Global economic developments: A view from Switzerland

In a free market world economy now characterized by a strong trend towards integrated economic areas dominated by North America, Western Europe and the Pacific, effective cooperation is the key to sustained success. Mr. Lautenberg is a diplomat, whose career has been strongly oriented on bilateral and multilateral economic matters (Poland, FRG; GATT, EFTA, CSCE). Between 1970 and 1974, Mr. Lautenberg, who holds a degree in political sciences from the University of Lausanne, led various research programs at the General Staff of the Department of Defense.     

Contesting land grabs,negotiating statehood: the politics of international accountability mechanisms and land disputes in rural Cambodia

Abstract

In Cambodia, rural citizens embroiled in protracted land grabbing cases with the state and private companies are turning increasingly to international accountability mechanisms for resolution. This article applies the interlinked concepts of hybrid governance and legal pluralism to understand the prospects and limitations of ‘forum-shopping’ through appeals to international mechanisms for rural communities affected by land grabs. Drawing on interviews and using process tracing, it examines the outcomes of a mediation case filed with the International Finance Corporation’s Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) involving indigenous groups and a Vietnamese rubber company in north-east Cambodia. It argues that while international accountability mechanisms yield platforms for dispossessed groups to assert claims, they also reify choices between entitlements and attainability without circumventing the problems associated with justice delivery under Cambodia’s authoritarian regime. Overall, this study highlights the interaction, competition and collaboration between distinct forms of regulatory authority exercised by national and transnational actors involved in land grabbing cases in Cambodia, demonstrating their role in ‘negotiating statehood’ by governing local claims to land.     

Diversity,Trust, and Social Learning in Collaborative Governance

Scholarship on collaborative governance identifies several structural and procedural factors that consistently influence governance outcomes. A promising next step for collaborative governance research is to explore how these factors interact. Focusing on two dimensions of social learning—relational and cognitive—as outcomes of collaboration, this article examines potential interacting effects of participant diversity and trust. The empirical setting entails 10 collaborative partnerships in the United States that provide advice on marine aquaculture policy. The findings indicate that diversity in beliefs among participants is positively related to relational learning, whereas diversity in participants' affiliations is negatively related to relational learning, and high trust bolsters the positive effects of belief diversity on both relational and cognitive learning. In addition, high trust dampens the negative effects of affiliation diversity on relational learning. A more nuanced understanding of diversity in collaborative governance has practical implications for the design and facilitation of diverse stakeholder groups.     

Data Analysis and Data Visualization as Active Learning in Political Science

While data analysis and the related skills of data management and data visualization are important skills for undergraduates in the field of political science, the process of learning these skills can also be used to develop critical thinking, encourage active and collaborative learning, and to apply knowledge gained in the classroom. Drawing on our experiences using data work in upper-level courses in International Relations and American Politics, we discuss how data work and quantitative analysis can be incorporated into subject-based (i.e., nonmethods specific) courses, and how it can also enhance critical reasoning skills. An evaluation of this approach using direct and indirect assessment is included.     

Structural Home Environment Effects on Developmental Trajectories of Self-Control and Adolescent Risk Taking

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Extant literature has demonstrated that self-control is critical for health and adjustment in adolescence. Questions remain regarding whether there are...     

Evaluation of some oxygen, sulfur, and selenium substituted ninhydrin analogues, nitrophenylninhydrin and benzo[f]furoninhydrin

Six ninhydrin analogues containing oxygen, sulfur, and selenium substituents at the C-5 position, 5-(4-nitrophenyl)ninhydrin, and benzo[f]furoninhydrin were evaluated as fingerprint development reagents. The analogues all showed good fingerprint color development but were not superior to ninhydrin in this respect. The benzo[f]furoninhydrin complex was strongly luminescent at room temperature following zinc complexation, while the remaining analogues required cooling to -196 degrees C to produce optimum luminescence. The benzo[f]furo, nitrophenyl, and methyl selenide analogues showed the best potential as fingerprint reagents with the benzo[f]furo analogue comparing favorably with DFO.     

Mitochondrial DNA error prophylaxis: assessing the causes of errors in the GEP'02-03 proficiency testing trial

A qualitative and quantitative analytical method was developed and validated for the determination of 49 licit and illicit drugs in oral fluid. Small oral fluid samples, volume 1mL, were collected from volunteers using a modified Omni-Sal device and the analytes were extracted from an oral fluid/buffer mixture using a single Bond Elut Certify solid phase extraction cartridge. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) and gas chromatography-repetitive full scan mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used in parallel to analyze the extracts for the targeted drugs. Extracts were analyzed by GC-MS in their underivatized form and as their pentafluoropropionyl derivatives. Deuterated internal standards were used for quantification of drugs of abuse by LC-MS-MS to minimize matrix effects. Methadone-d(9) and tumoxetine were used as the internal standards for quantification of non-derivatized and derivatized analytes respectively by GC-MS. Linearity was demonstrated over the range 5-200 ng/mL and limits of detection were less than 4 ng/mL for each drug analyzed. The method demonstrated acceptable recoveries for most of the analytes and good intra- and inter-day precision. Acquisition of data by repetitive full scan GC-MS allows the addition of further analytes to the target menu.     

Comparative Politics and the Synthetic Control Method

In recent years, a widespread consensus has emerged about the necessity of establishing bridges between quantitative and qualitative approaches to empirical research in political science. In this article, we discuss the use of the synthetic control method as a way to bridge the quantitative/qualitative divide in comparative politics. The synthetic control method provides a systematic way to choose comparison units in comparative case studies. This systematization opens the door to precise quantitative inference in small‐sample comparative studies, without precluding the application of qualitative approaches. Borrowing the expression from Sidney Tarrow, the synthetic control method allows researchers to put “qualitative flesh on quantitative bones.” We illustrate the main ideas behind the synthetic control method by estimating the economic impact of the 1990 German reunification on West Germany.