The mediational role of values in linking personality traits to civic engagement in Italian youth

In recent decades, given new forms of political participation, the involvement of young people in the civic domain begins to be a focus of many studies. The present study examined the role of personality traits and personal values in the prediction of civic engagement (CE) in Italian youth ranging in age from 19 to 29 years old involved in an ongoing longitudinal study. The multidimensionality of a scale tapping CE has been demonstrated with the examination of confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modeling corroborated a mediational model in which benevolence fully mediated the relationship of the traits of agreeableness and openness with civic associationism, whereas power fully mediated the relationship of the traits of agreeableness and openness with political associationism. In this mediational model men reported higher levels of power than women, whereas women reported higher levels of agreeableness and openness traits. Since basic personal traits have been identified as the root of any behavioral tendency and values have been recognized as the more flexible and changeable variables, future interventions aimed to foster CE in youth could be designed considering the strength relationship between the examined dimensions in the present study.     

The interface between exercise of state power and personal powerlessness: a study of police perceptions of factors impacting professional practices

Police legitimacy is crucial to the maintenance of law and order in any society. In communities marred by high instances of societal manifestations of dysfunction, tenuous legislative frameworks, poradic implementation, and dismantling of crime fighting strategies, there is greater emphasis placed on quick-fix crime fighting solutions and policing initiatives. The focus is placed primarily on what police officers are mandated to do as opposed to practical applications underscored by systematic hindrances to professional practice. Examining interview data from a pilot study on police fear of crime in Trinidad and Tobago, this study is intended to explore connections between police perceptions about personal powerlessness and the exercise of state power. Here we examine the discourses of N = 12 senior police officers with an average of 22.83 years of service to attain a preliminary understanding of instances presenting a conflict between professional practice and perceptions of self-preservation. The findings suggest a need for officers’ constant consideration of the repercussions of professional competence and the need for continued navigation of blurred constructions of police legitimacy and subjective determinants of criminality against a backdrop of acknowledged personal powerlessness.     

Exploring national and regional orchestration of non-state action for a < 1.5 °C world

The importance of actions by non-state and sub-national actors (e.g., companies and cities) is increasingly recognized, because current governmental commitments are insufficient to limit the increase of global temperatures to 1.5 °C. Orchestration, the alignment between ‘orchestrator’ (e.g., international organizations and governments) and ‘intermediaries’ (e.g., city networks and partnerships), could harness additional contributions by building catalytic linkages and by enabling a growing number of actions. Although most orchestration efforts have been made in the context of international climate negotiations, regional and national orchestration could be useful by contributing to the implementation of national commitments, and by inspiring greater ambition. We investigate whether and how regional and national orchestrators respond to shortfalls in international orchestration. Using insights from a comparative study, we provide an early indication of the catalytic potential of orchestration in Latin America, Europe, India, Argentina, and Sweden. We find considerable impacts of global level orchestration on the emergence of these initiatives, however orchestrators do not simply copy other efforts; they emphasize different catalytic linkages, including the engagement of underrepresented actors; implementation; and, the provision of ideational and material support. Catalytic linkages in a complex landscape with multiple orchestrators could sometimes be improved through coordination. Given the enormous scale of transformation needed, a focus on scale may seem natural. However, for socially just outcomes, orchestrators need to resist a sole focus on scale, and also aim at experimental and small-scale actions, which may not lead to immediate large-scale impacts but which may prove crucial in longer-term transformations.     

Hydrocarbon and Fatty Acid Composition from Blowfly Eggs Represents a Potential Complementary Taxonomic Tool of Forensic Importance,

One of the most important contributions of forensic entomology is to assist criminal expertise to determine the postmortem interval, which depends on the duration of the immature stages of insects of forensic interest. On the other hand, the time of development of the different stages varies according to the species; therefore, its identification is essential. Currently, few studies have investigated the use of cuticular hydrocarbons, and none regarding fatty acids, as complementary taxonomic tools to expedite species identification. Therefore, we evaluated whether cuticular hydrocarbons together with fatty acids of eggs of flies of the family Calliphoridae, main group of forensic interest, can be used to distinguish species. The analyses were performed by chromatographic techniques. The results show that there are significant differences between the composition of cuticular hydrocarbons and fatty acids between species and, therefore, they can be used to provide a complementary taxonomic tool to expedite the forensic expertise.     

Experiencing violence in a cross-media environment: an interdisciplinary focus group study

Due to drastic changes in the contemporary media environment, criminology needs to examine how the experience of violence is shaped by the emerging cross-media context. We conducted a qualitative focus group study (N = 24) to explore conversations about mediated violence experiences and crime media literacy in Finland, which manifests as an advanced state of cross-media transformation. We found that the cross-media context affects how information on violence and crime is received, as people combine and contrast bits of information from traditional media, social media, alternative media, and direct personal and local knowledge. This constellation of information sources is a fertile ground for distrust, as people challenge the self-regulatory limits of ‘old media’ in reporting on crime and construe such limits as ‘downplaying’ violence. Consistent with the general ‘media-critical’ frame of mind, the interviewees saw crime news media as fear-inducing. Through a focus group of older participants (in addition to three groups of younger participants), we observed generational differences that reflect the dimension of change from the old monolithic media environment to the cross-media context. The new context blurs the distinction between media content and social network-based reception and is thus a game changer for media criminology.     

Leaving Careers in IT: Gender Differences in Retention

The low prevalence of women in the information technology (IT) workforce has received considerable attention in recent years. The focus of much of this discussion concerns how women can be recruited into careers in IT by making careers more attractive and accessible to women. The size of the IT workforce depends on retention as well as recruitment. The focus of this study is on retention, examining factors related to retention and how retention varies by gender. Data for the study come from the Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT) compiled by Science Resources Statistics (SRS), National Science Foundation (NSF). We find that retention varies by gender and that a sizeable proportion of IT-trained women who are not working in IT jobs leave the labor force rather than take positions in other occupations. We also find that marriage and family play different roles for women and men in affecting retention.JEL Classification: J1, J4, J6, J7, O39     

Legal, Political and Practical Aspects of Budgetary Decision-Making in Finland

The purpose of this presentation is to illustrate the strong role of state finance in society. The article discusses the role of finance and economics from the point of view of administrative and political research. For many years, legal science, especially constitutional and administrative law, has been the leading field of research and practice in Finland dealing with government, the state and even society as a whole. Today, economics and finance have taken the leading position in the Scandinavian welfare state ( Sozialstaat ).     

Contextualizing depression and physical functioning in battered women: adding vulnerability and resources to the analysis

This investigation examined the relationships between physical, psychological, and sexual abuse along with vulnerability appraisals, positive and negative social relations, and socioeconomic resources on battered women's depression symptomatology and physical functioning. Women were recruited following an incident of partner violence that resulted in a police-report or the filing of a protection order. Participants were surveyed using a standardized questionnaire. Bivariate correlations and multiple regressions were used to examine the relationships between predictors as well as the cumulative and unique contributions of each variable set in explaining depression and physical functioning. Findings indicate that vulnerability appraisals, social relations, and socioeconomic resources significantly explain women's depression and physical functioning over and above the unique effect of specific types of partner violence. Given that women's physical and mental health are important aspects of assisting women with safety planning and violence cessation strategies, implications for assessment and interventions for battered women are discussed.