Alkaloid content of the seeds from Erythroxylum Coca var. Coca

Alkaloid extracts from the seeds of Erythroxylum Coca var. Coca grown in the Chapare Valley of Bolivia were subjected to gas and liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometric analyses. Several alkaloids from these seeds were detected and characterized, including methylecgonidine, tropine, 3alpha-acetoxytropane, ecgonine methyl ester, cuscohygrine, N-norbenzoyltropine, benzoyltropine, hexanoylecgonine methyl ester, cocaine, cis-cinnamoylcocaine, and trans-cinnamoylcocaine. Methylecgonidine was determined to be the primary constituent and not an analytical artifact. Additionally, two significant new uncharacterized alkaloids were established as present. Recent evidence suggests that some cocaine processors are adding this seed extraction material to cocaine extracted from coca leaf and may impact cocaine impurity signature profiles.     

Beyond labeling: The case of the mentally retarded

This paper provides a review of the sociological literature on the mentally retarded. It attempts to analyze the reasons why the mentally retarded have been so thoroughly de-valued in our society that even social scientists ignore them as an object of study. The literature that does exist is primarily confined to the mildly retarded and generally applies labeling theory to understand the processes by which individuals unable to succeed in institutions such as schools are diagnosed as retarded. Studies employing labeling theory either ignore the severely retarded or allow the medical model as the only appropriate framework for understanding these populations.The failure to include the severely retarded in the general analysis of the problems of the handicapped by labeling theorists indicates a deficiency in the theory rather than the group excluded. A more critical perspective on the handicapped is required which ties the analysis to the study of other surplus populations such as the poor, the illiterate and other disposessed groups. The treatment of the severely retarded provides a looking-glass into the way our society can so de-value a dependent population that its very survival can be questioned.A version of this paper was presented to the Southern Sociological Society Meetings, Memphis, Tennessee, 1982.     

Defining Gender-Responsive Services in a Juvenile Court Setting

Scholars have documented the importance of developing gender-responsive services for girls in order to address their unique needs and reasons for entering the juvenile justice system. Although researchers have made progress in efforts to develop gender-responsive services, the research and policy literature does not provide a clear definition of what constitutes a gender-responsive approach. This study examined qualitative interviews with juvenile court staff (N?=?39). Court staff lacked familiarity with gender-responsivity and most used the term interchangeably with gender-specificity. However, multiple court staff expressed a need for programming for girls and more research on the effectiveness of gender-responsive services.     

Unpacking the Global Perspective: Examining NISPAcee Region-Focused Public Administration Research in American Scholarly Journals

Comparative and international public administration research in the United States (US) has enjoyed moments of both prestige and inattention over the last several decades, variation that is important in that it reflects the efforts of a scholarly field to contribute to improved individual and organizational performance. These contributions are, in and of themselves, worthy of attention and critical reflection. This article examines public administration research focused on the Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe region published in US-based academic journals from 1997 to 2012, discussing trends that have characterized empirical and conceptual research during that period. The article concludes with comments on collaboration in public administration research.     

Commission newsletter: Summer 1984

Esther S. Cope: Politics Without Parliaments 1629–1640 (Allen and Unwin, 1987; pp. xiii, 252; ISBN 0 04 941020 2; £22.)

Mark A. Kishlansky: Parliamentary Selection. Social and Political Choice in Early Modern England (Cambridge University Press, 1986; pp. xiii, 258; ISBN 0 521 31116 0; pb. £8.95.)

Hal Draper (ed.): The Marx‐Engels Register: A Complete Bibliography of Marx and Engels’ Individual Writings: Volume II of the Marx/Engels Cyclopedia (New York: Schocken Books, 1985; pp. xxx, 271; £25.50.)

Ingrid Detter De Lupis: International Law and the Independent State (Aldershot, Gower, 2nd edition, 1987; pp. xxvi, 252; 0–566–05140–0; £22.50.)     

Russian feminist perspectives on Pussy Riot

While Pussy Riot's “Punk Prayer” and its aftermath constituted something of a turning point for Russia politically – as well as personally for the women imprisoned afterwards – it was neither the first nor last of Pussy Riot's endeavors. Among other things, their series of songs, published as video clips on the web, endorsed mass protest against the Putin regime, criticized state-sponsored homophobia, and praised feminism as a possible curative for Russia's many ills. In setting forth their ideas, however, Pussy Riot's lyricists made use of traditional masculine and feminine gender norms as well as homophobia, wielding these against their opponents in the regime and thereby reinforcing them in ways that other self-identified Russian feminists found problematic at best.

In this article, I review Pussy Riot's collection of songs in chronological order, highlighting the areas where gender norms and apparent misogyny, sexism, and homophobia appear. I weave my explications of the content of Pussy Riot's productions in with the responses of Russian feminist activists to Pussy Riot's lyrics and actions. Taking into account the views of some non-feminist Russian commentators in addition to self-identified feminist activists, I discuss a range of evaluations of the content of Pussy Riot's compositions, as well as differing appraisals of the means that Pussy Riot employed to achieve what they viewed as feminist ends: undermining or even unseating the Putin regime.