A Qualitative Examination of the Self-Medicating Hypothesis Among Female Juvenile Offenders

Substance misuse among criminally delinquent youth has typically been described as a concurrent part of their participation in risky and delinquent behavior. Using Khantzian’s self-medication hypothesis, this article presents an alternative view by presenting qualitative data which suggests that substance misuse for female juvenile offenders may serve as self-medication for mental health problems stemming from early trauma, often at the hands of their families. Based on the narratives of 30 female juvenile offenders, this article examines the lived experiences of girls with childhood trauma and substance misuse, followed by arrest and incarceration. The paper concludes with recommendations for juvenile justice and child welfare practitioners.     

Sometimes Less Is More: Censorship,News Falsification,and Disapproval in 1989 East Germany

Does more media censorship imply more regime stability? We argue that censorship may cause mass disapproval for censoring regimes. In particular, we expect that censorship backfires when citizens can falsify media content through alternative sources of information. We empirically test our theoretical argument in an autocratic regime—the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Results demonstrate how exposed state censorship on the country's emigration crisis fueled outrage in the weeks before the 1989 revolution. Combining original weekly approval surveys on GDR state television and daily content data of West German news programs with a quasi-experimental research design, we show that recipients disapproved of censorship if they were able to detect misinformation through conflicting reports on Western television. Our findings have important implications for the study of censoring systems in contemporary autocracies, external democracy promotion, and campaigns aimed at undermining trust in traditional journalism.     

THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCOMMUNICATION IN THE TRAINING OF MASS COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONALS IN CONTEMPORANEITY

ABSTRACT

This article proposes a reflection on the importance of including the concept of educommunication in the training of professionals who work with the media, whether in journalism or other fields, both at undergraduate and graduate levels. It presents initiatives developed at the State University of Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil, by the journalism undergraduate degree and in the specialisation course media, Politics and Social actors, started in 2011. Concepts such as knowledge, mass communication, educommunication and public policy are foregrounded in contemporary networked societies. With that in mind, we propose an analysis of the use of technology in the communication practices of NGOs, social movements, community groups, collective organisations and social networks from the perspective of educommunication. The results show the benefits of aligning the knowledge of communication and education in the training of journalists as well as other professionals who work directly or indirectly with mass communication.     

Does the Prior Application of the Field Kit Bullet Hole Testing Kit 3 on a Suspected Bullet Hole Bias the Analysis of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry?

Forensic ballistics is the study of bullet trajectory and consists of determining gunshot residue (GSR) to identify bullet holes. Among several highly sensitive methods, atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) is employed to analyze GSR in the laboratory. However, it is sometimes necessary to identify bullet holes immediately at a crime scene. The purpose of this examination was to determine whether the use of the field test Bullet Hole Testing Kit 3 (BTK3) on a suspected bullet hole would influence the outcome of AAS‐analysis: Three commonly encountered firearms (Glock17, Tokarev, and Colt) were fired at skin, wood, and cloth. AAS‐analysis was performed with and without previous BTK3 application. The results clearly indicate that there is no significant interaction on the grounds of BTK3 use (BTK3 vs. no‐BTK3 [kit_nokit] [Pb: p = 0.1309; Sb: p = 0.9111], material*kit_nokit [Pb: p = 0.5960; Sb: p = 0.9930], distance*kit_nokit [Pb: p = 0.4014; Sb: p = 0.9184], and firearm type*kit_nokit [Pb: p = 0.9662; Sb: p = 0.9885]); hence, applying this field kit does not falsify later AAS outcomes.     

Student–Teacher Congruence in Reported Rates of Physical and Relational Victimization Among Elementary-School-Age Children: The Moderating Role of Gender and Age

The present study investigated the degree of congruence between student self-reports and teacher reports of relational and physical victimization and tested whether gender and age moderated these relations. Mixed effect regression models were conducted on a sample of 294 students (50.7% male) in Grades 2 to 5 and their classroom teachers. Results revealed that, despite its covert nature, greater agreement was found between students and teachers on reported rates of relational victimization. However, contrary to our expectations, teacher and student reports of physical victimization were unrelated. Greater agreement was also found among girls and teachers as well as between older students and teachers, however, on reported rates of relational victimization only. Implications are discussed in light of school-based intervention efforts to address peer victimization among students.     

A cost comparison study of using global positioning system technology (electronic monitoring) in a medium secure forensic psychiatric service

‘Electronic Monitoring’ (EM) uses devices to monitor individuals’ whereabouts. In 2010, South London and Maudsley medium secure unit introduced EM to monitor individuals on leave. Analysis after two years revealed EM was associated with increased unescorted leave and reduced leave violation; however, comparative costs were not established. This study aims to compare costs of EM for patients on leave by comparing average total cost per patient with and without EM. Costs were compared before and after implementation of EM. Total cost of leave for each group was divided by number of patients to generate average total cost per patient. The average total cost per patient without EM was £1702; £1617 with EM. Although cost decreased, this was not statistically significant. The results showed no significant difference between average total costs per patient before and after EM. The finding of EM being cost-neutral is cautiously optimistic. Further trials are recommended.