Internet offenders: traders, travelers, and combination trader-travelers

The Internet opens a vast array of communication, entertainment, and educational resources for children; however, it also opens a gateway to home and school for offenders who wish to exploit children. A convenience sample of 225 cases published in the news media was examined. The cases were classified using law enforcement terminology to describe Internet offenders as traders, travelers, or combination trader-travelers. The media is seen as a critical source of information for the public to be aware of how the Internet is being used to commit sexual exploitation and sex crimes against children.     

Culture and interpersonal violence research: paradigm shift to create a full continuum of domestic violence services

This article addresses the importance of culture within the context of domestic violence. It takes the position that to work more effectively with diverse cultural groups, the development of a full continuum of services that includes eliminating the violence and keeping families together is required. The authors believe that intervention models developed in the fields of HIV/AIDS may provide important examples for future work.     

Assisted reproductive technologies: professional and legal restrictions in Australian clinics

The professional and legal regulation of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in Australia is a vast maze of intersecting laws and guidelines which place restrictions on the provision of services such as infertility treatment, surrogacy, sex selection for social reasons, donor insemination, pre-implantation diagnosis and human embryo research. This study investigated the application of these restrictions on clinical practice in New South Wales, a relatively unregulated State, and Victoria, a relatively highly regulated State. The results of the survey indicate that the range of ART services in Victorian clinics was far more limited than in New South Wales clinics. The Victorian clinics uniformly restricted access of single and lesbian women and did not offer social sex selection procedures. The New South Wales clinics adopted different polices regarding these services. It was found that restrictive laws governing "social" issues have a significant impact on the availability of ART services and some respondents seemed unclear about the nature of restrictions and laws relevant to their work. It was also found that "reproductive tourism" is prevalent and restrictions were circumnavigated by patients with assistance from clinics. It was concluded that more evidence is required to evaluate regulation in this field of medicine.     

A silica-based mitochondrial DNA extraction method applied to forensic hair shafts and teeth

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the applicability of a nonorganic DNA extraction method for use in the analysis of environmentally compromised forensic hair shaft and tooth samples. The condition of the samples included cases of water decomposition, severe incineration, and varying stages of putrefaction. Enzymatic amplification and manual sequencing of the first segment of the mitochondrial hypervariable region were performed successfully on each of the 20 autopsied individuals. The results indicate that the silica-based extraction method produces mtDNA suitable for genetic identification from forensic samples including hair shafts and teeth.     

Stopping (or Slowing) the Revolving Door: Factors Related to NGRI Acquittees' Maintenance of a Conditional Release

The current study sought to extend the knowledge about factors associated with NGRI acquittees' maintenance of a conditional release after hospital discharge. The medical and forensic records of 125 NGRI acquittees were reviewed to collect a variety of demographic, clinical, criminal, and aftercare factors. A hierarchical survival analysis approach to determining success was compared to data analysis strategies typically employed in the area. Survival analysis, which accounts for both conditional release success status and time on conditional release, revealed that minority status, substance abuse diagnosis, and a prior criminal history were the factors that significantly predicted conditional release revocation. Treatment and policy implications of these results are discussed.     

The structure of values among college students: An examination of sex differences

Male and female college students stated how proud or ashamed they would be of 96 behaviors. The ratings by each sex were then factor analyzed. While personal accomplishments was found to be the primary factor for males, academic failure was the primary factor for females. An interpretation of these differences in terms of the operation of fear-of-failure dynamics among college women was suggested. Further examination of the factor structures revealed a larger number of morality-related factors for females than for males, suggesting that morality is more differentiated for females. The compatibility of this finding with previous research in the area of moral development was noted.This research was supported in part by a Michigan State University research grant to John Paul McKinney.Received Ph.D. from Michigan State University, 1979. Major interests are creativity, play, and values.Received Ph.D. from Ohio State University, 1961. Major interests are adolescence, values, and family patterns.Received Ph.D. from Michigan State University, 1979. Major interests are parent-adolescent separation, values, and evaluation research.