Self-Control,Violent Offending,and Homicide Victimization: Assessing the General Theory of Crime

Criminologists have long recognized that offending and victimization share common ground. Using Gottfredson and Hirschis general theory of crime, with its emphasis on self-control as a theoretical backdrop, we examine the extent to which self-control is related to both violent offending and homicide victimization. To examine this issue, we use 5-year post-parole data on violent offending and homicide victimization from a sample of parolees from the California Youth Authority. Using rare-events logistic regression models, results indicate that self-control is related to each outcome, but that other risk factors are also uniquely related to each outcome. The implications of this study for theory and future research are addressed.To whom correspondence should be addressed: Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of Florida, P.O. Box 115950, 201 Walker Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611-5950; Phone: +1-352-392-1025, ext. 213; E-mail: apiquero@ufl.edu     

Challenges and Outcomes at the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

From 1 to 12 December 2003, the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention took place in Milan, Italy. This conference continued the laborious effort of developing an international climate regime by preparing for the Kyoto Protocol’s entry into force. Some two dozen decisions were adopted on a wide range of options for responding to climate change. This paper assesses the progress achieved at the conference on a number of issues. Among these were operational details for implementing forestry projects under the Convention’s Clean Development Mechanism, and guidelines for reporting on greenhouse gas emissions and removals from agriculture, forestry and land-use change. Parties also decided on rules with respect to two funds, the Special Climate Change Fund and the Least Developed Country Fund. With respect to developing countries, Parties continued discussions on rules for building response capacity in light of the expected adverse effects of climate change and transferring environmentally sound technology. They also discussed how to incorporate scientific advice from the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change into the negotiations. Although Russia did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol prior to the conference, Milan demonstrated momentum and interest among Parties to support the climate regime. Nevertheless, it is doubtful whether the detailed discussions were able to contribute to preparing for the long term. To this end, this paper concludes that more discussion and leadership is required to bridge the North/South gap if a post-2012 climate regime is to stand.     

Rationality between the maximizers and the satisficers

It is argued that by explicating rationality in terms of benefits balancing or outweighing costs instead of in terms of maximizing or satisficing something, a more adequate view of rationality is obtained.I would like to thank Myles Brand, Hugh Lehman, Michael Martin, Ian Mitroff, Michael Ruse and Gordon Welty for their thoughtful comments and encouragement.     

Nonphysical Abuse Among Batterer Program Participants

Nonphysical abuse of women is receiving increased attention, but research with clinical samples of batterers has not substantially addressed the risk markers of nonphysical abuse. A multisite sample of batterer program participants (n = 840) with a longitudinal 15-month follow-up was used to identify risk markers. Logistic regressions were computed with batterer characteristics for 4 categories of nonphysical abuse (i.e., control, verbal, threats, combined) reported by the batterer's female partners during the follow-up. The only substantial and consistent risk markers were nonphysical and physical abuse prior to program intake and program dropout. The programs appear to help reduce the abuse. Other significant risk markers varied across the categories of nonphysical abuse, suggesting that the categories do not form a continuum or hierarchy of abuse. Recurrent abuse, moreover, continues to be more difficult to predict in clinical samples than in the general population.     

The propensity of individuals to deposit DNA and secondary transfer of low level DNA from individuals to inert surfaces

We have shown that there is a difference between individuals in their tendency to deposit DNA on an item when it is touched. While a good DNA shedder may leave behind a full DNA profile immediately after hand washing, poor DNA shedders may only do so when their hands have not been washed for a period of 6h. We have also demonstrated that transfer of DNA from one individual (A) to another (B) and subsequently to an object is possible under specific laboratory conditions using the AMPFISTR SGM Plus multiplex at both 28 and 34 PCR cycles. This is a form of secondary transfer. If a 30 min or 1h delay was introduced before contact of individual B with the object then at 34 cycles a mixture of profiles from both individuals was recovered. We have also determined that the quantity and quality of DNA profiles recovered is dependent upon the particular individuals involved in the transfer process. The findings reported here are preliminary and further investigations are underway in order to further add to understanding of the issues of DNA transfer and persistence.