The meaning of party labels

To determine the meaning(s) of the concepts Republican, Democrat, and Independent, the most frequently cited attributes of each party label were scaled in terms of their semantic centrality. An analysis of the magnitude scale values demonstrates that the labels Republican and Democrat have unique cognitive properties which easily discriminate one label from another. The most characteristic and discriminating properties refer to (1) voting, (2) electioneering, and (3) other forms of electoral behavior. Although these two labels have many strong properties over which there is considerable agreement, such consensus is lacking for the fewer and weaker properties which characterize and discriminate the label Independent. Whereas Republican and Democrat are sharply delineated, semantic inversions of one another, the concept Independent is ambiguously defined and only weakly distinguishable from other concepts.     

The conduct of socially sensitive research: sex offenders as participants

This article examines some extra-research variables inherent in conducting community-based research with child molesters and other sex offenders. These include such issues as informed consent with court-referred participants, confidentiality when interagency collaboration is necessary, and duty to take proper care. Methods for establishing the scientific credibility of the project, responding to client grievances, dealing with client crises, and protecting staff and the surrounding community also are addressed. Adopting procedures similar to those described here could be an important step in ensuring the viability of other socially sensitive research projects.     

Reviews

László Csaba, ed., Systemic Change and Stabilization in Eastern Europe. Aldershot, and Brookfield, NY: Dartmouth Publishing Co., 1991, x + 141 pp. £30.00.

Christopher T. Saunders, ed., Economics and Politics of Transition. New York: Macmillan Press, 1992, x + 419 pp., £50.00.

David Lane, Soviet Society under Perestroika, Completely revised edition. London and New York: Routledge, 1992, xvi + 441 pp., £15.99.

Judith B. Sedaitis & Jim Butterfield, eds, Perestroika from Below: Social Movements in The Soviet Union. Boulder, CO, San Francisco, CA, and Oxford: 1991, xii + 220 pp., $23.00 h/b.

Michael J. Sodaro, Moscow, Germany, and the West from Khrushchev to Gorbachev. London: I. B. Tauris, 1991, xiv + 423 pp., £29.95.

Örjan Sjöberg, Rural Change and Development in Albania. Boulder, CO, San Francisco, CA, and Oxford: Westview Press, 1991, xi + 199 pp., £21.95 p/b.

Anthony Kemp‐Welch, ed., The Ideas of Nikolai Bukharin. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992, 209 pp., £27.50.     

Rational and Pluralistic Approaches to HAVA Implementation: The Cases of Georgia and California

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) has created a new dynamic forthe oversight and implementation of federal elections, requiringstates to assume greater control of election processes vis-à-vistheir local governments than was previously the case in moststates. We consider how HAVA has changed the relationship betweenstates and localities, especially through the HAVA planningprocess. We examine two approaches that states have used inHAVA planning—a rational approach and a pluralistic approach—andhow each can shape the power relationship between states andlocalities. We then present case studies from Georgia and Californiato illustrate how these two approaches have functioned in practice.     

Aqueous phase hexylchloroformate derivatization and solid phase microextraction: determination of benzoylecgonine in urine by gas chromatography-quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry.

A derivatization/solid phase microextraction (SPME) method for the determination of benzoylecgonine in urine was developed. The derivatization is conducted directly in 1 mL of urine while sonicating for 3 min with 12 microL of hexyl chloroformate and 70 microL of a mixture containing acetonitrile:water:hexanol:2-dimethylaminopyridine (5:2:2:1 v/v), yielding benzoylecgonine hexyl ester (BHE) as the product. After the 3 min period, an aliquot of 250 microL is transferred to a vial for SPME. After the desired extraction time the 100 microns polydimethylsiloxane SPME fiber was transferred to the GC-MS for separation and analysis with a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. The hexyl chloroformate derivatization and SPME procedures were optimized for compatibility and sensitivity. The method was found linear for 0.10 to 20.0 micrograms/mL (r2 = 0.999) of benzoylecgonine in urine using benzoylecgonine-d3 as an internal standard (1.5 micrograms/mL). Intra-day precisions were 8.8 and 6.8% RSD for 0.30 microgram/mL and 17 micrograms/mL benzoylecgonine standards in urine (n = 6), respectively. Inter-day precision (n = 3) were < or = 3.3% RSD, indicating good reproducibility. A detection limit of 0.03 microgram/mL (S/N = 3) was achieved, thus making the SPME method a simplified alternative to SPE for GC-MS confirmation after EMIT tests for benzoylecgonine which have a cutoff of 0.30 microgram/mL. Quantitative results by SPME and SPE of two clinical urine specimens known positive for cocaine by EMIT were in excellent agreement. Benzoylecgonine was detected by the derivatization/SPME method in 22 out of 22 other urine specimens known positive for cocaine.     

Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) established in the vicinity of Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

The hairy maggot blow fly, Chrsomya rufifacies (Macquart) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) was collected in large numbers as both adults and immatures in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area during 1998 and is likely established there. The distribution of this species in the Old World, isothermal data, and its collection from mid-Michigan during 1998 suggest that it will eventually occupy most of the U.S. The forensic importance of C. rufifacies makes it probable that it will factor into an increasing number of medicolegal cases, but the expanding distribution of this species decreases its utility as a geographic indicator when postmortem movement of decedents is suspected.