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Using in-depth, face-to-face personal interviews of 25 formerly incarcerated participants, this study examines former inmates' perceptions of prison gang affiliation, factors that shaped their decision to join, associate, and disengage from prison gangs, as well as the impact of gang involvement on their imprisonment adaptation. Overall, we found that inmates' decisions about gang affiliation were linked to a variety of considerations – from personal safety, a sense of pride/belonging, to the consequences of gang affiliation for the prospect of release. Based on the narratives from our participants, two key themes emerge – contextual effects and individual selection effects, each with different policy implications. Findings from this study can be used to develop and improve research instruments for larger scale quantitative and qualitative studies to further understand the experiences of gang affiliated inmates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing data collected from 17 Hispanic exconvicts, this study examined the challenges of postincarceration reintegration from the perspective of general strain theory. Our use of intensive interviewing techniques allowed the participants to describe their cognitive function, stress, coping mechanisms, and perceptions of discrimination, and how these issues contributed to their well-being and potential recidivism. Participants were recruited from a federal halfway house in Southwestern Texas. Overall, we found that the exconvict participants in this study carried the burden of their criminal history heavily and endured public penalties and economic consequences associated with their incarceration. Practice implications and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We report an efficient electrolytic procedure for the reduction of aldehydes to primary alcohols in the absence of dimeric products. In this promising approach, based on environmentally friendly chemical synthetic methods, a simple electrolytic undivided cell was designed. Two copper plates served as electrodes and recycled water as the medium. A 6-V battery provided the required energy. Although initially the method was intended for the preparation of 2-aryl-3-hydroxymethyl imidazo[1,2-a]azines, it was successfully extended to reduce other aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes. The attractiveness of this procedure includes its operational simplicity, practical viability, inexpensiveness and good yields. In most cases the results were better than those obtained with the standard reduction procedure using sodium borohydride. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]