Agricultural pesticide abuse in Texas: A case study in the mobilization of law

This article focuses on why and how law was mobilized to regulate agricultural pesticide abuse in Texas during the 1980s. Pesticide abuse is defined as a significant, violent corporate crime worthy of additional analysis. The dynamic forces leading to development of reactive and proactive mobilization efforts are examined. Black’s propositions that proactive law becomes the major form of mobilization in regard to generalized social needs, in conflict situations, and in protection of society’s lower strata are confirmed. Restraints and limits on legal mobilization are discussed.     

Cycles of the third kind

Abstract. This paper delineates three kinds or senses of the cycle concept as used in social science theory and research. Cycles of the weak or first kind merely refer to fluctuations or state changes. Cycles of the moderate or second kind refer to fluctuations with some constant periodicity in fact or in principle. Cycles of the strong or third kind have several analytical properties that require explanation. I argue that the term cycle should be reserved for cycles of the second or third kinds and that the terms fluctuation or alternation should be used for cycles of the first kind. The paper concludes with some comments on sources of resistance to the cycle concept.     

Defensive Gun Uses: New Evidence from a National Survey

The number of civilian defensive gun uses (DGUs) against criminal attackers is regularly invoked in public policy debates as a benefit of widespread private ownership of firearms. Yet there is considerable uncertainty for the prevalence of civilian DGUs, with estimates ranging from 108,000 (using the National Crime Victimization Survey) to 2.5 million (using smaller telephone surveys) per year. In this paper we analyze the results of a new national random-digit-dial telephone survey to estimate the prevalence of DGU and then discuss the plausibility of the results in light of other well-known facts and possible sources of bias in survey data for sensitive behaviors. Because DGU is a relatively rare event by any measure, a small proportion of respondents who falsely report a gun use can produce substantial overestimates of the prevalence of DGU, even if every true defensive gun user conceals his or her use. We find that estimates from this new survey are apparently subject to a large positive bias, which calls into question the accuracy of DGU estimates based on data from general-population surveys. Our analysis also suggests that available survey data are not able to determine whether reported DGU incidents, even if true, add to or detract from public health and safety.     

Postmortem diagnosis of meningococcemia by detection of capsular polysaccharides

Detection of specific meningococcal capsular polysaccharide (CPS) in postmortem blood permits rapid diagnosis of meningococcemia and differentiation from pneumococcemia and septicemia caused by Haemophilus influenzae Type b. We present studies validating application of latex agglutination assay for CPS on blood samples collected at autopsy, delineate the circumstances when CPS testing is indicated, and illustrate the usefulness of this procedure by several recent cases. Blood samples from victims dying of injury or disease other than infection were examined to determine whether the postmortem interval, bacterial contamination, anticoagulants, or delay in testing would result in false positive assays. Series 1 samples, collected so as to minimize bacterial contamination, were immediately submitted for assay. Series 2 evaluated the effect of adverse conditions of collection, anticoagulation, and prolonged sample storage. Despite extended postmortem intervals of up to 14 days, heavy bacterial contamination, prolonged storage at 4 degrees C, deep hemolysis, and presence of anticoagulants, false positive assays were seldom observed.     

Evaluation of iodine-benzoflavone and ruthenium tetroxide spray reagents for the detection of latent fingermarks at the crime scene

The performance of two spray reagents, iodine-benzoflavone and ruthenium tetroxide (RTX), was evaluated and compared with the conventional technique currently used at the crime scene, that is, powdering. Neither the spray techniques nor powdering were shown to be suitable for all surfaces and ages of marks tested. On some surfaces such as glass and treated wood, powdering was still the superior technique, whereas the spray techniques produced better development on wallpaper, vinyl, and brick. Sequencing work showed that RTX was incompatible with powdering and cyanoacrylate (with a rhodamine 6G stain). Iodine-benzoflavone can be used successfully either before or after powdering in a sequence; however, it was incompatible with cyanoacrylate. Two non-CFC formulations of iodine-benzoflavone using HFC4310mee and HFE7100 solvents were tested and shown not to be as effective as the original Arklone (CFC-113) formulation; however, the HFC4310mee solvent is recommended as the most suitable replacement solvent. Due to the expense of the commercial RTX spray, attempts at formulating a more cost-effective version were also carried out. A formulation was developed that gave comparable development to the commercial version but at a much cheaper cost, and with a shelf life of up to two months. Recommendations are presented for which techniques are suitable for different surfaces and ages of marks. Powdering was shown to be the best technique on all ages of marks tested on treated wood, glass, and also on marks aged three days and older on paint. Iodine-benzoflavone was the best technique on wallpaper, vinyl, brick, and raw wood. RTX was the best detection technique for fresh marks and marks aged up to one day on wallpaper and paint.     

Communication and dialogue: what government websites might tell us about citizenship and governance

There are many ways to map and measure the links and spaces between the citizen and government. With the new models of governance available—where the government directs and the private sector along with a range of other actors implements—there are a whole number of questions that can be both examined in a qualitative manner but also may be examined in a quantitative manner. This paper looks at one quantitative approach (WAES—Website Attribute Evaluation System) and posit that it may be possible to develop from this further techniques—the development of e‐metrics—which will aid qualitative study of the citizenship and governance in the world of e‐government (E‐Gov).     

An evaluation of the Maxcan fibre finder version 3.3 on cotton fibres

The Maxcan fibre finder system is a product of Cox Analytical Systems, Sweden, and has been developed for the primary purpose of searching for fibres on tape lifts. This paper evaluates the ability of the Maxcan system to search for different fibre types and colours under varying conditions. The system performed effectively in most situations, although it did have problems with some search combinations that a human operator would also find difficult in a manual search. The Maxcan system has the added advantages of being objective, consistent and able to do large batch searches unattended. These attributes make it very useful where a large number of tapes need to be searched in casework and also in research where large quantities of data need to be gathered within a reasonable time.     

Fatal amphetamine-associated cardiotoxicity and its medicolegal implications

Amphetamines are popular drugs of abuse, particularly among youngsters and at dance scenes. Cardiotoxicity (manifested as cardiomyopathy, acute myocardial infarction/necrosis, heart failure, or arrhythmia) after the recreational (mis)use of amphetamine and its synthetic derivatives has been documented but is rather rare. Amphetamine-related cardiac fatalities are even more rare. We present 6 cases of young persons who died unexpected after the chronic abuse of amphetamines. Death was not attributed to a lethal intoxication but to an acute myocardial necrosis, a right ventricle rupture, a cardiomyopathy, or an arrhythmia. Two of the deceased persons presented prior to their death to the emergency department, but their complaints were not considered (probably due to their young age) to be of cardiac origin. One case was a sport-related fatality where medical screening failed to identify the underlying cardiac pathology or the amphetamine abuse, and 1 case was a so-called idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy where substance abuse was not considered by the treating physician. We think that amphetamine-associated cardiotoxicity is a rare but probably genuine entity that should be considered both in forensic and clinical/emergency medicine because of its potential medicolegal implications.     

Triad-related homicides in Hong Kong

This study provides an overview of the first systematic research on triad-related homicide in a Chinese society. In the 10-year period from 1989 to 1998, 11.9% of all homicides or a total of 95 triad-related homicides were extracted from the Hong Kong Homicide Monitoring Database. These events resulted in 124 victims (13.2 percent of all victims) and involved 526 known offenders. Triad homicides were classified into various types based on different combinations of circumstances, motivation, and outcomes including unintended outcomes.     

The Gender Gap among Teen Survey Respondents: Why are Boys more Likely to Report a Gun in the Home than Girls?

It is a reliable though unexplained feature of national surveys that include items on gun ownership that wives are less likely to report a gun in the home than husbands. In this article we extend the inquiry regarding this gender gap in reporting of household guns to include adolescent children (age 12–17 years). The California Health Interview Survey of 2001, the largest-ever state survey of its kind, includes over 4000 marital households in which both a parent and adolescent child were interviewed and asked whether there was a gun in the home. There is little “age gap” in reporting—California teens are almost as likely to say that there is a gun as are their parents—but there is a gender gap among both the teens and their parents. We also find a large gap in personal experience with guns—boys are three times as likely to report hunting or shooting with a family member than girls. This difference in experience fully accounts for the gender gap in reporting. The relevance of these findings for the interpretation of survey data is clear. Whether there is a gun reported in a home depends to a remarkable extent on which member of the household is asked the question. Hence, the method of selection of respondent(s) from within a household will affect estimates of the patterns and prevalence of gun ownership, and, potentially, the accuracy of case–control studies that use self-report information about guns in the home.