The effect of breath freshener strips on two types of breath alcohol testing instruments

The potential for breath freshener strips to interfere with the accuracy of a breath alcohol test was studied. Twelve varieties of breath freshener strips from five manufacturers were examined. Breath tests were conducted using the infrared based BAC DataMaster or the fuel cell based Alco-Sensor IV-XL, 30 and 150 seconds after placing a breath strip on the tongue. No effect was observed using the Alco-Sensor system. Some of the strips gave a small reading at 30 seconds (less than or equal to 0.010 g/210 L apparent alcohol) using the DataMaster. Readings on the DataMaster returned to zero by the 150 second test. A proper pre-test observation and deprivation period should prevent any interference from breath freshener strips on breath alcohol testing.     

Teaching and assessing leadership courses at the John F. Kennedy school of government

The development of leadership courses aimed at usefulness in practice requires new theory and pedagogy, as well as a hard look at assessing course effectiveness: How useful do students find the course materials for analyzing their past professional experience? How relevant and effective do students find the courses for understanding and intervening into politics and organizations after rejoining professional life? A summary is provided of the setting, theory, and methods for these courses, as well as the results of a survey of students after they had resumed their careers. The authors conclude with a brief discussion of the risks involved in teaching leadership.     

Restructuring for resilience: The NASA model

Two decades of incremental decisions have locked in a vision of human space exploration through an interdependent civil space program centered on the Shuttle and the Space Station. The program lacks the resilience necessary to contain cost overruns, schedule slips, and capability cutbacks. The result is overcommitment, which makes it difficult to sustain the program in a budget-constrained environment. Coping with overcommitment through budget cuts in space science, applications, and technology could split the post-Apollo coalition and jeopardize NASA as an institution. Alternatively, terminating the Space Station could eliminate overcommitment, strengthen NASA's political base, and facilitate restructuring toward a resilient program that is sustainable. A restructured NASA might once again become a model for other agencies.     

Life underWainwright v. Witt: Juror dispositions and death qualification

The current standard for determining juror qualification in cases in which the prosecution is seeking the death penalty was formulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1985 inWainwright v. Witt. This standard differs importantly from its predecessor, and requires that prospective jurors be dismissed if their views would prevent or substantially impair their ability to perform their functions as jurors. We assessed respondents according to the criteria imposed byWitt. We also measured independently prospective juror's abilities to perform the various specific tasks of a capital juror and their disposition to impose the death penalty automatically upon defendants convicted of murder punishable by death. Data from 148 respondents, selected randomly from juries on previously tried felony cases, indicated that 28.2% of those includable by theWitt standard would automatically impose the death penalty. Considering all respondents who would be erroneously included or excluded, a total of 36% of the sample showed inconsistencies with theWitt criterion. These findings are discussed in terms of jurors' difficulties in anticipating their roles as capital jurors.     

Technology transfer in snow control engineering

The design and construction of a complex snow fence system, the development and implementation of a visual range monitoring system, and the development and use of a snow profile prediction model for highway design, are used as examples of successful technology transfer. Contributing factors include a strong imperative and commitment to solving an urgent problem; the availability of knowledge, the direct involvement of scientists and engineers working together throughout the planning, implementation, and evaluation stages; and a synergetic relationship between research and application.     

Computerizing Client Services in the Law School Teaching Clinic: An Experiment in Law Office Automation

In an earlier article (1979 American Bar Foundation Research Journal 1), James A. Sprowl described a new computational processor that enabled attorneys to automate repetitive client-interviewing and document-drafting tasks. In this article, Sprowl and coauthor Ronald W. Staudt describe the first experimental use of the new processor to serve the clients of a law school clinic. In the experiment attorneys and secretaries were trained to design automated practice systems. The authors analyze the results of this experiment and draw some preliminary conclusions about the future usefulness of automated law practice systems.     

THE BOOKSHELF

SCOIAL WORK WITH CHILDREN Florence Liberman
WHEN I SAY NO. I FEEL GUILTY Manuel J. Smith, Ph.d.
BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT: NEW DIRECTIONS IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Eds.-John D. Cone & Robert P. Hawkins