Nelson Mandela: Partisan and Peacemaker

To analyze Nelson Mandela's personal attributes relevant to peacemaking and negotiation, the study considers personality traits derived from biographical data rather than quantitative content analysis. Since Mandela's personality eludes ready characterization in terms of high or low levels of a given trait and also comprises traits apparently in tension, the analysis offered here highlights ostensibly opposing characteristics, and the evolution of Mandela's personal characteristics over time, with specific attention to his self-identity, interpersonal orientation, and political outlook. It identifies distinctive aspects of Mandela's peacemaking practice, as well as aspects that may be common among accomplished peacemakers and negotiators. It concludes that Mandela's seemingly contradictory personality traits and high degree of cognitive complexity enabled him to fulfill the different roles of partisan negotiator and of mediator/peacemaker, and equipped him, more so than other revolutionaries, for the transition to post-liberation leader.     

Phenolphthalein False‐Positive Reactions from Legume Root Nodules

Presumptive tests for blood play a critical role in the examination of physical evidence and in the determination of subsequent analysis. The catalytic power of hemoglobin allows colorimetric reactions employing phenolphthalein (Kastle‐Meyer test) to indicate “whether” blood is present. Consequently, DNA profiles extracted from phenolphthalein‐positive stains are presumed to be from blood on the evidentiary item and can lead to the identification of “whose” blood is present. Crushed nodules from a variety of legumes yielded phenolphthalein false‐positive reactions that were indistinguishable from true bloodstains both in color quality and in developmental time frame. Clothing and other materials stained by nodules also yielded phenolphthalein false‐positive reactivity for several years after nodule exposure. Nodules from leguminous plants contain a protein (leghemoglobin) which is structurally and functionally similar to hemoglobin. Testing of purified leghemoglobin confirmed this protein as a source of phenolphthalein reactivity. A scenario is presented showing how the presence of leghemoglobin from nodule staining can mislead investigators.     

With Feeling: How Emotions Shape Negotiation

Recognition of the role played by emotions in negotiation is growing. This article synthesizes current research around four broad themes: moves and exchanges, information processing, social interaction, and context. The authors' review reveals that much of the research on this topic has focused on two key emotions, anger and happiness. More recently, negotiators have turned to other emotions such as guilt and disappointment, demonstrating that not all negative emotions have the same consequences, or activate the same regions of the brain. Focusing on social interaction, the authors note that negotiators may influence each others' emotions: whether negotiators converge to anger or happiness has different consequences for agreement. Researchers have broadened their examination of emotion by considering how external factors such as power, the number of negotiators, culture, and gender influence the impact of emotional expression. The authors also consider the function and impact of expressing authentic emotions, or choosing to use emotions strategically to gain an advantage — an issue that raises important ethical questions for negotiators. The article concludes with some practical implications of the research.     

Risk Factors for Men’s Intimate Physical Aggression in Spain

This study tests a model of physical aggression in a sample of 194 men being treated for physical or psychological aggression in the greater Madrid area of Spain. The prevalence of aggression in this sample was lower than in a US batterer sample. In the path model highlighted here, borderline personality traits and alcohol problems were identified as risk factors for physical aggression perpetration and the role of borderline traits was mediated by psychological aggression. A reciprocal relationship was found between psychological perpetration and victimization but not physical perpetration and victimization. These findings are discussed within a cross-cultural context; conceptual and treatment implications are also addressed.     

Linking early ADHD to adolescent and early adult outcomes among African Americans

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to propose a mediational model for the mechanisms through which a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder between the ages of 10 and 12 predicts positive and negative early adult outcomes for African Americans.

Methods

The study sample (n = 211) was drawn from the Des Moines, Iowa subsample of the Family and Community Health Study. Participants were first assessed between the ages of 10 and 12, again between the ages of 12 and 18, and finally at 18 to 23.

Results

Findings indicate that a diagnosis of ADHD before age 13 indirectly predicted subsequent exclusionary school discipline and juvenile arrest in adolescence, and both arrests and educational attainment in young adulthood.

Conclusions

These findings offer support for the School to Prison Pipeline model, showing that for some African American children, a childhood diagnosis of ADHD can lead to negative school experiences that result in harsh school-based discipline, which in turn open the door to justice system involvement spanning several developmental stages.     

On the efficiency of equilibria in a legislative bargaining model with particularistic and collective goods

Voter initiatives are important for policy making in many countries. While much research shows that the initiative process affects policy choices, almost no evidence explains how the initiative process affects policy. Initiatives might change policy directly through voters approving laws that override the legislature; or the initiative process may change policy indirectly by providing a threat that induces the legislature to change policy. This article develops an empirical strategy to measure the direct and indirect effects of the initiative based on the idea that direct effects can be inferred from states that actually pass initiatives while indirect effects can be inferred from states where the initiative is available but not used. Evidence from 50 states on nine separate issues suggests that both direct and indirect effects are important, but the direct effect is several times larger than the threat effect.     

Backlash and Legitimation: Macro Political Responses to Supreme Court Decisions

This article is a first attempt to develop and assess the competing predictions of the thermostatic model of public opinion and legitimation theory for the responses of public mood to Supreme Court decisions. While the thermostatic model predicts a negative relationship between the ideological direction of Supreme Court decisions and changes in public mood, legitimation theory predicts that changes in mood should be positively associated with the ideological content of the Court's actions. I assess these rival expectations by modeling the dynamic relationship between mood and cumulative judicial liberalism. The model estimates indicate a complex interaction between the Court and the mass public characterized by short‐term backlash against Supreme Court decisions in mood followed by long‐run movement toward the ideological positions taken by the Court. The results emphasize the legitimacy of the Court in American politics and point to a unique role for the Court in shaping public opinion.     

Street‐level bureaucrats,policy learning,and refugee resettlement: The case of Syrian refugees in Saskatoon,Canada

In late 2015 and early 2016, the Canadian government resettled 25,000 Syrian refugees within roughly a three‐month period. This initiative brought a much higher number of refugees to Canada than are usually accepted in that time frame and put pressure on the resettlement system. This article focuses on policy learning on the part of street‐level bureaucrats—employees of the organizations that do the work of resettling Government Assisted Refugees at the community level—and how they dealt with the pressure created by this situation. The findings indicate that the Syrian initiative exposed weaknesses in the existing system and created new obstacles with which street‐level bureaucrats working for Service Provider Organizations (SPOs) had to contend. Presented with an overwhelming strain on the system, street‐level bureaucrats at Saskatoon SPOs performed a real‐time evaluation of the system in which they work and devised solutions to issues as they arose.