A comparison between the Intercept Oral Fluid Collection Device® and urinalysis among Baltimore City probationers

Few studies compared oral fluid (OF) analysis to laboratory urinalysis (UA) in real-world criminal justice environments, and no studies had collected survey data, from either specimen providers or specimen collectors, about the overall OF collection experience. In the most comprehensive toxicological comparison study conducted to date, urine and OF specimens were collected from a sample of 223 adult probationers in Baltimore City, Maryland, between March and May 2004. In addition, probationers and probation staff were surveyed about the OF collection experience. With confirmed UA as the reference standard, the Intercept Oral Specimen Collection Device® (Intercept) was 100 percent sensitive and 99 percent specific for benzodiazepines, 92 percent sensitive and 96 percent specific for cocaine, 77 percent sensitive and 96 percent specific for opiates, 39 percent sensitive and 98 percent specific for marijuana, and 75 percent sensitive and 91 percent specific for the detection of at least one drug. Seventy-two percent of the probationers and 88 percent of the probation staff rated the Intercept experience better than the collection of urine specimens. Implications for criminal justice policy and research are discussed.     

Technology Transfer in European Regions: Introduction to the Special Issue

Regions can be considered as “regional innovation systems,” but the question of whether and to what extent technology transfer is taking place at this or other (e.g., national and global) levels remains empirical. The theme issue contains a number of case studies of “regional innovation systems” within the European Union. Other papers elaborate on the pros and cons of the systemic approach to the technology transfer processes involved, or make comparisons across regions. In this introduction, the editors discuss the relations between regional policies, technology and innovation policies, and the integration of these different aspects into (potentially regional) systems of innovation. Under what conditions can “technology transfer” be considered as a mechanism of integration at the regional level?     

Moving into and out of poor urban areas

Newly available geographical information from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) is used to estimate a variety of relationships involving high-poverty metropolitan census tracts. The longitudinal data from the PSID show a great deal of geographical mobility even for persistently poor adults, with as many as one fourth of certain groups of these entering and leaving poor urban census tracts in a year. At the same time, solution of the transition matrices for various groups—whites and blacks of various income classes, in families with and without children, living in different types of census tracts—in the early 1980s shows the gradual emptying out of poor urban tracts, particularly of whites and blacks in families without children. As a consequence, despite the great degree of geographical “churning,” poor urban areas gradually become poorer, blacker, and the home of a larger share of black families with children. Some of these aggregate trends had been noticed by researchers comparing these areas in the 1970 and 1980 censuses; our more up-to-date results demonstrate the relationships between the micro and macro data.     

Coordinating industrial modernization services: Impacts and insights from the U.S. Manufacturing Extension Partnership

This study examines how programs sponsored through the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) have influenced the organization and delivery of industrial modernization services to small and medium-sized manufacturers in regions in the United States. The study found that increased service coordination has occurred and that this, in turn, has mostly improved the quality and comprehensiveness of assistance delivered to firms. But there are also some costs and drawbacks associated with multi-partner service delivery approaches. The study identifies and examines best practices that can help MEP centers increase the effectiveness of service coordination. This paper draws upon research supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology under award 50SBNBC8305. The views expressed are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect those of the research sponsor.     

Is less better?: Boot camp, regular probation and rearrest in North Carolina

Using official data, 331 boot camp participants and a stratified random sample of 369 regular probationers were tracked for rearrests over a threeyear period. Chisquare tests and logistic regression analysis indicate that participation in boot camp was significantly associated with rearrest for drug offenses, offenses categorized as “other,” and all types of offenses combined. Contrary to most prior research, which suggests that boot camp participation has no effect on subsequent criminal behavior, the results in this study indicate that participation in the boot camp program had a detrimental effect on its participants.