Talk and Deterrence in Drug Markets

Despite a wealth of conceptual and empirical examinations, key processes occurring during each of the primary stages of deterrence remain poorly specified. Little is known about how potential offenders form their perceptions of rules or threats, and the relationship between these perceptions and fear has only received moderate attention. In addition, many questions remain regarding how offenders eliminate or reshape punishments after violating rules. In this dissertation I examine how various forms of talk shape these processes. More specifically, I investigate how gossip influences offenders’ perceptions of rules or threats, how humor and threats and promises moderate the fear stemming from these perceptions, and how accounts reshape the enforcement of rules. This examination is based on qualitative data gathered from interviews with, and observations of, 33 active drug dealers operating in and around the St. Louis metropolitan area

Performance Analysis of a Liquid Metal Heat Pipe Space Shuttle Experiment

Future spacecraft technologies require advanced high-temperature thermal control systems. Liquid metal heat pipes are considered ideally suited for such applications. However, their behavior during microgravity operation is not yet understood. This study investigated liquid metal heat pipe performance in such an environment. Three stainless steel/potassium heat pipes were flown on space shuttle mission STS-77 in May 1996. The objectives of the experiment were characterization of the frozen startup and restart transients, comparison of flight and ground test data to establish a performance baseline for analytical model validation, and assessment of three different heat pipe designs. Heat pipe performance was characterized prior to the flight experiment. Predicted performance envelopes for each heat pipe were determined from theoretical calculations. Performance baselines were established from ground thermal vacuum test results. These pre-flight results were compared with those from the flight experiment. Thermal resistances were calculated for comparison of each heat pipe design

Crataegus Crus-galli L Sensu Lato In Southern Ontario: Phenotypic Variation And Variability In Relation To Reproductive Behavior

Crataegus crus-galli L. sensu lato is one of the most widespread groups of hawthorn taxa in eastern North America. Early twentieth century classifications of this group have recognized a considerable degree of dissection into rather narrowly defined species. However, the status of many of these species has been unclear in view of the widespread belief that apomixis is frequent throughout the entire genus. Crataegus crus-galli s. l, was examined at 11 sites across southern Ontario in order to characterize the pattern of morphological variation present in one part of its range. Cluster analyses that employed a selection of resemblance functions and sorting algorithms confirmed the breakdown of the entire complex sampled at these sites into a total of four morphotypes. Two of these are more or less widely distributed and differ from each other most obviously in phenology and stamen number. The other two are much more restricted in their occurrence in Ontario and differ from each other and from the two more common morphotypes in features of flower, foliage and thorn morphology. The degree of multivariate variability exhibited within individual stands of the two common morphotypes was found to be quite low. However, stands of each morphotype were differentiated from one another by a number of correlated flower, fruit and foliage characteristics. Only triploid (pollen-infertile or completely male-sterile) and tetraploid (pollen-fertile) individuals of C. crus-galli s.l. have been found so far in Ontario (x = 17). All four morphotypes produce apparently unreduced, aposporous embryo-sacs. Results of pollination experiments showed that three more or less pollen-fertile morphotypes are self-compatible; in all four agamospermy is evidently pseudogamous. Together, these results suggest that stands of a given morphotype of C. crus-galli s. l. frequently consist largely of sibling individuals. This may result from apomixis and self-fertility, together with certain characteristics of Crataegus seed dispersal. Unnecessarily narrow species concepts applied to this group in the past were probably a result of confounding variation among such stands with that among taxa

Character Selection During Interactive Taxonomic Identification: “Best Characters”

Software interfaces for interactive multiple-entry taxonomic identification (polyclaves) sometimes provide a “best character” or “separation” coefficient, to guide the user to choose a character that could most effectively reduce the number of identification steps required. The coefficient could be particularly helpful when difficult or expensive tasks are needed for forensic identification, and in very large databases, uses that appear likely to increase in importance. Several current systems also provide tools to develop taxonomies or single-entry identification keys, with a variety of coefficients that are appropriate to that purpose. For the identification task, however, information theory neatly applies, and provides the most appropriate coefficient. To our knowledge, Delta-Intkey is the only currently available system that uses a coefficient related to information theory, and it is currently being reimplemented, which may allow for improvement. We describe two improvements to the algorithm used by Delta-Intkey. The first improves transparency as the number of remaining taxa decreases, by normalizing the range of the coefficient to [0,1]. The second concerns numeric ranges, which require consistent treatment of sub-intervals and their end-points. A stand-alone Bestchar program for categorical data is provided, in the Python and R languages. The source code is freely available and dedicated to the Public Domain

Drug Sellers’ Neutralizations of Guiltless Drug Sales and Avoidance of “Drug Dealer” Identities

Background: Despite a wealth of empirical exploration on neutralization theory, several aspects of the theory remain underexplored. For instance, one task of neutralization research is to investigate whether and how neutralizations vary with offender characteristics. A second underexplored area is whether the neutralizations offenders present when directly asked about feelings of guilt are similar or dissimilar to those they have incorporated into their narrative identities described during interviews. A third underexplored issue is whether offenders that exhibit little guilt for committing mala prohibita crimes use neutralizations in a similar manner as those who do not express guilt for committing mala in se crimes. Methods: The present study examines these questions by drawing from data collected from interviews with 33 active drug sellers from St. Louis, Missouri, USA and 30 active drug sellers from Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Results: We find that these offenders’ neutralizations vary by drug type and by differential access to resources. We also find that, in addition to the neutralizations they give when asked about guilt, these offenders also preemptively neutralize feelings of guilt by constructing identities counter to bad “drug dealers” throughout their storied identities. Conclusion: We conclude by suggesting that neutralizations vary by offender characteristics due to the differing background expectancies of offenders’ social groups. We also suggest that neutralizing the repercussions of immoral actions is not always a static, monothematic technique. It is instead an active, complex, and interactional process that occurs as persons make sense of who they are and what they are doing. Finally, we argue that studies of neutralization theory relying on direct, standardized questions or the presentation of abstract vignettes may fail to capture a sizable part of the neutralization process among offenders

The Corporate Monitor: The New Corporate Czar?

Following the recent spate of corporate scandals, government enforcement authorities have increasingly relied upon corporate monitors to help ensure law compliance and reduce the number of future violations. These monitors also permit enforcement authorities, such as the Securities & Exchange Commission and others, to leverage their enforcement resources in overseeing corporate behavior. However there are few descriptive or normative analyses of the role and scope of corporate monitors. This paper provides such an analysis. After sketching out the historical development of corporate monitors, the paper examines the most common features of the current set of monitor appointments supplemented by interviews with monitors. This is followed by a normative analysis that examines when it is desirable to appoint monitors and what powers and obligations they should have. Based on this analysis, we provide a number of recommendations for enhancing the potential of corporate monitors to serve a useful deterrent and law enforcement function without being unduly burdensome on corporations. This involves, among other things, discussion of the kinds of powers monitors should have and the fiduciary duties monitors should owe to the shareholders whose businesses they are monitoring

The Corporate Monitor: The New Corporate Czar?

Following the recent spate of corporate scandals, government enforcement authorities have increasingly relied upon corporate monitors to help ensure law compliance and reduce the number of future violations. These monitors also permit enforcement authorities, such as the Securities & Exchange Commission and others, to leverage their enforcement resources in overseeing corporate behavior. However there are few descriptive or normative analyses of the role and scope of corporate monitors. This paper provides such an analysis. After sketching out the historical development of corporate monitors, the paper examines the most common features of the current set of monitor appointments supplemented by interviews with monitors. This is followed by a normative analysis that examines when it is desirable to appoint monitors and what powers and obligations they should have. Based on this analysis, we provide a number of recommendations for enhancing the potential of corporate monitors to serve a useful deterrent and law enforcement function without being unduly burdensome on corporations. This involves, among other things, discussion of the kinds of powers monitors should have and the fiduciary duties monitors should owe to the shareholders whose businesses they are monitoring

Celestial navigation in Drosophila

Many casual observers typecast Drosophila melanogaster as a stationary pest that lurks around fruit and wine. However, the omnipresent fruit fly, which thrives even in desert habitats, likely established and maintained its cosmopolitan status via migration over large spatial scales. To perform long-distance dispersal, flies must actively maintain a straight compass heading through the use of external orientation cues, such as those derived from the sky. In this Review, we address how D. melanogaster accomplishes long-distance navigation using celestial cues. We focus on behavioral and physiological studies indicating that fruit flies can navigate both to a pattern of linearly polarized light and to the position of the sun – the same cues utilized by more heralded insect navigators such as monarch butterflies and desert ants. In both cases, fruit flies perform menotaxis, selecting seemingly arbitrary headings that they then maintain over time. We discuss how the fly's nervous system detects and processes this sensory information to direct the steering maneuvers that underlie navigation. In particular, we highlight recent findings that compass neurons in the central complex, a set of midline neuropils, are essential for navigation. Taken together, these results suggest that fruit flies share an ancient, latent capacity for celestial navigation with other insects. Furthermore, they illustrate the potential of D. melanogaster to help us to elucidate both the cellular basis of navigation and mechanisms of directed dispersal on a landscape scale

Flying Drosophila maintain arbitrary but stable headings relative to the angle of polarized light

Animals must use external cues to maintain a straight course over long distances. In this study, we investigated how the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster selects and maintains a flight heading relative to the axis of linearly polarized light, a visual cue produced by the atmospheric scattering of sunlight. To track flies' headings over extended periods, we used a flight simulator that coupled the angular velocity of dorsally presented polarized light to the stroke amplitude difference of the animals’ wings. In the simulator, most flies actively maintained a stable heading relative to the axis of polarized light for the duration of 15 min flights. We found that individuals selected arbitrary, unpredictable headings relative to the polarization axis, which demonstrates that D. melanogaster can perform proportional navigation using a polarized light pattern. When flies flew in two consecutive bouts separated by a 5 min gap, the two flight headings were correlated, suggesting individuals retain a memory of their chosen heading. We found that adding a polarized light pattern to a light intensity gradient enhanced flies' orientation ability, suggesting D. melanogaster use a combination of cues to navigate. For both polarized light and intensity cues, flies' capacity to maintain a stable heading gradually increased over several minutes from the onset of flight. Our findings are consistent with a model in which each individual initially orients haphazardly but then settles on a heading which is maintained via a self-reinforcing process. This may be a general dispersal strategy for animals with no target destination

Distribution of Non-uniform Demagnetization Fields in Paramagnetic Bulk Solids

A general calculation for the distribution of non-uniform demagnetization fields in paramagnetic bulk solids is described and the fields for various sample geometries are calculated. Cones, ellipsoids, paraboloids and hyperboloids with similar sample aspect ratios are considered. Significant differences in their demagnetization fields are observed. The calculation shows that the demagnetization field magnitudes decrease along the axis of symmetry (along $z$) where an externally applied magnetic field is aligned, and increase in the vicinity of the lateral surfaces with the largest field values found in the cone and the narrowest field distributions found in the hyperboloid. Application is made to the theoretical modeling of the $^{1}$H-NMR spectra of a single crystal of field-induced superconductor $\lambda$-(BETS)$_{2}$FeCl$_{4}$ with a rectangular sample geometry, providing a good fit to the measured NMR spectra. This calculation is also applicable to diamagnetic or ferromagnetic materials in general.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Physical Review B (Corresponding author: [email protected]