Disinterest,disaffection, and participation in presidential politics

Undue emphasis on the decline of voter turnout in national elections and its interpretation as indicative of political malaise are likely to make for erroneous understanding of the American democracy. Evidence from studies of the national electorate conducted between 1952 and 1978 shows that the explanation for declining turnout is not to be found in commensurate diminution in political interest or involvement, or in a decreasing sense of civic duty, feeling of political efficacy or trust in government. Where patterns of change have coincided, further analysis indicates an absence of possible cause-and-effect relationships. The decline has been chiefly limited to those population sectors characterized by lack of interest or involvement in national partisan politics. The article concludes with a projection of likely developments in political participation, including turnout, in future presidential elections.An earlier version of this paper was presented to the Conference on National Elections 1980: Continuity and Change in American Politics, Washington University, St. Louis, May 1980.     

DEVELOPMENT OF UNIFORM STANDARDS OF PRACTICE FOR COURT-CONNECTED CHILD CUSTODY MEDIATION IN CALIFORNIA

This article describe the 2-year process used to develop the Uniform Standards of Court-Connected Child Custody Mediation in California recently adopted by the Judicial Council of California. The text of the adopted Uniform Standards is incorporated in this article.     

Radiographic determination of developmental age in fetuses and stillborns.

The gestational age and/or viability of a fetus can become an important forensic issue. Several investigators have produced linear regression formulas based on crown-heel length (CHL), crown-rump length, or body diameters to determine gestational age. This study re-examines the relationship between fetal long bone length and CHL and tests a method of estimating CHL, and therefore gestational age, from radiographic measurements of the major long bone diaphyses. The results are compared with data based on dry bone measurements. Data from 252 cases confirm a strong correlation between all long bone lengths and CHL (> or = r = .9063; p < 0.01). Long bone length means for each CHL group are presented, as well as regression formulas for estimating CHL from radiographic measurements of the long bone diaphyses. The findings correspond closely with results based on a European sample, thereby validating that reference population as a normative sample for fetal analysis in the United States. The radiographic method can be used in instances where skeletal preparation is impossible or undesirable.     

To evaluate the utility of smaller sample sizes when assessing dental maturity curves for forensic age estimation

Dental maturation and chronological age estimation were determined from 144 healthy Western Australian individuals aged 3.6-14.5 years. The results were compared with Farah et al.'s previous study which comprised a larger heterogeneous sample of Western Australian individuals (n = 1450). Orthopantomograms were analyzed with the application of Demirjian and Goldstein's 4-tooth method based on eight stages of dental mineralization. Analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in dental maturity scores in each age group among the males in both studies; similar results were seen in the females. Paired t-tests showed no statistical significance overall between chronological and estimated ages for the males in our sample (p = 0.181), whereas the females showed significant differences (p < 0.001). Our results show that smaller samples may be used when assessing dental maturity curves for forensic age estimation.