The psychodynamics of a work stoppage at the Tenth Pan American Games

A study of the various stressors faced by interns serving as security assistants at the Tenth Pan American Games and the coping mechanisms they utilized was undertaken during the months of July and August 1987. This study revealed that group development can be altered and maladaptive behavior can result among students experiencing high degrees of stress, frustration, and feelings of helplessness, who are subject to a leadership void. The data strongly support the need for planners of similar large-scale internship programs to consider group processes, organizational factors, and interpersonal relations if organizational goals are to be achieved, maladaptive coping mechanisms are to be avoided, and student stress is to be lessened.     

A tale of two cities

The authors are respectively parttime professor sociology at the University of Texas (San Antonio) as well as lecturer at the medical faculty of the State University Limburg (section psychiatry) and researcher at the Research and Documentation Centre of the Ministry of Justice, Schedeldoekshaven 100, 2511 EX The Hague, The Netherlands. Dorette Courtar, a mobility programme exchange student at the University of Maastricht and the Stockholm University, assisted in the basic research. We would like to thank Paulina Loennroth and the mayor of Hulst, dr. A.A.L.G.M. Kessen, both connected to the ECAD and Paul Vasseur, Urban Weber, Suzanne Schardt, all connected to the ECDP for their information and comments.     

Determination of MDMA, MDA, MDEA and MBDB in oral fluid using high performance liquid chromatography with native fluorescence detection

This paper describes the analytical methodology for the determination of MDMA, MDA, MDEA and MBDB in oral fluid. After a liquid–liquid extraction, the analysis was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), with fluorescence detection. The detector wavelength was fixed at 285 nm for excitation and 320 nm for emission. The mobile phase, a mixture of phosphate buffer (pH = 5) and acetonitrile (75:25), and the column, Kromasil 100 C8 5 μm 250 mm × 4.6 mm, allowed good separation of the compounds in an isocratic mode in only 10 min. The method was validated and showed good limits of detection (2 ng/mL) and quantitation (10 ng/mL) for all the amphetamine derivatives. No interfering substances were detected. A stability study of these compounds in oral fluid stored at three different temperatures (−18, 4 and 20 °C) over 10 weeks was conducted, showing a time-dependent degradation of the four compounds.     

The development of drug trade and drug control in the Netherlands: a historical perspective

Drug trade is widely seen as a phenomenon rather new to the Netherlands. However, at the beginning of the 20th century the Dutch pharmaceutical industries were already extensively involved in the production of both opiates and cocaine, and they went on exporting large quantities of these drugs after the Opium Act (1919) took force. Until the 1960s, arrests were not at all common, and these largely affected minority groups like Chinese opium smokers and black marijuana users. Since then, drug control efforts have increased by leaps and bounds. At first, cannabis was the main target; then the focus turned to heroin, and that was later joined by cocaine. This paper traces the history of the drug trade and drug control in the Netherlands, with emphasis on their development in Amsterdam. The conclusion is reached that, in spite of drastic changes in both drug trade and drug control, certain ideologies, constructs and strategies have remained remarkably stable.     

Fresh Thinking on U.S. Engagement with Africa: Probing the Limits of Engagement

The Biden administration faces the opportunity to reset U.S. policy towards Africa and possesses a variety of tools to use in doing so, including traditional diplomacy, economic statecraft, development assistance, and military engagement. With the increased militarization of U.S. foreign policy over the past few decades, there is an unfortunate tendency to default to military engagement when confronted with even remote threats to U.S. national security interests, and Africa is no exception. With vital security interests in Africa, it can be argued that military engagement should be limited in its application and targeted to those situations that do not lend themselves to solution through traditional diplomacy or development assistance.