Beyond Primacy: Hegemony and ‘Security Addiction’ in U.S. Grand Strategy

The George W. Bush administration embraced a particularly aggressive counter-terrorist and counter-proliferation strategy after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The “Bush Doctrine,” as it became known, reflects a “primacist” approach to grand strategy that aims not only to eliminate global terrorist networks and cowl rogue state proliferators, but also to dissuade potential near-peer competitors from challenging the American-centred international system. Critics expect that this ambitious approach to strategic affairs has become unsustainable in the face of the growing quagmire in Iraq. But “security addiction” in the post-9/11 environment has instead created conditions for a bipartisan consensus on the overall direction, if not the particular modalities, of “primacist” grand strategies. Despite the unpopularity of the Bush administration and significant American commitments to Afghanistan and Iraq, it is highly unlikely that President Barack Obama will heed calls for military retrenchment or strategic restraint.     

The detection of hydromorphone in urine specimens with high morphine concentrations

A previous study suggested that small amounts of morphine are metabolically converted to hydromorphone. In the present study, morphine positive urine specimens obtained from a postmortem laboratory and a random urinalysis program were tested for morphine, codeine, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, and oxycodone to assess the possibility that small amounts of hydromorphone are produced from the metabolism of morphine. The opioids were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as their respective trimethylsilyl derivatives following solid phase extraction. The limit of detection for hydromorphone was 5 ng/mL. A total of 73 morphine positive urine specimens were analyzed, with morphine concentrations ranging from 131 to 297,000 ng/mL. Hydromorphone was present at a concentration > or =5 ng/mL in 36 of these specimens at concentrations ranging from 0.02% to 12% of the morphine concentration. Hydrocodone was not detected in these specimens at the assay detection limit of 25 ng/mL. These results support earlier work suggesting that the detection of hydromorphone in urine specimens does not necessarily mean that exogenous hydromorphone or hydrocodone was used.     

Advances in Critical Cultural Criminology: An Analysis of Reactions to Avant-Garde Flag Art

As a popular motif in American art, images ofthe United States flag remind citizens of the importanceof culture in promoting patriotism. Still, theprevailing aesthetic commands a dignifiedrepresentation of the Stars and Stripes,shunning political criticism and disrespect forthe nation's most cherished emblem. Amid thecontroversy over flag burning in 1989, artistDread Scott unveiled his work What is theProper Way to Display the U.S. Flag? at theSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago. In thatpiece, the U.S. flag was placed on the floor ofthe gallery, inciting enormous public outrage.As a form of interactive art, Scott invitedvisitors to record their thoughts about theflag in a ledger book furnished at the exhibit.More than 1,600 messages were transcribed inthe ledger book, thus becoming an intriguingsource of unobtrusive data. This researchexplores societal reaction to Scott's artworkthrough a content analysis of the entriescontained in the ledger book. Whileinterpreting prominent themes framing theconflict over flag desecration, this workcontributes to a critical cultural criminology.In particular, the analysis brings to theforefront the significance of power,hierarchies, and social inequality drivingcriminalization campaigns aimed at controllingavant-garde flag art and political dissent.     

Disaster planning for air crashes. A retrospective analysis of Delta Airlines flight 191

The effectiveness of previously untested disaster plans was demonstrated during the aftermath of the crash of Delta Airlines Flight 191 at D/FW International Airport on Friday, August 2, 1985. These plans, in effect for years and subjected to periodic review, were as yet untried before this first disaster at D/FW International since its opening. This paper outlines the disaster plans, the actual problems encountered, the logistics of a disaster of this kind, and insights gained from the experience.