DETECHIP®: A Sensor for Drugs of Abuse*

Abstract: The design and preliminary characterization of a novel sensor for drugs of abuse, DETECHIP^®, is described in this proof‐of‐concept note. Combining both colorimetric and fluorimetric assays, DETECHIP^® is suitable for lab and field use. More than a conventional spot test which provides a single “yes or no” answer, DETECHIP^® provides twenty responses for a more complete characterization of suspect material. This is accomplished by visually noting colorimetric and fluorescent changes of carefully selected dyes upon the addition of test analytes, including drugs of abuse, with respect to controls. Color and fluorescence changes are recorded numerically so that a 20 digit identification code can be constructed for comparison of test analytes and known compounds. DETECHIP^® is applicable to a variety of drugs, both plant‐derived and synthetic, addressing the need to use several different spot tests simultaneously for a single sample.     

Mapping fears: the use of commercial high-resolution satellite imagery in international affairs

In October and November 2001, the Pentagon purchased the rights to all images of Afghanistan taken by the Ikonos remote sensing satellite, a high-resolution satellite owned and operated by Space Imaging, Inc. Ikonos is one of a growing number of privately owned and operated remote sensing satellites. It is suggested that Ikonos and other high-resolution satellites carry at least two challenges to national security policy makers. The first is a challenge to operational security – the ability to plan, prepare and carry out military operations in a controlled information environment. Second, commercial remote sensing presents a political challenge to policy makers. Policy makers today face a greater challenge in their efforts to maintain control over the content of debate concerning national and international security priorities and objectives. It is argued here that the nature of the security policy debate itself is in the midst of a fundamental shift in tone and quality as a result of remote sensing satellite technology. It was principally this latter challenge – and not a concern over operational security – that led to the Pentagon's purchase of all Ikonos images during the opening phases of the war in Afganistan.     

Escaping Suez: New interpretations of Western policy in the Middle East 1936–1961

Tony Shaw, Eden, Suez and the Mass Media (London: I.B. Tauris 1996). Pp.xi + 268, biblio., index. £39.50. ISBN 1–85043–955–9.

Hoda Gamal Abdel Nasser, Britain and the Egyptian Nationalist Movement, 1936–1952 (Reading, UK: Ithaca Press 1994). Pp.xxv + 350, biblio., index. £30. ISBN 0–86372‐ 177‐X.

Andrew Rathmell, Secret War in the Middle East: The Covert Struggle for Syria, 1949–1961 (London: I.B. Tauris 1995). Pp.246, biblio., index. £39.50. ISBN 1–85043–992–3.     

Comparing Candidates and Citizens in the Ideological Space

Little is known about the ideological relationship between the Swiss political elite and the general public. Based on the Selects 2007 candidate and voter surveys, we compare the value orientations of both groups by applying ordinal factor analysis. First, we test whether political leaders or their supporters are more ideologically polarized. Second, we investigate whether ideological congruency between the electorate and representatives varies from party to party. Third, we examine whether winning candidates are ideologically more remote from their party supporters than unsuccessful candidates. We find that ideological polarization is larger within the political elite than within the general public. As a consequence, representatives of parties with rather extreme value orientations represent the moderate electorate rather poorly. Similarly, successful candidates are found to be more distant from their party supporters than unsuccessful candidates. These findings challenge traditional spatial voting theory but accord nicely with the directional model of voting behavior.     

Politiques du care et gouvernement de la vie: Une typologie des pratiques locales en Suisse

Le concept de « care » rend compte des activités et des relations relatives à la prise en charge des situations de dépendance (petite enfance, personnes âgées, handicap). Sur la base du cas Suisse, cet article soutient que les politiques locales du care participent à une forme de gouvernement de la vie. Dans la première partie, théorique, je propose de rattacher le care aux théories contemporaines sur le biopouvoir, en tant que mode de régulation de la vie dans sa dimension sociale; puis, je présente un cadre d'analyse du care permettant la comparaison des politiques publiques concrètes du care comme biopolitiques. Dans une seconde partie, empirique, je compare six politiques locales menées en Suisse. Cette analyse permet de mettre en évidence trois types idéaux de gouvernement de la vie et d'en discuter les implications normatives.