NIST Mass Spectrometry Data Center standard reference libraries and software tools: Application to seized drug analysis

The standard reference libraries and associated custom software provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Mass Spectrometry Data Center (NIST MSDC) are described with a focus on assisting the seized drug analyst with the identification of fentanyl-related substances (FRS). These tools are particularly useful when encountering novel substances when no certified sample is available. The MSDC provides three standard reference mass spectral libraries, as well as six software packages for mass spectral analysis, reference library searching, data interpretation, and measurement uncertainty estimation. Each of these libraries and software packages are described with references to the original publications provided. Examples of fentanyl identification by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and by direct analysis in real-time (DART) mass spectrometry are given. A link to online tutorials is provided.     

Social and institutional challenges in species and ecosystem conservation: an appraisal of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission

In the pantheon of U.S. environmental law, only one federal statute—the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972—has created an independent oversight agency with explicit authority to conduct appraisals of and make recommendations on all regulatory agency actions under the law. That agency, the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, is the subject of our analysis. Using a semi-structured survey and participant observation, we assess the commission’s operations under its legislative mandate, using criteria from the literature on policy-oriented professionalism. Our findings indicate a dichotomy between the Commission’s oversight of other agencies’ marine mammal programs and the manner in which it self-evaluates, learns, and evolves on the basis of its experience, with strongly pragmatic approaches to its appraisal of other agencies’ programs, contrasted with weak appraisal of its own operations.     

Different Processes,Different Outcomes? Assessing the Individual‐Level Impacts of Public Participation

This article empirically investigates the relative efficacy of different direct participation processes. Specifically, it compares the effects of three types of participatory processes (public meetings, focus groups, and citizen juries) on participants' issue awareness, competence, empowerment, and trust in service professionals. The authors hypothesize that all three participatory processes will positively affect these individual outcomes but that the magnitudes of effects will differ across the three processes. Using data from field experiments, the authors test and find general support for the hypotheses. This study contributes to understanding of public participation, particularly in terms of the relationship between participatory design and outcomes.     

The potential to determine a postmortem submersion interval based on algal/diatom diversity on decomposing mammalian carcasses in brackish ponds in Delaware

Recently botanical evidence has been studied to determine if it is useful in forensic investigations. This study was performed to examine stillborn piglet decomposition in a brackish water environment and to semi-quantitatively document stages of decomposition, degree day accumulation per stage as well as the algal/diatom diversity useful in determining a postmortem submersion interval (PMSI). Piglets and ceramic tiles were submerged in brackish ponds and sampled on a regular basis to document algal diversity and succession between substrates and stages of decomposition. Significantly greater weight was lost from piglet carcasses during the early floating and advanced floating decay stages. Seasonal effects were observed in degree-day accumulations. Diatom diversity was significantly greater on piglet carcasses compared to tile substrates. Algal diversity decreased over time on the piglet carcasses as well as the stage of decomposition. A significant relationship and strong correlation between algal diversity found on the piglet substrate with time was observed. Our results indicate that more research is needed to examine the potential to use diatoms in not only determining manner of death but also the duration of time (PMSI) a victim may have been immersed in an aquatic environment.     

Caddisflies assist with homicide case: determining a postmortem submersion interval using aquatic insects

Although few indicators of time since death for corpses found in aquatic ecosystems are comparable in precision to the insect indicators used in terrestrial cases, there are observations that can be useful in suggesting or ruling out an approximate PMSI (postmortem submersion interval). For example, the time intervals required for certain growth phases of aquatic insects, such as caddisflies, that may attach themselves to the submerged remains can be used to estimate a minimum PMSI. Approximately 8 of the 13 orders of insects containing species with aquatic or semi-aquatic stages are likely to be associated with carrion or corpses in aquatic habitats. We present a case study in which portions of a body from an adult male were discovered in a south central Michigan stream. The body was dismembered and portions were recovered from two bags floating and submerged in the stream. Insect specimens collected from mesh and plastic bags consisted of one fly larva belonging to the family Muscidae, and caddisfly larvae belonging to two families: the Limnephilidae. (case-makers) and the Hydropsychidae, (net spinners). We used unique case-building behaviors of the limnephilid caddisflies found on the remains to elucidate a PMSI range consistent with the disappearance of the victim. It is important for forensic investigators to understand that although some precision is lost in estimating a PMSI with aquatic insects, these organisms should not be ignored in gathering evidence from aquatic crime scenes, and in fact, they can provide valuable details in estimating a PMSI.     

A Culturally Sensitive Intervention with Domestically Violent Latino Immigrant Men

In an agency that provided court ordered domestic violence treatment, practitioners observed that recently arrived Latino immigrant men failed to respond to the Duluth model. This observation led to implementation of a culturally sensitive intervention that took into consideration Latino cultural values and environmental stressors on immigrant families. Healing themes were selected that required the men to confront personal trauma and negative acculturation experiences and connect these to conflict and partner abuse. The approach was designed to help the men stop the abuse, preserve partner relationships, and strengthen family life. The goal was not to equalize power between male and female partners, but to help the men gain the attitudes and relationship skills needed for respectful and compassionate family leadership.     

A Non-bipartite Propensity Score Analysis of the Effects of Teacher–Student Relationships on Adolescent Problem and Prosocial Behavior

Previous research suggests a link between the quality of teacher–student relationships and the students’ behavioral outcomes; however, the observational nature of past studies makes it difficult to attribute a causal role to the quality of these relationships. In the current study, therefore, we used a propensity score analysis approach to evaluate whether students who were matched on their propensity to experience a given level of relationship quality but differed on their actual relationship quality diverged on their concurrent and subsequent problem and prosocial behavior. Student/self, teacher, and parent- (only waves 1–3) reported data from 8 waves of the Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youths (z-proso), a longitudinal study of Swiss youth among a culturally diverse sample of 7- to 15-year-olds were utilized. The initial sample included 1483 (49.4 % female) students for whom information relevant for this study was available. The sample represented families from around 80 different countries, from across all the continents; with approximately 42 % of the female primary caregivers having been born in Switzerland. Following successful matching, we found that students who reported better relationships with their teachers and whose teachers reported better relationships with them evidenced fewer problem behaviors concurrently and up to 4 years later. There was also evidence for an analogous effect in predicting prosocial behavior. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to prevention and intervention practices.     

Reconnecting Systems Maintenance with Social Justice: A Critical Role for Conflict Resolution

With roots in both the field of labor-management negotiation and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, practitioners and theorists of conflict resolution have been guided by two main theories concerning the objectives of alternative dispute resolution. On the one hand is the objective of systems maintenance, with an emphasis on stability and rational decision making. On the other hand is the objective of social justice, which emphasizes changing social institutions and organizations to support the protection of basic human rights and needs. This article analyzes the assumptions of both objectives and concludes with recommendations for how to make the goals of systems maintenance and social justice mutually supporting.     

Reviews & Resources

Theater

Split Britches, by Lois Weaver in collaboration with Deborah Margolin and Peggy Shaw, directed by Lois Weaver for the Split Britches Company, Open Gate Theatre, New York City.

Beauty and the Beast—The Otic and Only World‐Famous Vaudeville Revue, written by Deborah Margolin in collaboration with Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw, directed by Lois Weaver, Spring 1983, WOW Cafe, New York City.

'night, Mother, by Marsha Norman directed by Tom Moore, Golden Theatre, New York City.

The Department, by Barbara Gar‐son, directed by Chris Kraus, May 1983, Theater for the New City, New York City.

Sappho and Aphrodite, by Karen Malpede, directed by Lois Weaver, presented by the Sappho and Aphrodite Company as a work‐in‐progress, Provincetown Playhouse, March 1983, New York City.

Cloud 9, by Caryl Churchill, directed by Tommy Tune, Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York City.

Dance

With Longings to Realize, Johanna Boyce and Performance Group, January, 1983, Dance Theatre Workshop, New York City.

Theory and Play of the Duende, by Pilar Rioja, Repertorio Espanol's Gramercy Arts Theater, April 1983, New York City.

Ms. Barbie and Her Friends or Whose Life to Live, by the Barbara Mahler Dance Theater, March 1983, Cash Performance Space, New York City.

Music

Thoughts on Women's Popular Music

Meg Christian, Bottom Line, April 1983, New York City.

Holly Near and Ronnie Gilbert in Concert, Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall April 13, 1983, New York City.

Books

Divine Dancer: A Biography of Ruth St. Denis by Suzanne Shelton. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1981. 338 pp. Bibliography. Index.

American Women Dramatists of the Twentieth Century, A Bibliography. Brenda Coven. Metuchen, New Jersey & London: Scarecrow Press, 1982. 237 pp.

Women in Film: Both Sides of the Camera by E. Ann Kaplan. New York and London: Methuen, Inc., September, 1983.

Biographical Dictionary of Dance.Barbara Naomi Cohen‐Stratyner. New York: Schirmer Books, 1982. 970 pp.

American Women in Jazz: 1900 to the Present—Their Words, Lives, and Music.Sally Placksin. U.S.A.: Wideview Books, 1982. 322 pp. Bibliography, index, and discography.

Women in Theatre: Compassion and Hope.Karen Malpede. New York: Drama Book Publishers, 1983. 265 pp. Selected bibiography and index.

Listings     

The challenge of design of intergovernmental relations in economies in transition

The governments of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union are at a crucial juncture in their movement from highly centralized command economies to more decentralized market economies. While there is a belief in these countries that decentralization brings greater economic efficiency, the reality is that such a transition is a difficult process. This paper examines what types of administrative reforms are needed for the decentralization process, how far along the countries are with respect to these reforms, and what reforms are missing. As we discuss, many of the necessary administration reforms are missing and we argue that more attention must be paid to these elements for successful decentralization of these governments.

This paper examines the recent experience and reform needs of the key administrative aspects of the design of intergovernmental relations in countries in transition in Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union. There is a widespread realization in all of these countries that decentralizing government will help increase efficiency in the public sector just as privatization will improve efficiency in their economies. Decentralization of government operations is also attractive as a way to cement a democratic form of government. Despite the appearances of the existence of an already decentralized system, such as in the case of the Soviet Union, this experiment started in practically all cases with a lack of institutions and experience on how decentralized government operations should be organized.

As different as these countries are, there are many similarities in the reform process they are following in order to decentralize government structure. While the basic components of a decentralized system of government are emerging in many of these countries the structure of government has not fully evolved in a manner that can support such a decentralized system. Often, governments remain structured along a vertical hierarchy: information, budgetary authority, and revenue pass from the central government down to subnational levels of government while little communication or interaction exists at a horizontal level. In general, the assignment of revenue and expenditure has not been clearly defined among the two or three levels of government, central government transfers continue to occur in a relatively ad hoc manner, and the entire budgeting system still rests in many cases on more or less formal system of negotiations and bargaining among the different levels of government. There has been some change in this structure in certain countries. Over the last three years, both Poland and Hungary have legally increased the automony of subnational governments. In 1994 in Russia a new and more transparent system of intergovernmental grants has been established between the federal government and the regions. In 1994 also, Latvia introduced a more transparent formula-driven, transfer formula for the regional and municipal governments.

The focus of this paper is to develop a “blue print” for necessary changes in organization and administration of intergovernmental relations in countries in transition. While many experts have recently been discussing the public finance policy components of this new, evolving relationship among levels of government, less attention has been paid to the structural and administrative challenges and the information design issues that must be met in order to develop and support a system of intergovernmental relations.

The paper is organized as follows: First we review the major responsibilities and their allocation among levels of government, the assignment of revenue sources, and the system of transfers. We then turn to a discussion of the current experience of Eastern European and NIS countries in the context of the structural components of an intergovernmental fiscal system. Next, we analyze the organizational reforms that are necessary for the efficient functioning of a decentralized system of government in the economies in transition. Finally we “rate” the transition economies in relation to their current design of the system of intergovernmental relations and support mechanisms.