PCBs in Construction Materials: Old Chemical,New Context

U.S. regulations have historically focused on control of liquid polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Nonliquid PCBs present as plasticizers in some construction materials were generally viewed as immobile and not of public health or environmental concern. By the 2000s, nonliquid PCBs began receiving significant regulatory attention, particularly in schools. More recently, PCB-containing construction materials at commercial and industrial facilities are also receiving increased attention. This article highlights the drivers that have led to the increased focus on nonliquid PCBs in construction materials and why this trend is likely to continue, and highlights some of the complexities that can arise for stakeholders.     

Review article

THE LAW OF CONTRACT. By H. Collins. [Wiedenfeld & Nicolson. 1986, pp. xi and 236. £7.50 (paperback); £14.95 (cloth).]     

Progrssive Regrimes, Partnerships and the Involvement of Local Communities: A Framework for Evaluation

This paper examines the nature of community involvement in urban politics as it is played out through regeneration partnerships. At a theoretical level, it explores the potential for a community dimension to local governance, that is, a strategic influence for communities within local power structures. It is argued that the nature of involvement can be explicated by considering three concepts: power (as expressed by urban regime theory), participation and partnership. The paper explores these three broad themes and then focuses on the particular issues pertaining to community involvement in partnership working. Building on this frame-work, the paper develops a model – a 'wheel of involvement'– for analysing the effectiveness of community involvement in regeneration partnerships. This model enables the effectiveness of involvement to be 'quantified by the use of a simple questionnaire survey. It provides a tool for academic researchers and practitioners concerned with evaluating partnerships to begin to explore the quality and level of community involvement in the process of urban renewal. The results of an analysis of two regeneration partnerships are presented as an illustration of the efficacy of the evaluative technique.     

Intimate partner violence among pregnant and parenting Latina adolescents

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and extent of mutual violence among a sample of pregnant and parenting Latina adolescent females and their partners. The sample consisted of 73 Latina adolescent females between the ages of 14 and 20 who were referred to a community-based organization for case management, education, and psychosocial support for pregnant and parenting adolescents. They completed the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS-2) as part of a pretest to evaluate this intervention program. A small number (12 out of 73; 16%) reported no use of aggressive conflict tactics. Eighty-four percent (61 out of 73) of the study respondents reported using at least one form of minor psychological aggression and 62% (45 out of 73) reported using at least one form of minor physical assault over the past 6 months. Mutuality of conflict was high, especially in cases of minor assault by partner. There was no difference in severity or chronicity of conflict between those who were pregnant and those who were not. Female respondents reported that they and their partners engaged in comparable levels of sexual coercion. Discussion of the context of psychological, physical, and sexual aggression in adolescent relationships suggests alternative approaches to prevention of intimate partner violence among adolescents.     

Revealing information in electoral competition

Electoral competition between two expert candidates may lead to inefficient platform choices. The present paper studies electoral competition between two experts and a third uninformed candidate. The latter behaves populistically. This seemingly useless candidate restores efficiency. The paper then endogenizes information acquisition. If the information acquisition costs are low, then equilibria with (i) three expert candidates or (ii) two experts and one uninformed candidate may arise. There are costs such that the latter equilibrium is the only pure strategy equilibrium in which information is transmitted.