Psychological Empowerment and the Pursuit of Social Change: Outcomes of Foster Youth Engagement

Youth aging out of foster care are assumed to embody a disempowered group, for whom civic engagement opportunities are rare. Utilizing a targeted initiative, this study explores individual- and community-level outcomes derived from foster youth civic engagement. Data were collected via: (a) interview and survey research with foster youth advisory board leaders; (b) interview and survey research with civic youth workers; and, (c) non-participant observation of five foster youth advisory board meetings. Directed content analysis revealed three emergent themes, which transcended the data inductively (Opportunity through Access; Positive Conceptions of New Jersey's Department of Children and Families; and, Participatory Competence). These themes support and extend our current understanding of empowering outcomes for this population. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.     

Race,Place, and Police-Caused Homicide in U.S. Municipalities

We test structural hypotheses regarding police-caused homicides of minorities. Past research has tested minority threat and community violence hypotheses. The former maintains that relatively large minority populations are subjectively perceived as threats and experience a higher incidence of police-caused homicide than whites do, the latter that higher rates of violent crime among minorities create objective threats that explain these disparities. That research has largely ignored some important issues, including: alternative specifications of the minority threat hypothesis; the place hypothesis, which maintains highly segregated minority populations are perceived as especially threatening by police; and police-caused homicide in the Hispanic population. Using data for large U.S. cities, we conducted total-incidence and group-specific analyses to address these issues. A curvilinear minority threat hypothesis was supported by the Hispanic group-specific findings, whereas the place hypothesis found strong support in both total and group-specific analyses. These results provide new insights into patterns of police-caused homicide.     

Examination of the Relationship Between Parental Satisfaction and Child Maltreatment Potential While Considering Social Desirability

Parental dissatisfaction with children appears to be associated with child maltreatment. However, little is known regarding the specific domains of parental dissatisfaction that may increase child maltreatment potential, particularly in perpetrators of child maltreatment where substance abuse is present. In this study, responses to the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI) and a scale measuring parental satisfaction in 11 domains were examined in a sample of 82 mothers who were referred for treatment of substance abuse and child neglect by the local child protective service agency. Results indicated that mothers were relatively most satisfied with their children overall, and least satisfied in domains that were relevant to discipline (i.e., following house rules, compliance, reaction to redirection and punishment, completion of chores). Five of the 11 areas of parental satisfaction that were assessed evidenced negative correlations with child abuse potential, indicating that as satisfaction increased, abuse potential decreased. However, when correlation analyses excluded participants with elevated CAPI Lie scale scores (a measure of social desirability), only overall happiness demonstrated a significant negative correlation with child abuse potential. These results suggest that while associations are present among measures of parental satisfaction and child abuse potential, these associations are moderated to some extent by social desirability, which may help explain some of the inconsistencies reported in prior studies of parental satisfaction and child maltreatment potential.     

In Search of Respect: Examining Arrestee Satisfaction with Police

Recent research suggests that attitudes toward police hinge upon the procedures officers use in their interactions with the public. Using survey data collected from a sample of adults arrested and booked into a local jail in Washington County, Arkansas, this paper examines some of the factors that influence arrestees’ satisfaction with police. Results reveal that the most important factor influencing arrestees’ opinions of police was their belief in the benevolence of police actions, followed by their perceptions of the effectiveness of police, whether or not their arresting officer treated them with respect, racial group membership, and total household income. These findings lend support to the “normative” or “process-based” model of policing. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for police and jail administrators.     

Treatment of Concurrent Substance Dependence,Child Neglect and Domestic Violence: A Single Case Examination Involving Family Behavior Therapy

Although child neglect and substance abuse co-occur in greater than 60% of child protective service cases, intervention outcome studies are deplorably lacking. Therefore, a home-based Family Behavior Therapy is described in the treatment of a woman evidencing child neglect, substance dependence, domestic violence and other co-occurring problems. Treatment included contingency management, self control, stimulus control, communication and child management skills training exercises, and financial management components. Results indicated improvements in child abuse potential, home hazards, domestic violence, and drug use, which were substantiated by objective urinalysis testing, and tours of her home. Validity checks indicated the participant was being truthful in her responses to standardized questionnaires, and assessors were “blind” to study intent. Limitations (i.e., lack of experimental control and follow-up data collection) of this case example are discussed in light of these results.     

Background survey of polyethylene in the Australian Capital Territory – A demonstration of variability in isotopic abundance values and their application to forensic casework

Plastics including adhesive tapes, cable ties, and packaging are common evidence types encountered in forensic investigations and casework. Traditional examination techniques such as Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy lack specificity and are unable to discern differences within the same polymer structures leaving the analyst with a generic identification. High quality manufacturing methods further amplify the limitations in detecting variability between samples. Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) has been shown to be a valuable technique in further discriminating plastics. Discrimination is achieved by analysing the relative abundances of stable isotopes within a sample, with differences detected in isotope ratios possibly attributed to the source of raw materials and fractionation during the manufacturing process. A survey of cling wraps and re-sealable zipper storage bags collected in the Australian Capital Territory was undertaken to assess the variability in carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios of different brands and samples. The results of this research are discussed, particularly with respect to within and between brand trends, and a case study is presented as an example of the value of including IRMS in a casework context.     

AFGHANISTAN: CROSSROADS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD (EXHIBITION ARTICLE)

A curtain-raiser by the curator of the Exhibition of Antiquities from Afghanistan, which opens at the British Museum on 3 March 2011. The exhibits come from the National Museum in Kabul and show the richness and extent of trade in ancient times through and with Afghanistan. They are from excavations at a number of sites, including Begram, Tilla Tepe and Ai Khanum.     

Air power and intelligence in the western desert campaign, 1940–43

During the fighting in the Western Desert of North Africa, the Royal Air Force conducted a land‐based interdiction campaign against Axis motorized transport supply columns which was guided by intelligence. It was this campaign, and not the Ultra‐driven sea interdiction campaign, which was responsible for the destruction of the bulk of Axis supply. The impact of land‐based interdiction totally destroyed the morale and fighting ability of the Axis forces at El Alamein in late 1942, and set a pattern for operations which was replayed with success throughout the remainder of the war.     

Power,Politics, and Primitivism: West Papua's Struggle for Self-Determination

The Bush administration answered the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, with what it called the “global war on terror,” first the assault on and invasion of Afghanistan and then the invasion and occupation of Iraq. More and more Americans joined the opposition to the Iraq war, but for some, Afghanistan remained “the good war.” But was the war on Afghanistan ever a “good war”? The authors of Ending the US War in Afghanistan (Olive Branch Press, 2010) address these and other frequently raised questions in an easy-to-read style. The chapter reproduced here, “The War in Afghanistan Goes Global,” is one of six chapters in the pocket-sized book. Other chapters are “The USWar in Afghanistan,” “The US Invasion of Afghanistan,” “The US and Other Players in Afghanistan,” “The Impact of theWar,” and “Ending the War.”