Unionization and Work Attitudes: How Union Commitment Influences Public Sector Job Satisfaction

This article explores whether union commitment dampens public sector job satisfaction. By examining the connection between union commitment and two workplace attributes that are presumed to be more prevalent in public sector workplaces—perceptions of higher red tape and greater public service motivation—this article develops three hypotheses exploring the direct and indirect relationships between union commitment and public sector job satisfaction. The findings from a series of structural equation models indicate that union commitment directly increases members’ job satisfaction, but it more prominently increases members’ job satisfaction indirectly by reducing perceived red tape and enhancing public service motivation.     

Blood and Tissue Spatter Associated with Chainsaw Dismemberment

Abstract:  In response to the unexpected paucity of blood/tissue spatter at the site where a body of an adult woman was dismembered by an electric chainsaw, we dismembered two large pig carcasses with a small electric chainsaw in a controlled environment. These experiments demonstrated first that a large carcass could be easily dismembered by a small electric chainsaw. When the chainsaw bar is held parallel to the ground the majority of the blood and tissue is deposited directly beneath the saw and bar and very little elsewhere. If the discharge chute of the saw however is not oriented directly at the ground, larger amounts of blood and tissue may be sprayed on lateral surfaces or deposited some distance from the chainsaw. The characteristic striations created on the surface of wood as it is cut by a chainsaw can also be found on bony surfaces cut by a chainsaw.     

INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS: INSTITUTING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS TO FACILITATE AWARENESS OF CULTURAL IDENTITY ISSUES

In 1995, China first claimed the designation as the number one location for parents from the United States seeking to adopt children. The children, for the most part girls, are between 6 and 20 months old, when they are adopted. Most of the girls that were adopted in 1995 are now entering into their preteen years, and if they have not already confronted the issue of who they are, they will soon be forced to. Adoption is a complicated and emotional process that affects the entire family. Traditionally, parents who adopt have been able to consciously choose when and how they will first tell their child that they are adopted. However, when the adopted child is a member of a transracial family, where the parents and adoptive child are obviously of a different race, this decision can sometimes be taken out of their hands by a stranger thoughtlessly asking, “Is she yours?” The parents who choose to adopt from a foreign country should be prepared to answer this question and numerous others before they bring their adopted child home. This note will explore the concept of incorporating educational programs into the intercountry adoption process as an effective method of educating prospective parents on the challenges that transracial families will confront.     

Thermal shrinkage of small single acrylic fibers — A technique of forensic potential

Single fibers less than 1 mm long of nine types of acrylic fibers were thermally shrunk from 85°C to 285°C by hot stage optical microscopy. A surprisingly wide variety of behavior was observed. The temperature for the onset of shrinkage ranged from 105°C to 190°C; total contraction ranged from 2% to 64%; and some fibers contracted rather steadily, whereas others contracted abruptly. Reproducibility of shrinkage was excellent for most monocomponent fibers but was less reproducible for bicomponent fibers. In general, it was found that the technique may be used to discriminate among fiber types within a single fiber generic class using submicrogram sized samples.     

Gorbachev, ideology, and the fate of Soviet communism

The collapse of the Soviet Union has spurred much scholarly debate about the reasons for the rapid disintegration of this apparently entrenched system. In this article, it is argued that the basic source of ultimate weakness was the obverse of the system's strengths, especially its form of organization and its relation to Marxist–Leninist ideology. Democratic centralism provided cohesion for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) but also gave inordinate control over ideology to the party leader. Mikhail Gorbachev carried out an ideological revision that undercut the legitimacy of party elites and his restructuring of the system left the party with no clear functional role in the society. The successor party, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), has made a surprising comeback for communism, utilizing the Leninist model of party organization, which has proved to be highly effective in the Russian political culture. Furthermore, the CPRF, under party leaders like Gennadi Zyuganov, has avoided Gorbachev's ideological deviations while attempting to broaden the party's base through the cultivation of Russian nationalism.