Violence in relationships: A seventh grade inventory of knowledge and attitudes

The purpose of this research was to contribute to existing efforts of battered women's advocates, schools, and researchers by developing a valid and reliable inventory to evaluate educational interventions regarding violence in relationships. Content validity was established by national experts (N=32)solicited to complete an inventory rating scale and comment on the statements' ability to elicit early adolescents' knowledge and attitudes about violence in relation-ships. The revised inventory was tested with seventh grade health education students (N=99).The test-retest reliability criterion was .50. Spearman's rho correlations were .566 for the knowledge section and .669 for the attitude section. Knowledge and attitude sections were measured for internal con- sistency with Cronbach's alpha, with respective values of .3178 and .7207. Item analyses with Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests identified 11 knowledge statements and one attitude statement as significantly discriminating at both test and retest. Gender differences were noted and additional findings were reported. Recommendations for the further establishment of a valid and reliable inventory were made.     

Social policy implications of the minimum wage law

Poverty and unemployment are two critical issues facing the United States today. Linked to both of these is the federal minimum wage law. Established under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the purpose of the law was—and still is—to eliminate, as rapidly as possible, labor conditions thought to be harmful to the “health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers ... without substantially curtailing employment or earning power.”¹ In other words, to eliminate low wages without eliminating jobs. This is a laudable goal, with which no one is likely to disagree. The question remains as to how effective the law has been in achieving this goal. Has it eliminated poverty? Or has it, to the contrary, had effects detrimental to those the law was designed to help? It is the contention here that the minimum wage law has played a significant role in causing unemployment among the most disadvantaged groups, including blacks, teenagers, unskilled workers, and people living in economically depressed regions. It is therefore proposed that further increases in the minimum wage be blocked and that the rate and coverage be held at the present level.     

Federal Aid and Afro-American Political Power in Three Mississippi Towns

Since 1967 Afro-Americans have made great strides in electoralpolitics in the rural South. However, comparable progress inacquiring material resources to satisfy escalating demands fromnewly mobilized constituents has not been achieved in many instances.This article examines the experiences of three, rural, Mississippitowns which elected their first Afro-American mayors in the1970s. In responding to the separate demands of representation(direct citizen benefits) and institutionalization (maintenanceof Afro-American leadership), the new mayors made successfuluse of various federal aid programs. While helping the mayorsto improve public services and construct new community facilities,the federal aid did not contribute to the more long-range goalof institutionalization. The continuing problem for such localareas under Afro-American political control is the lack of independentresources.     

An evaluation of an enzymatic choline determination for the identification of semen in casework samples

This study compares the detection of choline in seminal stains by both an enzymatic method and by the standard Florence crystal test. The tests were conducted on 293 actual casework samples. In those samples identified as containing semen, choline was detected twice as often by the enzymatic method compared to the Florence method (84.6 versus 40.3%). The choline results were correlated with spermatozoa and acid phosphatase tests. The enzymatic detection of choline in seminal stains was found to be a fast, easy, sensitive, and reliable test.