The Gautreaux Legacy: What Might Mixed‐Income and Dispersal Strategies Mean for the Poorest Public Housing Tenants?

Abstract

The current transformation of public and assisted housing reflects the legacy of the Gautreaux case, which created the first mobility and scattered‐site programs. Mixed‐income and dispersal strategies now dominate federal housing policy, although their focus has shifted. Drawing on evidence from two preliminary studies of public housing transformation in Chicago, we argue that these new strategies seem to offer benefits for distressed public housing communities but also involve risks for the most vulnerable current tenants. Increased screening and/or the need to compete with private market tenants may force these families out of the assisted housing market.

Addressing the complex needs of the most troubled public housing tenants will call for a more comprehensive solution. The intent of the Gautreaux case was to increase opportunity and enhance quality of life for public housing tenants; policy makers should take steps to ensure that current programs reflect these fundamental goals.     

A Critical Theory of the "Rationality" of US Foreign Policy: The Case of the American War in Vietnam

The attacks of September 11th, 2001, have increased the urgency of understanding the relationship between war-making and political culture. This essay uses Frankfurt School critical theory to analyze the development of the increasing "rationalization" of US foreign policy during the Cold War, focusing heuristically on the case of the US war in Vietnam. Particularly developing a Habermasian reading of these phenomena, the essay argues that, despite elite management and "steering" strategies, "subsystemic imperatives" are never completely "uncoupled" from the "cultural lifeworld." In the case of the US war in Vietnam, contradictions between elite political and economic instrumental rationalities and interests, and the broader American political culture and values, led to legitimation problems and loss of trust which have continued into the present period.     

A novel method for ABO genotyping using a DNA chip

ABO genotyping is often performed to identify the blood type of decomposed samples, which is difficult to be determined by a serological test. In this study, we developed a simple method for ABO genotyping using a DNA chip. In this method, polymerase chain reaction-amplified and fluorescent-labeled fragments in the ABO gene and primate-specific D17Z1 were hybridized with DNA probes on a chip designed to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ABO gene and part of the D17Z1 sequence. Using blood samples from 42 volunteers and 10 animal species, we investigated whether the chip could be used to detect SNPs in the ABO gene and the D17Z1 sequence. This method was then applied to various forensic samples, and it was confirmed that this method was suitable for the simultaneous analyses of ABO genotyping and species identification. This method fulfills the recent need for the development of rapid and convenient methods for criminal investigations.     

Crime scene investigations using portable,non-destructive space exploration technology

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASAs) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) have teamed up to explore the use of NASA developed technologies to help criminal justice agencies and professionals solve crimes. The objective of the program is to produce instruments and communication networks that have application within both NASA's space program and NIJ programs with state and local forensic laboratories. A working group of NASA scientists and law enforcement professionals has been established to develop and implement a feasibility demonstration program. Specifically, the group has focused its efforts on identifying gunpowder and primer residue, blood, and semen at crime scenes. Non-destructive elemental composition identification methods are carried out using portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) systems. These systems are similar to those being developed for planetary exploration programs. A breadboard model of a portable XRF system has been constructed for these tests using room temperature silicon and cadmium-zinc telluride (CZT) detectors. Preliminary tests have been completed with gunshot residue (GSR), blood-spatter and semen samples. Many of the element composition lines have been identified. Studies to determine the minimum detectable limits needed for the analyses of GSR, blood and semen in the crime scene environment have been initiated and preliminary results obtained. Furthermore, a database made up of the inorganic composition of GSR is being developed. Using data obtained from the open literature of the elemental composition of barium (Ba) and antimony (Sb) in handswipes of GSR, we believe that there may be a unique GSR signature based on the Sb to Ba ratio.     

Authoritariansim as indicated by measures of acceptance of authority and directiveness among police officers,students and townspeople

Conclusion Recently theory and scales measuring authoritarianism and cynicism of police have come into close scrutiny. In particular, Langworthy (1987:28,33) has concluded from his review of 21 empirical studies that police cynicism appears to have several different dimensions and that the “failure to detect cynicism or a factor closely related to it is a product of reliance on a very flawed instrument the Niederhoffer index.” To address that criticism of a faulty instrument, this research has utilized scales measuring directiveness and proauthority. For reasons of alpha coefficients, only the scores on the pro-authority scale were analyzed. Mean scores on the pro-authority scale between law officer, students, townspeople and police officers were not significantly different. When investigating variables relating to the high scores of proauthority of police officers, rank was statistically significant while age was not. For future research, separate population should be continued as well as random sampling. In addition, variables of age, sex, ethnic, rank and departmental/organizational dimensions should be explored.     

Vicious circles and the security development nexus in Somalia

The metaphor of the vicious circle is deeply embedded in analysis of protracted conflicts. Yet in at least some instances conflicts that appear to be self‐reinforcing in the short term are in the longer run producing conditions out of which new political orders can emerge. These protracted conflicts are thus dynamic, not static, crises and require post‐conflict assistance strategies that are informed by accurate trend analysis. The case of Somalia is used to illustrate the dramatic changes that occur over time in patterns of armed conflict, criminality, and governance in a collapsed state. These changes have produced a dense network of informal and formal systems of communication, cooperation, and governance in Somalia, helping local communities adapt to state collapse, manage risk, and provide for themselves a somewhat more predictable environment in which to pursue livelihoods. Crucial to this evolution of anarchy in Somalia has been the shifting interests of an emerging business community, for whom street crime and armed conflict are generally bad for business.