Marcia Lynn Whicker

The impact of AIDS on male-female relationships

Abstract This article presents background information on AIDS, a growing health care and social problem in the United States and internationally. After reviewing the current data on AIDS and its spread, the article uses permutation theory to relate AIDS to male-female relationships and the development of intimate relalionships. Male-female relationships are conceptualized as consisting of four components—love, intimacy, sex and marriage—or some subset of those components. In addition, male-female relationships are divided into three eras: the pre-modern birth control era where morality dictated that marriage be sequenced before sexual intercourse; the posl-birth control pre-AIDS era where sequencing of the four components was unconstrained; and the post-AIDS era where love or intimacy increasingly occur before sexual intercourse. This article illustrates ways in which simple mathematical permutations can be applied to a complex interdisciplinary problem helping to clarify and discuss the societal implications of these types of problems.

Rejoinder to Hadley

Charles D. Hadley has made several interesting points, including some legitimate criticisms of our study. Some criticisms, however, are less relevant and do not undermine the integrity of our effort. We shall discuss his points in sequence: Confusion over “critical” and “realigning” elections. Hadley contends that we have confused critical and realigning elections. We acknowledge that perhaps we have been too loose with our use of terminology. His point that critical elections, representing a fundamental shift in the political attitudes and preferences of the populace, may be divided into realigning and converting subsets is well taken. We have erred in using the terms “critical election” and “realigning election” interchangeably, and should have restricted ourselves to using the former. This misuse of terms, however, is incidental to our analysis, since we have analyzed all critical elections from the founding of the country to the present, with special attention to the four critical elections about which there is the greatest agreement (1828, 1860, 1896, and 1932).

Comparing City Policies on Mandatory Drug Testing: A Process Evaluation

Presidential decree and federal legislation have resulted in substantial employee drug testing at all levels of government as well as among private sector contractors. Joining the War on Drugs, many other employers have taken up the practice voluntarily. However we may feel about the arguments for and against testing – whether on the basis of public safety, integrity, access to sensitive information, etc. -- the fact remains that drug testing policies are non-uniform and unevenly applied, and the common testing technologies are unreliable. If we believe as a society that drug testing serves a legitimate public function consistent with our cultural and legal values, then uniform standards and procedures must be developed. If not, we should give greater consideration to alternative measures, such as employee education and assistance.

The Constitution under Pressure: A Time for Change

Tables Acknowledgments Introduction Constitutional Conflicts: The 1787 Convention Liberalism and Capitalism: The Pillars of U.S. Constitutionalism Federalism in Theory and Practice: The Growth of Federal Power Interpreting the Constitution: The Role of the Courts The Constitution Under Pressure: The Amendment Process The Constitution and Representation: Malapportionment and Dissatisfaction Too Much Separation of Powers? Presidential versus Parliamentary Government Policy Specialization: A Time for Constitutional Change? Bibliography Index About the Authors