The hidden battle: HIV/AIDS in the household and community

The AIDS epidemic will cause significant increases in illness and death in prime‐age adults, which will manifest itself through negative social, economic and developmental impacts. The epidemics economic impacts at the household level are decreased income, increased health‐care costs, decreased productive capacity and changing expenditure patterns. Three coping strategies are observed: altering household composition; withdrawing savings or selling assets; and receiving assistance from other households. Following death, the impacts break out of the family into the community, primarily through orphaning. In the near future, the sheer number of orphans may overwhelm the capacity of existing community resources to cope. The distribution of the impacts of the AIDS epidemic falls unevenly among the genders. In Africa, women have higher infection rates and bear a disproportionate burden of the care of HIV‐positive people. Orphaned girls are more vulnerable to exploitation.     

Afghans have their memories: A reflection on the recent experience of assistance in Afghanistan

As the international community re-engages in Afghanistan, there is an opportunity to make good on commitments to the Afghan people in a principled and transparent manner. But Afghanistan comes with a history, and unless this history is understood and taken into account, both the political process and reconstruction are likely to end in failure. This article looks at the legacy of the way in which the donors and aid organisations operated in the past, and the manner in which they dealt with both the Mujaheddin and Taliban administrations. It examines how, in a period characterised by progressive hardening of political positions, accompanied by increasing aid conditionality, efforts to achieve greater coherence between political and aid strategies and to establish 'principled' positions often led to conflict and contradictions and at times seemed to undermine the impartiality of the international community. It then explores the extent to which the present pace and nature of international support for political and reconstruction activities are enabling--or not--the emergence of an administration in Kabul that has domestic legitimacy and can effectively manage reconstruction.     

Stressful life events and adolescent drug use: Moderating influences of the MAOA gene

Purpose

Though stressful life events appear to impact the likelihood and frequency of substance use among adolescents, these effects are often varied and inconsistent. We suggest that the polymorphic MAOA gene may be partially responsible for variable susceptibility to environmental pressures and substance use. More specifically, we hypothesize that adolescents possessing low activity alleles for the MAOA genotype are more likely to respond to stressful life experiences by initiating substance use.

Methods

The genetic subsample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health was analyzed (2,574 adolescents) using logistic regression models for each gender. Respondents’ self-reports of eight key stressors were used to create a composite life stress scale which was allowed to interact with a variable that represented the number of low activity MAOA alleles.

Results

For males, a significant interaction emerged between stressful life experiences and the MAOA gene for alcohol (p = .029) and marijuana (p = .039) initiation. For females, the interaction was not significant in each model.

Conclusions

MAOA interacts with life stress to increase the likelihood of substance use initiation for males. Those with a low activity MAOA allele are more likely to initiate substance use than those with a high activity allele when exposed to stressful experiences.     

Interpreting Statutory Purpose – Lessons from Yemshaw v Hounslow London Borough Council

Yemshaw v Hounslow LBC is a significant case in the fields of housing and family law, as well as giving rise to important issues as to the judicial role and statutory interpretation more broadly. This note critically analyses the reasoning of the Supreme Court in Yemshaw, in which the principal issue was whether the definition of ‘violence’ for the purposes of the Housing Act 1996 extended to non‐physical as well as physical forms of harm. In rejecting the view of the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court adopted a wider definition of violence to encompass emotional and psychological as well as financial abuse. This commentary adopts a fresh stance by examining closely the context surrounding the enactment of the Housing Act 1996 and how this informs the question of statutory interpretation. In so doing, the author suggests that the interpretation employed by the court is significantly undermined.     

The Effect of Decomposition on the Efficacy of Biometrics for Positive Identification

Biometrics, unique measurable physiological and behavioral characteristics, are used to identify individuals in a variety of scenarios, including forensic investigations. However, data on the longevity of these indicators are incomplete. This study demonstrated that iris and fingerprint biometric data can be obtained up to four days postmortem in warmer seasons and 50 + days in the winter. It has been generally believed, but never studied, that iris recognition is only obtainable within the first 24 hours after death. However, this study showed that they remain viable for longer (2–34 days) depending upon the environmental conditions. Temperature, precipitation, insects, and scavenger activity were the primary factors affecting the retention of biometrics in decomposing human remains. While this study is an initial step in determining the utility of physiological biometrics across postmortem time, biometric research has the potential to make important contributions to human identification and the law enforcement, military, and medicolegal communities.     

Vacuum metal deposition: visualisation of gold agglomerates using TEM imaging

Vacuum metal deposition (VMD) is a well-established technique that can be used for the development of latent fingermarks on a range of polymer surfaces, including polyethylene (PE) bags exposed to harsh environmental conditions. The technique has also proved to be effective on difficult semi-porous surfaces such as the polymer banknotes in circulation in Australia and in an increasing number of other countries. VMD is a two-stage technique. In the first stage, a small amount of gold is deposited under high vacuum onto the exhibit. This is then followed by the deposition, onto the gold layer, of a much thicker layer of zinc. Normal VMD development is characterised by zinc depositing all over the surface except on the fingermark ridges themselves. A phenomenon of reverse development (zinc on the ridges but not on the surface) has been reported by many authors. Recent studies indicated that this phenomenon might occur on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) when the amount of deposited gold is above an optimum quantity. The results suggested that the size of the gold agglomerates formed on the surface of the polymer plays a critical role. This preliminary study was aimed at visualising, by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the formation of gold agglomerates on polymer surfaces to gain an appreciation of how the density and size of these agglomerates changes with an increasing amount of evaporated gold.     

Critical Pedagogy in the Neoliberal University: Reflections on the 2015 York University Strike through a Marcusean Lens

Abstract

In this article, we see the month-long graduate student and contract faculty strike at York University (Toronto, 2015) through a lens informed by Herbert Marcuse’s thought. In the context of widespread student protests across North America against neoliberal austerity, we draw on our picket line experiences to argue that Marcuse’s work provides insights into how students and faculty can engage in critical praxis within the neoliberal university. We argue that CUPE 3903, the union of TAs and contract faculty at York, is a kind of counter-institution that Marcuse argued was necessary for liberation. Marcuse strategically urged students to take advantage of gaps or cracks in a disintegrating system. Our analysis revolves around the complex experience of the graduate student picket lines – a “gap” – as a site of rupture for the liberation of aesthetic experience, “organized spontaneity,” open, democratic organization, as well as conflict.     

Students’ Feelings of Safety,Exposure to Violence and Victimization,and Authoritative School Climate

Although many students feel unsafe at school, few malleable factors have been identified to increase students’ feelings of safety. Drawing on criminological behavior control theories, this study posits authoritative school climate as one such factor. With data from two nationally representative datasets, this study uses path analysis to examine the relationship between authoritative school climate and feelings of safety, as well as the extent to which this relation is explained by exposure to violence and victimization. Across both datasets, a more authoritative school climate was associated with increased feelings of safety at school. Both models also indicated that this relationship was explained in part by reduced exposure to violence and victimization, although the strength of this indirect effect varied across models. These findings suggest that strengthening students’ relationships with adults and increasing the fairness and consistency of rules in the school may both reduce exposure to violence and victimization and help students feel safer at school.