The State of U.S. Federalism: 1998-1999

In 1998–1999, changing federalism in the United Statesmeant that states have greater discretion in some areas of socialpolicy while Congress has asserted greater influence over issuesof culture and crime. Despite the rhetoric about decisions beingbest made by states and localities, Congress continues to takeon new areas, such as health privacy. In the meantime, the U.S.Supreme Court's sustained focus on issues of federalism intensified,with states' rights continuing to receive emphasis, even thoughthe Court upheld federal power in selected cases and refusedto sanction state actions in others.     

A Social Process Model of Adolescent Deviance: Combining Social Control and Differential Association Perspectives

This paper examines social factors associated with changes in 2 forms of adolescent deviance, substance use and delinquency. Using longitudinal data, the research evaluates a model that combines ideas from 2 sociological explanations of crime. The model specifies 2 processes by which conventional social bonds reduce adolescent deviance over time: Strong social bonds indirectly reduce deviance by decreasing associations with deviant peers and by decreasing susceptibility to the negative influences of peers. The results of path analyses, using measures of peer deviance that are based on actual responses from the adolescents' close friends, support the conceptual model. Deviant friendships and susceptibility linked social bonds to both forms of problem behavior. Bonds were more consistently related to friends' substance use than to friends' delinquency. Supplementary analyses within gender subgroups indicate that the deviance of males was more strongly affected by the actions of friends than was deviance of females.     

Reviews

Michael Mandelbaum (ed.), Post‐Communism: Four Perspectives. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 1996, vi + 208 pp.

Raymond Taras, Consolidating Democracy in Poland. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996, xii + 276 pp., £44.50 h/b, £13.50 p/b.

Jane Leftwich Curry & Luba Fajfer (eds), Poland's Permanent Revolution: People vs. Elites, 1956–1990. Lanham: American University Press, 1995, x + 294 pp., $64.50 h/b, $27.50 p/b.

Ben Slay (ed.), De‐monopolization and Competition Policy in Post‐Communist Economies. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996, ix + 245 pp.

Éva Ehrlich & Gabor Révész, Hungary and its Prospects, 1985–2005. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1995, 166 pp., $29.00.

Simon Clarke (ed.), Conflict and Change in the Russian Industrial Enterprise. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 1996, ix + 298 pp., £45.00.

Maurice Ernst, Michael Alexeev & Paul Marer, Transforming the Core: Restructuring Industrial Enterprises in Russia and Central Europe. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996, xx + 315 pp., £13.50.

John S. Strong & John R. Meyer, Moving to Market: Restructuring Transport in the Former Soviet Union. London: Harvard University Press, 1996, ix + 237 pp, £19.95.

Raymond J. Struyk (ed.), Economic Restructuring of the Former Soviet Bloc. The Case of Housing. Washington: The Urban Institute Press, 1996, xviii + 373 pp., £51.95 h/b, £22.95 p/b.

Istvan Pogany (ed.), Human Rights in Eastern Europe. Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1995, xv + 255 pp., £39.95.

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Nancy Condee (ed.), Soviet Hieroglyphics: Visual Culture in Late Twentieth‐Century Russia. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1995, xxv + 179 pp., £14.99.     

Lifting the cover on drug courts: evaluation findings and policy concerns

Drug treatment courts emerged in 1989 as a court-based solution to an enormous increase of drug-related arrests. Since their inception, drug treatment courts have been subject to empirical and process evaluations to provide quantitative and qualitative data regarding their effectiveness. This article reviews the extant literature on the effectiveness of drug treatment courts and discusses findings regarding various components of the criminal justice system. It is argued that based on empirical evaluation findings, drug treatment courts have achieved success in lowering rates of recidivism among drug offenders, despite problematic methodological and analytical concerns. This article also presents key components and agents of drug treatment courts and discusses their impact and relevance to policy creation and adaptation. It is suggested that when combined with empirical evaluations, process evaluations provide great insight into the drug-treatment-court dynamic. This article concludes with a discussion of the implications of drug treatment courts for justice policy.     

Unexpected Human Fatality Associated with Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Heat Treatment

Thermal insect treatments can be an effective method of controlling cryptic insect pests, particularly bed bugs, in residential settings. The treatments require high heat over a sustained timeframe. Residents are not present during treatment but return after completion. An unexpected death was investigated following heat treatment for bed bugs in the home of an elderly female, found with a postmortem axillary temperature of 106.2°F (41.2°C) approximately 8 h after returning home. The cause of death was classified as hyperthermia with a contributory cause of hypertensive cardiovascular disease. The manner of death was an accident. The decedent had medical history and medications that could have impaired her ability to dissipate heat. Furthermore, the air conditioning inside the residence was not functional following treatment. Recommendations including education regarding heat stroke and treatment, re‐entry timeframes, and/or temperature thresholds are suggested to reduce the risk of heat‐related injury or death in vulnerable populations.