The Developmental Unfolding of Sibling Influences on Alcohol Use over Time

Research has long demonstrated that siblings are similar in their alcohol use, however much of this work relies on cross-sectional samples or samples of adolescents alone and/or exclusive focus on older siblings’ impact on younger siblings. Using a three time-point design from early adolescence to early adulthood (M ages?=?14.9, 18.3, and 22.4 years, respectively; 55% female; 54% European ancestry, 38% Asian ancestry), we evaluated the prospective older and younger sibling influences on alcohol use across time (N?=?613 sibling pairs; 35% sisters, 26% brothers, 39% mixed-gender; average age difference?=?2.34 years; 34% full-biological siblings, 46% genetically-unrelated adopted siblings, 20% pairs where one child was the biological offspring of parents and the other was adopted). The results from both the traditional and random-intercept cross-lagged panel analyses showed that older siblings’ alcohol use predicted younger siblings’ alcohol use across each developmental transition and across a variety of sibling contexts (e.g., gender composition, age difference, genetic relatedness). On the other hand, younger siblings’ alcohol use only predicted older siblings’ alcohol use when siblings were close in age (1.5 years or less) and under conditions of high sibling companionship. These results add to a body of literature illustrating how both older and younger siblings are important socializing agents of adolescent and early adult alcohol use. Assessing or co-treating siblings for alcohol problems may be an important add-on to existing adolescent and early adult alcohol prevention and intervention programs.     

The Use and Abuse of Postcolonial Discourses in Post-independent Kazakhstan

The article explores the concept of political postcolonialism and how political groups appropriate and contest this discourse. Elites and contesting political groups utilise postcolonial rhetoric to legitimate their political goals by projecting that their country, in this case Kazakhstan, was colonised by the Tsarist Russia and then by the Soviet Union. For President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev’s nationalising regime the status of Kazakhstan as a colony represented a vital item in post-1991 nation-building projects. Political opposition and Kazakh national-patriots contested this official discourse, blaming the regime for scarce efforts towards ‘full decolonisation’. The absence of major intellectual discussion allowed these elites and political players to reappropriate these discourses in the political rather than critical intellectual domain.     

Medicinal Marijuana,Inc.: A Critique on the Market-led Legalization of Cannabis and the Criminalization of Rural Livelihoods in Colombia

Critical Criminology - In Colombia, Law 1787 of 2016 legalized marijuana for medicinal and scientific purposes. The law promotes social inclusion in two ways: (1) establishing mechanisms to...     

Child and adolescent psychopathy: A state-of-the-art reflection on the construct and etiological theories

Purpose

There is a growing interest in the identification of psychopathic traits in infancy and adolescence. This effort will enable the development of predictive models of aggressive and violent behavior, in order to intervene effectively both in preventive and therapeutic levels. Several authors have suggested that the presence or absence of psychopathic traits, together with the factors that sustain, maximize or minimize them, can help in the identification of the etiology and developmental trajectories of anti-social individuals.

Materials and Methods

Meta-narrative review of the child and adolescent psychopathy construct.

Results

This state-of-the-art review discusses the concept of child and adolescent psychopathy, taking into account historical and conceptual issues.

Conclusion

Evolutionary Theories can add a major contribution to the understanding of the origins of psychopathic traits.     

Process-focused analysis in transboundary water governance research

Previous analysis of transboundary water governance has been focused primarily on state-centred approaches. The articles in this special section move us forward from this focus in three ways. First, they highlight the crucial role played by non-state actors in shaping water governance outcomes. Second, they show us how these actors can increase the ‘room for manoeuvre’ in negotiations. Third, they provide an entry point for developing process-focused approaches in transboundary water governance research. This article argues such an approach might improve our understanding of transboundary water outcomes and suggests new focus on how key actors form networks of alliances and shape decision-making landscapes at multiple governance levels and arenas. From a scholarly perspective, it brings to light the blurred boundary between state and non-state actors, as derived from a better understanding of the elusive links between actors and organisations; it unravels additional layers of complexity in the hydro-hegemony concept and bends the rigid notion of power asymmetry, towards the subtleties of power relations and interplays in transboundary decision-making processes.     

Allen C. Guelzo, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Redeeming the Great Emancipator</Emphasis>

In the latest of his many books on Lincoln, Allen C. Guelzo argues that the “redeemer president” is himself in need of redemption—redemption from a contemporary mindset that refuses to acknowledge moral indebtedness. Challenging various falsifications of the past, from the neo-abolitionist claim of “self emancipation” to simplistic accounts of the postwar failure of emancipation, Guelzo offers a richly textured and fearless brief for Lincoln’s crucial role in emancipation.     

Providing Public Servants What They Need: Revealing the “Unseen” through Data Visualization

Electronic media has enabled new forms of communication with the potential to provide more effective means of conveying evidence to public servants. This article explores what is known about the use of these new capacities in public affairs to visualize the results of research. The authors first explore the value of visual engagement for increasing comprehension. Then, they examine what is known of studies of the effectiveness of visualization and offer basic design principles that underpin effective visualization. Finally, two original public affairs examples are presented to illustrate what is possible.     

International research collaboration among women engineers: frequency and perceived barriers,by regions

International research collaboration is on the rise—and at the same time, women face potential barriers. Based on responses to surveys conducted among groups of women engineers, this article addresses (1) women’s frequency of international research collaboration; (2) the barriers to collaboration reported for both self and for other women; and (3) the patterns among women students as well as professionals, by national regions. Findings of this study have implications for policies to broaden participation in the increasingly important arena of international research collaboration, based on women in engineering, the scientific field in which women are most underrepresented. This makes the case focal for the study of women, science, and policy.