Policy specialization in the U.S. Congress benefits the institution collectively and members individually. Yet members of Congress (MCs) are insufficiently specialized to optimize lawmaking success (Volden and Wiseman 2020). In this paper, we demonstrate the increasing propensity of MCs to generalize legislatively is driven largely by an expansion of MC legislative agendas in business domains. We then offer and test an explanation for this trend whereby business’s increasing demand for congressional attention (Drutman 2015) has outpaced the supply of congressional capacity to serve business needs (Crossen, Furnas, LaPira, and Burgat 2020; McKay 2022). This unmet demand incentivizes MCs to expand their business portfolio, which results in increased campaign contributions from business political action committees (PACs). We provide evidence consistent with this theory, showing that under conditions of access scarcity, MCs benefit financially (in terms of increased business PAC contributions) by broadening the number of business domains they are active in legislatively.

While the literature on political action committees' (PACs) contributions to congressional campaigns is substantial, one key variable has been missing: the ideology of the PAC. Such a measure is needed to evaluate a normatively important yet unanswered question: to what extent do PACs give to candidates with whom they agree ideologically, as opposed to candidates they may want to influence after the election? This study shows that many interest groups' preferences for an electoral strategy or an access strategy can be predicted by their left-right ideology and their level of ideological extremism. The analysis finds that more ideologically extreme groups and more liberal groups spend more money on PAC contributions relative to lobbying. Further, groups' underlying left-right ideology is also highly predictive of their allocation of PAC contributions between the two parties—even controlling for group type.

Money comes from a variety of sources in American elections. It is unclear however whether voters’ knowledge about a candidate's funding portfolio influences how that candidate is evaluated. We present the results of two survey experiments in which we randomly assigned the composition of donors from various categories to a hypothetical candidate. We find that on average a candidate described as having received a majority of his contributions from individuals is evaluated more highly than one who received a majority of his contributions from interest groups. We also find that when it comes to self-financing a campaign, using private sector money is more beneficial to candidates than using inherited money, but only when the candidate is a member of the same party as the voter. Our results have implications for campaign strategy, academic debates concerning the effect of money on elections, and policy debates concerning the effects of increased campaign finance disclosure.

Background: Image review on computer-based workstations has made film-based review outdated. Despite advances in technology, the lack of portability of digital workstations creates an inherent disadvantage. As such, we sought to determine if the quality of image review on a handheld device is adequate for routine clinical use. Methods: Six CT/CTA cases and six MR/MRA cases were independently reviewed by three neuroradiologists in varying environments: high and low ambient light using a handheld device and on a traditional imaging workstation in ideal conditions. On first review (using a handheld device in high ambient light), a preliminary diagnosis for each case was made. Upon changes in review conditions, neuroradiologists were asked if any additional features were seen that changed their initial diagnoses. Reviewers were also asked to comment on overall clinical quality and if the handheld display was of acceptable quality for image review. Results: After the initial CT review in high ambient light, additional findings were reported in 2 of 18 instances on subsequent reviews. Similarly, additional findings were identified in 4 of 18 instances after the initial MR review in high ambient lighting. Only one of these six additional findings contributed to the diagnosis made on the initial preliminary review. Conclusions: Use of a handheld device for image review is of adequate diagnostic quality based on image contrast, sharpness of structures, visible artefacts and overall display quality. Although reviewers were comfortable with using this technology, a handheld device with a larger screen may be diagnostically superior.

Objectives: Based on a prevalent framework in the information systems field, this study proposes and describes an integrated model for evaluating picture archiving and communication system (PACS) success from multiple users' perspectives.

Methods: Our study details the validation process of the proposed model at a large tertiary-care teaching hospital in Canada. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected to assess the psychometric properties of the measurement instrument and test the research hypotheses.

Results: Our findings clearly reveal that radiologists, technologists, and clinicians have different views regarding the factors influencing PACS success. For instance, the results for radiologists show that their concern with efficiency and productivity is best guaranteed by a system that is reliable and easy to use. Furthermore, that only perceived system usefulness influenced clinicians' satisfaction with PACS is a reflection of the primary impact that technology has on their work, namely, the ability to have instant access to images from any point in the hospital. Even though, overall, all three groups view the adoption of PACS positively, the mean scores indicate that radiologists and technologists seem to be more satisfied and their expectations to be met at a higher level than clinicians.

Conclusions: We believe the measurement instruments developed in this study can be used as a diagnostic tool by project managers interested in better understanding the extent to which different groups of stakeholders perceive the deployment of PACS as being successful and how factors influencing perceptions of PACS success vary across user types.

Objectives: This paper considers the methodological problems that arise in conducting cost analyses in economic evaluations where only observational (rather than experimental) data are available and where the technology being evaluated is diffuse, such that the unit of analysis has to be the institution rather than the patient.

Methods: A case study is reported that concerns the application of computer technology in radiology: picture archiving and communication systems (PACS). A range of different approaches were used to estimate changes in running costs, including time series analyses of routine data and direct observation of resource use.Results:The analysis illustrates some of the difficulties involved in costing the introduction of a diffuse technology. Nevertheless, it provides a firm indication that, overall, the introduction of PACS was found to be associated with a significant increase in hospital costs, suggesting that the initial expectations of financial savings were unduly optimistic.

Conclusions: The research demonstrates that, using multiple methods, it is possible to estimate cost changes within a single hospital. In addition, the paper discusses the nature of the uncertainties in such analyses and possible ways of representing such uncertainty in terms of confidence intervals.