Policy failure and public support: The Iran-Contra affair and public assessment of President Reagan

The Iran-Contra affair is an example of the type of event that is expected to give rise to a rally of public opinion behind the president. However, the public's response to this event, uncharacteristically, was a sharp decrease in support for President Reagan. This case study constitutes an attempt to explore the sources of the public opinion response to foreign policy events. Statements of political elites, news coverage and commentary, and public opinion assessments are examined to test the patriotism, priming, and opinion leadership explanations of the rally phenomenon. The actions of opinion leaders appears to provide the best explanation of the differential public response to the Iran-Contra affair.     

Sex determination with the head of the radius

Analysis of a sample of 1108 radii corresponding to 567 black and white North Americans in the Terry Collection at the Smithsonian Institution demonstrates that the diameter of the radial head is an accurate sex discriminator for human remains. A simple "radial-head method" of sex determination consists of measuring the maximum and minimum diameters of the head and comparing such measurements with the test cutoff points. The subject is female when the maximum radial head diameter (either left or right) is less than or equal to 21 mm, and male when the maximum diameter (either left or right) is greater than or equal to 24 mm. The same decisions apply to the minimum diameters of 20 mm or less and 23 mm or more, respectively. When the maximum diameter is 23 mm or the minimum is 22 mm, the subject is more likely male; when the maximum diameter is 22 mm or the minimum is 21 mm, the subject is more likely female. The sample frequency of any one of these latter diameters is never more than 16%. Cross-validation of the method with a sample of 50 pairs of radii of the Terry Collection, different from the original specimens, resulted in 92% sexing accuracy when using the left radius singly, 94% accuracy when using the right radius singly, and 96% accuracy when using both radii jointly.     

Behavior of animal blood in blood typing systems. Isoelectric focusing of erythrocyte acid phosphatase and phosphoglucomutase

Isoenzyme band patterns of animal blood erythrocyte acid phosphatase (EAP) and phosphoglucomutase-1 (PGM) were studied by isoelectric focusing on ultrathin polyacrylamide gels. For blood from all animals tested (dog, cat, cow, sheep, and goat), the overall band patterns for both isoenzymes were different from those of the most common human types of these enzymes, although some animal EAP and PGM bands appeared in the human band areas. When mixtures of human and animal red blood cells were studied, it was found that misinterpretation of human types was possible only if the overall band pattern of the mixtures was ignored. For the animal blood tested, the strong PGM bands appearing outside the human band areas could be used as "markers" for the possible presence of animal blood in the samples tested.     

Complications following cell therapy

So far, the law in the Federal Republic of Germany still allows the injection of fresh-cell preparations from animals as a roborant to increase the vitality of the organism and to strengthen the body's immune defense system. The use of "sicca-cell" preparations was provisionally forbidden in 1987 by the Federal Health Organization (Bundesgesundheitsamt; BGA). Prohibition of fresh-cell injections would have exceeded the authority of this office, although the same serious reservations also applied in the case of this treatment method. Several publications that have appeared since 1955 have reported serious complications of this therapy, some life-threatening and some even lethal. Two further cases are now added: (1) A woman aged 69 had been receiving treatment with cell injections for 9 years. Immediately after an injection of sicca cells she collapsed and was hospitalized; 7 days thereafter she developed an ascending paralysis with increasing inability to swallow or breathe. She died 25 days after the injection as a consequence of central and peripheral respiratory failure. Autopsy revealed the alterations typical for acute Landry-Guillain-Barré-Strohl syndrome. (2) A 76-year-old healthy woman had been receiving treatment with fresh-cell preparations for several years. After an injection of cell suspensions a painful local swelling was observed. The symptoms were interpreted as the consequence of an iatrogenic local hematoma, and repeated punctures were performed to obtain blood. The patient was transferred to a surgical department for further therapy. Two days after the injection she suddenly died with signs of acute cardiovascular failure. Autopsy revealed the signs of a fulminating clostridial infection and also the characteristic signs of Landry-Guillain-Barré syndrome with involvement of the autonomic nervous system. In both cases the development of an inflammatory process in the peripheral nervous system could be interpreted as an immune-mediated allergic disease, related to the repeated injection of heterologous antigenic material containing nervous tissues. This hypothesis would also explain the two other cases already published and would be consistent with the observed perivenous leukoencephalopathy of the central nervous system. The human disease pictures correspond to the well-established animal models of EAEM (experimental allergic encephalomyelitis) and EAN (experimental allergic neuritis). The pathogenesis is discussed; the major role of the central and peripheral nervous system is stressed, with special reference to the risk of acute autonomic failure. The need for specific autopsy techniques for the investigation of the entire nervous system, including spinal cord, roots, spinal ganglia and peripheral nerves with sympathetic chains, is raised.     

Brief for 885 law professors in support of maintaining adherence to the Roe decision

This brief opposes the overturn of "Roe v. Wade" and resists weakening "Roe's central holding" that would allow states to overturn legal abortion. The brief was written for 885 law professors. "Roe" was not a "constitutional aberration," or "an exercise of raw, judicial power." Some members of the Supreme Court seem to think that the state has "an overriding interest" in protecting fetal life. Some Court members have questioned "Roe's" trimester framework. A person's decision to abort should be done privately. If women are not free to choose abortion, they will not have equality. There is an absence of "express rights of privacy and procreational freedom" in the Constitution. "Roe" was 1 instance of the Court's recognition of constitutional rights that are not named explicitly. Historical materials are drawn on to show the link between trends in society and the "judicial recognition of unenumerated rights." The most serious questions about "Roe" deal with its trimester framework. Justice Blackmun's majority opinion said that the 1st trimester of pregnancy was personal. "Roe" said that abortions created a medical risk at the beginning of the 2nd trimester. Therefore, the government was more interested in the health of the mother at that time. The state could then regulate abortion "in ways that are reasonable related to maternal health." The start of the 3rd trimester was when the fetus was viable. The right of a woman to end her pregnancy "offends powerful moral forces." Some of "Roe's" critics had their scientific facts wrong. Medical authorities think Justice O'Connor is mistaken when she says that "Roe" is "on a collision course with itself." The 23rd to 24th week of pregnancies where the fetal organs can "sustain life outside the womb." This has not changed since "Roe" was decided in 1973, nor is it likely to in the future. Some "amici" believe that the state can never have an interest in the fetus. The state can not have an interest in the fetus distinct from the woman who will give birth to it. During previability, restricting a woman's procreational rights would not be scientifically supportable. The state does have an interest in "upholding the value of human life." "Roe" is "within the mainstream" of constitutional jurisprudence and should be reaffirmed.     

Empathic emotions and justice in society

Empathy is defined as an affect more appropriate to another's situation than to one's own. The paper (i) summarizes different modes of empathic affect arousal; (ii) shows how empathic affect may interact with social-cognitive development, to produce four levels of empathy development; (iii) suggests that causal attributions may transform empathic affect into sympathy, guilt, and empathic anger, which are major moral affects; (iv) discusses how these affects may influence moral judgment and behavior; (v) points up empathic morality's limitations and the need to embed empathy in relevant moral principles; (vi) discusses possible links between empathy and justice principles, with special focus on Rawls; (vii) illustrates the interplay of empathy, moral judgment, and justice; and (viii) suggests that moral principles may become hot cognitions.     

Aednet: A single-discipline network in a multi-national setting

The computer-mediated network is a moderately expanding phenomenon. A major reason for this growth is the need for transferring technology to developing nations. But because many of these nations are not traditional users of advanced technology and because even the purveyors are not yet fully comfortable with the networks, the medium is not being used as much as perhaps it ought to be. In establishing a multinational network, one should be careful to treat all potential users with equity and not create an informational elite. Part of the challenge of such a system is making it accessible to operatives in the field. An effective way of introducing a network is to blend it with existing technologies, keep the costs down and the quality of information up, provide a usable information-retrieval system, and pay attention to microand macro-ergonomics. The Adult Education Network (AEDNET) of the Kellogg Project at Syracuse University has started working on a next-generation computer-mediated network system. It is proposed that AEDNET involve three action groups in the project: researchers, those interested in social implications, and users.     

Mortality in Mexico. Some considerations on rural-urban differentials

"In this essay, certain aspects related to rural-urban mortality differentials in Mexico are analyzed....[These include] the availability, advantages, and limitations of different sources of information and the disparity of levels and tendencies according to particular indicators of acceptable reliability, especially those deriving from recent demographic surveys conducted in Mexico. The findings confirm an inverse ratio between size of settlement and mortality, and reveal a widening of the differentials over time." (SUMMARY IN ENG)