A rapid technique for preparation of human fetal and adult skeletal material.

The techniques described above have been found to provide a rapid method of human skeletal preparation, with advantages of speed and applicability to fresh, fixed, or partially decomposed skeletal materials. While other techniques which can be used include the traditional use of Dermestidae beetle colonies, a five-step anatomical procedure, and other combinations of chemical solvents, the antiformin technique appears to have advantages useful to those involved in forensic medicine.     

Scale 8 Elevations on the MMPI-2 among Women Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Evaluating Posttraumatic Stress, Depression, and Dissociation as Predictors

This paper investigated elevations on Scale 8 of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) in women survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in order to assess whether symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, or dissociation account for such elevations. Participants were 73 women seeking outpatient treatment for CSA after-effects at a university-based community mental health center. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted, including measures of commonly reported symptoms in CSA survivors: depression, posttraumatic stress, and dissociation. Regression analyses revealed that the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) accounted for the most variance in Scale 8 scores (59%), with the BDI as the best predictor. The Impact of Event Scale (IES) did not predict Scale 8 scores significantly above that achieved by the model above. Cross-validation results indicated good generalizability. Results suggest that depression and dissociation contribute most to scores on Scale 8. Implications of these findings for the clinical and empirical use of the MMPI-2 with CSA survivors are discussed.     

Scaling Down: The Subnational Comparative Method

Subnational units of analysis play an increasingly important role in comparative politics. Although many recent studies of topics such as ethnic conflict, economic policy reform, and democratization rely on comparisons across subnational political units, insufficient attention has been devoted to the methodological issues that arise in the comparative analysis of these units. To help fill this gap, this article explores how subnational comparisons can expand and strengthen the methodological repertoire available to social science researchers. First, because a focus on subnational units is an important tool for increasing the number of observations and for making controlled comparisons, it helps mitigate some of the characteristic limitations of a small-N research design. Second, a focus on subnational units strengthens the capacity of comparativists to accurately code cases and thus make valid causal inferences. Finally, subnational comparisons better equip researchers to handle the spatially uneven nature of major processes of political and economic transformation. Richard Snyder is assistant professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the author ofPolitics after Neoliberalism (2001). His articles on regime change and the political economy of development have appeared inWorld Politics, Comparative Politics, Journal of Democracy, andBritish Journal of Political Science. I appreciate helpful comments on this material from Nancy Bermeo, Dexter Boniface, David Collier, John Gerring, Edward Gibson, Robert Kaufman, Juan Linz, James Mahoney, Kelly McMann, Gerardo Munck, Peter Nardulli, David Samuels, Judith Tendler, and two anonymous reviewers. I also benefited greatly from the insightful comments on an earlier draft provided by the participants in the conference on “Regimes and Political Change in Latin America,” held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in August 1999.     

Assertions of “Future Dangerousness” at Federal Capital Sentencing: Rates and Correlates of Subsequent Prison Misconduct and Violence

The federal prison disciplinary records of federal capital inmates (n=145) who were sentenced to life without possibility of release (LWOP) by plea bargain, pre-sentencing withdrawal of the death penalty, or jury determination were retrospectively reviewed (M=6.17 years post-admission). Disaggregated prevalence rates were inversely related to infraction severity: serious infraction =0.324, assaultive infraction =0.207, serious assault =0.09, assault with moderate injury =0.007, assault with major injuries or death =0.00. Frequency rates of misconduct were equivalent to other high-security federal inmates (n=18,561), regardless of infraction severity. Government assertions of "future dangerousness" as a nonstatutory aggravating factor were not predictive of prison misconduct. These findings inform federal capital risk assessments and have public policy implications for procedural reliability in death penalty prosecutions.