Conditioned Microplitis croceipes Cresson (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) detect and respond to 2,4-DNT: development of a biological sensor

We examined the ability of M. croceipes to learn, detect, and respond to 2,4-DNT, which is a volatile discriminator of trinitrotoluene (TNT). The percentage of conditioned wasps to detect and respond to the various concentrations of 2,4-DNT for > or = 15 sec was measured. Significantly more of the conditioned wasps responded to the concentration of 2,4-DNT used for conditioning than other concentrations examined. Accordingly, percent conditioned wasps to respond > or = 15 sec could be used as a suitable measure to screen air samples and distinguish between samples with or without the target odorant. The data recorded in this study indicate the measured behavior could be used to estimate the concentration of target odorants. Data in this study indicate M. croceipes can detect and respond to this compound, which provide further support for its development as a biological sensor.     

Abortion policy in the post-Webster age

Abortion policy will not change significantly as a result ofthe U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Webster v. ReproductiveHealth Services. The decision was not as expansive as generallyreported. Cases considered during the October 1989 term arenot likely to bring significant changes in abortion jurisprudence.A typology of post-Roe state legislative policymaking suggeststhat most states are unwilling to enact severe abortion restrictions.This is largely confirmed by the state legislative action thathas followed Webster. The Florida Supreme Court decision invalidatingthe state's parental-consent statute accentuates the importanceof state courts in setting abortion policy in the post-Websterperiod. In the highly charged political atmosphere followingWebster, state legislators have been reluctant to tackle abortion.These factors suggest that devolution of abortion policymakingauthority to states will not bring about fundamental changequickly.     

E-mail,the Police,and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: Retooling Our Understanding of a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in the Cyber Age

As in other jurisdictions, technological innovation continues to impose burdens on our understanding of the reasonable expectation of privacy in Canada. Recently, the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench was forced to weigh the privacy rights guaranteed under section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms against Her Majesty's interest in collecting electronic evidence (in order to facilitate criminal proceedings against an individual who was accused of using e-mail to gain possession of child pornography). For the first time ever in Canada, the Court's analysis focused specifically on the technological aspects of e-mail. Although technological enthusiasts applaud this approach, it has resulted in a decision which, if followed, is sure to render ineffectual the ability of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to protect the privacy of Canadian e-mail users against overly intrusive police wire-tap interceptions. Upon a detailed review of this decision (within the context of an overview of the Canadian jurisprudence on unreasonable search and seizure), the author of this paper argues that the traditional test for sanctioning privacy protection must shift away from a merely technological analysis of the actual security offered by the communications medium in question. The author submits that the proper analysis should focus instead on the reasonable Canadian e-mail user's typical understanding and perception of the medium.     

The Interdependence of U.S. Troop Deployments and Trade in the Developing World

The relationship between political conflict and trade has contributed to a riveting discussion in international relations about whether trade produces conflict, or whether conflict itself reduces trade. Most studies proxy "the flag" using militarized interstate disputes (MIDs). However, extensions of "the flag" might well obtain in environments short of MIDs. A more general way to proxy the flag is troop deployments. The deployment of military troops is an essential element of foreign policy. Using panel data for 126 developing countries from 1965 to 2002 and a two-stage least square approach, this essay investigates the relationship between trade and United States troop deployments. We find that trade and troops have a nonrecursive relationship: trade follows the flag and troops follow trade. Given the increased insecurity in the world today, the results are timely and reinforce previous research about the reciprocal relationship between the flag and trade.     

New Zealand's special treatment units: the development and implementation of intensive treatment for high-risk male prisoners

In the late 1980s, New Zealand developed two highly innovative residential treatment programmes for serious offenders that blended together the strengths of structured cognitive behavioural group programmes and therapeutic community approaches. Since the mid-1990s this hybrid model – recently advocated as a fruitful direction for future offender programme development – was adopted and further refined for use in New Zealand's four high-risk special treatment units (HRSTUs). We outline the HRSTU model, noting the challenges and potential benefits of providing an intervention that integrates therapy, resocialisation and reintegration experiences for high-risk, high need, low responsivity clients: many with significant psychopathic features. On average, the majority of those referred to HRSTUs complete the programme and make small but significant amounts of change on important treatment goals. But most changes remain tentative, suggesting the importance of more supportive aftercare. Although an earlier evaluation of the first unit to open found the programme to be modestly effective in reducing recidivism, an outcome evaluation currently underway will help establish whether improvements since that time are associated with reductions in disciplinary infractions and recidivism.     

Multilateralism in a unipolar world: the UN Security Council and Iraq

The end of the cold war brought a new era in international politicsthat had the potential for creating a more cooperative and peacefulworld. At the heart of this ‘new world order’ wasto be the United Nations Security Council, which would finallybe able to fulfill its obligations under the UN Charter. Inthe immediate post-cold war years it appeared that this optimismwas well founded as the Security Council became increasinglyactive in authorizing peacekeeping and peace-building missions.Just over a decade later, however, the crisis over Iraq againbrought serious concerns regarding the UN's purpose and legitimacy.This article examines the circumstances surrounding the recentUN Security Council dispute in order to illuminate the meritsof multilateral cooperation. It also asks, more fundamentally,whether multilateralism can be sustained in a unipolar world.