A research note: the outcome of GC/MS/MS confirmation of hair assays on 93 cannabinoid (+) cases

This article reports the outcome of gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry confirmations for THC and carboxy-THC on 93 hair samples screened by RIA for cannabinoids. The samples were taken from probationers in Pinellas County, FL, who voluntarily provided the research staff with six hair and six urine specimens, collected at 1-month intervals. There were 40 samples that were RIA (+), urinalysis (−). Samples were selected which had cannabinoid (+) outcomes for hair, urine, or both. The THC and/or the carboxy-THC was (+) on confirmation. Of these 40 samples, 22 were (+) for both THC and carboxy-THC, 15 were (+) for THC but not carboxy-THC, and three were carboxy THC (+), but THC (−). Only one sample had a (+) RIA, but was (−) for both THC and carboxy-THC on confirmation. RIA detection of cannabinoids was confirmed in nearly all cases. Most cases that were RIA (−) but urine (+) were cannabinoid (+) when analyzed by GC/MS/MS.     

Bureaucratic Roles: Political Loyalty and Professional Autonomy*

Political leaders in many countries have experienced growing problems of capacity in the postwar period, a development leading to an increase in the delegation of authority to public administration and civil servants. This delegation of authority creates a significant potential for discretionary decision-making authority on the part of public bureaucrats. One way of studying how bureaucrats handle this situation is to focus upon bureaucratic roles. Bureaucratic roles traditionally contain both political and professional norms. This article discusses how these political and professional considerations can be defined and how these norms are balanced given the potential for conflict which is present. The discussion is illustrated by measuring the perception of bureaucratic norms and role enactment among civil servants in Norwegian ministries. Results indicate that civil servants appear to have few problems in attending to and balancing both political and professional role norms.     

亚洲经济展望：一个正待复苏的区域

越来越多的迹象表明全球性的经济萧条很可能行将结束。亚州经济正在为复苏做好准备。一些重要数据显示该区域贸易量迅速回升,有望再度借助出口步出困境。     

Distinguishing Absentee Students from Regular Attenders: The Combined Influence of Personal,Family, and School Factors

In the present study, the relationship between student attendance and personal characteristics of the student, the student's family relations, and school variables were examined in a sample of 54 high school students. Consistent with earlier reports, t-tests revealed statistically significant relationships between school absence and many student, family, and school variables. The data were also analyzed using a stepwise discriminant analysis. The results showed that the absentee and regular attending students could be distinguished based on a combined set of 6 variables representing each of the three domains of student, family, and school characteristics. The results further revealed that several variables that were statistically significant in the univariate analyses failed to be retained in the discriminant analysis, suggesting that these variables did not contribute sufficient unique variance to warrant their inclusion in the discriminant function. The implications of school absence as a multifactored problem is discussed with respect to assessment and treatment effectiveness.     

Fact or artifact revisited: Survey instrument effects and pocketbook politics

Sears and Lau (1983) presented evidence that apparent self-interest effects can be, and have been, generated in political surveys by question order artifacts. This evidence was based in part on a tabulation of published reports of self-interest effects in the NES series, specifically on the political effects of personal financial situation. From another analysis of the NES data, Lewis-Beck (1985) concluded, to the contrary, that personal finances have in fact had a consistent effect on voting preferences, without significant contamination from such artifacts. We here argue that his analysis inappropriately defines the conditions for possible contamination. We first lay out a theory of when such contamination effects might occur. We then repeat our analysis, taking into consideration both his observations and our own reappraisal of our procedures. We obtain results consistent with our original position, although the results are confounded by different types of questions appearing disproportionately in contaminated and uncontaminated conditions. However, the 1984 election appears to be a special case, in which self-interest effects were strong and relatively uncontaminated. We then report a split ballot experiment that is not confounded by item content, and find results consistent with our original position. However this methodological debate may be resolved, on the larger question of whether people's economic self-interest has major political implications, the evidence seems clear. In cases not contaminated by item order, which we would take to be the most appropriate test of self-interest effects, personal finances have on the average had only a small effect on political responses.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1989 annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago. Address all correspondence before June 30 to Richard R. Lau, Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213; after July 1 address correspondence to Richard R. Lau, Department of Political Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.     

The hometown advantage: Mobilization or conversion?

A number of scholars, beginning with Key (1949), have documented the existence of friends and neighbors voting. In this paper we carry the investigation further, examining how the hometown advantage is constructed. A review of 1982 gubernatorial data suggests that the hometown edge is often a product of two forces: new voters being mobilized in support of the local candidate, and regular voters traditionally loyal to candidates from another party being converted to cast ballots for the hometown hopeful.     

The “impulsivity index”: Its application to juvenile delinquency

An objective, composite index of impulsivity, made up of three measures of reactivity to color on the Rorschach and amount of discrepancy between performance and verbal IQ on the Wechsler Scales, is proposed. It was predicted that impulsiveness as measured by this index would be associated with self-perception of impulsivity. Moreover, it was predicted that impulsiveness, whether objectively or subjectively measured, would tend to be associated with a history of greater and more frequent delinquency. The major hypotheses were confirmed. In addition, the data suggested that delinquents from higher socioeconomic levels may be more impulsive than their lower class counterparts. Additional work on refining and validating the impulsivity index is indicated.This work has been supported by Grant No. A70-15 from the Illinois Law Enforcement Commission.Currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Human Development at the University of Chicago. Major research interest is in cognitive development during adolescence.Received M.D. from the University of Chicago. Major research interests are the developmental psychology of adolescence and the etiology of juvenile delinquency.Received M.D. from Marquette University. Major research interests are in juvenile delinquency and psychotherapy of adolescents.Currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Human Development at the University of Chicago. Major research interest is in juvenile delinquency.     

An analysis of voter predictive dimensions and recovery of the underlying issue space

Based on the spatial voting model posited by Enelow and Hinich, this paper presents a means of determining the nature of the issue dimensions used by voters. This method allows for calculation of the extent to which the predictive dimensions recover the underlying issues space. Of particular interest is the extent to which a single predictive dimension can recover the issue space. The method also suggests that Enelow and Hinich are correct in their hypothesis that the social liberal-conservative axis and the economic liberal-conservative axis are the dimensions most used by the electorate.     

Seeing eye to eye: organizational behaviour,brokering and building trust in Tanzania

The focus of this article is organizational behaviour in and around the private sector in Tanzania at a time of transition through liberalization and the promotion of private sector activity; how the private sector has re‐emerged in the very recent past; how it operates as a group or, more accurately, as a set of groups, and the relationships between its component parts and with other development organizations (notably public actors: the state and aid donors). Within this framework our interest is in how organizational behaviour is mediated and trust is built through the brokering of relations between different organizations which intersect the public and private (and what this means for the public sphere). The article assesses the usefulness of a three‐level framework for analysing organizational and institutional transformation, shows that some tentative but modest change is occurring, and that a range of incomplete but positive political processes are happening. We show that institutional development is the weak link in these processes. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.