Filtration based DNA preparation for sexual assault cases

Police departments in the United States currently have as many as 500,000 unprocessed swabs taken from rape victims. The standard method for purifying sperm from these swabs is to resuspend first all cells and to digest selectively the excess of the victim's epithelial cells. The intact sperm are then separated from the contaminating solubilized DNA by centrifugation, careful removal of supernatant, and extensive washing of the sperm pellet, all steps that are difficult to automate. Vacuum driven filtration is an alternative method for separating sperm from digested epithelial cells that requires only pipetting steps and can be readily automated in a 96 well format. Sperm DNA is enriched 45-fold using this process and the yield of PCR ready DNA is roughly 20% of the amount originally present on the swab.     

The validity of Niederhoffer's cynicism scale

Arthur Niederhoffer's (1967) Behind the Shield is widely regarded as a classic in the policing literature, yet problems associated with measurement of the key latent trait, cynicism, have limited the extent to which conclusions may be drawn from Niederhoffer's work, as well as some subsequent police cynicism research. In this article, Niederhoffer's research is revisited using survey data recently collected from a random sample of 499 Philadelphia police officers. The analysis begins by examining the validity of Regoli's (1976) modified cynicism scale from the perspective of Item Response Theory (IRT), using Rasch modeling techniques in an effort to more fully understand the scale's measurement properties. Then, Niederhoffer's primary research hypothesis is revisited. Three main findings are drawn: (1) the Likert response categories are being used by respondents as intended; (2) some of the scale items exhibit gender and race bias; and (3) the scale can be improved by dropping several items. Once the scale is adjusted, the findings indicate that the relationship between officer cynicism and years of service is slightly stronger than when the scale is used in its original form. Further, regression analyses yield theoretically consistent findings for the relationship between cynicism and one job-related measure (departmental disciplinary charges).     

A Table for Two: Jiang Zemin and the PLA

Chinese leaders make many of their most sensitive decisions away from the confines of formal bodies, and top PLA officers are involved in these informal discussions. Jiang's relationships with the military as an organization, as well as with its individual leadership, are important determinants of Chinese posturing on a host of crucial issues. Although there are certainly personal and professional differences, PLA interests do not strongly diverge from those of Jiang and the civilian leadership; they need each other to accomplish their respective goals; and Jiang has performed well to establish his authority, retaining control over the military and decision-making process. Jiang's maneuvering to secure Vice President Hu Jintao's appointment to the Central Military Commission (CMC), the implications of the appointment for Hu's relations with the PLA, and Jiang's working relations with the PLA High Command are illustrative of this fact.     

The Refugee Crises: a Study of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees

Recent events in international relations have raised the prospect of the United Nations organization attempting to provide a much more positive role in world affairs. This is also true for the constituent parts of the United Nations, in particular the United Nations High Commission for Refugees whose responsibilities have grown in recent years as the world's refugee population has multiplied and changed in character. The paper analyses the general development of the UNHCR from its establishment in 1951 and assesses its contemporary role as an actor in a post-Cold War environment. The claims of both critics and supporters of the UNHCR are considered on the light of the contemporary, political and financial pressures facing the organization. The paper also considers the character of UNHCR policy and durable solutions to the problem of a rising refugee population. The general analysis is illustrated by the changing role of the UNHCR in dealing with the arrival of the Vietnamese Boat People into Hong Kong from 1979.     

Review

Richard Abraham, Alexander Kerensky: The First Love of the Revolution, London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1987, xxii + 503 pp. £20.00.

R. F. Miller et al. eds. Gorbachev at the Helm: A New Era in Soviet Politics? London: Croom Helm, 1987, viii + 251 pp., £30.00.

Mervyn Matthews, Poverty in the Soviet Union: The Life‐Styles of the Underprivileged in Recent Years. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986, xv + 227 pp., £22.40 h/b £7.95 p/b.

Angus Roxburgh, PRAVDA: Inside the Soviet News Machine. London: Gollancz, 1987, 285 pp., £16.95.

Cynthia S. Kaplan, The Party and Agricultural Crisis Management in the USSR, Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1987, xvi + 203 pp., $30.75.