EU TELECOMS POLICY DEVELOPMENT: EU COMMUNICATIONS LEGISLATION REVIEW

This article explores proposals for a new regulatory framework in telecoms that arise from the 1999 Communications Review by the European Commission.     

Validation of the Direct Analysis in Real Time Source for Use in Forensic Drug Screening

Abstract:  The Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) ion source is a relatively new mass spectrometry technique that is seeing widespread use in chemical analyses world-wide. DART studies include such diverse topics as analysis of flavors and fragrances, melamine in contaminated dog food, differentiation of writing inks, characterization of solid counterfeit drugs, and as a detector for planar chromatography. Validation of this new technique for the rapid screening of forensic evidence for drugs of abuse, utilizing the DART source coupled to an accurate mass time-of-flight mass spectrometer, was conducted. The study consisted of the determination of the lower limit of detection for the method, determination of selectivity and a comparison of this technique to established analytical protocols. Examples of DART spectra are included. The results of this study have allowed the Virginia Department of Forensic Science to incorporate this new technique into their analysis scheme for the screening of solid dosage forms of drugs of abuse.     

Reports of Intimate Partner Violence Made Against Police Officers

The purpose of this case control study was to compare police officers (n = 106) from a large urban police force, charged with committing intimate partner violence (IPV) with officers who were not charged (n = 105), in order to identify risk factors for IPV. We also compared the frequency, type, and final disposition of IPV reports filed against police officers before and after the enactment of the 1994 Violence against Women Act (VAWA). Officers accused of IPV were more likely to be members of a minority, on the force more than 7 years and assigned to a high crime district. No major differences on intake baseline MMPI scores were noted between cases and controls. A significant increase in reports of IPV was noted after the enactment of VAWA; the rate changed from 0.2/100 to 1.2/100 person years, although there were too few pre-1994 reports to compare further. Most of the final dispositions of the cases resulted in cases closed due to unsupported testimony from victims. An erratum to this article is available at .     

National Competition Policy,Regulatory Reform & Australian Federalism*

Changes are afoot in Australia's federal arrangements concerning competition policy. While many of the proposals to enlarge the Commonwealth's sphere of influence are played out in the media, other shifts are more subtle. This article examines one of those areas of change. It looks at National Competition Policy and in particular, its regulatory reform components. It argues that the approach adopted in the 1995 agreement, which was characterised by broad principles, meticulous monitoring and substantial financial carrots, has provided the Commonwealth with a useful tool for effectively intervening in areas that have been until now, matters of state responsibility.     

Teaching public management: the case for (and against) cases

This article calls for an increased and more rigorous use of the case method in public administration education. Cases yield generalizations, cases help students take ownership of knowledge, and cases can further repetition of behavioral characteristics important to students such as empathy and self-confidence.

The gradual expansion of public policy training into the area of public management has brought with it a marked increase in the use of cases and case teaching. Executive training programs, an ever more common feature of publicpolicy schools, rely even more heavily on case. Despite their prevalence and popularity, cases and case teaching have come in for considerable criticism. Social scientists in particular fault them for being atheoretical and, hence, lacking in intellectual rigor. Contemporary cases are also faulted for implicitly endorsing an “activist” or “heroic” view of public management. Whereas cases from the 1940s and 1950s portrayed a functional view of public managers, recent cases portray managers as people who actively shape their legal mandates and use administrative systems to promote political objectives--a questionable image to convey to students training for public service.⁽¹⁾

The first half of the paper describes in some detail a seminar, “Ethics and Public Management,” conducted at the Kennedy School by Mark Moore, Mark Lilla, and the author.     

Regional collective security in Europe: Past patterns and future prospects

NATO's entry into the Balkan war raised salient questions about the alliance's broader mission and, more generally, about Europe's security architecture. This article confronts these questions by revisiting the debate about collective defense versus collective security as organizing principles for alliances. NATO is viewed as serving a hybrid role of promoting collective defense and regional collective security. This latter, under‐valued function relates to NATO's role in promoting internal cohesion among its members and is crucial to understanding the alliance's evolution and its persistance long after the Cold War.     

The Analysis of Gun‐Cleaning Oil as Long‐Distance Gunshot Residue and Its Implications for Chemical Tags on Bullets

Using a BB gun, it was shown that a gun‐cleaning oil (GCO) can be wiped from the barrel by a projectile and carried much longer distances than those usually associated with solid gunshot residue (GSR). Analysis of GCO subsequently deposited on a target was performed using pentane extraction and gas chromatography. (Hoppe's GCO was used here as a model.) When a 0.45 caliber handgun was used, analysis reveals that most of the GCO wiped from the barrel does not survive, owing to the elevated temperatures encountered. However, two components of the GCO, a long‐chain fatty acid and its ethyl ester, do survive and can be detected in the bullet wipe. This suggests that GCO may be considered as GSR, uniquely detectable at long distances, and that other chemical compounds could either be added to a GCO or directly to bullets, to serve as identifying chemical tags.