How to scale coded text units without bias: A response to Gemenis

Coding non-manifesto documents as if they were genuine policy platforms produced at election time clearly raises serious issues with error when these codings are used in the standard manner to estimate left-right policy positions. In addition to the long term solution of improving the document base of the Manifesto Project identified by Gemenis (2012), we argue that immediate gains in manifesto-based estimates of policy positions can be realised by using the confrontational logit scales from Lowe et al. (2011), which addresses the problems of scale content and scale construction that are exacerbated by but not unique to the problems found in proxy documents.     

Creation of training aids for human remains detection canines utilizing a non-contact, dynamic airflow volatile concentration technique

Human remains detection (HRD) canines are trained to locate human remains in a variety of locations and situations which include minimal quantities of remains that may be buried, submerged or extremely old. The aptitude of HRD canines is affected by factors such as training, familiarity with the scent source and environmental conditions. Access to appropriate training aids is a common issue among HRD canine handlers due to overly legal restrictions, difficulty in access and storage, and the potential biological hazards stemming from the use of actual human remains as training aids. For this reason, we propose a unique approach of training aid creation, utilizing non-contact, dynamic air-flow odor concentration onto sorbent materials. Following concentration, the sorbent material retains the odor from the scent source composed of volatile organic compounds. The sorbent material containing the odor can then be utilized as a canine training aid. Training materials prepared in this manner were tested under a variety of conditions with many HRD canines to demonstrate the efficacy of the new training aids. A high level of correct canine responses to the new training aids was achieved, approaching 90%, with minimal false positives.     

Recent Iowa trends in sudden unexpected infant deaths: the importance of public health collaboration with medical examiners' offices

During the winter in 2008, Iowa experienced an increase in sudden unexplained infant deaths (SUIDs). SUIDs and infectious causes of infant deaths generally average 3 monthly (SD = 1.0) in Iowa. However, in January 2008, 9 infant deaths were reported to the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner. Between January and March of 2008, joint investigation of 22 SUIDs was conducted. The investigations required the involvement of multiple medical examiners from various jurisdictions, testing for pathogens at the University Hygienic Laboratory, epidemiologic support from the Iowa Department of Public Health, and consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The preliminary hypotheses for the increase in the infant mortality included viral respiratory disease and/or possible novel respiratory viral infections being the cause. Collaboration between public health and the medical examiner offices resulted in timely assessment of the cases. While no single causative agent was responsible for the increase seen in the number of infant deaths, respiratory pathogens played a role in the deaths of 15 of 22 children.     

Building the Base: Al Qaeda's Focoist Strategy

Al Qaeda has developed a coherent strategy for insurgent violence that has much in common with the focoism advocated by Che Guevara in the 1960s. In their strategic writing, explored here, key Islamist strategists stress the role of violence in creating revolution, and describe the export of committed fighters to focoist enclaves at the margins of enemy control. In contrast to some prominent themes in recent scholarship, the article argues that physical space is demonstrably important to the revolutionaries, that their development of leaderless jihad is designed to supplement not replace territorial control, and that their violence is avowedly strategic.