“Beggar thy Neighbor:” Testing for Free Riding in State-Level Endangered Species Expenditures

An important public policy question that remains unresolved iswhether devolution will enhance sensible policy making byexploiting informational asymmetries or, instead, trigger a``beggar thy neighbor'' response and stimulate free ridingamongst localities. We analyze this question within theframework of U.S. environmental policymaking by scrutinizing aunique panel data set on state-level endangered speciesexpenditure patterns. Our empirical estimates are consistentwith the notion that states free ride, which may lead to anexpenditure equilibrium that is not Pareto efficient.     

An Empirical Study on the Relation Between the Critical Angle for Bullet Ricochet and the Properties of Wood

The properties of a bullet, an object, and the incidence angle determine whether the bullet will penetrate, perforate, or ricochet. In this study, the critical angle for ricochet was established for .32 Auto and 9 mm Luger bullets on Abachi, Southern Yellow Pine, Beech, and Ipe wooden boards. Results show that the critical angle differs depending on caliber and wood type. The critical angle is higher for .32 Auto bullets than for 9 mm Luger bullets and increases with increasing wood density and Janka hardness. The established critical angles for ricochet on the lightest and softest wood (Abachi) are 10.4° and 10.3° for .32 Auto and 9 mm Luger, respectively. For the heaviest and hardest wood (Ipe), the angles were 45.0° and 33.4°, respectively. The combined results on the four tested woods show a strong linear relationship between both the density and the hardness and the critical angle for both calibers.     

Professional styles in government: Touchstones for the new policy scientist

New kinds of policy analysts and policy scientists are being trained in university graduate programs but the outlines of this new profession remain fuzzy. A comparative analysis of other professionals in government advisory roles may provide touchstones by which to develop the new profession. The article reports interviews with urban planners, lawyers, economists and political scientists about their experience in government. Propositions are developed about characteristic modes of thought and problem-solving styles of each profession and conclusions drawn about the relative effectiveness of each set of professional skills in a policymaking process. It is then suggested that the new policy scientist profession should develop some of the positive skills of the other fields in order to enhance effectiveness.     

The Influence of Wood Grain on the Bullet's Ricochet Behavior

When a bullet ricochets from wood, various parameters will influence its behavior. In this study, the influence of the wood grain on the ricochet angle (β) and deflection angle (γ) is assessed. Series of five .32 Auto bullets were fired at different angles of incidence (α) on boards of six wood types. The results confirm the previously shown effect that the mean β‐angles usually exceed α and increase when α increases. Overall, the maximum mean γ occurs when the angle of wood grain (ζ), in relation to the plane of impact, lies between 30° and 75° but differs per combination of wood and α. The results show the inclination of γ toward the left or right, depending on the bullets left or right rotation while also showing that the direction of ζ can enhance or counteract this effect considerably, especially when α is close to the critical ricochet angle.     

Ricochet Behavior on Glass—Critical Ricochet Angles,Ricochet Angles,and Deflection Angles

For shooting scene reconstruction purposes, knowledge about the ricochet behavior of bullets provides valuable information. In this study, the critical ricochet angles of four cartridge types were established on plain float glass. The estimates of the critical ricochet angles varied between cartridge types and were 21.0° for .32 Auto FMJ bullets, 15.8° for 9 mm Luger FMJ bullets, 17.6° for .45 Auto FMJ bullets, and 21.3° for 9 mm Luger, Action NP bullets. The corresponding ricochet and deflection angles per incidence angle varied depending on the state of the ricocheted bullets. The mean ricochet angles are always lower than the corresponding angles of incidence, and the mean ricochet angles for the FMJ bullets with undamaged jackets are lower than those of bullets where the jacket is either damaged or the bullet partially ricocheted and partially perforated. Mean ricochet angles are lower for undamaged FMJ bullets than for undamaged Action NP bullets.