Adolescent egocentrism-sociocentrism and self-consciousness

A standardized and objectively scored scale of adolescent egocentrism-sociocentrism (AES) and a self-consciousness scale were given to 44 subjects each in the sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades and college. The AES assesses three components of egocentrism including the personal fable, the imaginary audience, and general self-focuses, as well as sociocentrism and nonsocial subscales. As predicted, the personal fable and imaginary audience declined with age. The self-focus subscale showed a curvilinear relationship with age, while, again as predicted, sociocentrism increased and nonsocial focuses declined. Adolescent egocentrism, as expected, correlated positively with self-consciousness even with age controlled. Implications for the theories of egocentrism and sociocentrism in the adolescent years are discussed.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Major interests are adolescent social cognition and social development.     

The End of Ideology Debate Revisited: An Appraisal of Definitional and Theoretical Issues*

This article deals with the definitional legacy of the end of ideology debate and the problem of defuning ideology. The definitional legacy of the debate is described in terms of assumptions about the characteristics and functions of ideology, and several problematic features are identified. A major argument is that certain theoretical difficulties characterizing the debate were the result of viewing various attributes as definitional properties of ideology rather than hypothetical variables. In an effort to overcome the problematic features of the definitional legacy of the debate, the article recommends the construction of a minimal definition of ideology which converts characteristics and Functions often viewed as a priori elements of ideology into an extensive battery of hypothetical variables.     

Insider Perspectives or Stealing the Words out of Women's Mouths: Interpretation in the Research Process

This article examines the ways in which social class differences between the researcher and female respondents affect data analysis. I elaborate the ways in which my class background, just as much as my gender, affects all stages of the research process from theoretical starting points to conclusions. The influences of reflexivity, power and ‘truth’ on the interpretative process are developed by drawing on fieldnotes and interviews from an ethnographic study of women's involvement in their children's primary schooling. Complexities of social class are explored both in relation to myself as the researcher and to how the women saw themselves. I argue that there is a thin dividing line between the understandings which similar experiences of respondents bring to the research process and the element of exploitation implicit in mixing up one's own personal history with those of women whose experience of the same class is very different. Identification can result in a denial of the power feminist researchers exercise in the selection and interpretation of data. However, researchers are similarly powerful in relation to women from very different class backgrounds to their own, and I attempt to draw out problematic issues around power and ‘truth’ in relation to the middle-class women whom I interviewed. I conclude by reiterating that, from where I am socially positioned, certain aspects of the data are much more prominent than others and as a consequence interpretation remains an imperfect and incomplete process.     

Learning Lessons and Transferring Policy across Time, Space and Disciplines

An area of recent interest in the International Relations and Comparative Politics literature concerns 'policy transfer'. This is a dynamic whereby knowledge about policies, administrative arrangements or institutions is used across time or space in the development of policies, administrative arrangements and institutions elsewhere. Policy transfer is deemed to be on the increase in an era of globalisation. Indeed, some governments and international organisations are proactive in promoting harmonisation and convergence or exporting policy lessons. This paper surveys the state of the burgeoning literature, identifies some methodological issues in studying policy transfer, and outlines some additional routes of research.     

Predictors of Attrition in a Treatment Program for Battering Men

This study examines factors associated with the high attrition rate in treatment programs for men who batter. In accord with past research, we expected demographic variables of age, race, employment status, relationship status, and socioeconomic status to predict attrition. We also hypothesized that attitudinal and personality variables, as well as contextual/program variables, might account for attrition more parsimoniously. Specifically, we hypothesized that attrition would be predicted by frequency and severity of violence, denial of a problem with violence, rigidity of thinking, low levels of self-disclosure, and higher anxiety and constriction in social situations. In addition, we predicted attrition would relate to dependency, maladaptive personality styles, and expectations regarding group counseling (e.g., whether treatment is perceived as aversive). Finally, we proposed that attrition would relate to whether batterer participation in treatment was self-motivated or the result of external pressures. Participants were 61 men enrolled in a batterer treatment program in a mid-sized city. Analyses of variance and discriminant analyses indicated that program attrition was unrelated to demographic, attitudinal, or personality variables. Only the contextual/program variables of mileage traveled to attend and external monitoring of attendance significantly differentiated treatment rejecters, drop-outs, and treatment continuers. Findings are discussed with regard to intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. Future directions for exploration are discussed.     

Prevalence of xylazine in overdose cases: An analysis of Miami-Dade County medical examiner case data

Xylazine sedative, muscle relaxant, and analgesic used in a veterinary setting. Although xylazine was never approved for therapeutic use in humans, it has become popular in the street drug market as a cutting or bulking agent in the fentanyl and heroin supply. Recently, there has been a significant increase in the detection of xylazine in postmortem forensic toxicology casework. Xylazine can be identified during routine toxicology screening utilizing instrumentation such as gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Using the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's LIMS system, all cases received between 2015 and 2022 in which xylazine was reported were reviewed. The cases studied include accidental drug overdose deaths in Miami-Dade County as well as Collier County (Naples), Florida. In total, there are 170 cases; the majority are accidental polydrug overdoses involving White males between the ages of 25 and 44 years old. Of the 170 cases, 37% listed xylazine as the cause of death. 13% of cases contained only xylazine and fentanyl while the remaining 87% of deaths were attributed to polydrug toxicity involving two or more substances. The prevalence of xylazine can be attributed to its increasing popularity rather than an increase in caseload. In 2019, xylazine was present in only 4% of all accidental fentanyl overdoses. By 2021, this percentage has increased sixfold, with xylazine present in 24% of all accidental fentanyl overdoses. Despite a decrease in fentanyl overdoses in 2022, the percentage of xylazine detection remained the same.     

Non-Governmental Policy Transfer: The Strategies of Independent Policy Institutes

Discussions of policy transfer have primarily focused on official actors and networks. The non-governmental mode of policy transfer via foundations, think tanks and non-governmental organizations is a relatively neglected dimension. Accordingly, this paper addresses the role of think tanks in promoting the spread of policy ideas about privatization. The importance of think tanks to policy transfer is their ability to diffuse ideas by (1) acting as a clearing-house for information; (2) their involvement in the advocacy of ideas; (3) their involvement in domestic and transnational policy networks; and (4) their intellectual and scholarly base providing expertise on specialized policy issues. Concepts from comparative public policy and international relations such as "social learning" and "epistemic communities" are used to outline the way think tanks advocate innovative policy ideas. However, not only have think tanks been effective in promoting the transfer of policy ideas, the international spread of think tanks also exhibits organizationaltransfer.