Correlates of subjective stress among drug court clients

Psychosocial stress is consistently found to promote initiation, intensification, and relapse in drug abuse. It would, therefore, be desirable to identify characteristics of offenders who are at heightened risk for stress-induced exacerbations of addictive behavior. In this cross-sectional, correlational, interview study, 500 clients of two Kentucky drug courts averaged 30 years of age and were predominantly male, White, employed, high school educated, single, and adjudicated in small- and medium-size cities. Five independent correlates of greater subjective stress emerged in stepwise multiple regression analysis (R2 = .395): use of escape-avoidance coping, positive reappraisal coping (inversely associated), more negative life events, better self-rated health (inversely associated), and access to social support related to work problems (inversely associated). Treatment interventions emphasizing effective coping styles and building of social support as well as managing of negative life events and perceptions of health may serve to lessen subjective stress and its consequences in drug-abusing criminal populations.     

Fatal intoxication with amisulpride and presentation of organ distribution

Amisulpride is a substituted benzamide used as an atypical antipsychotic drug. It antagonizes dopamine D2 and D3 receptor-mediated effects with greater affinity for the limbic system suggesting better neurological tolerance than classical neuroleptics. However, occasionally amisulpride intoxications associated with seizures, comatose conditions and agitation, hyperthermia, tachycardia, prolongation of the QT interval and extrapyramidal features have been described. A 27-year-old female with a medical history of psychosis and amisulpride therapy was found dead at home. By means of high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS) an amisulpride concentration of 13.4 mg/l was found in the peripheral blood. A lower concentration in the brain and an extremely high concentration in bile can be explained by the polarity and hydrophobic character of the substance. After macroscopic and histological exclusion of other causes of death the results of the toxicological analysis were consistent with the assumption of a fatal amisulpride overdose.     

Determinants of states' allocations of the master settlement agreement payments

To determine which factors influence states' allocation decisions for the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement and the four individual settlements' annual payments, including the decision to securitize, we analyzed the effects of voter characteristics, political parties, interest groups, prior spending on public tobacco control programs, and state fiscal health on per capita settlement funds allocated to tobacco-control, health, and other programs. Tobacco-producing states and those with high proportions of conservative Democrats or elderly, black, Hispanic, or wealthy people tended to spend less on tobacco control. Education and medical lobbies had strong positive influences on per capita allocations for tobacco-control and health-related programs. State fiscal crises affected amounts spent by states from settlement funds as well as the probability of securitizing future cash flows from the settlements.     

Two cases of suicidal electrocution

Two cases of suicidal electrocution are presented: one using a household lamp, the other using a homemade electrocution machine. The mechanisms of death and the histologic changes in electrocution are discussed.     

Gender trouble in paradise

Berliner Journal für Soziologie - Die Untersuchung setzt sich kritisch mit der in der geschlechterbezogenen Stadtforschung verbreiteten Betrachtung von Suburbia als der antifeministischen...     

The Effect of Voting Technology on Voter Turnout: Do Computers Scare the Elderly?

In the aftermath of the Florida debacle in the 2000 Presidential election, there has been an emphasis on replacing voting equipment perceived as inferior (e.g., punch card ballots) with more technologically advanced voting methods. It is possible, however, that not all voters will be comfortable with high-tech voting devices. Elderly voters, for example, might be familiar with the old voting machines but apprehensive about computerized voting. If this is the case, the fear of new voting technology might cause the turnout of elderly voters to decrease. We test for this effect by analyzing the change in voter turnout across Georgia counties in the two most recent gubernatorial elections, as it relates to the share of the counties’ populations that is over the age of 65 years. Consistent with the hypothesis that computers scare the elderly, we find a significantly negative relationship between the change in voter turnout and the elderly share of the population. An additional 1% of the population that is elderly is associated with a 0.3–0.4% decrease in turnout. The hypothesis that elderly voters were apprehensive about the change in voting technology is also supported by the increase in absentee balloting.     

Milton's Case for a Free Commonwealth

This article will examine the development of John Milton's arguments for democracy as against monarchy and other sorts of autocratic rule. These arguments are interesting both in their own right and insofar as they shed light on historiographical debates concerning the classical republican tradition. Milton is shown to hold a negative conception of liberty, as opposed to a positive or participatory conception, which lends support to the neo-roman interpretation of that tradition, associated with Quentin Skinner and Philip Pettit. However, it is further shown that Sinner and Pettit misunderstand the classical republicans' case for democracy, attributing to them a conceptual argument in place of an empirical one. A better understanding of Milton's political theory contributes to a better understanding of this dilemma, and perhaps suggests a solution.