bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Worker Assistance Programs and Labor Process: Emergence and Development of the Employee Assistance Model
Authors: Steele Paul D.
Published: November 2015

Worker Assistance programs (WAPs) assess and refer for treatment workers who have experienced personal problems that detract from their job performance. Researchers and program practitioners have long recognized the influence of organizational and sociocultural influences on the development and operation of workplace programs. This article attempts to broaden our understanding of WAPs by suggesting that they have historically emerged, developed and been responsive to evolving labor process control strategies, and to economic and labor force conditions. To explore the influence of labor control strategies on worker assistance, this article identifies the labor process perspective and representations of the theme of social control in the worker assistance literature. Next, it presents the concurrent evolution of management control strategies and WAPs. Attention is given to new developments of control strategies in technocracies, external Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and managed health care. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and substantive implications of this research, and recommendations for future study.
The Outreach Assisted Peer-Support Model for Controlling Drug Dependency
Authors: Levy Judith A. , Gallmeier Chuck P. , Wiebel W. Wayne
Published: November 2015

This article examines the outreach-assisted peer-support (OAPS) model of group interaction as an innovative strategy to help active street addicts control, reduce, or stop their use of drugs. The OAPS model targets active street addicts who are not in treatment and who may elect to continue drug use while participating in an OAPS group. Community-outreach and network sampling methods were used to recruit active heroin and cocaine users. One hundred street addicts were invited to participate voluntarily in outreach staff-assisted, peer-support groups sessions held at two community-based sites in Chicago. Data are drawn from regular indepth interviews, ethnographic reports, and transcribed tapes of OAPS sessions. The analysis focuses on the social processes through which peers help peers to stop, control, or reduce the harm of using illegal drugs.
An Analysis of Risk Reduction among Organized Groups That Promote Marijuana and Psychedelic Drugs
Authors: Jenks Shepherd M.
Published: November 2015

This article offers an ethnographic perspective on risk reduction among the many groups in the United States that are devoted to the promotion of marijuana and psychedelic drugs. These groups as a whole do not advocate the indiscriminate use of these substances, but instead offer marijuana and psychedelic drug users social support, and accurate information on how to use these drugs responsibly. A key finding of this study is that not only do these groups attempt to reduce the physical and psychological risks associated with drug use, but also reduce what they believe to be the greater risks associated with draconian laws against drugs, overzealous law enforcement practices, and mainstream views about marijuana and psychedelic drugs that are based on misinformation and prejudice.
Measuring Cocaine Use by Hair Analysis among Criminally-Involved Youth
Authors: Magura Stephen , Kang Sung-Yeon , Shapiro Janet L.
Published: November 2015

The study examined the utility of hair analysis for determining the prevalence of cocaine use in a high-risk population. Personal interviews and scalp hair specimens were obtained from 121 male youths who had been in jail in New York City and were followed-up in the community after their release. Using the standard cutoff, 51% of the hair specimens were classified positive for cocaine at a mean concentration of 87.6 nanograms per 10 milligrams of hair. Using the detection limit of the test, 67% were positive for cocaine. Only 23% of the youths reported any use of cocaine or crack during the previous 3 months and only 36% reported any lifetime use, indicating a substantial rate of underreporting. Associations were found between cocaine in hair and several behavioral variables: number of prior arrests ( p=.08, trend), rearrest after release from jail ( p<.05), not continuing education ( p<.01), and no legal employment ( p<.01). Hair analysis is a promising new epidemiological tool for obtaining more valid measures of illicit drug use in difficult-to-study populations.
Citizens and Outlaws: The Private Lives and Public Lifestyles of Women in the Illicit Drug Economy
Authors: Morgan Patricia , Joe Karen Ann
Published: November 2015

This paper utilizes findings from a qualitative study of methamphetamine among users in three U.S. communities: San Francisco, San Diego, and Honolulu. In-depth interviews were combined with survey questionnaires to explore the patterns, contexts, and consequences among an ethnically and culturally diverse sample of 150 moderate to heavy users in each site. A grounded theory method was used to identify and examine patterns of experiences, beliefs, and environments. One of the most important findings emerging from this study concerns the unexpectedly high proportion of women with substantial experience as methamphetamine dealers and/or distributors. More than two-thirds of the 141 female respondent users were involved in diverse lifestyles and participated in the illicit methamphetamine market on a wide variety of levels. However, the majority considered this activity as a positive experience which provided them with economic independence, self-esteem, increased ability to function, professional pride, and ethics. Dealing was seen as supportive in their important need to maintain control: with social and intimate relationships, with daily living responsibilities, and with their drug use. The major problems reported by women dealers across all sites included: arrests and incarceration; violence; lack of trust in, and betrayal by, customers; and social and emotional dependency on the drug to feel normal and function without fear on a social level.
Problem-Behavior Theory and the Explanation of Adolescent Marijuana Use
Authors: Donovan John E.
Published: November 2015

Problem-Behavior Theory was developed by Richard Jessor and Shirley Jessor almost 30 years ago. The theory is a social-psychological framework focused on the explanation of variation in adolescents' involvement in behaviors that are socially defined as a problem and as undesirable by the norms of conventional society and that elicit some form of social sanctions. Problem behaviors of interest have included underage drinking, problem drinking, marijuana use, other illicit drug use, delinquent behavior, and precocious sexual behavior. Research conducted in the 1970s demonstrated that the theory could account for approximately 50% of the variance in marijuana use in both local and national sample studies. The present analyses sought to determine whether the theory continues to be relevant for the explanation of illicit drug use among contemporary American youth. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of multiple datasets collected over a 20-year period confirm its enduring validity.
Issues and Approaches to Evaluating HIV Outreach Interventions
Authors: Booth Robert E. , Koester Stephen K.
Published: November 2015

The lack of a medical cure or preventive vaccine for HIV calls for interventions that reduce the occurrence of the behaviors known to be associated with infection. The development of effective interventions requires rigorous evaluations that, to date, have been noticeably lacking in the field. In particular, assessments of HIV prevention efforts have considered interventions as “black boxes,” with little attention to the actual services delivered. In this paper, issues related to evaluating outreach interventions are presented and an evaluation strategy to measure the delivery of outreach services, using both quantitative and qualitative techniques, is recommended.
Effect of a Nursing Outreach Intervention to Drug Users in Detroit, Michigan
Authors: Andersen Marcia D. , Hockman Elaine M. , Smereck Geoffrey A.D.
Published: November 2015

The aim of the National Institute on Drug Abuse Cooperative Agreement Project's Detroit site was to compare the effectiveness of two outreach interventions in decreasing the AIDS-related high-risk behaviors of active, injecting drug users and crack cocaine users not in treatment programs. A sample of 539 drug users, 70% males and 30% females, was selected from two high-risk neighborhoods. All subjects participated in two standard AIDS educational and counseling sessions. Half of the subjects then participated in an enhanced intervention—a nursing intervention called Personalized Nursing LIGHT Model. A regression model was used to compare the effects within the two study groups on:

(a) number of times injecting heroin, (b) crack cocaine usage, and (c) number of episodes of unprotected sex during the preceding 30 days.

The differences between the enhanced group's actual post-test behavior and the behavior predicted by standard treatment alone may be attributable to the addition of the enhanced treatment. The results show the differences are in the expected direction during year two of the study when program conditions were at their maximum, staff were on board and trained, and clients participated actively.

Significant decreases were obtained for all three risky behaviors; for heroin, for crack, and for unprotected sex. A dosage measure, participation in addiction treatment (“Tuesday group”), was also significant. These results show that enhanced treatment adds to behavior improvement beyond the contribution of the standard intervention—when the treatment conditions are operating as planned.
Utilization of HIV Antibody Testing by Out-of-Treatment Drug Users
Authors: Liebman Jon , Brooks Deborah , Bonilla Louis , Kotranski Lynne
Published: November 2015

This paper examines factors that may influence the utilization of HIV testing by high risk drug users. We interviewed 108 active drug users prior to and subsequent to offering HIV testing. No drug use practices or demographic characteristics, besides gender, were associated with testing. A history of previous HIV testing, perceived susceptibility to HIV infection, and prior experience with medical care were also all unrelated to testing. Non-testers were significantly more likely than testers to state that there were no drawbacks to HIV testing. Promoting testing for HIV antibodies in this high risk population may not further public health goals without increased counseling and other services.
HIV, AIDS, and Drug Abuse in the International Sector
Authors: Inciardi James A. , Harrison Lana D.
Published: November 2015

AIDS has become the leading cause of death among people under age 45 in many major cities throughout the United States and Western Europe, and the projected mortality rate for those infected with HIV is virtually 100%. As of July 5, 1996, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Programme on AIDS reported a cumulative 1,393,649 AIDS cases from 193 countries (WHO 1996). This represented a 19% increase in actual cases reported a year earlier. However, the WHO estimates that allowing for incomplete reporting and under-diagnosis, there were probably some 7.7 million cumulative AIDS cases by mid-1996. In terms of HIV, the WHO estimates that there has been a cumulative distribution of almost 30 million HIV-infected individuals as of mid-1996 (WHO 1996). The joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that some 20.1 million adults were living with HIV infection or AIDS at the close of 1995. By the year 2000, UNAIDS estimates project that 30 to 40 million people will have been infected with HIV worldwide (UNAIDS 1996). With more than 19 million HIV-infected adults, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most affected region of the world (WHO 1996). The predominant mode of transmission since the beginning of the epidemic has been through heterosexual contact. The reuse of unsterilized hypodermic needles in transfusions and inoculations is also relatively common in many African nations. In a number of countries in that part of the world, furthermore, HIV infection has been spread through population movements due to situations of conflict or poverty (Decosas et al. 1995). The lower status of women in a number of African nations has also contributed to the rapid spread of the epidemic (UNAIDS 1996). HIV infections in African women outnumber men by a ratio of 6 to 5. More than 6 million women of childbearing age have been affected, and UNAIDS believes that as many as I million children may already have been infected either prior to or during birth, or during breast feeding (UNAIDS 1996). Another contributing factor has been the full range of sexually transmitted diseases, which increase the risk of HIV infection if left untreated (UNAIDS 1996).
An Overview of Injecting Drug Use and HIV Infection in Edinburgh, Scotland - Maximizing Benefit and Minimizing Harm
Authors: Lewis Roger
Published: November 2015

Since 1983 parts of Scotland, unlike England, have experienced a major drug-related HIV epidemic. Edinburgh and Lothian currently have a known HIV-infected population of 1,105. A variety of harm-reduction measures, including needle exchanges, methadone prescription, community drug agencies, and targeted prevention campaigns have been implemented since 1985. The number of drug-related HIV infections reported has fallen significantly since 1988. However, sexual transmission remains a cause for concern, particularly among the injecting and non-injecting partners of HIV-positive drug users.
Male Transvestite Sex Workers and HIV in RIO De Janeiro, Brazil
Authors: Inciardi James A. , Surratt Hilary L.
Published: November 2015

The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of HIV-1 infection among a group of transvestite prostitutes in Rio de Janeiro and to identify HIV-related risk behaviors to develop targeted intervention strategies. A total of 46 transvestite sex workers were recruited and assessed regarding drug use and sexual risk behaviors. Sixty-three percent tested positive for antibody to HIV-I. Injection drug use was the only factor statistically related to HIV seropositivity. However, sexual risk behaviors, including unprotected anal sex and sex for drug exchanges, were reported by a substantial part of the sample. In addition, given that they engage in both receptive and insertive anal sex with a primarily heterosexual male clientele, they may be playing a role in the heterosexual spread of HIV/AIDS in Brazil. The results of this study suggest that transvestite sex workers are at uniquely high risk for HIV infection and that intervention efforts for this population must be equally unique.
Outcomes of Methadone Maintenance 1 Year after Admission
Authors: Maddux James F. , Desmond David P.
Published: November 2015

The authors followed a cohort of 610 opioid users for 1 year after admission to methadone maintenance. At the end of the year, 52% were on methadone and 48% were off methadone. Among subjects on methadone, days of intravenous drug use, crime, and needle-sharing decreased markedly from the month preceding admission to the month preceding the first anniversary of admission. Among subjects off methadone, days of these activities also decreased, but the decreases appeared in large part to be an effect of increased days of incarceration. Among those on methadone, days of productive activity increased markedly. Subjects with more years of intravenous drug use were more likely to be on methadone at the end of the year, and subjects under compulsory supervision were less likely to be on methadone. The findings confirm previous reports of decreased illicit opioid use, decreased crime, and decreased needle risk for infection with the human immunodeficiency virus among opioid users who remain on methadone.
Changing the Behavior of Substance Abusers: Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Therapeutic Communities
Authors: Nielsen Amie L. , Scarpitti Frank R.
Published: November 2015

In this paper we explicate the treatment process leading to the success of therapeutic communities (TCs) in rehabilitating clients through a case study of CREST, a combined TC and work release program for substance abusers with criminal histories. We develop a comprehensive framework for understanding how and why TCs provide effective treatment to substance-abusing clients. Using data derived from a process analysis of CREST, and substantiated by the literature on TCs, the model considers both structural and programmatic elements and individual level factors. Our framework is unique in that it attempts to show the dynamic processes ongoing among various elements in the setting to produce global changes in clients that are important for living drug free.
Client Satisfaction with Drug Abuse Day Treatment versus Residential Care
Authors: Chan Monica , Sorensen James L. , Guydish Joseph , Tajima Barbara , Acampora Alfonso
Published: November 2015

We compared overall treatment satisfaction and helpfulness of treatment components for 216 clients randomly assigned to day versus residential treatment. Baseline interviews were conducted near admission using the Addiction Severity Index, Beck Depression Inventory, Symptom Check-list-90-R, and a social support measure. Follow-up interviews occurred 6 months later with these instruments plus a client satisfaction measure. Clients in both day and residential treatment were highly satisfied with overall services and most treatment components. Satisfaction scores were high and did not differ between modalities; however, mental health services were less helpful to day treatment clients, and more day treatment clients indicated not receiving certain treatment components. Client satisfaction correlated with treatment retention and several baseline and 6-month severity outcomes. These findings indicate day treatment may be as satisfying to clients as residential treatment, and give credence to the idea that client satisfaction assessment should be routine in outcome evaluations of drug abuse treatment.
Behavioral Treatments of Cocaine Addiction: Assessing Patient Needs and Improving Treatment Entry and Outcome
Authors: Kirby Kimberly C. , Marlowe Douglas B. , Lamb R.J. , Platt Jerome J.
Published: November 2015

Our studies have evaluated behavioral interventions for cocaine dependence among low-income, minority, inner city clients. These clients have multiple treatment needs, and like other populations of cocaine-addicted individuals, it can be difficult to entice them to enter treatment, stay in treatment, and effect positive treatment outcomes. Our research has three foci: (1) gaining better awareness of what types of problems we encounter in this population and the best ways of assessing these patient needs, (2) finding ways to increase rates of treatment entry, and (3) improving treatment outcomes. The purpose of this review is to summarize some of our findings in the first two areas, and to present some preliminary data regarding a procedure that appears to be promising for assisting patients in initiating cocaine abstinence and maintaining treatment gains.
Drug Use during Pregnancy
Authors: Hutchins Ellen
Published: November 2015

Prevention and intervention services for pregnant, drug-using women have often developed prior to gaining empirical data on the antecedents of prenatal drug use. These data are important to address some of the underlying factors of drug use during pregnancy. A review of the literature indentified at least six categories of psychosocial risk factors that have been investigated as relevant to drug use among women, including pregnant women. These factors include: (1) history of childhood sexual abuse, (2) family history of alcohol or drug problems, (3) male partner's alcohol or drug use, (4) current depression, (5) social support, and (6) homelessness or transiency. An examination of these psychosocial risk factors indicates that the existing literature on these factors in drug use is limited by a lack of methodological rigor, resulting in large variations in prevalence rates due to factors such as definition. This paper summarizes the existing literature and methodological iussues regarding the relation between psychosocial risk factors and drug use among women, including pregnant women. It also discusses some of the limitations and issues in assessing prenatal drug use with a particular focus on self-report and urine toxicologies.
Data Base of Studies on Prenatal Cocaine Exposure and Child Outcome
Authors: Lester Barry M. , LaGasse Lyn , Brunner Susan
Published: November 2015

A computerized data base of characteristics and findings of the literature on prenatal exposure and child outcome was developed. The data base can be used to summarize and describe the literature resulting in a more objective understanding of the findings as well as to determine methodological problems that can shape the direction of future studies. Based on a literature search 99 studies were identified, 76 of which met methodological criteria and were included in the final data base. The data base shows that our knowledge base is limited, scattered, and compromised by methodological problems that mitigate any conclusions about whether or not or how prenatal cocaine exposure affects child outcome. Only a few studies have followed children beyond age 3. In addition, the cocaine problem is more complicated than first envisioned. It is a multifactorial problem including the use of other drugs and parenting and environmental lifestyle issues.
Substance Use and Issues of Violence among Low-Income, Pregnant Women: The California Perinatal Needs Assessment
Authors: Zahnd Elaine , Klein Dorie , Needell Barbara
Published: November 2015

An analysis of how violence affects the lives of pregnant, low-income women was undertaken, drawing from needs assessment data from two diverse California counties. Self-report screening was used to determine risk for heavier or problem substance use. Of 1,147 women, 401 met the screening threshold. The 401 at-risk respondents report significantly higher levels of substance-related violence when compared to the other 746 respondents. Among all respondents, neighborhood substance-related problems, being United States-born, meeting the screening threshold, and being a woman of color were associated with reported substance-related violence among acquaintances. Among the substance-involved sample, neighborhood drug problems, being a woman of color, and being hurt, beaten or taken advantage of due to drugs were associated with violence reports. The implications are that substance-related violence prevention strategies need to focus on the community as well as on the individual and the family.
A Study of Drug Abusing African-American Pregnant Women
Authors: Bass Lessie , Jackson Mary S.
Published: November 2015

Many studies have focused on pregnant women who have used crack cocaine and other drugs during pregnancy, but few studies have conducted interviews with the women either during pregnancy or after delivery while undergoing residential care and the recovery process to determine what they feel their program needs are in an effort to ensure successful treatment. This exploratory study was undertaken specifically to consider not only drug-use patterns and sexual risk behaviors, but primarily to consider what characteristics the women felt would make drug treatment intervention strategies more effective for them and their families, including the significant other in their lives. Interviews were conducted at three residential treatment facilities for women as well as at home, after program discharge. Eighty-three women participated in this project, which was both quantitative and qualitative. There is discussion of the nurturing program that should be considered for use with this population.
Desire for Help among African-American Drug Users
Authors: Longshore Douglas , Grills Cheryl , Anglin M. Douglas , Annon Kiku
Published: November 2015

We examined demographic factors, drug-problem severity indicators, and social and personal resources of African-American drug users as correlates of their self-reported desire for help with problems related to drug use. Avoiding the “ethnic gloss” of earlier research, we included ethnicity-related attitudes, perceptions, and experiences among the factors tested. Findings suggested that interpersonal problem recognition was a key determinant of desire for help in this sample. Two additional factors associated with desire for help in multivariate analysis were conventional moral beliefs and expected benefit of drug treatment. We cite implications of these findings for patterns of help-seeking and recovery among treatment-naive African-American drug users.
Drug Trends in Wales
Authors: McBride Andrew J. , Pates Richard , Keen Morfydd
Published: November 2015

This paper describes the evolution of responses to drug related problems in Wales, from the first National Health Service in-patient admissions in the late 1960's until the publication of Forward Together, the Welsh Office strategy for drug and alcohol problems, in May 1996. Service developments are placed in the context of the available data about the nature and extent of drug use across Wales, the particular challenges faced, and the strategies adopted in Britain, in Wales, and at the local level.
Does Ulster Still Say No? Drugs, Politics, and Propaganda in Northern Ireland Contemporary Issues concerning Illicit Drug Use in the British Isles
Authors: McEvoy Kieran , McElrath Karen , Higgins Kathryn
Published: November 2015

Considerable emphasis has been placed in Northern Ireland as elsewhere upon providing an estimate of the prevalence and pattern of drug misuse, yet despite the importance of this information, a less than adequate picture has emerged. In this paper, divided into three sections, we attempt to layout and explore the assemblage of factors influencing drug misuse in Northern Ireland and subsequently our knowledge of it. In the first section we endeavor to demonstrate that drug use, distribution, and policy cannot be examined in isolation from the politics and practices of the protagonists to the conflict in Northern Ireland. In the second we critically review existing data on drug misuse ranging from the various public health and law enforcement indicators through to the limited emprical research avaliable. The final section makes urgent calls for quality research in Northern Ireland that would be instrumental in influencing effective drug policy and practice.
Drugs, Deprivation, and Ethnicity: Outreach among Asian Drug Users in a Northern English City
Authors: Pearson Geoffrey , Patel Kamlesh
Published: November 2015

One consistent theme within public debates on the problem of drug misuse is its association with minority ethnic groups (Pearson 1995b). It is, nevertheless, a peculiar feature of the British drug scene that members of black and other minority groups have been significantly underrepresented among known populations of problem drug users. This despite the fact that there has been clear evidence since the early 1980s of a concentration of the most serious drug-related problems in areas of high unemployment and social deprivation, and that ethnic minorities in Britain experience a high degree of social exclusion in terms of poverty, housing deprivation, educational disadvantage, and discrimination in the labor force (Jones 1996). It is entirely possible, of course, that drug users from Britain's black communities are more likely to remain unknown to service agencies—reflecting other aspects of disadvantage in access to health care (Awiah et al. 1992). In what continues to be a rapidly changing drug scene in Britain, this paper sets out to review this perplexing area of drugs, deprivation, and ethnic minority status, while also presenting evidence in Part II from an outreach project among Asian drug injectors in the city of Bradford in the north of England.
Social Learning, Self-Control, and Substance Abuse by Eighth Grade Students: A Tale of Two Cities
Authors: Winfree L. Thomas , Bernat Frances P.
Published: November 2015

Social learning theory has been used to explain substance abuse among adolescents literally from its inception in the 1960s. This theory suggests that basically good children learn to become substance abusers due to such social forces as internalized definitions supportive of delinquent behavior, the influence of delinquent peers, the presence of powerful social reinforcers, and the absence of adequate social punishers. Self-control theory, a more recent theoretical entry, has rather different views about adolescent misbehavior: children become delinquent owing to inadequate parenting and poorly developed self-controls. Taken together these two perspectives should provide unique insights into the self-reported substance abuse of eighth grade students in two rather different cities: Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Cruces, New Mexico, despite the considerable differences between the two cities. We address the following question: to what extent do social learning theory and self-control theory provide insights into the city-specific patterns of self-reported substance abuse. We also review the theoretical and policy implications of our findings.
What Price Data Tell Us about Drug Markets
Authors: Caulkins Jonathan P. , Reuter Peter
Published: November 2015

This paper reviews empirical evidence on drug prices and discusses implications for understanding of drug markets and for policy. The most striking characteristics of drug prices are their high levels and extreme variability over time and space. High prices deter consumption but have ambiguous effects on drug-related crime. The consequences of the variability are largely unexplored and are difficult to determine. Conclusions are mixed with respect to the ability of policy to influence prices. Prohibition plus some degree of enforcement can drive prices far above what they would be if drugs were legal. In certain circumstances, additional severity of enforcement can create transient spikes in price or alter the source of drugs by driving up prices from one source relative to another. However, increasing enforcement over and above an already strongly enforced prohibition appears to have only limited ability to drive prices up further.
The Context of Drug Policy: An Economic Interpretation
Authors: Benson Bruce L. , Rasmussen David W.
Published: November 2015

Economics can be used to analyze public sector decision making because individuals make these decisions within a framework of incentives and constraints that are a product of individual preferences and institutional structure. Considering the emphasis on law enforcement in U.S. drug policy in this context, this paper presents an analysis of the incentives and constraints affecting drug policy that explains a reluctance to change the policy even in the face of considerable evidence that some reforms could be cost effective. Two specific incentives for an emphasis on enforcement are presented. First, police agencies have an incentive to allocate more resources to drug enforcement due to the factors that determine police budgets. Second, asset forfeiture laws give police agencies a direct monetary reward for making drug arrests. We conclude that understanding drug policy requires an examination of the incentives and constraints that affect the behavior of those who are responsible for policy development.
Acute and Long-Term Effects of Drug Use on Aggression from Adolescence into Adulthood
Authors: White Helene Raskin , Hansell Stephen
Published: November 2015

Four waves of longitudinal data were used to examine the relationship between the use of alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine and aggression from early adolescence into adulthood. The prevalence of fighting while using drugs (i.e., acute effects) was higher for alcohol than for marijuana and cocaine. A series of nested structural equation models examined the cross-sectional and long-term longitudinal interrelationships between each type of drug use and aggressive behavior. While alcohol use was not significantly related to later aggressive behavior at any age, both marijuana and cocaine use were significantly related to later aggression. In contrast, aggressive behavior did not significantly predict later alcohol, marijuana, or cocaine use. Overall, these data suggest that the long-term as well as acute relationships between aggression and drug use vary by drug type and stage of the life cycle.
A Focus Group Evaluation of Drop Boxes for Safe Syringe Disposal
Authors: Smith Laura , Riley Elise , Beilenson Peter , Vlahov David , Junge Benjamin
Published: November 2015

Project Red Box, a pilot project undertaken by the Baltimore City Health Department, is designed to decrease the number of needles and syringes discarded in public locations. The qualitative evaluation consisted of focus groups with a total of 73 people, including injection drug users (IDUs), community residents, police officers, and local pharmacists. Mixed feelings were expressed about the project in each group. Community residents felt that discarded syringes pose a threat but having the boxes acknowledges drug use and send the message that drug use is acceptable. IDUs agreed that the project was a good idea, however, many maintained that the boxes would not be used. The majority of police officers and pharmacists felt that the boxes would not be used due to a lack of concern by IDUs regarding syringe disposal. Follow-up groups revealed that the boxes have had a positive impact on the community. Participants in each of the groups expressed positive opinions about the project and have either used the boxes themselves or have seen others use them. Expansion of the project was recommended.
Heroin Addict Habit Size in Three Cities: Context and Variation
Authors: Agar Michael , Bourgois Philippe , French John , Murdoch Owen
Published: November 2015

The field of heroin addiction research has never had a reliable figure for the size of the average heroin habit. Four ethnographers were asked to conduct research in three U.S. cities to explore this question. While they were able to calculate averages that fit well with a standard pharmacology reference, they found the high variance around the estimates more significant. Each ethnographer constructed a model to show how the dynamics and contexts of the street markets suggest that any average is more an artifact of statistical calculation rather than a reflection of an addict's actual situation at any given point in time.
Bicultural Competence: A Mediating Factor Affecting Alcohol Use Practices and Problems among Lesbian Social Drinkers
Authors: Parks Cheryl A.
Published: November 2015

Alcohol use and problems associated with drinking are reportedly higher among lesbians than among heterosexuals. Extant theories, focused on intrapsychic variables and stressors inherent to the lesbian lifestyle, do not account for the wide variability in drinking practices and consequences reported by individual respondents to studies of this population. This paper examines bicultural competence, or the ability to function effectively within two cultures simultaneously, as a framework for understanding that variability and one that may also help to predict vulnerability and resistance to alcohol problems among lesbian social drinkers.
Studies of Prenatal Cocaine Exposure: Assessing the Influence of Extraneous Variables
Authors: Richardson Gale A. , Day Nancy L.
Published: November 2015

Using data from a longitudinal study of prenatal cocaine exposure, we demonstrate that women who use cocaine during pregnancy differ in demographic, substance use, and environmental characteristics from women who do not use cocaine. Each of these characteristics affects the child's development independent of cocaine exposure, and it is not appropriate to draw conclusions regarding the effects of cocaine use per se without taking into consideration the ways in which women who use cocaine differ from women who do not use. We present statistical examples where the effect of prenatal cocaine use was not significant after control for extraneous variables and examples where the effects remained significant after control. Thus, it is necessary to identify which variables are extraneous variables and to explore the effects of these variables on the findings. Failure to control for these variables can lead to inaccurate conclusions regarding the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure.
What Drug Dealers Tell Us about Their Costs of Doing Business
Authors: Caulkins Jonathan P. , Johnson Bruce , Taylor Angela , Taylor Lowell
Published: November 2015

Interviews with low-level drug dealers in New York City reveal that the monetary costs of distributing drugs are modest. Hence, the proportion of sales revenue retained by these sellers is a meaningful indicator of their earnings. There are four distinct types of sellers, with systematic differences across types in the proportion of sales revenue retained. Entrepreneurs who own the drugs they sell retain the largest share (about 50 percent). Independent consignment sellers retain less (about 25 percent). Consignment sellers who operate within fixed selling locations or “spots” retain still less (10 percent), and the sellers who were paid hourly to sell from spots retained the smallest proportion (3 percent). These differences might explain variation in reports of sellers' earnings and may have significant implications for the relative ability of enforcement against spots and enforcement against sellers operating outside of spots to drive up drug prices and suppress drug use.
The Straight Edge Subculture: Examining the Youths' Drug-Free Way
Authors: Irwin Darrell D.
Published: November 2015

Ethnographic research on a unique subculture known for its drug-free identity is presented. Straight Edge subculture differs from the other youth movements by supporting a drug-free lifestyle. This research suggests that Straight Edge may be viewed as a fascinating movement away from the drug scene. This article draws on interviews and ethnographic research on Straight Edge youths and discusses aspects of their alternative identity. Discussion focuses on the social norms of this drug-free subculture. An important question is whether Straight Edge will develop into a larger movement in the future or remain a small-scale scene.
Pragmatism versus Ideology: Dutch Drug Policy Continued
Authors: de Kort Marcel , Cramer Ton
Published: November 2015

The Netherlands' policy on drugs is the plaything of reformers and prohibitionists in the ideological debate about drugs. The Dutch approach is either presented as a seductive and successful alternative to the American policy of zero tolerance or as an out-and-out disaster. In this article, we outline the principles and objectives on which the Netherlands' policy is based and then describe how they are implemented in practice. We conclude that the principles and objectives of Dutch drug policy are diametrically opposed to the ideologically and politically colored debate.
Training in the Russian Federation on Rapid Assessment and Response to HIV/AIDS among Injecting Drug Users
Authors: Burrows Dave , Trautmann Franz , Bijl Murdo , Sarankov Yuri
Published: November 2015

HIV is spreading quickly in several parts of the Russian Federation (RF), particularly among injecting drug users (IDUs). Prevention programs have been established in several Russian cities to address these epidemics. Many more cities and regions need to respond quickly to the threat or occurrence of HIV spreading among IDUs. This paper describes the HIV situation and current response to HIV among IDUs in the RF, as well as describing the design, implementation and processes of the first year of a training program to assist health professionals and others to respond to the developing crisis. The discussion section of the paper centers on four broad themes that have emerged while implementing the training program and the methods the authors have developed in the training program to take account of these issues: the Russian Federation as “different” from other countries; local ways of making and using drugs; logistics in the Russian environment; and secrecy and competition. It concludes that this training program may be considered by other countries in Central and Eastern Europe and elsewhere as an effective way to respond to HIV epidemics among IDUs.
Nonrandom Distribution of Metaphase AgNOR Staining Patterns on Human Acrocentric Chromosomes
Authors: Héliot Laurent , Mongelard Fabien , Klein Christophe , O'Donohue Marie-Françoise , Chassery Jean-Marc , Robert-Nicoud Michel , Usson Yves
Published: November 2015

The metaphase nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) contain ribosomal genes associated with proteins such as upstream binding factor (UBF) and RNA polymerase I (RPI). These genes are clustered in 10 loci of the human acrocentric chromosomes (13, 14, 15, 21, and 22). Some NOR-associated proteins, termed AgNOR proteins, can be specifically stained by silver. In this study we took advantage of technical advances in digital imaging, image restoration techniques, and factorial correspondence analysis (FCA) to study the different AgNOR staining patterns of metaphase chromosomes in human lymphocytes. Three predominant patterns could be distinguished: pair (47%), stick-like (28%), and unstained (18%) structures. By studying the frequency of occurrence of each pattern on different chromosomes, two groups could be defined. Chromosomes 13, 14, and 21 carried predominantly pair or stick-like AgNOR structures, whereas chromosomes 15 and 22 mainly carried pair AgNOR structures or remained unstained. We suggest that the different AgNOR shapes reflect both the number of ribosomal genes carried by each chromosome and the differential recruitment of active ribosomal genes in each NOR cluster. This is the first study showing a nonrandom distribution of AgNOR shape among acrocentric chromosomes.
Report IV: Service Materials and Content Monographs
Authors: Senf Gerald M. , Luick Anthony H. , Sawyer Beverly P.
Published: November 2015

This is the final paper in a four-part series describing the products of a statewide learning disability program in Illinois called Project SCREEN. The previous articles described (1) a newly developed, multifaceted, group early identification instrument called SCREEN© (Senf & Comrey 1975), (2) the theoretical conception of learning disabilities and a survey of Illinois special education cooperative directors (Senf & Sushinsky 1975), and (3) attitudes regarding learning disabilities expressed by Illinois professionals and state LD consultants nationwide (Senf & Grossman 1975). This article describes a series of resource documents produced under the auspices of Project SCREEN.
The Relationship between Figure-Ground Discrimination and Color Blindness in Learning Disabled Children
Authors: Justen Joseph E. , Harth Robert
Published: November 2015

The relationship of figure-ground discrimination to color blindness in learning disabled children was studied. The authors hypothesized that, because of the nature of many standardized tests of color blindness, figure-ground problems might interfere with such testing. Ninety-four learning disabled children were given the AO H-R-R Pseudoisochromatic Plates and the figure-ground subtest of the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception. Results indicated that figure-ground problems did, in fact, confound color blindness testing.
Re-Educating High School Teachers for Elementary School Positions
Authors: Ebey George W. , Brunskill Lucile M.
Published: November 2015

Post baccalaureate programs for the hasty preparation of elementary school teachers—conversion programs of all sorts — are in operation in various places throughout the country. Much of this responsibility rests with the higher institutions. In Portland, Oregon, however, the public school authorities have initiated a courageous undertaking which is already paying dividends. Mr. Ebey, Assistant Superintendent, and Mrs. Brunskill, Personnel Coordinator, report on background planning, procedures, and progress to date.
A Study of the Representation of English Vowel Phonemes in the Orthography
Authors: Higginbottom Eleanor M.
Published: November 2015

A study was made of the correlation between the written and spoken forms of English, as part of a project for the construction of a machine to derive from printed text the corresponding forms of the spoken language. The units selected for correlation were phonemes and graphemes.

A tentative list of correspondences was drawn up for each phoneme, on an intuitive basis. This list was checked by the counting of correspondences occurring in a sample of text, refinements and changes in the statement of graphemic sequences being introduced as the need arose.

The correspondences were then re-formulated as rules for the prediction of phonemes from graphemic sequences. It was found that the correlation could be simplified by taking account of the reflection in the orthographic system of certain grammatical patterns, and by fusion of some sequences, in particular those containing the grapheme r, with other sequences having different phonemic correspondents. This involved modification of the initial phonemicization to the extent that the units with which graphemic sequences were correlated could no longer be considered as phonemes in any acceptable sense of the term; for these units the term ‘graphophoneme’ has been introduced.

The accuracy of the resulting set of correlations is not complete. Inaccuracies are due to either the rare occurrence of a correspondence (in which case it is not accounted for in the conversion rules), or the lack of a consistent graphemic environment by reference to which different correspondents of a single sequence might be specified (in which case correspondents are assigned randomly in the ratio to each other in which they occurred in the sample). It proved possible, however, to specify the more frequent correspondences with a high degree of accuracy.
Webern as Teacher
Authors: Moldenhauer Hans
Published: November 2015

Although known mainly as a composer and major exponent of serial techniques, Anton von Webern (1883–1945) was also a master teacher—a fact many of his pupils attest to in this article commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death. The article is adapted from a chapter of Hans Molden-hauer's recently completed biography, Anton von Webern, Chronicle of His Life and Works, soon to be published. Mr. Moldenhauer, president of the International Webern Society and founder-director of the Moldenhauer Archives in Spokane, Washington, including the Webern Archive, is author of The Death of Anton von Webern and Anton von Webern: Perspectives.—Ed.
Cotton Stretch Fabrics by Slack Mercerization: Part I: The Effects of Yarn and Fabric Construction
Authors: Sloan William G. , Murphy Alton L. , Hoffman Milton J. , Moore Harry B. , Cooper Albert S.
Published: November 2015

The unrestricted shrinkage of balanced plied yarns and singles yarns in sodium hydroxide solution of mercerizing strength was found to increase with increasing twist; the extent of shrinkage and rate of increase were higher for singles yarns than plied yarns. Plied yarns developed high tensions faster than singles yarns when mercerization was carried out without shrinkage. If shrinkages of more than 15% to 20% are permitted, the tension developed is almost too low to measure. This indicates that for fabrics that shrink more than 20% the forces that may cause additional shrinkage are very small and easily restricted. Twist had only minor effects on the shrinkage of the 72 fabrics of varying warp ends per inch and different yarn structure used in the experiments. Also the stretch properties were similar. Calculations of filling tightness, expressed as filling cover factor, indicate that a maximum of approximately 16 can be obtained by the slack mercerization of fabrics for filling stretch if the fabric shrinks more than 20%. The conversion of cellulose I to cellulose II is more dependent on the temperature of the wash water than on the amount of unrestricted shrinkage or duration of immersion. To obtain additional shrinkage in any fabric of a selected weight, it is apparently necessary to use weaves that promote increases in fabric thickness.