A Multilevel Investigation of the Association between School Context and Adolescent Nonphysical Bullying

Although researchers have identified individual-level predictors of nonphysical bullying among children and youth, school-level predictors (i.e., characteristics of the school environment that influence bullying exposure) remain largely unstudied. Using data from a survey of 1,838 students in 21 Boston public high schools, we used multilevel modeling techniques to estimate the level of variation across schools in student reports of nonphysical bully victimization and identify school-level predictors of bullying. We found significant between school variation in youth reports of nonphysical bullying, with estimates ranging from 25-58%. We tested school-level indicators of academic performance, emotional well-being, and school safety. After controlling for individual-level covariates and demographic controls, the percent of students in the school who met with a mental health counselor was significantly associated with bullying (OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.01, 1.06). There was no significant association between school-level academic performance and perceptions of school safety on individual reports of bullying. Findings suggest that prevention and intervention programs may benefit from attending to the emotional well-being of students and support the importance of understanding the role of the school environment in shaping student experiences with bullying.     

The Legal Profession as Gatekeeper to the Judiciary: Design Faults in Measures to Enhance Diversity

The gate‐keeping role played by the legal profession in the judicial appointments process gives rise to the translation of entrenched group‐based identity hierarchies from legal practice into the judiciary. The relationship between the composition of the legal profession and the judiciary has been almost completely unaffected by recent reforms designed to increase diversity in the composition of the judiciary. This article identifies legal and institutional defects which help to explain the failure to disrupt the reproduction of these patterns of appointment. We identify two particular defects which we call ‘soft target radicalism’ and ‘regulatory bind’ as important factors inhibiting change. We conclude that if the legal profession is to retain its gate‐keeping role, equality law which directly regulates legal practice should be strengthened and the regulatory binds in which the Judicial Appointments Commission and other public entities are caught should be loosened.     

Gender Differences in the Longitudinal Impact of Exposure to Violence on Mental Health in Urban Youth

There is evidence of gender differences in psychopathology during adolescence, but little research has investigated gender differences in trauma-related symptoms. Exposure to violence is a commonly experienced potentially traumatic event among urban adolescents, and the few studies examining gender differences in its mental health impact have produced inconsistent findings. The present study examines the moderating effects of gender on the longitudinal association between exposure to violence and a variety of mental health symptoms (externalizing, internalizing, PTSD, dissociation) in a racially diverse urban adolescent sample (N = 615; 50.6% female; Time 1 mean age = 14.15; Time 2 mean age = 16.70). For both genders, exposure to violence prospectively predicted increases in all types of symptoms. Although boys reported more exposure to violence on average, girls experiencing violence were more likely to experience dissociative (but not PTSD, internalizing, or externalizing) symptoms. The results suggest that adolescent girls exposed to potentially traumatic events may be especially vulnerable to experiencing certain trauma-related symptoms and imply gender-specific pathways to trauma-related psychopathology.     

A more-than-human political moment (and other natural catastrophes)

Catastrophic events such as wildfires are predicted to increase and intensify because of climate change. This paper speculates on how politics may look within such a context by deploying Rancière's political theorisations. We examine how a posthumanist re-configuration of this humanist notion of politics contributes to thinking about, acting for, and living within a rapidly changing climate. Specifically, we make a case for “more-than-human” political moments using the illustration of wildness – in the form of a wildfire – breaking free of wilderness and burning the settled lands of human habitation. In doing so, we draw on a relational ontology that re-configures agency and speech as “more-than-human”.     

The Challenges of Consulting the Public on Science Policy: Examining the Development of European Risk Assessment Policy for Genetically Modified Animals

With the growing importance of public engagement in science policy making and declining levels of public trust in food production, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has attempted to embed “good governance” approaches to strengthen scientific independence and open up risk decision making, which include the use of public consultations. However, “opening up” of risk assessment policies reveals some tensions; namely, balancing the goals of scientific excellence and transparency, protecting science from interests, addressing value judgments, and limited opportunities to debate ethical and social issues. EFSA's development of risk assessment policy for genetically modified animals is used as a case study to analyze these tensions. This analysis suggests that in order to fulfill good governance commitments and maintain trust in risk governance, closer cooperation between EFSA and the European Commission is required to provide “space” for debating the broader risk management issues. This publically accessible space may be needed alongside rather than instead of EFSA's consultation.