The Psilocin (4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) and Bufotenine (5-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) Case: Ensuring the Correct Isomer has Been Identified

Psilocin (4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, 4-HO-DMT) and bufotenine (5-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, 5-HO-DMT), which are both naturally occurring compounds, are classified as controlled substances in numerous countries due to their pharmacological activities and recreational usage. There are two other benzene ring regioisomers, 6-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (6-HO-DMT) and 7-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (7-HO-DMT), which are not classified by name as controlled substances, and which were synthesized for this current work. The four isomers were analyzed using routine methodologies employed by the Israel's Police Division of Identification and Forensic Science (DIFS) Laboratory, namely thin layer chromatography (TLC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). It was found possible to differentiate the four isomers. Forensic specimens that were suspected to be psilocybe mushrooms were examined, confirming that it is now possible to unequivocally identify the presence of psilocin and rule out the presence of its other isomers.     

Procedural Change in the UK House of Commons, 1811–2015

Recent research has shown an increasing interest in the historical evolution of legislative institutions. The development of the UK Parliament has received particularly extensive attention. In this article, we contribute to this literature in three important ways. First, we introduce a complete, machine-readable data set of all the Standing Orders of the UK House of Commons between 1811 and 2015. Second, we demonstrate how this data set can be used to construct innovative measures of procedural change. Third, we illustrate a potential empirical application of the data set, offering an exploratory test of several expectations drawn from recent theories of formal rule change in parliamentary democracies. We conclude that the new data set has the potential to substantially advance our understanding of legislative reforms in the United Kingdom and beyond.     

Doing Harm While Doing Good: The Child Protection Paradox

Every Australian citizen expects state and territory governments to protect children from child abuse and neglect. Protecting children from harm is seen as good. This however is not a simple matter. The ultimate act in protecting children is to remove them from parental care. This causes trauma for the child and pain and distress for parents no matter how inadequately they may have been caring for their children. In that respect removing a child from parental care does harm to parents and children. This article explores the paradox of doing harm while doing good. The article has an Australian focus but the authors think that this issue affects child protection services in many countries.     

Is Inspiring Group Members an Effective Predictor of Social Dominance in Early Adolescence? Direct and Moderated Effects of Behavioral Strategies,Social Skills,and Gender on Resource Control and Popularity

Dominance in the peer group is important for adolescents. Resource Control Theory posits that both coercive and prosocial (positively assertive) strategies are associated with dominance. Combining Resource Control Theory with Socioanalytic Theory on personality, we hypothesized that inspiring group members would be an additional effective strategy. This study examined whether the three behavioral strategies and two types of social skills (social competence and manipulation) predicted dominance (resource control and popularity). Participants were 619 Dutch adolescents (M_age?=?13.1; 47% female) in the first grade of secondary school. They completed peer reports (behavioral strategies and dominance) and self-reports (social skills). Only inspirational and coercive strategies substantially predicted dominance. Main effects of social skills emerged. Moderation between strategies and social skills was only observed for girls (e.g., coercive strategy use was associated with more popularity for girls with higher levels of social manipulation skills). This study furthered our understanding of the predictors of dominance in adolescence by including inspirational behavior and examining prosocial and antisocial skills.     

Candidate Choice Without Party Labels:

In the absence of party labels, voters must use other information to determine whom to support. The institution of nonpartisan elections, therefore, may impact voter choice by increasing the weight that voters place on candidate dimensions other than partisanship. We hypothesize that in nonpartisan elections, voters will exhibit a stronger preference for candidates with greater career and political experience, as well as candidates who can successfully signal partisan or ideological affiliation without directly using labels. To test these hypotheses, we conducted conjoint survey experiments on both nationally representative and convenience samples that vary the presence or absence of partisan information. The primary result of these experiments indicates that when voters cannot rely on party labels, they give greater weight to candidate experience. We find that this process unfolds differently for respondents of different partisan affiliations: Republicans respond to the removal of partisan information by giving greater weight to job experience while Democrats respond by giving greater weight to political experience. Our results lend microfoundational support to the notion that partisan information can crowd out other kinds of candidate information.     

Relationships Between Level and Change in Family,School, and Peer Factors During Two Periods of Adolescence and Problem Behavior at Age 19

While prior research has examined family, school, and peer factors as potential predictors of problem behavior, less attention has been given to studying when these factors are most predictive of problems and if and when changes in these factors signal risk. Using annual data on a community sample of 1,040 individuals (47% female; 81% White), this study models growth in risk and protective factors during two developmental periods (Grades 5–8 and Grades 9–12) in order to predict substance misuse and crime at age 19. For protective factors of positive relationships with family and positive bonds to school, both the levels of these factors at Grade 5 and change between Grade 5 and Grade 8 predicted substance misuse and crime in early adulthood. Higher likelihoods of both forms of problem behavior also were predicted by increases in the risk factor of exposure to negative peers between 5th and 8th grade. In the late adolescent period, levels at 9th grade of all risk and protective factors examined predicted both substance misuse and crime. Also, increases in exposure to negative peers in late adolescence predicted greater likelihoods of both forms of problem behavior, while greater risk of substance misuse was predicted by decreases in school bonding and academic achievement, and greater risk of crime was predicted by worsening relationships with family. The results add to prior research by indicating that in addition to the level, change in risk and protective factors during these two stages of development can be signals of risk and are promising targets for intervention.     

Unpacking a Wicked Problem: Enablers/Impediments to Regional Engagement

A case study approach is applied to review Local Government Authorities (LGA) regional engagement in the Australian context. We address the question ‘What are the key LGA enablers/impediments to regional engagement?’ by applying Leydesdorff's (2000) proposition that triple helix type network systems exhibit patterns of complex behaviour if the interaction factors that trigger enablers are reflexively declared. The three strands of the LGA triple helix network system are institutions, industry and government. In this case study the LGA's overall management of its regional stakeholder relationships resulted in impediments that limit strong regional engagement. Importantly, the findings inform practitioners, policy‐makers and research audiences of the nature of impediments and, by inference, the nature of enablers in LGA triple helix network systems.     

A Trojan Horse? Unionism, Trust and Truth-telling in Northern Ireland

The aim of this article is to examine the relationship betweentrust, testimony and truth recovery processes as part of post-conflicttransition. The paper uses the case study of unionist attitudestoward a community-based truth-telling project in Northern Irelandto demonstrate the impact an absence of trust can have uponwhat the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur has described as the‘space of controversy’ that emerges between the‘certification’ and the ‘accreditation’of testimony. The paper suggests such distrust is a legacy,not only of conflict, but also of the particular circumstancesof transition and the specific mechanisms of truth recoveryadopted. Ultimately the paper argues for a holistic, community-centredapproach towards truth-telling and raises issues relevant toother violently divided societies undergoing transition andgrappling with ways in which to deal with the legacy of politicalconflict.     

Limits to deep integration: Canada between the EU and the US1

Abstract

Twenty-five years ago, as preferential trade agreements started to proliferate, Jagdish Bhagwati sounded the ‘spaghetti bowl’ alarm, arguing that the ensuing complexity would create inefficiencies in the international system and challenges for firms navigating overlapping rules. This article seeks to update and complement Bhagwati’s thesis by asking if proliferating ‘deep’ trade agreements add a new dimension of complexity to this picture. This article shows that the early answer to this question is ‘not yet’, as governments have discovered that prospective conflicts with existing or simultaneous commitments limit just how deep the provisions of an agreement can be. Governments managing multiple deep agreements play a variation on Putnam’s two-level game. As Putnam theorized, these governments reconcile domestic interests with international opportunities in formulating their strategies. However, ensuring compatibility across various, sometimes competing international opportunities is also a key consideration. Canada’s concurrent participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Canada–European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) provides a crucial exploratory case study.