Codeine containing products are widely purchased and used in all three jurisdictions. Whilst the majority of customers appear to have some awareness and knowledge of risks, it does not materially impact on their purchasing behaviour with a substantial minority purchasing/using such products on a weekly basis. This regularity of purchase whilst indicative of the popularity of such products, may also be a potential indicator of misuse. Future research is needed in relation to cultural and gendered differences and targeted information giving and harm reduction initiatives for safe usage of these medicinal products.

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This research examines police decisions to report child abuse. A questionnaire was administered to 142 law enforcement oficem at both municipal and county police agencies in a southern county. Vignettes were used to determine the response of police to several abuse events that direr in their nature and seriousness. Other items measured include dogmatism, knowledge of the reporting law, and experience reporting child abuse. The results indicate that the primary contributors to police decisions are definition of the behavior as serious, perception that the behavior is criminal, and race of the family. Conclusions and inferences are made regarding how these perceptions are formed and their impact on police discretion.

Falk and Zhao (1989) have recently suggested that increased theoretical diversity characterizes the last decade of published research in Rural Sociology. We suggest that this claim is premature, given paradigmatic trends in the larger discipline of sociology. From a reanalysis of data sources and the use of an analytical framework based on the partial paradigm concept, we conclude that rural sociology is attempting to further integrate theory, methodology, and image of the subject matter within a positivistic partial paradigm framework. We further suggest that rural sociologists continue their pursuit of a reflexive understanding of the practice of social science as an integral part of their research agenda.

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