Ironies of state building: a comparative perspective on the American state

This paper challenges prevailing assumptions about the American State. It rejects the conventional distinctions between strong and weak and activism and inactivism as no longer adequate to the modern reality of the expansive and extensive American State. With this premise, the paper undertakes three tasks. First, it examines the reasons for the scholarly neglect of the State amongst students of American government and politics, concluding that the level of federal activism (including taxing, spending, regulating and war making) observable in respect to both Democrat and Republican administrations renders this oversight unsustainable intellectually and analytically. Second, the paper develops a typology of ways in which the American State has been an effective presence in the US political system including its role in sustaining and then ending segregation, in standardizing national rights of citizenship, and in militarizing society. Last, the paper shows how recent advances in comparative studies of the state, notably with respect to federalism and state-society relations, offer lessons for developing scholarly knowledge of the American State. -- In diesem Arbeitspapier sollen die Annahmen über den amerikanischen Staat überprüft werden, die üblicherweise in der Wissenschaft gemacht werden: Die Unterscheidungen zwischen starkem und schwachem sowie zwischen aktivem und inaktivem Staat werden zurückgewiesen, da sie der heutigen Wirklichkeit eines expandierenden und ausgreifenden amerikanischen Staatswesens überhaupt nicht mehr angemessen sind. Vor diesem Hintergrund leistet das Arbeitspapier ein Mehrfaches: Erstens werden die Gründe dafür geprüft, warum die Forscher, die sich mit der US-amerikanischen Regierung und Politik befassten, den Staat so stark vernachlässigt haben. Dabei wird festgestellt, dass ein steigendes Niveau von Bundesaktivitäten das schließt Steuern, Ausgaben, Gesetzgebung und Kriegsführung ein - sowohl unter demokratischen wie republikanischen Präsidentschaften zu beobachten ist, sich diese Achtlosigkeit also intellektuell wie analytisch nicht rechtfertigen lässt. Zweitens wird in diesem Arbeitspapier eine Typologie der effektiven Präsenz des amerikanischen Staates im US-Politiksystem entwickelt, was dessen Rolle bei der Unterstützung wie der Beendigung der Rassentrennung, beim Durchsetzen nationaler Bürgerrechtsstandards und bei der der Militarisierung der Gesellschaft einschließt. Drittens wird gezeigt, wie jüngste Fortschritte in der vergleichenden Staatswissenschaft - vornehmlich bezogen auf den föderalen Staatsaufbau und die Beziehungssysteme zwischen Staat und Gesellschaft - Impulsgeber für die Weiterentwicklung des Wissens zum amerikanischen Staat sein können.

Ironies of state building: a comparative perspective on the American state

This paper challenges prevailing assumptions about the American State. It rejects the conventional distinctions between strong and weak and activism and inactivism as no longer adequate to the modern reality of the expansive and extensive American State. With this premise, the paper undertakes three tasks. First, it examines the reasons for the scholarly neglect of the State amongst students of American government and politics, concluding that the level of federal activism (including taxing, spending, regulating and war making) observable in respect to both Democrat and Republican administrations renders this oversight unsustainable intellectually and analytically. Second, the paper develops a typology of ways in which the American State has been an effective presence in the US political system including its role in sustaining and then ending segregation, in standardizing national rights of citizenship, and in militarizing society. Last, the paper shows how recent advances in comparative studies of the state, notably with respect to federalism and state-society relations, offer lessons for developing scholarly knowledge of the American State.In diesem Arbeitspapier sollen die Annahmen über den amerikanischen Staat überprüft werden, die üblicherweise in der Wissenschaft gemacht werden: Die Unterscheidungen zwischen starkem und schwachem sowie zwischen aktivem und inaktivem Staat werden zurückgewiesen, da sie der heutigen Wirklichkeit eines expandierenden und ausgreifenden amerikanischen Staatswesens überhaupt nicht mehr angemessen sind. Vor diesem Hintergrund leistet das Arbeitspapier ein Mehrfaches: Erstens werden die Gründe dafür geprüft, warum die Forscher, die sich mit der US-amerikanischen Regierung und Politik befassten, den Staat so stark vernachlässigt haben. Dabei wird festgestellt, dass ein steigendes Niveau von Bundesaktivitäten das schließt Steuern, Ausgaben, Gesetzgebung und Kriegsführung ein - sowohl unter demokratischen wie republikanischen Präsidentschaften zu beobachten ist, sich diese Achtlosigkeit also intellektuell wie analytisch nicht rechtfertigen lässt. Zweitens wird in diesem Arbeitspapier eine Typologie der effektiven Präsenz des amerikanischen Staates im US-Politiksystem entwickelt, was dessen Rolle bei der Unterstützung wie der Beendigung der Rassentrennung, beim Durchsetzen nationaler Bürgerrechtsstandards und bei der der Militarisierung der Gesellschaft einschließt. Drittens wird gezeigt, wie jüngste Fortschritte in der vergleichenden Staatswissenschaft - vornehmlich bezogen auf den föderalen Staatsaufbau und die Beziehungssysteme zwischen Staat und Gesellschaft - Impulsgeber für die Weiterentwicklung des Wissens zum amerikanischen Staat sein können

Lower bounds on the blow-up rate of the axisymmetric Navier-Stokes equations II

Consider axisymmetric strong solutions of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in $\R^3$ with non-trivial swirl. Let $z$ denote the axis of symmetry and $r$ measure the distance to the z-axis. Suppose the solution satisfies either $|v (x,t)| \le C_*{|t|^{-1/2}}$ or, for some \e > 0, $|v (x,t)| \le C_* r^{-1+\epsilon} |t|^{-\epsilon /2}$ for $-T_0\le t < 0$ and $0<C_*<\infty$ allowed to be large. We prove that $v$ is regular at time zero.Comment: More explanations and a new appendi

The characteristics of cognitive neuroscience tests in a schizophrenia cognition clinical trial: Psychometric properties and correlations with standard measures.

In comparison to batteries of standard neuropsychological tests, cognitive neuroscience tests may offer a more specific assessment of discrete neurobiological processes that may be aberrant in schizophrenia. However, more information regarding psychometric properties and correlations with standard neuropsychological tests and functional measures is warranted to establish their validity as treatment outcome measures. The N-back and AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT) are two promising cognitive neuroscience tests designed to measure specific components of working memory and contextual processing respectively. In the current study, we report the psychometric properties of multiple outcome measures from these two tests as well as their correlations with standard neuropsychological measures and functional capacity measures. The results suggest that while the AX-CPT and N-back display favorable psychometric properties, they do not exhibit greater sensitivity or specificity with functional measures than standard neurocognitive tests

Faecal haemoglobin and faecal calprotectin as indicators of bowel disease in patients presenting to primary care with bowel symptoms

OBJECTIVE: In primary care, assessing which patients with bowel symptoms harbour significant disease (cancer, higher-risk adenoma or IBD) is difficult. We studied the diagnostic accuracies of faecal haemoglobin (FHb) and faecal calprotectin (FC) in a cohort of symptomatic patients. DESIGN: From October 2013 to March 2014, general practitioners were prompted to request FHb and FC when referring patients with bowel symptoms to secondary care. Faecal samples were analysed for haemoglobin (EIKEN OC-Sensor io) and calprotectin (BÜHLMANN Calprotectin ELISA). Patients triaged to endoscopy were investigated within 6 weeks. All clinicians and endoscopists were blind to the faecal test results. The diagnostic accuracies of FHb and FC for identification of significant bowel disease were assessed. RESULTS: 1043 patients returned samples. FHb was detectable in 57.6% (median 0.4 µg/g, 95% CI 0.4 to 0.8; range 0–200). FC at 50 µg/g or above was present in 60.0%. 755 patients (54.6% women, median age 64 years (range 16–90, IQR 52–73)) returned samples and completed colonic investigations. 103 patients had significant bowel disease; the negative predictive values of FHb for colorectal cancer, higher-risk adenoma and IBD were 100%, 97.8% and 98.4%, respectively. Using cut-offs of detectable FHb and/or 200 µg/g FC detected two further cases of IBD, one higher-risk adenoma and no additional cancers. CONCLUSIONS: In primary care, undetectable FHb is a good ‘rule-out’ test for significant bowel disease and could guide who requires investigation

Predictors of outcome in infant and toddlers functional or behavioral disorders after a brief parent–infant psychotherapy

The efficacy of parent–child psychotherapies is widely recognized today. There are, however, less data on predictive factors for outcome in infants and toddlers and their parents. The aim of this study was to highlight predictive factors for outcome after a brief psychotherapy in a population of 49 infants and toddlers aged 3–30 months presenting functional or behavioral disorders. Two assessments were performed, the first before treatment and the second a month after the end of the therapy. These assessments included an evaluation of the child’s symptoms, and of depressive or anxiety symptoms in the parents. The assessments after therapy show complete or partial improvement in the child’s symptoms for nearly three quarters, and a decrease in the number of anxious and depressive mothers, and also in the number of depressive fathers. Three independent factors appear as predictive of unfavorable outcome for the child: frequency and intensity of behavioral problems and fears, and the absence of the father at more than two-thirds of consultations. The outcome for the mother is associated solely with her anxiety score at the start of the therapy. This study underlines the particular difficulties involved in the treatment of infants and toddlers presenting behavioral disturbances and emotional difficulties, and the value of involving the father in treatment

Aerobic capacity, activity levels and daily energy expenditure in male and female adolescents of the kenyan nandi sub-group

The relative importance of genetic and socio-cultural influences contributing to the success of east Africans in endurance athletics remains unknown in part because the pre-training phenotype of this population remains incompletely assessed. Here cardiopulmonary fitness, physical activity levels, distance travelled to school and daily energy expenditure in 15 habitually active male (13.9±1.6 years) and 15 habitually active female (13.9±1.2) adolescents from a rural Nandi primary school are assessed. Aerobic capacity ([Formula: see text]) was evaluated during two maximal discontinuous incremental exercise tests; physical activity using accelerometry combined with a global positioning system; and energy expenditure using the doubly labelled water method. The [Formula: see text] of the male and female adolescents were 73.9±5.7 ml(.) kg(-1.) min(-1) and 61.5±6.3 ml(.) kg(-1.) min(-1), respectively. Total time spent in sedentary, light, moderate and vigorous physical activities per day was 406±63 min (50% of total monitored time), 244±56 min (30%), 75±18 min (9%) and 82±30 min (10%). Average total daily distance travelled to and from school was 7.5±3.0 km (0.8-13.4 km). Mean daily energy expenditure, activity-induced energy expenditure and physical activity level was 12.2±3.4 MJ(.) day(-1), 5.4±3.0 MJ(.) day(-1) and 2.2±0.6. 70.6% of the variation in [Formula: see text] was explained by sex (partial R(2) = 54.7%) and body mass index (partial R(2) = 15.9%). Energy expenditure and physical activity variables did not predict variation in [Formula: see text] once sex had been accounted for. The highly active and energy-demanding lifestyle of rural Kenyan adolescents may account for their exceptional aerobic fitness and collectively prime them for later training and athletic success

No evidence for parental imprinting of mouse 22q11 gene orthologues

Non-mendelian factors may influence CNS phenotypes in patients with 22q11 deletion syndrome (22q11DS, also known as DiGeorge or Velocardiofacial Syndrome), and similar mechanisms may operate in mice carrying a deletion of one or more 22q11 gene orthologues. Accordingly, we examined the influence of parent of origin on expression of 25 murine 22q11 orthologues in the developing and mature CNS using SNP-based analysis in interspecific crosses, as well as quantification of mRNA in a murine model of 22q11DS. We found no evidence for absolute genomic imprinting or silencing. All 25 genes are biallelically expressed in the developing and adult brain. Furthermore, if more subtle forms of allelic biasing are present, they are very small in magnitude, and most likely beyond the resolution of currently available quantitative approaches. Given the high degree of similarity of human 22q11 and the orthologous region of mmChr16, genomic imprinting most likely cannot explain apparent parent-of-origin effects in 22q11DS

Author Correction: A consensus-based transparency checklist.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

Different paths to the modern state in Europe: the interaction between domestic political economy and interstate competition

Theoretical work on state formation and capacity has focused mostly on early modern Europe and on the experience of western European states during this period. While a number of European states monopolized domestic tax collection and achieved gains in state capacity during the early modern era, for others revenues stagnated or even declined, and these variations motivated alternative hypotheses for determinants of fiscal and state capacity. In this study we test the basic hypotheses in the existing literature making use of the large date set we have compiled for all of the leading states across the continent. We find strong empirical support for two prevailing threads in the literature, arguing respectively that interstate wars and changes in economic structure towards an urbanized economy had positive fiscal impact. Regarding the main point of contention in the theoretical literature, whether it was representative or authoritarian political regimes that facilitated the gains in fiscal capacity, we do not find conclusive evidence that one performed better than the other. Instead, the empirical evidence we have gathered lends supports to the hypothesis that when under pressure of war, the fiscal performance of representative regimes was better in the more urbanized-commercial economies and the fiscal performance of authoritarian regimes was better in rural-agrarian economie