Roadside oral fluid testing: comparison of the results of drugwipe 5 and drugwipe benzodiazepines on-site tests with laboratory confirmation results of oral fluid and whole blood

Drugged drivers pose a serious threat to other people in traffic as well as to themselves. Reliable oral fluid screening devices for on-site screening of drugged drivers would be both a useful and convenient means for traffic control. In this study we evaluated the appropriateness of Drugwipe 5 and Drugwipe Benzodiazepines oral fluid on-site tests for roadside drug screening. Drivers suspected of driving under the influence of drugs were screened with the Drugwipe tests. Oral fluid and whole blood samples were collected from the drivers and tested for amphetamine-type stimulant drugs, cannabis, opiates, cocaine and benzodiazepines by immunological methods, GC and GC-MS. The performance evaluations of the tests were made by comparing the results of the Drugwipe tests with laboratory GC-MS confirmation results of oral fluid or whole blood. In addition to the performance evaluations of the Drugwipe tests based on laboratory results, a questionnaire on the practical aspects of the tests was written for the police officers who performed the tests. The aim of the questionnaire was to obtain user comments on the practicality of the tests as well as the advantages and weak points of the tests. The results of the performance evaluations were: for oral fluid (sensitivity; specificity; accuracy) amphetamines (95.5%; 92.9%; 95.3%), cannabis (52.2%; 91.2%; 85.1%), cocaine (50.0%; 99.3%; 98.6%), opiates (100%; 95.8%; 95.9%), benzodiazepines (74.4%; 84.2%; 79.2%) and for whole blood accordingly, amphetamines (97.7%; 86.7%; 95.9%), cannabis (68.3%; 87.9%; 84.9%), cocaine (50.0%; 98.5%; 97.7%), opiates (87.5%; 96.9%; 96.6%) and benzodiazepines (66.7%; 87.0%; 74.4%). Although the Drugwipe 5 successfully detected amphetamine-type stimulant drugs and the police officers were quite pleased with the current features of the Drugwipe tests, improvements must still be made regarding the detection of cannabis and benzodiazepines.     

Predatory bidding in competitive tenders: A Swedish case study

Public procurement by competitive tendering is an important part of European policies to encourage competition in network industries previously dominated by public companies. In recent years, the appearance of very low bids has become an issue in several countries. We discuss predatory bidding from a theoretical, practical and legislative point of view. A case of tendering for train services in Sweden is used to illustrate the possibilities to detect an abnormally low bid. An analysis of projected costs and revenues is complemented with a method using historical data on previous tenders. One conclusion is that there is scope for reform in national competition policies in European Union member states concerning multinational enterprises participating in local tenders. JEL Classification K21 · K23 · L12 · L43 · L92     

Pro-bullying attitudes among incarcerated juvenile delinquents: Antisocial behavior,psychopathic tendencies and violent crime

The objective was to evaluate a new scale aimed at assessing antisocial attitudes, the Pro-bullying Attitude Scale (PAS), on a group of 259 voluntarily-recruited male juvenile delinquents from a juvenile correctional institution in Arkhangelsk, North-western Russia. Exploratory factor analysis gave a two-factor solution: Factor 1 denoted Callous/Dominance and Factor 2 denoted Manipulativeness/Impulsiveness. Subjects with complete data on PAS and Childhood Psychopathy Scale (CPS) (n = 171) were divided into extreme groups (first and fourth quartiles) according to their total scores on PAS and the two factor scores, respectively. The extreme groups of total PAS and PAS Factor 1 differed in CPS ratings and in violent behavior as assessed by the Antisocial Behavior Checklist (ABC). They also differed in the personality dimension Harm Avoidance as measured by use of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and in delinquent and aggressive behavior as assessed by the Youth Self Report (YSR). The extreme groups of PAS Factor 2, in turn, differed in aggressive behavior as assessed by the YSR, and in the TCI scale Self-Directedness. When PAS was used as a continuous variable, total PAS and PAS Factor 1 (Callous/Dominance) were significantly positively related to registered violent crime. The possible usefulness of PAS in identifying high-risk individuals for bullying tendencies among incarcerated delinquents is discussed.     

When good news is scarce and bad news is good: Government responsibilities and opposition possibilities in political agenda‐setting

Recent studies have drawn attention to the political contingencies of the media's political agenda‐setting influence, finding, for instance, that issues from the media agenda are more likely to attract attention if a party enjoys ownership of the issue. Supplementing the debate on why political parties respond to news, it is argued in this article that ownership is only part of the picture and that policy responsibility, together with news tone, constitutes a stronger explanation of news politicisation. Opposition parties respond to bad news because they reflect negative developments in social problems for which the government could be held responsible. The government responds to good news that reflects positive developments in social problems because this could politicise policy success, but is also forced to react when news explicitly address government responsibility and thereby threatens its image as responsive and competent. Furthermore, it is shown that news tone and policy responsibility condition the incentive to politicise owned issues from the media agenda. Thus, opposition parties will not politicise owned issues when news is good because this could draw attention to government success, while government is unable and unwilling to prioritise owned issues when news is bad and instead is likely to make use of its ownership strengths when news is good and the pressure to respond is low. The arguments are tested on a large‐N sample of radio news stories from Denmark (2003–2004). Opposition response is measured through parliamentary questions spurred by the news stories, while government response is indicated by references to these stories in the prime minister's weekly press meeting. Results confirm the expectations, suggesting that parties care more about the tone of news stories and the type of attention they might produce, rather than what type of issues they could serve to politicise.     

Nordic Cultural Baselines: Accounting for Domestic Convergence and Foreign Policy Divergence

The five Nordic countries converged remarkably when developing domestic institutions, but they diverged significantly when developing foreign policies. Grid-group theory prescribes four contending cultures—hierarchy, egalitarianism, individualism, and fatalism—and offers a basis for understanding the structure of political coalitions and conflicts. Surveys from the five Nordic countries measuring cultural baselines are used to estimate the degree of convergence and divergence. The countries converge with reference to high agreement with egalitarianism, individualism, and hierarchy, and disagreement with fatalism. This concords with the historically strong regime of social democracy in this region. The five countries diverge with reference to their foreign policy in that they polarize along two dimensions. To the east, there is increasing fatalism associated with countries not being members of NATO; to the north, there is increasing egalitarianism associated with countries not being members of the European Union. Given the importance of popular support through referenda, an eventual accession of Norway and Iceland to the EU cannot happen unless egalitarianism diminishes among their publics.     

Schizophrenia and violent crime: the experience of parents

Individuals with schizophrenia have an increased risk of committing a violent crime, although their contribution to the overall criminality in society is small. In this qualitative study we have interviewed parents of adult sons, diagnosed with schizophrenia and who recently had been referred to forensic psychiatric treatment due to a violent crime, with an aim to explore the parents' experiences and emotional reactions. Four events, or status passages, emerged as crucial and common for all parents. These were the onset of the mental disorder, the diagnosis of schizophrenia, the violent behaviour/criminality and the recent referral to forensic psychiatric treatment. Every passage evoked strong emotional reactions such as guilt, fear, disappointment, anger and relief, which in return led to different actions taken. Unawareness of the character and severity of their sons' mental illness and the type of violent criminality they had committed were common and complicated contacts both between the parents and their sons, and also between family members and official authorities. The findings emphasize that psychiatric health care professionals must take the initiative and responsibility for information, education and support of family members.     

EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATIONS: APPLICATIONS TO CUSTODY AND PARENTING TIME CASES PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION IN HENNEPIN COUNTY,MINNESOTA

A program to apply Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE), a confidential, settlement‐oriented and accelerated alternative dispute resolution technique, to child custody and parenting time cases has been cooperatively developed by Hennepin county Family Court Services and the Minnesota Fourth Judicial District Family Court. Parties are referred by the court to a male/female team of experienced neutral evaluators for early feedback on the probable outcome of a full evaluation and an opportunity to negotiate a settlement. It has proven to be a highly successful program in its first 2 years, with the majority of cases reaching an early settlement. The ENE program reduces the stress and expense of custody disputes for clients, expedites judicial case management, maximizes Family Court Services staff efficiency, and focuses subsequent evaluations on critical issues.