Molly Ladd-Taylor: Fixing the Poor: Eugenic Sterilization and Child Welfare in the Twentieth Century

Journal of Youth and Adolescence -     

Automatic Encoding of Ambiguous Child Behavior in High and Low Risk for Child Physical Abuse Parents

Recent theory and research suggest that physically abusive parenting behavior might be understood as originating from: 1) greater accessibility of hostile/negative schema, and/or 2) lower accessibility of benign/positive schema. This study examined whether parents at high and low risk for child physical abuse (CPA) differed in the extent to which they spontaneously encoded ambiguous caregiving contexts in negative versus positive terms. Twenty-five high and forty-one low risk for CPA parents were asked to memorize a set of sentences that described ambiguous caregiving situations. After a brief delay, participants were asked to recall the sentences. During recall, cues were given (e.g., negative and positive words) to facilitate recall. According to the cued-recall paradigm, to the extent that recall was facilitated by negative/positive cues, it was inferred that negative/positive meaning was activated when the ambiguous sentences were encoded. Although all parents tended to recall more information in response to negative relative to positive cues, the influence of cue type on recall was greater for high CPA risk parents. That is, high, compared to low, CPA risk parents obtained significantly higher recall difference scores (M = 4.6 versus M = 2.3); with higher recall difference scores indicating greater recall in response to negative relative to positive cues. Present findings are consistent with the proposition that high and low CPA risk parents differ in how they spontaneously encode information in ambiguous caregiving contexts.     

Neoinstitutionalism: Still no intellectual hegemony?

Despite its greater realism, neoinstitutionalism has not been able to rival neoliberal approaches in the minds of many public‐policy communities. This article suggests four reasons why this is the case: the way that neoliberalism appears to be rooted in the strong paradigms of neoclassical economics, the related simple appeal of marketization as a solution to policy problems, the dominance of short‐term calculation in financial markets as the apparently most successful form of economic activity, and the role of corporate actors as public‐policy insiders. It is argued that an essential solution to the problem is a rapprochement between neoinstitutionalism and neoclassical economics, which is itself not necessarily wedded to neoliberalism.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed: Alan Campbell, Nina Fishman and John McIlroy (eds.), British Trade Unions and Industrial Politics; Volume One: The Post‐war Compromise, 1945‐‐64; Volume Two: The High Tide of Trade Unionism, 1964‐79 Robert E. Lane, The Loss of Happiness in Market Democracies Peter Self, Rolling Back the Market: Economic Dogma and Political Choice Anne Phillips, Which Equalities Matter? Royden J. Harrison, The Life and Times of Sidney and Beatrice Webb, 1858‐‐1905: The Formative Years Tim Judah, Kosovo: War and Revenge Michael J. Hogan (ed.), The Ambiguous Legacy: US Foreign Relations in the ‘American Century’ Eric Roll, Where Are We Going? The Next Twenty Years Dennis Smith and Sue Wright (eds.), Whose Europe? The Turn Towards Democracy Meg Russell, Reforming the House of Lords: Lessons from Overseas The Wakeham Report, A House for the Future: The Royal Commission on the Reform of the House of Lords Anthony D. Smith, Myths and Memories of the Nation Phil Mullan, The Imaginary Time Bomb: Why an Ageing Population is not a Social Problem     

Court finds software patent wilfully infringed but refuses to enjoin the infringement

In the wake of the US Supreme Court's recent decision in eBayv MercExchange, a Texas district court has refused to enjoinMicrosoft's ongoing patent infringement, holding that no presumptionof irreparable injury should be given to the patentee even whenthe patent is upheld by a jury and is found to be wilfully infringed.     

Violent women: findings from the Texas women inmates study

Prior research on violent crime by female offenders is reviewed. A Texas female prisoner sample is used to explore specific questions raised by the literature review. Violent and nonviolent offenders were compared, looking specifically at race, socioeconomic status, having been raised in single-parent homes, criminal history, gang membership, marital status, and childhood abuse. Findings indicated that women who are violent were more likely to be younger, African American, unemployed, and having extensive criminal histories. They were more likely to come from dysfunctional families with childhood abuse. Limitations of the study were noted.     

Quantitative analysis of capsaicinoids in fresh peppers, oleoresin capsicum and pepper spray products

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to identify and quantify the predominant capsaicinoid analogues in extracts of fresh peppers, in oleoresin capsicum, and pepper sprays. The concentration of capsaicinoids in fresh peppers was variable. Variability was dependent upon the relative pungency of the pepper type and geographical origin of the pepper. Nonivamide was conclusively identified in the extracts of fresh peppers, despite numerous reports that nonivamide was not a natural product. In the oleoresin capsicum samples, the pungency was proportional to the total concentration of capsaicinoids and was related by a factor of approximately 15,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)/microg of total capsaicinoids. The principle analogues detected in oleoresin capsicum were capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin and appeared to be the analogues primarily responsible for the pungency of the sample. The analysis of selected samples of commercially available pepper spray products also demonstrated variability in the capsaicinoid concentrations. Variability was observed among products obtained from different manufacturers as well as from different product lots from the same manufacturer. These data indicate that commercial pepper products are not standardized for capsaicinoid content even though they are classified by SHU. Variability in the capsaicinoid concentrations in oleoresin capsicum-based self-defense weapons could alter potency and ultimately jeopardize the safety and health of users and assailants.