“It’s Great When People Don’t Even Have Their Welfare Cases Opened”: TANF Diversion as Process and Lesson

The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) encouraged states to reduce welfare caseloads. Caseload reduction can be accomplished by promoting exit for work, marriage, or other private means of support and by diverting new applicants. Most research on caseload decline has focused on welfare‐to‐work outcomes; less is known about processes of diversion. This study employs administrative records and ethnographic data to examine diversion in West County, New York, from 1999 to 2003. Findings demonstrate a high level of diversion and suggest that application is an ongoing and at times remedial process rather than an event. Diversion occurs at all points of the expanded TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) intake process and is associated with one‐time lump sum payments as well as the hassle factor engendered by new eligibility requirements. The encumbered lives of applicants and TANF staff discretion are also implicated as factors contributing to diversion. We conclude with an analysis of the implications of TANF diversion for access to benefits.     

Computerized forensic assistance software (FAS 1.0) for training and standardized investigation in distributed and disconnected services

As part of a European union (EU) support program in forensic science for the Palestinian police, a forensic assistance software was designed to respect the quality management of the anti-terrorism laboratory of the Palestinian police by the different forensic teams in the disconnected Palestinian cities. This tool not only proposes up-to-date detection and identification protocols for traces, explosives, drugs, GSR, biological samples, but also appeared to be a convenient support for forensic practice teaching.     

Determination of cathinone,cathine and norephedrine in hair of Yemenite khat chewers

A sensitive and reproducible method for the quantitative determination of cathinone (CTN), norpseudoephedrine (NPE, cathine) and norephedrine (NE) from hair was developed. The compounds were extracted for 4 hours with phosphate buffer pH 2.0, followed by a standard solid phase extraction procedure on a mixed phase column, derivatization with heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA) and GC-MS separation and quantification using D(3)-ephedrine (D(3)-E) and alpha-aminoacetophenone (AAP) as the internal standards. The diastereomers NPE and NE were satisfactorily separated. In the validation, the limits of detection and of quantification were determined at 0.03-0.08 ng/mg and 0.10-0.24 ng/mg, respectively and the interday standard deviation was between 10 and 15%. The method was applied to hair samples of 24 Yemenite khat chewers. All three compounds were detected in 23 of these cases. The concentrations ranged from 0.57 to 23.9 ng/mg for NPE, 0.19-25.0 ng/mg for NE and 0.11-22.7ng/mg for CTN. A highly significant correlation was found between the self-reported data about the khat consumption habits of the volunteers (4-56h chewing per week) and the concentrations of norephedrine and norpseudoephedrine in hair.     

Deep incisional neck injuries caused by an electric knife

Electric knives, due to the double blades swinging in opposite directions, have a high injury potential. Tissues such as skin can be cut smoothly without cutting motion and with only little pressure. Authors report on the case of a woman of 47 years who cut herself deeply on both sides of her neck with an electric knife, slightly carving a notch into the larynx and a cervical vertebra and opening large blood vessels. With respect to the extent of injuries the capacity to act had to be questioned. However, considering the absence of venous air embolism and the peculiarity of the tool it had to be assumed that the capacity to act lasted for a short time.     

A Note on the Electoral Rules for the Welsh Assembly

A recent article in this journal highlights,using simulated data, potential paradoxes inherent in thesystem of election to the Welsh assembly. This paper examinesthe data for the assembly elections held in 1999 to illustratethe occurrence of yet another paradoxical outcome, theelection of the first ever First Minister due to a fall insupport for his own party.     

An Alternative Constitutional Treaty for the European Union

We propose an alternativeto the Constitutional Treaty drafted by theEuropean Convention. Our proposaleffectively limits the domain of governmentat the Union level. It takes the incentivesof the European public actors into account.We propose a second chamber of EuropeanParliament composed of delegates of theparliaments of the member states and asecond court composed of delegates of thehighest courts of the member states. Theseinstitutions will be the guardians of thesubsidiarity principle. The principle ofthe separation of powers is implemented byabolishing the Commission's monopoly oflegislative initiative and by curtailingthe Council's legislative role. Treatyamendments will not be drafted by aninter-governmental conference but by aninter-parliamentary conference. We proposeto change the method of financing andintroduce referenda.