Gunshot residue (GSR) analysis and their interpretation provide crucial information on a criminal investigation involving the use of firearms. To date, several approaches have been proposed for the implementation of a combined sampling and analysis of inorganic (IGSR) and organic GSR (OGSR). However, it is not clear at this stage if concurrent analyses of both types of residue might be detrimental to the analysis of IGSR currently applied in forensic laboratories. Thus, this work aims to compare and evaluate three different protocols for the combined collection and analysis of IGSR and OGSR. These methods, respectively, involve the use of a modified stub (with two halves, one for the detection of IGSR and the other for the analysis of OGSR); the sequential recovery of GSR with two stubs mounted with different adhesives (double-sided carbon tape and Tesa® TACK) and the sequential analysis of IGSR and OGSR from a single carbon stub following carbon deposition. The detection of IGSR was carried out using SEM-EDX, while OGSR analysis was performed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Obtained results for experiments performed using Geco Sinoxid® ammunition indicated that sequential analysis was the most suitable protocol for the combined collection and analysis of both IGSR and OGSR. A higher number of inorganic (characteristic and consistent) particles and higher concentrations of ethylcentralite, N-nitrosodiphenylamine, diphenylamine, and nitroglycerin were recovered with this method. 相似文献
Adolescent networks include parents, friends, and romantic partners, but research on the social learning mechanisms related
to delinquency has not typically examined the characteristics of all three domains simultaneously. Analyses draw on data from
the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (n = 957), and our analytic sample contains 51% male and 49% female as well as 69% white, 24% African-American, and 7% Latino
respondents. Parents,’ peers,’ and partners’ deviance are each related to respondents’ delinquency, and affiliation with a
greater number of deviant networks is associated with higher self-reported involvement. Analyses that consider enmeshment
type indicate that those with both above average romantic partner and friend delinquency report especially high levels of
self-reported involvement. In all comparisons, adolescents with deviant romantic partners are more delinquent than those youths
with more prosocial partners, regardless of friends’ and parents’ behavior. Findings highlight the importance of capturing
the adolescent’s entire network of affiliations, rather than viewing these in isolation, and suggest the need for additional
research on romantic partner influences on delinquent behavior and other adolescent outcomes.
Experiences with racism are a common occurrence for African American youth and may result in negative self perceptions relevant
for the experience of depressive symptoms. This study examined the longitudinal association between perceptions of racism
and depressive symptoms, and whether perceived academic or social control mediated this association, in a community epidemiologically-defined
sample of urban African American adolescents (N = 500; 46.4% female). Structural equation modeling revealed that experiences with racism were associated with low perceived
academic control, which in turn was associated with increased depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that experiences with
racism can have long lasting effects for African American youth’s depressive symptoms, and highlight the detrimental effects
of experiences with racism for perceptions of control in the academic domain. Implications for intervention are discussed.
Asia's growing share of the global economy provides one of the strongest themes in contemporary analysis of international affairs. The remarkable economic achievements of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan over the past 50 years have been compounded more recently by the rise of the Chinese and Indian economies. While the significance of this change in the way international wealth is shared was beyond doubt before the onset of the current global financial crisis, many commentators expect that when the world eventually emerges from the crisis Asia's share of the global economy will have grown even further.
This shift clearly has strategic importance: economic decisions made in Asia, whether by governments or business, are now more important for the rest of the world than they have been for centuries. If military power were moving in the same direction, and at the same pace, the strategic consequences would be even greater.
This paper examines trends in Asian military spending and modernisation. It begins with a summary of defence spending among Asian countries.1In this paper the term “Asia” is used to include the 22 countries from Pakistan to Japan. It does not include Afghanistan or any of the countries of central Asia, or Russia, Australia, New Zealand, or the Pacific Island countries. As explained above, data is not equally available for all 22 countries.View all notes It next considers the nature of the capabilities and equipment they are acquiring, and comments on the way in which forces are being structured, commanded, and managed. It then comments on the range of different factors that are driving military spending and modernisation in Asia, and offers particular comment on China in this regard. The paper then concludes with brief comments on United States and Australian military spending and development. 相似文献
Growth curve analyses were used to investigate parents’ and peers’ influence on adolescents’ choice to abstain from antisocial
behavior in a community-based sample of 416 early adolescents living in the Southeastern United States. Participants were
primarily European American (91%) and 51% were girls. Both parents and peers were important influences on the choice to abstain
from antisocial behavior. Over the four-year period adolescents relied increasingly on parents as influences and relied less
on peers as influences to deter antisocial behavior. Significant gender differences emerged and suggested that female adolescents
relied more on social influences than did male adolescents but that as time progressed male adolescents increased the rate
at which they relied on peers. Higher family income was associated with choosing peers as a social influence at wave 1, but
no other significant income associations were found. Understanding influences on adolescents’ abstinence choices is important
for preventing antisocial behavior.
Emily C. CookEmail:
Emily C. Cook
is in her final year of doctoral studies in human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Her research interests include peer influences and parental influences on adolescents’ problem behaviors, parental influences
on adolescents’ social development, and effective prevention and interventions for adolescents who exhibit problem behaviors.
Cheryl Buehler
is a professor of human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her research interests
include marital conflict, marital relations, parenting, and adolescent well-being.
Robert Henson
is an assistant professor of educational research methodology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Henson’s
research interests include educational measurement, cognitive diagnosis models, hierarchical linear models, and mathematical
statistics. 相似文献
Humanitarian organisations respond to increasing donor requests to assess economic aspects of their programmes, including cost-effectiveness. This article presents results from a survey of humanitarian agency staff and donor agencies, investigating such requests. Findings indicate a need for clear guidelines and capacity building in these economic assessments, expressed by both humanitarian staff and donor agencies themselves. While improving efficiency is important to ensure effective humanitarian response, caution is warranted in adopting overly burdensome and complex assessments of efficiency which are poorly understood by staff requesting and responding to them, the outcomes of which may lead to reductive and decontextualised decision-making. 相似文献
Supreme Court confirmation hearings have been famously called a “vapid and hollow charade” by Elena Kagan. Indeed, perceptions of nominees’ refusal to answer questions about pending cases, prominent political issues, or give any hint of their ideological leanings have become a cornerstone of the modern confirmation process. We investigate the extent to which this reticence to speak of their ideological views, or candor, influences how individuals evaluate the nominee. To this end, we present the results of a survey experiment which examines how support for a hypothetical Supreme Court nominee is affected by information, especially when a nominee is presented to be very forthright or very reticent in answering ideological questions during the confirmation hearings. We find that while partisan compatibility with the president is the main determinant of support for a nominee, nominees who refuse to answer ideological questions can bolster support from respondents who would not support them on partisan grounds. We supplement these findings with observational state-level support data from real nominees over the last 40 years. 相似文献
Research on negative campaigning has largely overlooked the role of stereotypes. In this study, we argue that the gender and partisan stereotypes associated with traits and policy issues interact with a candidate’s gender and partisanship to shape the effectiveness of campaign attacks. We draw on expectancy-violation theory to argue that candidates may be evaluated more harshly when attacks suggest the candidate has violated stereotypic assumptions about their group. Thus, attacks on a candidate’s “home turf,” or those traits or issues traditionally associated with their party or gender, may be more effective in reducing support for the attacked candidate. We use two survey experiments to examine the effects of stereotype-based attacks—a Trait Attack Study and an Issue Attack Study. The results suggest that female candidates are particularly vulnerable to trait based attacks that challenge stereotypically feminine strengths. Both male and female candidates proved vulnerable to attacks on policy issues stereotypically associated with their party and gender, but the negative effects of all forms of stereotype-based attacks were especially large for democratic women. Our results offer new insights into the use of stereotypes in negative campaigning and their consequences for the electoral fortunes of political candidates. 相似文献