Testing the satisficing version of the political business cycle 1905–1984

This paper develops a test of the satisficing version of the political business cycle. Previous tests have focused on maximizing models of political behavior and are not sufficiently general to test for satisficing behavior. Using annual U.S. data for the period 1905 to 1984, we find evidence supporting the satisficing version of the political business cycle model, but we reject the maximizing version. In accordance with the satisficing hypothesis, we find that increasing inflation or unemployment and decreasing monetary base growth in the third year of a presidential term are followed typically by reversals during the election year.We wish to thank Gordon Tullock and two anonymous referees for valuable comments.     

A research review of public figure threats, approaches, attacks, and assassinations in the United States

The authors review extant research on threats, approaches, attacks, and assassinations of public figures in the United States. Despite the limited number of studies, data exist concerning: 1) threatening letters and approaches to celebrities; 2) attacks and assassinations of public figures, usually the President of the United States; 3) threats and approaches to legislative members of state and federal governments; and 4) threats, approaches, and attacks against federal judicial officials. Similarities and differences across the various studies are discussed. Consistent findings across the studies indicate that direct threats toward the target are unusual and are often correlated negatively with an approach or attack; a significant proportion of subjects are mentally ill and have criminal histories; many subjects evidenced a downward spiral in their lives in the months or year before their approach or attack; and if an attack occurred, it was predatory (instrumental, premeditated) rather than affective (emotional, reactive), and the weapon of choice was a firearm, usually a handgun. Operational guidance and further research recommendations are made.     

Alcohol and drug use among rural and urban incarcerated substance abusers

A number of prisoners use drugs. Limited information is available about the extent to which urban and urban substance abusers differ in their drug use in criminal justice settings. In addition, many believe that rural areas are protected from drug use. However, findings from this study show only marginally statistical significant differences in drug use between incarcerated rural and urban drug users. It was expected that urban drug users would be more drug career involved with consistently higher levels of drug use and associated problems. Specifically, rural drug users in this study were older at age of first use of marijuana and cocaine; report fewer years of cocaine, hallucinogen, and heroin use; and report more alcohol and sedative use. Findings from this study suggest that rural and urban drug users are similar and that rural areas may be protective from some drug use but risky for other drug use.     

Healthcare organizations and the Internet: impact on federal tax exemption

Tax-exempt healthcare organizations have turned to the Internet as a powerful tool in communicating with the public, medical staff, and patients. Activities as diverse as providing links to the Web sites of other organizations, selling goods and services, soliciting contributions, and hosting forums on the Internet raise unresolved questions concerning the impact of Internet use on such organizations' tax-exempt status. The Internal Revenue Service has provided no guidance to date regarding the manner in which a nonprofit organizations' use of the Internet may affect its tax-exempt status or subject it to federal income tax on some sources of funds. This article suggests analytical approaches for applying existing law in the Internet context and identifies areas that are ripe for additional guidance.     

Methamphetamine use in nonurban and urban drug court clients

Population-based surveys suggest that methamphetamine use and abuse may be rising in the United States. However, little is known about methamphetamine use in eastern sections of the United States, particularly nonurban areas. The purpose of the present study was (a) to explore reported methamphetamine use and its correlates among Kentucky drug court clients and(b) to determine whether differences exist between methamphetamine users by drug court location. Of the 500 drug court clients surveyed, approximately 32% n=161) reported lifetime methamphetamine use. Methamphetamine users and nonusers differed in their drug-use profiles, self-reported criminal history, and number of criminal offenses. Nonurban and urban methamphetamine users differed in their drug-use profiles, psychological functioning, self-reported criminal history, and number of criminal offenses. These results suggest that differences exist between these populations and clinicians, and criminal justice officials may need to consider these differences when planning treatment and rehabilitation strategies.     

Filtration based DNA preparation for sexual assault cases

Police departments in the United States currently have as many as 500,000 unprocessed swabs taken from rape victims. The standard method for purifying sperm from these swabs is to resuspend first all cells and to digest selectively the excess of the victim's epithelial cells. The intact sperm are then separated from the contaminating solubilized DNA by centrifugation, careful removal of supernatant, and extensive washing of the sperm pellet, all steps that are difficult to automate. Vacuum driven filtration is an alternative method for separating sperm from digested epithelial cells that requires only pipetting steps and can be readily automated in a 96 well format. Sperm DNA is enriched 45-fold using this process and the yield of PCR ready DNA is roughly 20% of the amount originally present on the swab.     

Reliability of the Walker Cranial Nonmetric Method and Implications for Sex Estimation

The cranial trait scoring method presented in Buikstra and Ubelaker (Standards for data collection from human skeletal remains. Fayetteville, AR: Arkansas Archeological Survey Research Series No. 44, 1994) and Walker (Am J Phys Anthropol, 136, 2008 and 39) is the most common nonmetric cranial sex estimation method utilized by physical and forensic anthropologists. As such, the reliability and accuracy of the method is vital to ensure its validity in forensic applications. In this study, inter‐ and intra‐observer error rates for the Walker scoring method were calculated using a sample of U.S. White and Black individuals (n = 135). Cohen's weighted kappas, intraclass correlation coefficients, and percentage agreements indicate good agreement between trials and observers for all traits except the mental eminence. Slight disagreement in scoring, however, was found to impact sex classifications, leading to lower accuracy rates than those published by Walker. Furthermore, experience does appear to impact trait scoring and sex classification. The use of revised population‐specific equations that avoid the mental eminence is highly recommended to minimize the potential for misclassifications.     

Hydrocarbon and Fatty Acid Composition from Blowfly Eggs Represents a Potential Complementary Taxonomic Tool of Forensic Importance,

One of the most important contributions of forensic entomology is to assist criminal expertise to determine the postmortem interval, which depends on the duration of the immature stages of insects of forensic interest. On the other hand, the time of development of the different stages varies according to the species; therefore, its identification is essential. Currently, few studies have investigated the use of cuticular hydrocarbons, and none regarding fatty acids, as complementary taxonomic tools to expedite species identification. Therefore, we evaluated whether cuticular hydrocarbons together with fatty acids of eggs of flies of the family Calliphoridae, main group of forensic interest, can be used to distinguish species. The analyses were performed by chromatographic techniques. The results show that there are significant differences between the composition of cuticular hydrocarbons and fatty acids between species and, therefore, they can be used to provide a complementary taxonomic tool to expedite the forensic expertise.