Ballistic impact of hollow-point ammunition on porcine bone

Identifying failure mechanisms in skeletal tissue allows a deeper understanding of the effects of specific projectile impacts on bone. While ballistic trauma in flat bones is largely researched, knowledge of how long bones react to gunshot impacts is limited in the literature. The impacts of deforming ammunition appear to produce higher levels of fragmentation; however, these have not been studied in depth. This study compares the damage to femora bone by HP 0.357 and 9 mm projectiles constructed with both full and semi-metal jackets. Impact experiments were undertaken on a single-stage light gas gun involving the use of a high-speed video camera and full reconstruction of the bones to ascertain fracture patterns occurring in the femora. Higher degrees of fragmentation are likened to the presence of semi-jacketed HP projectiles than jacketed HP projectiles. The observations of external facing beveled edges are believed to be associated with the increased separation of the jacket and lead core of projectiles. Additionally, experimentation has shown that the amount of kinetic energy lost postimpact is likely related to the presence or the absence of a metal jacket on an HP projectile. The observed data, therefore, suggest that the composition, rather than the configuration, of a projectile affects the type and extent of the damage.     

Acknowledging the Suffering Caused by State-Mandated Sexual Violence and Crimes: An Assessment of the Iraqi High Tribunal

The Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT), as a mechanism of transitional justice, took upon it a pioneering role within the Middle Eastern Region by prosecuting and convicting several high-ranking members of the former suppressive regime in Iraq. As part of this work, the IHT confronted the widespread impunity for and disregard of gender-based crimes, such as rape and other sexual violence, and took steps towards reforming the sector through its progressive statute and the specific acknowledgment of gender crimes within its judgments. It will be the aim of the following article to extend academic writings on Iraq, the IHT and gender, by providing insights into how the tribunal dealt with the issues of rape and sexual violence, the surrounding circumstances and how successful the IHT's recognition of these crimes proved for transitional justice in Iraq.     

Participatory numbers for integrating knowledge and actions in development

This article discusses the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of quantitative participatory methods and participatory numbers for integrating locals’ and outsiders’ knowledge, as well as actions from the bottom-up and top-down, in development. It places emphasis on the contribution of quantitative participatory methods and participatory numbers to foster dialogue between a wide range of stakeholders, for example, local people, NGOs, government agencies and scientists, who usually seldom directly engage with each other. The article draws on case studies that discuss remittances and disasters in Samoa, and disaster risk reduction in the Philippines.     

Desistance and Legitimacy: The Impact of Offender Notification Meetings on Recidivism among High Risk Offenders

Legitimacy-based approaches to crime prevention assume that individuals will comply with the law when they believe that the law and its agents are legitimate and act in ways that are “fair” and “just.” Currently, legitimacy-based programs are shown to lower aggregate levels of crime; yet, no study has investigated whether such programs influence individual offending. Using quasi-experimental design and survival analyses, this study evaluates the effectiveness of one such program—Chicago’s Project Safe Neighborhoods’ (PSN) Offender Notification Forums—at reducing individual recidivism among a population of returning prisoners. Results suggest that involvement in PSN significantly reduces the risk of subsequent incarceration and is associated with significantly longer intervals that offenders remain on the street and out of prison. As the first study to provide individual-level evidence promoting legitimacy-based interventions on patterns of individual offending, out study suggests these interventions can and do reduce rates of recidivism.     

Parenting factors,social skills,and value commitments as precursors to school failure,involvement with deviant peers,and delinquent behavior

Elements of social control theory were combined with social learning theory to construct a model of delinquency which specifies the manner in which parenting factors, social skills, value commitments, and problems in school contribute to association with deviant peers and involvement in delinquent behavior. The model was tested using a sample of 61 families, each of which included a seventh grader. Questionnaire responses and coded videotaped family interaction were employed as measures of study constructs. The results largely supported the proposed model.This work was supported by Research Grants DA 05347 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, MH 43270 from the National Institute of Mental Health, and MCJ 190572 from the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health, Department of Health and Human Services.Received Ph.D. in sociology from Florida State University. Research interests: etiology of adolescent depression, substance abuse, and delinquency; identification of factors that influence parenting practices; causes and consequences of adolescent and adult homelessness.Received Ph.D. in sociology from Washington State University. Research interests: impact of family and peers upon adolescent value socialization, self-esteem, and perceptions of self-efficacy; street culture among adolescent runaways and adult homeless.Received Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington. Research interests: impacft of economic stress upon family dynamics, and relationship between parenting practices and adolescent developmental outcomes.Doctoral candidate in sociology at Iowa State University. Research interests: economic hardship and marital interaction, and determinants and consequences of variation in sibling interaction.     

Identification of Eight Synthetic Cannabinoids,Including 5F‐AKB48 in Seized Herbal Products Using DART‐TOF‐MS and LC‐QTOF‐MS as Nontargeted Screening Methods

Synthetic cannabinoids are sprayed onto plant material and smoked for their marijuana‐like effects. Clandestine manufacturers modify synthetic cannabinoid structures by creating closely related analogs. Forensic laboratories are tasked with detection of these analog compounds, but targeted analytical methods are often thwarted by the structural modifications. Here, direct analysis in real time coupled to accurate mass time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (DART‐TOF‐MS) in combination with liquid chromatography quadruple time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (LC‐QTOF‐MS) are presented as a screening and nontargeted confirmation method, respectively. Methanol extracts of herbal material were run using both methods. Spectral data from four different herbal products were evaluated by comparing fragmentation pattern, accurate mass and retention time to available reference standards. JWH‐018, JWH‐019, AM2201, JWH‐122, 5F‐AKB48, AKB48‐N‐(4‐pentenyl) analog, UR144, and XLR11 were identified in the products. Results demonstrate that DART‐TOF‐MS affords a useful approach for rapid screening of herbal products for the presence and identification of synthetic cannabinoids.     

The legal and administrative processes in adoption: views and experiences of newly formed adoptive families

The early stages of adoptive placements are important in achieving successful long-term outcomes for adopted children and their families. This paper reports on findings from the Wales Adoption Study, in which adoptive parents shared their views and experiences of the legal and administrative processes in obtaining an adoption order. Parents described a range of difficulties that added to anxieties and delays. These arose mainly through poor communication about the steps in the legal process and avoidable administrative errors or oversights. Some parents also experienced lack of information and support regarding agreed contact arrangements and work with their child to help them make sense of their adoptive status.