Book review

Anthony Arnold, Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion in Perspective. Stanford, California: Hoover Institution Press, 1981. 126 pp. $9.95.

Michael Radu (ed.), Eastern Europe and the Third World. Eastbourne: Holt‐Saunders Ltd., 1981. 358 pp. £21.75.

E. J. Feuchtwanger and Peter Nailor (eds.), The Soviet Union and The Third World. London: Macmillan Press, 1981. 229 pp. £20.00

Wladyslaw Bienkowski, Theory and reality: the development of social systems. London & New York: Allison & Busby, 1981. 303 pp. £5.95.

Allen S. Whiting, Siberian Development and East Asia: Threat or Promise? Stanford: University Press, 1981. xv + 276 pp. $22.50.

Christopher D. Jones, Soviet Influence in Eastern Europe: Political Autonomy and the Warsaw Pact. Praeger, 1981. 322 pp. $29.95 cloth, $10.95 paperback.

Stephen Kaplan, Diplomacy of Power. Washington: Brookings Institution, 1981. 733 pp. $9.50 paper, $19.95 cloth.

Derek Leebaert (ed.), Soviet Military Thinking. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1981. xii + 300 pp. £14.50 hardback, £6.95 paperback.

J. Brine, M. Perry and Andrew Sutton (eds.), Home, School and Leisure in the Soviet Union. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1980. xiv + 279 pp. £15.00.

Manfred Melzer, Anlagevermögen, Produktion und Beschäftigung der Industrie im Gebiet der DDR von 1936 bis 1978, sowie Schätzung des künftigen Ange‐botspotentials. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1980. 250 pp.

Ilmari Susiluoto, The origins and development of systems thinking in the Soviet Union. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1982. 210 pp.

Michael Waller, Democratic Centralism, an Historical Commentary. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1981. 155 pp. £14.50.     

New York City's approach to problem-employee counseling

Employee problems such as alcohol and drugs (and the emotional turmoil that leads to them) continue to slow productivity and increase turnover. For nine years, New York City has been an innovator in this area of personnel concern, abandoning the traditional warn-and-terminate method for the centralized and cost-effective outreach program that is outlined here.     

"Swinging in the park". An investigation of an autoerotic death

Death during autoerotic episodes is of special concern to law enforcement officials, the coroner or medical examiner, the family of the decedent, and to society as a whole. As in the probing of any violent demise, accurate preservation of all evidentiary material, complete photographic documentation, reconstruction of the scene, and interviews with family and acquaintances ("psychological autopsy") are mandatory for proper completion of the case. A recent, atypical instance of sexual asphyxia arising from a bizarre incident exemplifies the foregoing dicta and provides a vivid example of "psychopathia sexualis."     

Soviet Price Policies

Recent Soviet policies regarding industrial producer prices, agricultural purchase prices, and retail prices are analyzed. Effects on the level and structure of each price category, and on the relationships among the three categories, are evaluated. Some constructive steps in the reform of the price system have been taken, and others adopted although not yet implemented, but important deficiencies remain. Hence, further changes are proposed to make prices of all three types reflect cost and scarcity more accurately, in order to exert greater influence on resource allocation and income distribution. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 027, 052, 124, 227.     

The OAS and the Summit of the Americas: Coexistence,or Integration of Forces for Multilateralism?

Fifty years after the creation of the OAS, political power is not centralized in that organization but variously diffused throughout the interamerican system. Meanwhile, the Summit of the Americas process has slowly acquired its own institutionality outside the OAS, and is sometimes perceived as challenging the primacy of the ideal of the OAS as the principal institution of interamerican relations. Even with its own weaknesses, the Summit of the Americas has become the most important force for reform of the OAS. As the hemisphere prepares for the third full summit in Quebec, this essay assesses the relationship of these two institutions and their future prospects.     

The moderating effects of religiosity on the relationship between stressful life events and delinquent behavior

Previous research has shown that many forms of strain are positively related to delinquency. Evidence also suggests that religiosity buffers the effects of strain on offending, but this issue requires further research. Using data from a national sample of adolescents, this study examined whether or not religiosity conditioned the relationship between strain and delinquency. This study also looked at the ability of social support, self-esteem, and depression to moderate the influence of strain on delinquent behavior. The findings here lend support to general strain theory in that strain had a direct positive effect on delinquency, yet there was little evidence that the relationship was moderated by religiosity or other conditioning variables. The roles of moderating variables on strain across genders were also considered.