Rural Senegalese Perceptions of Environmental Quality

Differences in environmental perspectives between advanced industrial and developing country nationals has both practical and policy implications for the transfer of environmentally sound technologies. This paper characterizes rural Senegalese environmental perspectives in the context of competing environmental paradigms and of their historical development. Methodological issues concerning the adaptation of items from the Health of the Planet Survey (HOPS) questionnaire (Dunlap, Gallup, and Gallup, 1993) to rural Senegal are discussed and qualitative survey results presented. Based on a stratified national sample of rural Senegalese men and women, a quantitative analysis addresses the priority concerns of rural Senegalese men and women and how they perceive the trade off between environmental protection and economic development. The paper concludes that attempts to draw valid conclusions concerning comparisons between the environmental perspectives of the publics of advanced industrial and low income developing countries must take local conditions, their historical dynamics and cultural expressions into account.     

Systemwide effects of Medicaid retrospective drug utilization review programs

Aggregate pooled cross-sectional and time-series annual state data for 1985 to 1992 were used to estimate the systemwide effects of retrospective drug utilization review programs (Retro-DUR) on Medicaid drug and nondrug outcomes. The results provide evidence that these programs produce significant cost savings in the drug budget without spillover effects (positive or negative) in other nondrug budgets within the Medicaid system. We also examine the influence of restricted formularies in this post-Retro-DUR era on drug and nondrug budgets in the Medicaid system; we find significant cost savings in the former but positive spillover effects in the latter.     

The detection of cocaine in hair specimens using micro-plate enzyme immunoassay.

The analysis of hair for drugs of abuse is becoming increasingly popular and is under consideration by the Division of Health and Human Services as a possible alternative or adjunct to urinalysis in workplace programs. The detection of cocaine in human hair using a commercially available micro-plate enzyme immunoassay is described for the first time. Sample size and incubation time were the major variables in the optimization of the method. In order to validate the procedure, the method was applied to 105 consecutive hair samples routinely received into our laboratory. The samples were simultaneously analyzed by the Micro-Plate immunoassay (EIA), as well as our current fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) procedure and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The sensitivity of the EIA and FPIA assays were 75% and 67.8% respectively; specificity 97.4% and 80.5% respectively; and efficiency 91.4 and 77.1% respectively. The Micro-Plate EIA was shown to be a valid alternative to other immunoassay screening methods for the detection of cocaine in hair by demonstrating increased sensitivity, specificity and efficiency over our current technique.     

Alternative Models of the Future of Negotiation Research

In January of 1999, leading negotiation scholars and practitioners gatheredat Northwestern University for a conference sponsored by the HewlettFoundation. Here, we chronicle a conversation that occurred regardingnegotiation research. Our diverse group consisted of people with backgroundsin social psychology, anthropology, sociology, and clinical practice.We discussed issues surrounding where research takes place (in the lab orin the field), experimental participants (students or practicing professionals),and the ultimate value of research.     

The detection of cotinine in hydrolyzed meconium samples.

To date, the screening of meconium for the determination of tobacco exposure in newborns has proven difficult. It was hypothesized that cotinine forms reversible Schiff base bonds with free amino functions on proteins, therefore, hydrolysis of meconium would be necessary for the detection of 'free' cotinine. One-hundred-and-two (102) meconium samples received into our laboratory were extracted using a routine non-hydrolysis screening procedure for drugs of abuse. Separate aliquots of the specimens were hydrolyzed and re-extracted according to the same procedure. The results of the two methods were compared using a highly specific cotinine micro-plate enzyme immunoassay procedure (EIA). Of the non-hydrolyzed samples, 33% were positive for cotinine, while 79% of the hydrolyzed samples were cotinine-positive. Common drugs of abuse did not interfere with the analysis. Micro-plate EIA provides a rapid, simple and reliable screening method for the determination of cotinine in meconium following hydrolysis and extraction. In general, the meconium specimens received into our laboratory are from newborns considered to be at risk for post-natal problems due to suspected drug and/or alcohol abuse during pregnancy.