A survey of extraction techniques for drugs of abuse in urine

Sixty nine participants in the United Kingdom national external quality assessment scheme for drugs of abuse in urine reported details of their sample extraction technique by questionnaire. Laboratories were categorised by differences in technique and their analytical test results compared for samples containing D-amfetamine 0.4 (4) and 0.8 (3) mg/l, morphine 0.4 (4) and 0.8 (4)mg/l, and benzoylecgonine 0.15/0.2 (2) and 0.45/0.5 (4) mg/l. Values in parentheses are numbers of samples. For amfetamine, there was no significant difference in the frequency of true positive results between liquid-liquid or solid phase extraction and the Toxi-Lab A system at 0.8 mg/l. Toxi-Lab A gave significantly fewer positives when operating below its specified threshold at 0.4 mg/l. Paradoxically, laboratories using >5 ml urine volume performed less well. Acidification of the extract before volume reduction gave significantly more true positives. For extraction of morphine, solid phase systems significantly outperformed both liquid-liquid and the Toxi-Lab A system at both 0.8 and 0.4 mg/l. No significant differences between extraction techniques were demonstrated for analysis of benzoylecgonine.     

Urgent issues and prospects at the intersection of culture,memory, and witness interviews: Exploring the challenges for research and practice

The pursuit of justice increasingly relies on productive interactions between witnesses and investigators from diverse cultural backgrounds during investigative interviews. To date, the role of cultural context has largely been ignored by researchers in the field of investigative interviewing, despite repeated requests from practitioners and policymakers for evidence-based guidance for the conduct of interviews with people from different cultures. Through examining cultural differences in human memory and communication and considering specific contextual challenges for investigative interviewing through the lens of culture, this review and associated commentaries highlight the scope for considering culture and human diversity in research on, and the practice of, investigative interviewing with victims, witnesses, and other sources. Across 11 commentaries, contributors highlight the importance of considering the role of culture in different investigative interviewing practices (e.g., rapport building, questioning techniques) and contexts (e.g., gender-based violence, asylum seeking, child abuse), address common areas of cultural mismatch between interviewer–interviewee expectations, and identify critical future routes for research. We call for an increased focus in the investigative interviewing literature on the nature and needs of our global community and encourage constructive and collaborative discussion between researchers and practitioners from around the world to better identify specific challenges and work together towards evidence-based solutions.     

Regional Matters: An Inter-agency Approach to Understanding Regional Issues

Whole-of-government approaches to policy development are increasingly seen as critical in developing comprehensive understanding of issues and development of policies. This article argues that cooperative approaches to using and understanding information are as important as cooperative approaches to policy development and implementation. In August 2002 the Victorian government released Regional Matters: An Atlas of Regional Victoria which was the result of whole-of-government collaboration. The publication provided a review of regional issues across a wide range of topics. This article highlights both the opportunities and challenges of a whole-of-government approach using the experience of this Regional Atlas project. This article also puts forward some lessons that may be used to enhance whole-of-government approaches to research and information provision.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes and Philippe Sands (eds), Reflections on International Law, the International Court of Justice and Nuclear Weapons
Christopher C. Joyner, Governing the Frozen Commons – The Antarctic Regime and Environmental Protection
Ian H. Rowlands (ed), Climate Change Cooperation in Southern Africa
Theodore Panayotou, Instruments for Change, Motivating and Financing Sustainable Development
Jonathan Krueger, International Trade and the Basel Convention