Citizenship and Political Representation in Contemporary California

[No abstract]

The Resurgence of Nativism in California? The Case of Proposition 187 and Illegal Immigration

Theory: We argue that support among California voters for Proposition 187 in 1994 was an example of cyclical nativism. This nativism was provoked primarily by California's economic downturn during the early 1990s. Hypotheses: We develop four specific hypotheses to explain how poor economic conditions in California and the consequent nativistic sentiments would result in support for Proposition 187: 1. voters who believe that California's economic condition is poor will be more likely to support Proposition 187; 2. voters who perceive themselves as being economically threatened by illegal immigrants will be more likely to support Proposition 187; 3. voters with lower levels of education are more economically vulnerable and will be more likely to support Proposition 187; 4. voters in Southern California feel more directly affected by illegal immigration and will be more likely to support Proposition 187. Methods: To test these hypotheses, we analyze voter exit poll data from the 1994 California election. We utilize a two-stage probit model to allow for the endogeneity which results from the politicization of illegal immigration during this election. Results: We find support for our hypotheses in the data. These findings cause us to conclude that nativism, fueled by economic conditions, was a salient factor leading many Californians to support Proposition 187

Normal incidence standing wave analysis of the Cu(1 1 1)- (√3×√3)R 30°-Mn structure: evidence for stacking faults or large-scale alloying?

The interaction of Mn with the Cu(1 1 1) surface has been investigated using the normal incidence X-ray standing wave (NIXSW) method. Analysis of the NIXSW was complicated by the apparent large shift in position of many layers of the Cu atoms relative to their expected bulk positions indicated by a change in the coherent position. Quantitative analysis of the NIXSW shows that there are at least two but possibly many sites for each element in the altered layer

The effect of processing load on loss of information from short-term memory.

We report an experiment in which we varied the nature of the articulatory suppression task being performed during a filled retention interval in serial recall. During the retention interval participants performed one of three computer-paced colour naming tasks designed to prevent subvocal rehearsal: A Stroop color-interference task with items presented at a rate of one every 750 ms, and two color-consistent control tasks at a rate of either 750 ms or 500 ms per item. Memory performance over a 12 s interval declined much more dramatically with the Stroop task and the 500 ms control task than with the 750 ms control. There was no difference between the Stroop condition and the 500 ms control. These results pose problems for models that assume that loss of information from memory is determined entirely by interference, as there are more interfering events in the control 500 ms condition than the 750 ms Stroop. They also pose problems for models relying solely on time-based decay and articulatory rehearsal because all three conditions should block rehearsal and produce equivalent performance. The results illustrate that articulatory suppression tasks are not all equivalent, and suggest that the rate of decay from short-term memory is strongly influenced by the resource demands of concurrent processing

Process for Enhancing the Activity of Amyloid β Peptides

A novel process for enhancing activity of an oligopeptide or polypeptide comprising the steps of: providing an oligopeptide or polypeptide, dissolving the oligopeptide or polypeptide in an organic solvent, heating, removing the solvent, and recovering an oligopeptide or polypeptide with enhanced activity is disclosed. Also disclosed are novel oligopeptides and polypeptides enhanced by the process according the invention

Cargo Transport at Microtubule Crossings: Evidence for Prolonged Tug-of-War between Kinesin Motors

AbstractIntracellular transport of cargos along microtubules is often complicated by the topology of the underlying filament network. The fundamental building blocks for this complex arrangement are filament intersections. The navigation of cargos across microtubule intersections remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that kinesin-driven cargos are engaged in a tug-of-war at microtubule intersections. Tug-of-war events result in long pauses that can last from a few seconds to several minutes. We demonstrate that the extent of the tug-of-war and the duration of pauses change with the number of motors on the cargo and can be regulated by ionic strength. We also show that dwell times at intersections depend on the angle between crossing microtubules. Our data suggest that local microtubule geometry can regulate microtubule-based transport

The Revolution Against Affirmative Action in California: Politics, Economics, and Proposition 209

We consider two possible explanations-economic anxiety and racial division for the appeal of Proposition 209 to California voters during the 1996 election. Voter support for this proposition has been attributed to racial differences in opinion and to economic anxiety caused by poor economic conditions in the state and the perceived threat that affirmative action presented in school admissions or the workplace. Because the presidential candidates campaigned on and debated the merits of affirmative action policy during this election, we incorporate this endogeneity into our analysis. We develop two competing hypotheses to explain voter behavior: (1) if voters are blaming affirmative action for the state's economic conditions, then voters who believe that California's economic condition is poor or who perceive that their personal financial situation is worse will be more likely to support Proposition 209; and (2) if voters are, instead, divided along more traditional racial lines on the merits of affirmative action (winners versus losers), then whites, males, Republicans, and conservatives will be more likely to support Proposition 209, and other ethnic group members, females, Democrats, and liberals will be more likely to oppose Proposition 209. To test these hypotheses, we analyze voter exit poll data from the 1996 California election. We utilize a two-stage logit model to allow for the endogeneity of candidate endorsements. We find support for the second of our two hypotheses. These findings cause us to conclude that racial division fueled by a fear of arbitrary exclusion prompted voter support for Proposition 209