Engagement in School and Community Civic Activities Among Rural Adolescents

Involvement in civic and community activities is a core part of positive youth development. Adolescents involved in voluntary civic activities have greater academic engagement, enhanced well-being, less involvement in problem behaviors, and they are more likely to value connections to their community than those who are not involved. The current research examined involvement in school and community civic activities as well as religious youth groups among 8th and 9th graders (N = 679, 61.7% female, 85.9% White) from small, rural schools in the Midwest U.S. and linked involvement to religiosity, well-being, problem behavior, academic engagement, and perceptions of parents and peers. Half of the adolescents in the sample reported involvement in civic activities or, more commonly, in religious youth groups. Adolescents who participated in religious youth groups reported more extracurriculars, less problem behavior, higher grades and motivation, and more support from parents and friends than adolescents who did not. The most frequently reported school civic activities were student council and Future Farmers of America, and 4-H was the most popular community civic activity. Those who were involved in school- and community-based civic activities reported more religiosity, academic engagement, and positive perceptions of parents and peers than uninvolved youth. The results support and extend research on rural youth by documenting civic activities across contexts and examining how involvement is associated with positive youth development.     

Terrorism Preparation by Michigan Law Enforcement Agencies

The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, compelled most Americans to imagine the unimaginable. Increased interest was focused on lessons learned, specifically if local law enforcement agencies had made appropriate organizational changes to manage potential terrorism events. The purpose of this study was to assess perceptions of law enforcement officers in the state of Michigan regarding organizational changes post 9/11. A total of 247 law enforcement officers participated in the study by completing three instruments, the Police Unit Assessment of Terrorism (PAT) Scale, Domestic Unit Assessment of Terrorism (DAT) Scale, and a short demographic survey. The officers who perceived their work load had increased since 9/11 were more likely to have more positive perceptions on both the PAT and DAT.     

Screening of gunshot residues using desorption electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (DESI-MS)

Several studies have indicated that there are potential environmental sources of particles resembling inorganic primer found in gunshot residues (GSR); as a consequence examiners are reluctant to unambiguously assign the origin of inorganic particles. If organic gunshot residues (OGSR) were found in combination with inorganic particles, the possibility of environmental sources could be potentially eliminated, thereby significantly enhancing the strength of the evidence. Methods have been previously described whereby GSR specimens can be analysed for the presence of OGSR or inorganic GRS (IGSR). However, no methods have been reported that allow the analysis of both OGSR and IGSR on the same specimen. Described in this article is a direct method using desorption electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) for the detection of methyl centralite (MC), ethyl centralite (EC) and diphenylamine (DPA) on adhesive tape GSR stubs typically used for scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) analysis. The optimisation of numerous parameters was conducted using an experimental design. The results indicate that direct analysis of these organic components of GSR is possible although some limitations were also identified. This initial investigation has also indicated that subjecting stubs to DESI analysis does not interfere with subsequent SEM-EDX analysis of primer residues; therefore the technique described herein allows a comprehensive examination of GSR that would be highly probative in the event that both OGSR and IGSR are detected in the same specimen.     

Share and Share Alike? Hedge Funds,Human Rights,and Owning Enterprise in Britain

This article explores the meanings of ownership and shareholding in the context of the 2007 run on Northern Rock, its subsequent nationalization in 2008, and the resulting legal challenge brought by former shareholders. Drawing on evidence from a range of sources outside traditional legal and official doctrine, and from original empirical research, it focuses on the perspective and voices of local small individual shareholders in relation to shareholding, bank failure, and government responses to financial crisis. It tells the story of these individual shareholders against differing conceptions of share ownership rights and responsibilities, and from various angles, to show the many different subjectivities of corporate shareholding and ownership of enterprise of which orthodox legal and economic models take scant account. It concludes on a note of historic persistence in demand for proprietary shares in banking institutions, despite the differing levels of understanding and tolerance of equity risk among shareholders that our research reveals.     

The life conditions of Australian ex-prisoners: an analysis of intrapersonal, subsistence, and support conditions

Successful reintegration of ex-prisoners into the community is multifaceted. The life conditions of 36 adult Australian ex-prisoners (20 male and 16 female) were examined via a questionnaire administered at 1 to 4 weeks post release, and a subset of 19 of the original respondents were interviewed again at 3 to 4 months post release. Interviews focused on intrapersonal conditions (physical and psychological health and substance use), subsistence conditions (housing, employment, and finance), and support conditions (social support, support services/program participation, and criminal justice support). The majority of ex-prisoners self-reported chronic physical and mental health problems as well as a history of substance use and/or current substance use. Although the housing conditions of ex-prisoners were largely favourable and constant, the employment and financial conditions of this group were generally unfavourable. Level of social support was variable. Theoretical implications and practical applications of the present investigation for reintegration theory are discussed.     

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Utility of dorsal pits and pubic tubercle height in parity assessment

Parity indicators in human skeletal material are highly desirable yet elusive. In this study, the relationships of dorsal pits and pubic tubercle elongation to parity are investigated in a sample of 148 modern female sets of pubic bones with associated birth information. The elongation of the pubic tubercle shows no significant correlation with number of births, but instead is associated with the distance this feature is from the pubic symphysis (p < 0.01) and the size of the arcuate angle (p < 0.05). Dorsal pits show a strong association with increasing numbers of births (p < 0.01), especially in younger women. However, in women over 50 years old, dorsal pitting is correlated with BMI (p < 0.05) and is not significantly correlated with number of births. While this study lends support to the correlation of dorsal pitting and parity, it currently does not reach the level of accuracy needed for forensic applications at the level of the individual.