China, the German Analogy, and the New AirSea Operational Concept

This article examines the assumptions that lead China alarmists to dismiss America's ability to impose a distant blockade as an inadequate counter to Chinese A2/AD systems. It argues that distant blockade is indeed a viable, lower cost strategy that capitalizes on America's strengths and China's weaknesses.     

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.     

The Helpseeking Experiences of Men Who Sustain Intimate Partner Violence: An Overlooked Population and Implications for Practice

For over 30 years, research has shown that men can and do sustain intimate partner violence (IPV) from their female partners. This is the first large-scale, nationally-based, quantitative study to systematically detail the helpseeking experiences of men who have sustained IPV from their female partners. The sample is composed of 302 men who were recruited from resources specializing in men’s issues. Results indicate that men who seek help for IPV victimization have the most positive experiences in seeking help from family/friends, and mental health and medical providers. They have the least positive experiences with members of the DV service system. Cumulative positive helpseeking experiences were associated with lower levels of abusing alcohol; cumulative negative experiences were associated with higher rates of exceeding a clinical cut-off for post-traumatic stress disorder. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the social service sector and for future research.     

Perceptions of Safety in Intimate Relationships: Group Differences Based on Gender and Setting

Intimate partner violence continues to be prevalent, resulting in negative consequences for the individuals involved and for society as a whole. Perceptions of safety in relationships where intimate partner violence is present is an understudied topic in the literature. The Safety Assessment of Future Events Scale (SAFE) was developed to assess respondents’ perceptions of safety in their intimate relationship. The purpose of this study was to examine whether group differences existed on respondents’ SAFE scores. 428 participants from community and clinic samples completed the SAFE and other measures contained in a southwest university’s marriage and family therapy clinic intake packet. ANCOVA was used to control for gender and setting in determining if group differences existed on the SAFE based on measures assessing interpersonal violence, relational adjustment, intrapersonal symptoms, and PTSD symptoms. Results indicated group differences based on gender, interpersonal violence victimization, and relational adjustment.     

Traumatic Brain Injury Alters Word Memory Test Performance by Slowing Response Time and Increasing Cortical Activation: An fMRI Study of a Symptom Validity Test

The Word Memory Test (WMT) is an established symptom validity test that relies on verbal memory performance to make inferences about “effort.” Previous studies, using a functional MRI (fMRI) adaptation of the WMT with healthy controls, have shown that successful completion of the WMT relies on a widespread network of neural systems associated with high cognitive effort. Additional studies using the same fMRI paradigm with patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) suggest that increased activation of cortical regions associated with cognitive load are recruited to meet the cognitive challenges that the WMT places on a compromised neural system. This study builds on previous findings as a result of highly uncommon circumstances in which fMRI data on the WMT task were made available from the very same individual both 1 year before and 1 year after sustaining a TBI. Interestingly, the effect of TBI did not appear to impair performance on the WMT in terms of standard accuracy measurements, though response times were notably slower. The main fMRI finding was a significantly stronger and more widespread pattern of activation post-injury, particularly in the frontal and parietal brain regions, suggesting that stronger engagement of these networks was necessary to sustain accurate WMT performance compared to pre-injury testing. This unique source of data, together with previous findings, suggests a more complex relationship between effort and performance levels on the WMT than what is commonly assumed.     

Grizzly Bear conservation in the Foothills Model Forest: appraisal of a collaborative ecosystem management effort

In west-central Alberta, Canada, an ambitious collaborative conservation program for grizzly bears began in 1999, after extensive controversy over the Cheviot coal mine project and successful negotiation of a unique federal–provincial strategic framework for grizzly bear conservation. Unfortunately that program was effectively terminated without any substantive implementation of its research findings. The regional ecosystem approach for conserving grizzlies in the Foothills Model Forest originated in federal and provincial legislative processes but proved vulnerable to shifting goals and containment by a single powerful participant. This case study’s results demonstrate vulnerabilities of the ecosystem management approach to conserving large carnivores. To enable other such conservation efforts to achieve their goals, we recommend supporting emergent small-scale initiatives and designing collaborative institutions that limit the potential for containment of decision processes.     

Comparison of motor oils using high-temperature gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

The analysis of motor oils has wide applications in the forensic science field from comparing lubricants transferred between an automobile and a victim or crime scene to differentiating the compositions of plastic explosives. In this study, 40 unused motor oils were analyzed and compared by high-temperature gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to determine the potential for oil individualization. Oil samples were also collected from the crankcase dipsticks of 30 cars. Twenty-six of these oils could be differentiated from each other based on visual comparisons of the unresolved envelope (baseline rise due to incomplete separation) and the resolved hydrocarbons in the raw total ion chromatograms (TICs) and smoothed TIC data. Four of these oils were analyzed as unknowns and were correctly related to the corresponding vehicle. The use of extracted ion profiles (EIPs) was explored as a means to further discriminate between the indistinct samples based on the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content. The research discussed in this paper demonstrated that differentiation of motor oils was possible by examining the TIC, smoothed TIC, and EIP data.