaining declining turnout

This analysis of the decline in aggregate voting turnout in the United States between the 1950s and the 1980s attributes the decline to changes in the generational composition of the electorate. In particular, the post-New Deal generation (first presidential vote in 1968 or later), which continues to grow in size, votes at a rate well below that of older generations. A minor part of the generational differences in turnout can be attributed to generational differences in party identification and social connectedness (as measured by such indicators as home ownership and church attendance). The larger portion of generational turnout differences cannot be directly explained with variables contained in the National Election Studies. The generational differences in turnout arenot reflected in preelection participation (informal campaigning, doing party work, etc.) and they cannot be accounted for by a declining sense of political efficacy or citizen duty or by lessened interest in campaigns and election outcomes.     

Components of loneliness during adolescence

Predictors of adolescent loneliness were investigated in two samples of high school students (n=92)and college undergraduates (n=192).Results were similar across samples. Among the high school sample loneliness was significantly predicted by a combination of alienation, a lack of social facility and acceptance, inferiority feelings, negative school attitudes, and a lack of social integration. Among college students loneliness was negatively related to social facility, regularity, approval, and involvement and positively related to alienation, parental disinterest, negative school attitudes, and inferiority feelings.Research interests include loneliness and self-concept.Received Ph.D. in social psychology from Oklahoma State University. Research interests include loneliness and friendships.     

Crime Scene and Distance Correlates of Serial Rape

This study, derived from a sample of 108 serial rapists (rapes=565), examines the relationship between demographic, crime scene, and criminal history variables and the distance traveled by serial rapists in order to offend. The pattern of offenses perpetrated by each of the 108 serial offenders as it relates to his place of residence is also analyzed in terms of known characteristics of the offender and his offenses. The theoretical focus of the study integrates premises derived from criminal investigative analysis, environmental criminology, ethnographic geography, journey to crime research, and criminal geographic targeting to explore the cognitive symmetry between the how and the where of serial sexual offenses. These components or dimensions of serial crime are explored in an attempt to aid law enforcement in their investigation of hard-to-solve serial crimes.     

Better safe than sorry

Many women in developing countries would rather risk an unwanted pregnancy than put up with the side effects of efficient contraceptive methods. 40-70% of Third World users abandon use of oral contraceptives and the IUD within 2 years because of side effects. An additional 25-33% of women do not use contraceptives at all because of a fear of side effects. In part, this reflects the tendency of pharmaceutical firms and health staff to avoid discussing the side effects of modern contraceptives with Third World women, out of concern this will keep them away from family planning clinics. Without proper information, women become suspicious they are being manipulated or interpret unrelated symptoms as due to contraception. Another reason for low rates of acceptance of modern contraceptive methods is the failure of family planning programs to match the contraceptive prescribed to the needs of the acceptor. Women who want a number of children, for example, should not be given a method such as the IUD or injectables that may interfere with future fertility. In a village in Bangladesh, the birth rate actually went up after the pill was introduced because it interfered with lactation and was abandoned by 80% of initial acceptors. Ironically, there is evidence that efficient methods turn out to be less efficient in preventing births than their traditional counterparts such as the widely acceptable coitus interruptus method.     

Tax policy and equipment leasing after TEFRA

The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 substantially modified the "safe harbor" leasing provisions enacted by the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. In this Comment, Professors Warren and Auerbach argue that the modifications did not remedy the defects they identified in an earlier Article and that a new category of "finance leases" may prove to be nearly as valuable for some taxpayers as were safe harbor leases before the 1982 changes.     

Culture and Formal Social Control: The Effect of the Code of the Street on Police and Court Decision-making

Objectives. Drawing on several interrelated lines of scholarship, we argue that cultural beliefs at individual and neighborhood levels may affect police and court decisions. We hypothesize that individuals who more strongly adhere to the code of the street or reside in areas where the street code culture is more strongly embraced will be more likely to be arrested and convicted, and that neighborhood-level effects will amplify the effect of street code adherence. Methods. To test these hypotheses, data from the Family and Community Health Study are examined using multilevel modeling. Results. Blacks who more strongly adhered to street code beliefs were more likely to be arrested and convicted; this effect was greater among those who resided in areas where the code of the street belief system was more entrenched. Conclusions. The findings highlight the potential usefulness of a focus on culture for understanding the exercise of formal social control.