Embryonic Stem Cell Research as an Ethical Issue: On the Emptiness of Symbolic Value

The debate over human embryonic stem cell research-scientific and clinical prospects as well as ethical implications-became front-page news only after two teams of university researchers reported in November 1998 that they had isolated and cultured human pluripotent stem cells. The discovery caused a flurry of excitement among patients and researchers and drew attention from President Clinton, who instructed the National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) to conduct a thorough review of the issues associated with. .. human stem cell research, balancing all medical and ethical issues.

Litigating State Interests: Attorneys General as Amici

An important strain of federalism scholarship locates the primary value of federalism in how it carves up the political landscape, allowing groups that are out of power at the national level to flourish—and, significantly, to govern—in the states. On that account, partisanship, rather than a commitment to state authority as such, motivates state actors to act as checks on federal power. Our study examines partisan motivation in one area where state actors can, and do, advocate on behalf of state power: the Supreme Court. We compiled data on state amicus filings in Supreme Court cases from the 1979–2013 Terms and linked it up with data on the partisanship of state attorneys general (AGs). Focusing only on merits-stage briefs, we looked at each AG’s partisan affiliation and the partisanship of the AGs who either joined, or explicitly opposed, her briefs. If partisanship drives amicus activity, then we should see a strong negative relationship between the partisanship of AGs opposing each other and a strong positive relationship between those who cosign briefs. What we found was somewhat surprising. States agreed far more often than they disagreed, and—until recently—most multistate briefs represented bipartisan, not partisan, coalitions of AGs. Indeed, for the first twenty years of our study, the cosigners of these briefs were generally indistinguishable from a random sampling of AGs then in office. The picture changes after 2000, when the coalitions of cosigners become decidedly more partisan, particularly among Republican AGs. The partisanship picture is also different for the 6% of cases in which different states square off in opposing briefs. In those cases, AGs do tend to join together in partisan clusters. Here, too, the appearance of partisanship becomes stronger after the mid-1990s

Exit polling and racial bloc voting: Combining individual-level and R×\timesC ecological data

Despite its shortcomings, cross-level or ecological inference remains a necessary part of some areas of quantitative inference, including in United States voting rights litigation. Ecological inference suffers from a lack of identification that, most agree, is best addressed by incorporating individual-level data into the model. In this paper we test the limits of such an incorporation by attempting it in the context of drawing inferences about racial voting patterns using a combination of an exit poll and precinct-level ecological data; accurate information about racial voting patterns is needed to assess triggers in voting rights laws that can determine the composition of United States legislative bodies. Specifically, we extend and study a hybrid model that addresses two-way tables of arbitrary dimension. We apply the hybrid model to an exit poll we administered in the City of Boston in 2008. Using the resulting data as well as simulation, we compare the performance of a pure ecological estimator, pure survey estimators using various sampling schemes and our hybrid. We conclude that the hybrid estimator offers substantial benefits by enabling substantive inferences about voting patterns not practicably available without its use.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/10-AOAS353 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Some early examples of plant development and process control in the chemical industry

Seventeenth century alum works were organised rationally and operators used physical and chemical tests to evaluate raw materials and to give necessary information for control of the process. Managers of the Boulby and Loftus plants during the second half of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century continued to use these tests and developed their application to control of the preparation of Kelp for the process and in evaluation of newer raw materials which replaced Kelp. A works laboratory was in existence at Loftus from 1805 and from 1820 a library of "sound" chemical text was maintained on the plant. Process development evaluation; process investigations; systematic investigation of Faraday's recommendations were carried out in addition to basic tests. The works chemist's function emerged. The large workforce was given specific tasks and salary and/or rates of pay indicated both a seniority and a succession. Details of the method of operations which remained essentially unchanged for 300 years, bring out the ideas of "unit operations" as being -implicitly understood and show the organisation of transport of materials in the plant. Chemists observing the process showed developing understanding of the chemistry of the operations and Wilson investigated the sequence of operations at plant level using chemical analyses. Chaptal developed the "synthetic" alum process as a projection of current chemical knowledge and Vauquelin's investigations could have led to fundamental changes in the raw materials used in Yorkshire. Sulphuric acid and Gas Manufacture are sketched briefly. Both industries show the use of tests to evaluate raw materials and control the process; the involvement of chemists in fundamental research, as process innovations and carrying out investigations of the process at plant level; the development of processes based on chemical understanding and the development of works techniques by non-chemists who could be considered embryo chemical engineers

Passing on Success? Productivity Outcomes for Quarterbacks Chosen in the 1999-2004 National Football League Player Entry Drafts

Seventy quarterbacks were selected during six NFL drafts held 1999-2004. This paper analyzes information available prior to the draft (college, college passing statistics, NFL Combine data) and draft outcomes (overall number picked and signing bonus). Also analyzed for these players are measures of NFL playing opportunity (games played, games started, pass attempts) and measures of productivity (Pro Bowls made, passer rating, DVOA, and DPAR) for up to the first seven years of each drafted player’s NFL career. We find that more highly-drafted QBs get significantly more opportunity to play in the NFL. However, we find no evidence that more highly-drafted QBs become more productive passers than lower-drafted QBs that see substantial playing time. Furthermore, QBs with more pass attempts in their final year of more highly-ranked college programs exhibit lower NFL passing productivity.Sports, NFL, Draft, Quarterback, Productivity

Superstars and Journeymen: An Analysis of National Football Team’s Allocation of the Salary Cap across Rosters, 2000-2005

The National Football League constrains teams’ payrolls via a “salary cap.” We analyze how teams allocate cap spending across rosters using a data set of over 10,000 player-season observations during 2000-2005. We find that a few players account for relatively high portions of teams’ caps, and that the players’ “cap values” are consistent with both “superstar” and Yule-Simon income distributions. A theoretical model based on a utility function convex with respect to winning is used to explain this result. We also find that the cap has been substantially effective in reducing teams’ ability to “spend their way to championships.”Sports, NFL, Draft, Quarterback, Productivity

The Health Care Malpractice Claims Statute: Maryland\u27s Response to the Medical Malpractice Crisis

Since the Maryland General Assembly adopted the Health Care Malpractice Claims Statute, that law has come under repeated attack in the courts and in legal and medical circles. This article traces the social backdrop against which the Assembly promulgated the statute and outlines the provisions of the new claims procedure. After describing the challenges the statute has already overcome, the author discusses the effectiveness of the procedure for resolving malpractice claims against health care providers in Maryland