Characterization of an odor permeable membrane device for the storage of explosives and use as canine training aids

The storage and use of explosives is regulated at the state and federal level, with a particular focus on physical security and rigorous accounting of the explosive inventory. For those working with explosives for the training and testing of explosive-detecting canines, cross-contamination is an important concern. Hence, explosives intended for use with canine teams must be placed into secondary storage containers that are new, clean, and airtight. A variety of containers meet these requirements and include screw-top glass jars (e.g., mason jars). However, an additional need from the explosive-detecting canine community is secondary containers that can also be used as training aids whereby the volatiles emitted by explosives are emitted in a predictable and stable manner. Currently, a generally accepted method for the storage of explosives and controlled emission of explosive vapor for canine detection does not exist. Ideally, such containers should allow odor to escape from the training aid but block external contaminates such as particulates or other volatiles. One method in use places the explosive inside a permeable cotton bag when in use for training and then stores the cotton bag inside an impermeable nylon bag for long-term storage. This paper describes the testing of an odor permeable membrane device (OPMD) as a new way to store and deploy training aids. We measured the evaporation rate and flux of various liquid explosives and volatile compounds that have been identified in the headspace of actual explosives. OPMDs were used in addition to traditional storage containers to monitor the contamination and degradation of 14 explosives used as canine training aids. Explosives were stored individually using traditional storage bags or inside an OPMD at two locations, one of which actively used the training aids. Samples from each storage type at both locations were collected at 0, 3, 6, and 9 months and analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) with Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME). FTIR analyses showed no signs of degradation. GC–MS identified cross-contamination from ethylene glycol dinitrate (EGDN) and/or 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane (DMNB) across almost all samples regardless of storage condition. The contamination was found to be higher among training aids that were stored in traditional ways and that were in active use by canine teams.     

Managing children's and adolescents' medical complaints amid parent conflict: Strategies and tools for professionals

Children and adolescents who are having difficulty coping with stress often present with complaints of physical discomfort. Effective treatment approaches exist for many of these issues. Among high-conflict parents, however, children's medical issues can become another canvas for conflict, with parents focused more on blaming one another for the child's distress than on options for assisting the child. Professionals can be drawn into the conflict to such a degree that they overlook essential steps for addressing and managing these issues. The authors present a research-informed model for managing medical and psychophysiological issues amid parental conflict.     

Courtship Violence Among College Students: A Comparison of Verbally and Physically Abusive Couples

This study used a modified version of the Conflict Tactic Scale (Straus, 1990) to measure the expression of verbal and physical aggression among 572 college students (395 females and 177 males) involved in dating relationships over the previous year. Results indicated that 82% (n = 465) of the total sample reported having engaged in verbally aggressive behavior with a dating partner over the past year, whereas 21% (n = 116) admitted to acting in a physically aggressive manner over the same interval. No significant gender-based difference was found for verbal aggression scores; however, females were significantly more likely to report using physical force than were male students. Male and female students who used verbal aggression were characteristically similar to each. Both had experienced aggression from a parent as children and had drunk alcohol within 3 hours (before or after) an argument with a dating partner. Male and female students who admitted using physical force were dissimilar except that both had experienced parent-child aggression. For male students, having witnessed conjugal violence and their general drinking patterns were also significantly related to their using physical force, whereas for females, the use of physical force was associated with drinking alcohol within 3 hours of an argument with a dating partner.     

Rethinking Caretaker Conventions for Australian Governments

Australia has well‐established conventions for caretaker governments. These conventions regulate how a government should operate once an election is called, and have been documented for some decades. Yet the current conventions date from an era when elections usually produced clear and immediate results. Can our caretaker conventions cope with the emerging reality of indecisive elections and long delays before a new government is confirmed? This paper canvasses the state of Australia's caretaker conventions and offers suggestions for an expanded, contemporary code.     

The future of Tibet: A Chinese dilemma

Conclusion In a recent speech Amartya Sen argued that democracy had become a universal value. He argued that at this time the burden is on those who would deny democracy to justify their position. He argued that this was a historic change from not long ago when the advocates for democracy in Aisa or Africa had to argue for democracy with their backs to the wall. In Asia, China has historically championed the fight against imperialism and has celebrated the fact the the Chinese people have stood up to take their much-deserved place in the world. For China, which as worked so assertively to bring its nation into the modern world, it is a sign of failure if Tibetans, and even Chinese, have to continue to argue for genuine democracy and self-government with their backs against the wall. The Tibetans really face no dilemma since they are offered no choice except to defend their basic interest. But at present the Chinese leaders face a profound dilemma whether to embrace the modern values that are consistent with their own development and reform process or to continue to defy, especially in respect of Tibet, the very values they have championed in their relationships with the rest of the world. It is with regard to these universal values, against imperialism and in favor of democracy and self-rule, that solutions to the Tibetan problem should be found. To subjugate the Tibetan people is not only inconsistent with contemporary values but is also in contradiction of the pressures for change being spawned by China’s own emerging order in its reform era. It is within China’s power at present to set about solving the issues it confronts with Tibet. It can do so in ways that are consistent with its long-term developmetn interests or, alternatively, insist on old style imperial domination at the long-term costs of fostering a territorial and political structure for development that is inadequate both for itself and Tibet.     

Examining Small Town Revenues: To What Extent Are They Diversified?

How diversified are small town revenues? Revenue diversification is analyzed among towns governed by town meetings. Using previously developed diversification measures, the findings confirm that these localities draw from less diverse revenue streams than other state and local governments. The reasons for these variations include differences in home rule status as well as tax and expenditure limitations imposed by states. The authors suggest that revenue allocation in these jurisdictions is substantively different from other forms of local government because these communities rely much less on sales taxation than states and municipalities. Their essay proposes possible options for improvement, along with other criteria by which small towns can assess their revenue diversification.     

Now you're tax-exempt,now you're not: Property taxation of assisted living facilities

This research is motivated by a change in Florida that affected assisted living facilities (ALFs) by removing the property tax exemptions for those operated by nonprofit organizations. As such, this paper addresses two research questions: (1) Are there systematic differences between Florida's for-profit- and nonprofit-designated ALFs in terms of operations and service provision? (2) What was the impact, if any, of losing and regaining their property tax exemptions on the operations of Florida's nonprofit ALFs? We use data from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration to conduct difference of means testing for-profit versus nonprofit ALFs, as well as annual financial data of each ALF property owners' IRS Form 990 from the National Center for Charitable Statistics Core Files and parcel-level property data from the state of Florida to conduct regression analysis using three different dependent variables measuring various components of nonprofit ALF operations. We find that nonprofit ALFs have greater legitimacy in service delivery than for-profits, as nonprofit ALFs have higher service capacity, quality, and variety than for-profit ALFs in Florida. In addition, property tax exemptions for nonprofit ALFs in Florida decrease total expenses and increase officer compensation.     

Desperately Seeking ‘Justice’ in Classical Chinese: On the Meanings of Yi

This essay sets out to search for an equivalent Chinese word to the English word ‘justice’ in classical Chinese language, through ancient Chinese philosophical texts, imperial codes and idioms. The study found that there does not seem to be a linguistic sign for ‘justice’ in classical Chinese, and further, yi resembles ‘justice’ in some ways and has been used sometimes to translate  ‘justice’, but yi is a complex concept in traditional Chinese philosophy with multiple meanings and it is dissimilar to ‘justice’ in their semantic and pragmatic meanings in Chinese and English legal culture. While ‘justice’ is a keyword and fundamental to Western law, yi is not a legal word or concept in classical Chinese in traditional China. Given its complexity, yi does not have a one-to-one equivalent in English. It sometimes carries a sense of ‘righteousness’ and occasionally ‘justice’, but yi and ‘justice’ are not equivalent. In view of these, it becomes understandable that the translations of yi in contemporary Chinese usage vary ranging from ‘friendship and justice’ to ‘greater good’, among others. The meaning of yi is still uncertain and context sensitive as it was two thousand years ago.

     

Citizenship Status and Arrest Patterns for Violent and Narcotic-Related Offenses in Federal Judicial Districts along the U.S./Mexico Border

Media reports routinely reference the drug-related violence in Mexico, linking crime in communities along the Southwest U.S. Border to illegal immigrants. The primary purpose of the current research is to examine whether the media assertions can be supported. Logistic regression models were run to determine the impact of citizenship on the likelihood of disproportionate arrest for federal drug and violent crimes, along the U.S./Mexico border. In arrests for homicide, assault, robbery, and weapons offenses, U.S. citizens were disproportionately more likely than non-citizens to be arrested. The only federal crime where non-citizens were disproportionately more likely to be arrested than were U.S. citizens was for marijuana offenses. Results of the current study challenge the myth of the criminal immigrant.