The effects of microwave irradiation on occluded solvents in illicitly produced cocaine hydrochloride

The current clandestine methodology for the manufacture of illicit cocaine hydrochloride utilizes microwave heating in order to dry the finished product. This study addresses the effects this step has on the occluded solvents present in newly prepared cocaine hydrochloride. Nine 1-kilogram-sized batches of cocaine hydrochloride were prepared from cocaine base using a variety of solvents or solvent mixtures commonly utilized in clandestine laboratories, pressed into bricks, and submitted to microwave heating. Residual solvents were qualitatively and quantitatively monitored before, during, and following the microwaving step by static headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. All solvents used in the conversion process were easily detected in the bricks even after extensive irradiation, confirming that occluded solvents are extremely resistant to removal by microwave heating. Qualitative and quantitative data corresponding to the residual solvents in the prepared cocaine hydrochloride bricks are presented.     

Post-citizenship,the New Left and the democratic commons

This article investigates the possibilities for the emergence of more participatory forms of citizenship in the context of austerity Europe. Especially significant in this regard is the history of the post-war New Left who were critical of both social democracy and authoritarian Marxism. In this context I reconsider the radical ‘humanistic’ writing of E.P. Thompson and Raymond Williams. Not only does their work offer a critical understanding of the commons, but equally connects to the revival of humanism evident within the alter globalisation movement. Further I look at the development of different ideas for a revived Left including nostalgia for the social democratic period and the idea of cosmopolitanism. While all of this work has something to offer I seek to argue that it fails to adequately address the need to develop more ecologically sensitive and more participatory forms of citizenship. In the final section, I outline the importance of the struggle for a more democratic and autonomous society and the increasing importance of issues related to traditions of self-management and the idea of the commoner. The idea of the commoner could yet become one of the major ideological struggles of the twenty-first century, but this will depend upon its ability to excite the imaginations of Europe's increasingly frustrated citizens in the age of neoliberalism.     

Reconnecting the person with humanity: how psychiatric nurses work with suicidal people

A modified grounded-theory (qualitative) study was undertaken in an attempt to discover the psychosocial processes involved when psychiatric/mental health nurses provide care to suicidal people, and in so doing, to induce the first comprehensive theory of psychiatric nursing care of the suicidal person. The findings highlight that the key psychosocial process (or core variable of the theory) is "reconnecting the person with humanity" and that this has three stages: reflecting an image of humanity, guiding the individual back to humanity, and learning to live.     

Governance Disclosure on the Internet: The Case of Australian State Government Departments

This paper examines corporate governance disclosures on the websites of Australian state government departments. The study focuses on the nature and extent of governance information and the ease of finding this information directly on department websites and also in annual reports which are downloadable from websites. Our sample comprises six departments from each of the six states in Australia, giving a sample size of 36 departments. Our findings indicate considerable variability in both the level of disclosure and the accessibility of the information disclosed. The study also highlights a lack of consensus regarding the meaning of governance and what governance comprises, together with the need for a more structured approach to communicating governance information to stakeholders.     

Campaign spending and office-seeking motivations: an empirical analysis

This paper presents econometric evidence on the relationship between campaign spending and office seeking motivations. Our results, using Spanish data, show that campaign spending per capita increases with the stakes for the winner, measured by the appointment power of the office. Moreover we find that campaign spending per capita increases with the level of self-government of the region. Our results concord with those reported for other countries with very different systems of campaign funding.     

Of Constitutions and Kings

Liverpool Law Review -     

Lithuanian men’s struggles with precarious life: unemployment,working identities,and strategies of survival

Using semi-structured interviews with young unemployed Lithuanian men, this article examines three distinct male working identities associated with ways of coping with unemployment and a sense of precarity: “desperate conformists,” “liberated dreamers,” and men “lost in work transition.” The interviews demonstrate that unemployment stigmatizes men, particularly those with lesser professional and social competencies crucial to efficient participation in the labor market. Therefore, the respondents’ incessant attempts to search for a job or their dreaming about it can be regarded as a way of resisting stigmatization and precarity.     

Ethan Frome and Charity Royall: Edith Wharton s Noble Savages

This article explores the psychological and social effects of horror (slasher) movies, focusing on the 2003 thriller feardotcom. The question, “Why do we watch?” is investigated, using narrative and philosophical theories to analyze this and slasher films' far-reaching cultural implications. The visual rhetoric of the postmodern horror movie is also analyzed in relation to its value as a social text, specifically questioning the validity of the Final Girl as an archetype for feminine power. Slasher film critics such as Carol Clover, Daniel Linz, Edward Donnerstein, Fred Molitor and Barry Sapolsky disagree about whether or not slasher films are primarily misogynistic texts and if the most recent depictions of the Final Girl can be read as a step towards feminine empowerment. This article uses narrative theory to interrogate the construction and grammer of the slasher film, among other things, investigating who the male and female audiences are encouraged to identify with while watching.