How democratic is Japan?

The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and politics in a stateless nation, by Karel van Wolferen. Macmillan, London and Basingstoke, 1989. 496 pp. £16.95. ISBN 0–333–44321–7.     

Swethaa S. Ballakrishnen: Accidental Feminism: Gender Parity and Selective Mobility Among India’s Professional Elite

Feminist Legal Studies -     

Group-Based Dominance and Opposition to Equality Correspond to Different Psychological Motives

Social Dominance Orientation, one of the most popular individual differences measures in the study of generalized prejudice, can be understood as having two components: Opposition to Equality (OEQ) and support for Group-Based Dominance (GBD). We consider these components in terms of system justification theory and social identity theory. We find that each component best explains different kinds of political views, consistent with the theory that they arise from different motivations. OEQ reflects system justification motives. It better predicts attitudes towards redistributive social policy, political conservatism, and a lack of humanitarian compassion for the disadvantaged. GBD reflects social identity motives. It is more associated with hostility toward outgroups and concerns about intergroup competition. GBD and OEQ have different personality and demographic correlates, exhibit distinctive relations with explicit and implicit attitudinal preferences, and differentially predict a variety of policy attitudes. Use of GBD and OEQ as separate constructs enriches the understanding of prejudice, policy attitudes, and political ideology.     

Signature Profiling and Classification of Illicit Heroin by GC-MS Analysis of Acidic and Neutral Manufacturing Impurities

Abstract:  The illicit manufacture of heroin results in the formation of trace level acidic and neutral impurities. These impurities are detectable in illicit heroin and provide valuable information about the manufacturing process used. The isolation, derivatization, and semiquantitative analysis of neutral and acidic heroin manufacturing impurities by programmed temperature vaporizing injector-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PTV-GC-MS) is described. Trace acidic and neutral heroin impurities were isolated from basic fractions using liquid–liquid extraction. Extracted impurities were treated with N -Methyl- N -trimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide followed by PTV-GC-MS analyses. Semiquantitative data were obtained using full scan mass spectrometry utilizing unique ions or ion combinations for 36 trace impurities found in crude and/or highly refined heroin samples. Minimum detection limits for acidic and neutral impurities were estimated to be at the 10⁻⁷ level relative to total morphine. Over 500 authentic heroin samples from South America, Mexico, Southwest Asia, and Southeast Asia were analyzed. Classification of illicit heroin based on the presence or absence and relative amounts of acidic and neutral impurities is presented.     

Investigating the effect photodegradation has on natural fibres at a microscopic level

It is a known fact that when fabric is left exposed to sunlight photodegradation occurs. However, no study has ever looked at the photodegradation that occurs to individual fibre filaments as commonly recovered from a scene of crime. To look at photodegradation of individual fibres, wool and cotton fabric were dyed using CI Acid Red 27 and CI Direct Red 80 respectively at two depths of shade, 0.25% and 2.0% owf. Pieces of fabric and individual fibre samples were then placed in a Light Fastness Q-Sun 1000 Xenon test chamber which simulated exposure to sunlight over two time periods, 64 h (equivalent to one weeks sun exposure) and 128 hrs (equivalent to two weeks sun exposure). The resulting pieces of fabric and fibres where then examined using high power comparison microscopy, as well as graded for colour fading using SDC Grey Scale for Assessing Change in Colour (including half steps). Results show that in both fibre types, photodegradation occurs in all samples, however, the degree of fading is shown to vary within a given fibre population showing it is unpredictable in nature.     

Patterns of family interaction and adolescent sex role concepts

This study examined the relationship between patterns of family interaction and adolescent development of sex role concepts. Sixty-six families of high school seniors completed a measure of daily family activities and a Plan Something Together Task, used to measure individuation in family communication. Adolescents' responses on the sex roles section of the Ego Identity Interview were coded to reflect Block's theory of the stages of development of sex role concepts. Results indicated gender differences in the development of sex role concepts as related to distinctive patterns of family communication and daily activity with the adolescents' mothers and fathers.This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD-29819 and HD-17983), the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, and the University Research Institute and Institute of Human Development and Family Studies of the University of Texas at Austin.Received degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Research interests in adolescent development, adolescent mental health, and adolescents in high-risk families. To whom reprint requests should be addressed at School of Social Work, Annex C, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469-0124.Received degree from the University of Minnesota. Research interests are in adolescent development within the context of the family and adoptive family relationships.Received degree from the University of Minnesota. Research interests are in the role of ethnicity in adolescent identity development and family relationships.     

Content scaling of affect in adolescent speech samples

Data are reported which extend the applicability of the Gottschalk-Gleser scales for the content analysis of speech samples to adolescents. The data were gathered on 112 youngsters aged 11–18 stratified by age, race, and sex in a balanced design. Girls had higher Anxiety scores and relatively lower scores on Hostility Directed Inward, Ambivalent Hostility, and Social Alienation and Personal Disorganization than did boys. Blacks spoke less words and expressed more Overt Hostility Outward than did Whites. These latter scores increased with age, as did Hostility Directed Inward. The affect scores for this normative group are also compared to those for normal adults and to an adolescent clinic and a juvenile delinquent population. Correlations with three paper-and-pencil inventories (Adolescent Life Assessment Checklist, Defense Mechanisms Inventory, and Rotter I-E scale) are presented.This study was partially funded by The Adolescent Clinic, Inc., Joseph Rauh, M.D., Director, Division of Adolescent Medicine, Children's Hospital Medical Center.Received her Ph.D. in psychology from Washington University, St. Louis; received a Foundations Fund for Research in Psychiatry interdisciplinary research-teaching grant, 1959–1965. Current research interests include test development, evaluation, and personality research.and a licensed psychologist with the State of Ohio. Received her M.A. from the University of Cincinnati. Current research interests include verbal behavior, psychotherapeutic efficacy, and dream research.Received her M.D. from Medical College of Georgia at Augusta; interned at Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago. Current research interests include stress, coping, and adaptation in children and adolescents.