Locus of control and the use of contraception among unmarried black adolescent fathers and their controls: A preliminary report

This article presents preliminary data that examines the relationship between external locus of control and contraceptive use in a limited population of unmarried black adolescent fathers and their controls. Results reveal that black adolescent fathers are more likely to have an external locus of control, to not be church goers, and to not believe in the use of birth control. Policy implications of this research indicate that unmarried black adolescent fathers should be given birth control counseling; if other forms of counseling are warranted, attention should be paid to issues of locus of control.     

Definitions of suicidal behavior: lessons learned from the WHo/EURO multicentre Study

Based on the experience matured during the 15 years of the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study on Suicidal Behavior, this paper provides an excursus on main elements that characterize components for definitional needs. It describes the rationale for choosing the initial set of definitions within the study and the subsequent problems and developments. As a result, unifying terminologies are proposed.     

The Optimal Size of Countercyclical Budget Stabilization Funds: A Case Study of Ohio

Ohio is one of several states that has instituted a Budget Stabilization Fund to serve as a tool to fight the impacts of economic fluctuations on state finances. The optimal size and rate of contribution to the fund are explored in this study. A widely accepted target of 5 percent of general fund revenue for the budget stabilization fund is found inadequate to provide any degree of normalization of state general fund revenue when Ohio's recent fiscal experiences are examined. An optimal size of close to 13 percent emerges as a more likely target for Ohio along with an annual contribution rate approaching 4 percent of revenues in average non-contractionary years.     

The multiple meanings of television advertising

Leo Bogart is author of The Age of Television, Strategy in Advertising,and Polls and the Awareness of Public Opinion.He has been president of the Radio and Television Research Council and of the Consumer Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association. He is executive vice president of the Newspaper Advertising Bureau.     

Policy change in nascent subsystems: Mozambican higher education policy 1993–2003

The Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), developed by Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith in the late 1980s, has proven to be a valuable theory to explain policy change. At the same time, however, researchers have identified limitations in the ACF relating to various dimensions such as definitions of key variables, their operationalization, and the universal applicability of the framework to any context, be it Europe, the US, or countries outside the OECD. The key question addressed in this article is whether the ACF, like most other established public policy theories or frameworks developed in a western industrialized context, can be applied to very young (sub)systems in volatile contexts. We try to answer this question by applying the ACF to the development of the Mozambican higher education subsystem, a subsystem that fits the conditions of volatility and nascence. On the one hand this subsystem is characterized by a turbulent environment and a weak democracy. On the other hand, the higher education subsystem is built practically from scratch. The findings of the study suggest that the ACF is built on basic assumptions that do not apply to a country with a high degree of civil and political turbulence. Some revisions need to be made to improve the ACF’s fit to such a context.

A sensitive and simple assay of saliva on stamps

Identification of saliva on stamps or envelope flaps remains yet a not widely studied problem. In most forensic laboratories it is seldom carried out, but this fact does not reduce the importance of the assay. Most authors consider amylase a sufficiently specific marker of the presence of saliva; really, the only other human body fluid that contains high amounts of this enzyme is the pancreatic juice (and therefore feces). Here we present a simple and sensitive assay for the determination of alpha-amylase that uses a commercially available and well-known substrate. It is hydrolyzed by amylase with the production of soluble blue fragments, that can be measured by photometry, obtaining objective results. The presented assay identifies 1 X 10(-6) diluted saliva or that present on 0.5 mg of a stamp; 16-year-old samples can also be identified. Intra-assay and day-to-day CV resulted in 10.8% and 13.7%, respectively. Owing to the high sensitivity of the test, handling samples or reagents can introduce contamination with saliva traces, giving false-positive results. Addition of EDTA 0.1 mol/l to the incubation mixture, lowering the sensitivity to 1 X 10(-3) diluted saliva, overcomes this problem.     

Struggling against suicide: the need for an integrative approach

Transcultural comparisons would be beneficial for both our understanding of suicide phenomena and the setting up of preventative strategies. Changes in attitude throughout history, gender and age differences, socio-economic factors, influence of race and ethnicity, and the impact of religion are among the aspects mentioned in this article. All of them can actually have a considerable effect on suicide rates, and all of them should be taken into account when interpreting suicide trends and designing antisuicide strategies. In fact, both risk and protective factors may vary remarkably in different cultures. The need for an integrative approach is evident today more than ever, and this fact calls for more concerted and coordinated, multidisciplinary approaches to suicide prevention.