We present novel evidence that attitudes toward nonpartisan social groups structure political belief systems. First, we show that most Americans have a rich knowledge of the social groups that support and oppose group-related policies. This knowledge often exceeds people’s awareness of where Democrats and Republicans stand on these same issues. Then, we show that this knowledge promotes what Philip Converse called ideological coherence: Americans who know which groups support and oppose a policy are more likely to hold stable policy positions over time and to organize their attitudes into consistently liberal or conservative bundles. In the twentieth century, knowledge of social groups’ issue positions rivaled knowledge of parties’ positions in its ability to generate attitude stability and constraint. However, as party identification has strengthened in recent decades, knowledge of parties’ positions has become the most important source of structure in most Americans’ belief systems.

Build systems are awesome, terrifying – and unloved. They are used by every developer around the world, but are rarely the object of study. In this paper, we offer a systematic, and executable, framework for developing and comparing build systems, viewing them as related points in a landscape rather than as isolated phenomena. By teasing apart existing build systems, we can recombine their components, allowing us to prototype new build systems with desired properties.

International ‘naming and shaming’ campaigns rely on domestic civil society organizations (CSOs) for information on local human rights conditions. To stop this flow of information, some governments restrict CSOs, for example by limiting their access to funding. Do such restrictions reduce international naming and shaming campaigns that rely on information from domestic CSOs? This article argues that on the one hand, restrictions may reduce CSOs’ ability and motives to monitor local abuses. On the other hand, these organizations may mobilize against restrictions and find new ways of delivering information on human rights violations to international publics. Using a cross-national dataset and in-depth evidence from Egypt, the study finds that low numbers of restrictions trigger shaming by international non-governmental organizations. Yet once governments impose multiple types of restrictions, it becomes harder for CSOs to adapt, resulting in fewer international shaming campaigns.

The long-term stability of mechanically exfoliated MoS2 flakes was compared for storage in the air and storage under vacuum. Significant changes in MoS2 flakes were observed for samples stored in the air, whereas similar flakes on samples stored in vacuum underwent no change. Small speckles were observed to appear on the surface of flakes stored in the air, followed by thinning and eventual decomposition of MoS2 flakes. The speckles are suspected to be formed by oxidation of MoS2 in the presence of atmospheric oxygen and water molecules, resulting in the formation of hydrated MoO3.

Business and public partnerships in socially responsible behavior have become a central pillar of global governance, but one that is unevenly developed in different countries. Despite the transnational character of business operations, national context is of theoretical as well as policy significance. To explain cross-country variation in corporate commitment to social responsibility we investigate the political conditions that encourage firms to participate in the United Nations Global Compact. Drawing on a theory of corporate social responsibility as motivated by self-interest and external pressure, we examine the influence of external actors and the locally specific mobilization of bias. Analyzing participation levels in 145 countries, we find that a democratic regime and Global Compact participation by countervailing groups are associated with higher levels of business participation in the program. Contrary to earlier studies relying on smaller numbers of countries, we find no evidence that a country's relationship with the UN or the domestic political strength of environmental interests account for cross-national variation in corporate engagement with the Global Compact.

Does the cross-border strategic behavior of large firms reflect national differences? There is uncertainty about the ways in which expanding markets will influence the activities of large firms and national governments. Some theorists expect market forces to produce increasing pressure for uniform patterns of behavior, while others have argued that the national political economy is more resilient, and that corporate strategies remain identifiably national. Thus far the question, theoretically and empirically, has been posed in terms of economic behavior and consequences. We analyze the persistence of national practices in the political activities of large corporations using data on the Fortune 1000 industrial and service companies for 1988. To increase the sample of affiliates of foreign firms, we include firms in the Forbes ranking of largest U.S. affiliates of foreign firms. This source includes financial and service corporations as well as those in manufacturing industries. Overall, the findings suggest that, contrary to the national capitalism argument, firms adapt to the host political economy.

Twenty-two plant species were identified from leaves, fruits, or flowers, and 41 taxa from pollen, present in a macrofossil (leaf) layer in a peat swamp formed on Pleistocene dunes on the Aupouri Peninsula in northern New Zealand. Eight genera of gymnosperms are represented. With the exception of Lagarostrobos colensoi, all tree species abundant as macrofossils are also common as pollen. Macrofossils enabled the on-site flora to be compared with the regional flora, represented by the pollen rain. Studies on leaf decomposition rates indicate bias toward sclerophyllous species in the macrofossils. Identification to species level and treering data from preserved kauri logs allow quantitative comparisons with similar extant communities. Current climatic conditions at those analogue sites are cooler (2° to 3°C), cloudier (11%), and much wetter (85%) than those currently prevailing on the Aupouri Peninsula. Dendrochronological results also suggest that the far north of New Zealand had a cooler, cloudier, and wetter climate at the time the fossil leaf assemblage was formed. Radiocarbon dates from possibly contaminated samples suggest that a diverse mixed gymnosperm/angiosperm forest, dominated by kauri (Agathis australis), was present about (or sometime before) 41,00034,000 yr B.P., when the leaf layer was formed. Similar temperature reductions have been postulated for this period in New Zealand by other authors.

We report on progress with PL imaging applications in silicon solar cell production, specifically focusing on the characterization of silicon bricks prior to wafer cutting. Silicon bricks represent an ideal opportunity to characterize and quantify the electronic material quality at an early stage of the PV value chain. Quantitative data on bulk lifetime can be obtained on bricks without any specific sample preparation, unlike unprocessed wafers. Spatially resolved bulk lifetime, interstitial iron concentration, and defect density measurements are demonstrated on bricks from different manufacturers including both high performance multicrystalline and older generation multicrystalline bricks. We find significant variability in bulk lifetime and iron concentration across the samples which is not related to its date of manufacture. However we do see a qualitative reduction in crystallographic defects in the newer high performance multicrystalline bricks. Data is parameterized in different ways to suggest possible paths to better predict solar cell efficiencies from an early stage of inspection.

Brick level PL measurements were previously performed using a conventional area scanning PL imaging system, which is associated with light spreading artefacts of weakly absorbed light. To overcome these artefacts, a new line scanning photoluminescence imaging system is used. We show a reduction in contrast smearing between high- and low lifetime regions in the new setup leading to image quality suitable for defect detection and quantitative measurements without deconvolution correction.

In hypoplastic left heart syndrome, thrombosis of the native ascending aorta is rare and often fatal; there are no previously reported cases presenting with acute heart block. We review a case of native ascending aorta thrombosis in a 2-year-old boy with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, presenting with acute heart block. This case highlights the benefit of multi-modality imaging in complex cases.

Archaeology, consistently warned off religion by wise old heads, here rushes deeper into the thicket to tackle the thorny topic of ancient witchcraft. The occasion was a seminar at Harvard organised by Stephen Mitchell and Neil Price to mark the twentieth anniversary of Carlo Ginzburg's influential book on the connections between witches and shamanism – and by implication the possible connections with prehistoric ritual and belief. Archaeology was by no means the only voice at the meeting, which was attended by scholars active in history, literature, divinity and anthropology. The discussions revealed much that was entangled in the modern psyche: ‘don't let's tame strangeness’ was one leitmotiv of this stimulating colloquium. A romantic attachment to the irrational is a feature of our time, especially among academics. But maybe taming strangeness is an archaeologist's real job…

What aspects of national trade-union movements systematically affect national policy making and economic performance? While there is general agreement that union density, the proportion of the workforce organized in unions, is an important element of union strength, social scientists are only beginning to identify the other critical elements. That union density is not the whole story can quickly be appreciated by comparing the influence of unions in Britain and Germany. For much of the post-war period, union density has been higher in Britain than Germany, although German unions have sustained at least as important a political and economic role as British unions. An influential theory of group-government relations directed our attention to the degree of hierarchy and monopoly present in an interest structure and to the degree of institutionalized access to policy-making circles, wrapping these characteristics together in the concept of corporatism. Yet there is a developing interest, particularly in the analysis of labour movements, in disaggregating corporatism as part of an effort to understand the specific characteristics that produce political and economic influence.

This Note presents a variety of new evidence on the paths and channels that one pressure group, the Trades Union Congress (TUC), has used to influence or obstruct public policy in Britain over the last decade. Where is pressure applied? At what level? Which departments are most important? What is the role of tripartite organizations? How are policy positions communicated? In addition to these and similar questions the evidence permits a systematic examination of the impact made by a change in the party of government upon the structure of group-government interaction. Two contrasting patterns of interaction, which represent a rapid and sharp change coinciding with the change in government, are revealed. Government decisions themselves appear to be determinants of pressure-group influence and activities – even for a group with such a central position in British politics as the TUC – as well as the other way around; ‘Bentley on his head’ as Harry Eckstein puts it.