Association of Ignitable Liquid Residues to Neat Ignitable Liquids in the Presence of Matrix Interferences Using Chemometric Procedures*,†

Abstract: In fire debris analysis, weathering of ignitable liquids and matrix interferences can make the identification of ignitable liquid residues (ILRs) difficult. An objective method was developed to associate ILRs with the corresponding neat liquid with discrimination from matrix interferences using principal components analysis (PCA) and Pearson product moment correlation (PPMC) coefficients. Six ignitable liquids (gasoline, diesel, ultra pure paraffin lamp oil, adhesive remover, torch fuel, paint thinner) were spiked onto carpet, which was burned, then extracted using passive headspace extraction, and analyzed by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. Both light and heavy burn conditions were investigated. In the PCA scores plot, ignitable liquids were discriminated based on alkane and aromatic content. All ILRs were successfully associated with the corresponding neat liquid using both PCA and PPMC coefficients, regardless of the extent of burning. The method developed in this research may make the association of ILRs with corresponding neat liquids more objective.     

Genetic and environmental influences on the co-occurrence of early academic achievement and externalizing behavior

Purpose

Several studies have observed a relationship between academic achievement and externalizing behaviors, both of which are predictors of delinquency and criminal behavior in adulthood. There is, however, no consensus on an explanation for their co-occurrence. One perspective is that both emerge as a result of a common underlying factor. This study investigates the degree to which the same genetic and environmental factors account for the co-occurrence of these two outcomes.

Methods

The sample consists of twins (N = 360) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999. Bivariate genetic analyses were conducted to assess the genetic and environmental influence on the relationship between academic achievement and externalizing behaviors during kindergarten.

Results

The covariation was due primarily to common shared environmental factors (55-87%), followed by common genetic (8-44%) and nonshared environmental factors (1-13%).

Conclusions

Both early academic achievement and externalizing behaviors are partially influenced by the same genetic and environmental factors. The large proportion of covariance attributed to shared environmental influences suggests that identifying and targeting shared environmental factors in prevention and intervention strategies may improve both behavior and academic achievement.     

Issues in Implementing a Comprehensive Intervention for Public School Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Many students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are educated separately from their typically developing peers, while others are placed in inclusive classes but without supports that would help them benefit from less restrictive placements. The needs of students with ASD who are in inclusive settings are often not planned for or met appropriately, resulting in continuing problems and movement to increasingly restrictive environments or private placements. There is a critical need for school models to fill the gap in appropriate services for this population of children with ASD. These models should include those that are inclusive and academically challenging, that can be implemented by many school districts, and that are responsive to the unique combination of strengths and deficits in these students. In the current article, the authors describe the development and core components of the model, and implementation of the ASD Nest program in public schools in New York City.     

Mass incarceration: ‘a sin against the future’?

Conclusion The move towards incarceration as the response to all social problems is serious for all the reasons given above. It constitutes negative investment in the future and gives a frightening legitimacy to that vision of the society of the future that sees the population divided into three, one third living a comfortable life but behind fortifications, one third incarcerated in some form of camp or ghetto and the other third guarding the homes of the comfortable or working as prison personnel. The 20th century has not had a very good record on incarceration. It has seen Hitler’s concentration camps and Stalin’s Gulag. Nils Christie and other commentators talk already of the US gulag. In Western Europe, still, these are but trends. Imprisonment rates are still generally, except for those of the UK, lower than 100 per 100,000. The punitive and exclusionary attitudes prevalent in the US are not so deeply embedded in European traditions. A philosophy of re-integration into society for offenders still underpins legislation and practice. A philosophy of social cohesion governs institutions. The assumption is that offenders, although they must undergo criminal sanctions and pay back in some way for what they have done, keep their citizenship and must be welcomed back into society. These beliefs are part of European democratic ideals. Much energy will need to be put into supporting and maintaining them in penal policy in the years ahead.     

Sex differences in the causes of self-control: An examination of mediation, moderation, and gendered etiologies

Sex is one of the most robust predictors of self-control, with a consistent finding that girls score higher on a variety of measures of self-control. In this research, we investigate three possible reasons for why this is true: first, we examine whether current predictors of self-control mediate the effect of sex on self-control, second, we examine whether sex moderates the effect of current predictors on self-control and third, we examine the possibility that the causes of self-control are gendered, necessitating different causal models for boys and girls. Using data from the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth79, we assess three, related questions: Is the sex effect on self-control mediated by current predictors of self-control? Does sex moderate the effects of current predictors of self-control? Does the causal model predicting self-control differ for boys and girls? We find that the sex effect on self-control is robust; does not moderate the etiology of self-control; and although partially mediated by etiological variables, remains a significant predictor of self-control. We also find that current predictors do a poor job of explaining girls’ acquisition of self-control, suggesting a gendered etiology of self-control.     

The Role of the Broker When Environmental Claims Occur

While environmental incidents tend to occur infrequently, they are often serious enough to disrupt the operations of the entities that experience releases of hazardous materials. The consequences of such events may include third-party claims for bodily injury and property damage, orders to clean up contamination, and regulatory actions against responsible parties. Fortunately, environmental insurance is available to provide protection against the financial consequences of a wide variety of pollution events. This article looks at the role of the broker in assisting clients to identify, analyze, and insure against environmental liability. With properly drafted policies and active participation in the claims management process, the broker can play a significant role in assuring that an environmental insurance policy responds as anticipated when an unexpected incident threatens a client's operations.     

Complexity Theory &; Socio-Legal Studies

The complexity theory paradigm is in the process of being taken up from the natural sciences into the social sciences and humanities. This article introduces complexity theory as a theoretical framework for socio-legal study. Complexity theory is analysed as being developed in non-organic, organic and social registers, and as exhibiting a specific image of thought. The complexity theory of the non-organic register is introduced in terms of Prigogine’s work on order out of chaos and dissipative structures. The complexity theory of the organic register is introduced in terms of Kauffman’s work on edge of chaos self-organisation in morphogenesis and co-evolution. Finally, the complexity theory of the social register is addressed in terms of assemblage theory. Specifically addressing the level of social organisation and the role of law, the work of J.B. Ruhl is considered as the first working through of the implications of complexity theory for socio-legal scholarship. The article goes on to argue that the key starting points of a complexity paradigm for socio-legal study are: an ontogenetic image of thought; complex dynamic dissipative structures and assemblages in phase space; the socio-legal as complex adaptive assemblages in co-evolution with their broader environment; and commitment to emergence and self-organisation at the edge of chaos. In particular, it proposes that the complexity theory of law allows for the search for lost, hidden, local, bottom-up, emergent modes of legality, and for a new conceptual creativity in socio-legal work. The complexity theory theoretical framework is of particular interest and challenge to scholars working in the social sciences with Maturana & Varela based autopoetic systems theory.