Reducing intimate and paying partner violence against women who exchange sex in Mongolia: results from a randomized clinical trial

Women who exchange sex for money or other goods, that is, female sex workers, are at increased risk of experiencing physical and sexual violence from both paying and intimate partners. Exposure to violence can be exacerbated by alcohol use and HIV/STI risk. The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of a HIV/STI risk reduction and enhanced HIV/STI risk reduction intervention at decreasing paying and intimate partner violence against Mongolian women who exchange sex and engage in harmful alcohol use. Women are recruited and randomized to either (a) four sessions of a relationship-based HIV/STI risk reduction intervention (n = 49), (b) the same HIV/STI risk reduction intervention plus two additional motivational interviewing sessions (n = 58), or (c) a four session control condition focused on wellness promotion (n = 59). All the respondents complete assessments at baseline (preintervention) as well as at immediate posttest, 3 and 6 months postintervention. A multilevel logistic model finds that women who participated in the HIV/STI risk reduction group (OR = 0.14, p < .00), HIV/STI risk reduction and motivational interview group (OR = 0.46, p = .02), and wellness (OR = 0.20, p < .00) group reduced their exposure to physical and sexual violence in the past 90 days. No significant differences in effects are observed between conditions. This study demonstrates the efficacy of a relationship-based HIV/STI risk reduction intervention, a relationship-based HIV/STI risk reduction intervention combined with motivational interviewing, and a wellness promotion intervention in reducing intimate and paying partner violence against women who exchange sex in Mongolia. The findings have significant implications for the impact of minimal intervention and the potential role of peer networks and social support in reducing women's experiences of violence in resource poor settings.     

Knowledge on DNA Success Rates to Optimize the DNA Analysis Process: From Crime Scene to Laboratory

DNA analysis has become an essential intelligence tool in the criminal justice system for the identification of possible offenders. However, it appears that about half of the processed DNA samples contains too little DNA for analysis. This study looks at DNA success rates within 28 different categories of trace exhibits and relates the DNA concentration to the characteristics of the DNA profile. Data from 2260 analyzed crime samples show that cigarettes, bloodstains, and headwear have relatively high success rates. Cartridge cases, crowbars, and tie‐wraps are on the other end of the spectrum. These objective data can assist forensics in their selection process.The DNA success probability shows a positive relation with the DNA concentration. This finding enables the laboratory to set an evidence‐based threshold value in the DNA analysis process. For instance, 958 DNA extracts had a concentration value of 6 pg/μL or less. Only 46 of the 958 low‐level extracts provided meaningful DNA profiling data.     

Skeleton find from Roman times suspected as an homicide victim

A human skeleton was found during construction work on the concrete foundations of a fence built 17 years before. The situation seemed to suggest that a corpse had been disposed of 17 years ago. Forensic and osteological examinations showed that death had been caused by semi-sharp and blunt craniocerebral trauma. However, there were morphological findings which indicated that the body had been buried in soil for at least 50 years. Several additional objects found nearby and the proximity to the Limes pointed to a Roman context. With the help of the radiocarbon method, the time of death could be dated to about 245-263 AD. A recent act of violence could hence be ruled out. According to the situation at the scene, it had to be assumed, however, that the skeleton must have been discovered already during the construction work done 17 years before and that the find had not been reported. Such behaviour is a phenomenon quite often encountered in practice.     

Collaborative Innovation,New Technologies,and Work Redesign

Stakeholders agree on the need to promote innovation in work organization in public services. This article deploys the concept of collaborative innovation to discuss employees' and managers' experiences of a major technology‐driven work redesign project within National Health Service pharmacy services in Scotland. The authors draw on extant literature on New Public Management (NPM) and collaborative approaches to innovation to frame more than 40 in‐depth interviews with managers and employees. They find that key components of collaborative innovation—related to joint problem‐solving, interdisciplinary working, and mutual learning—were important to the success of the redesign project and had positive impacts on job quality for some employees. The authors argue that researchers and policy makers should look beyond NPM‐driven models that have dominated some areas of the public innovation literature to consider the potential added value of collaborative innovation to improving both work and service delivery in the public sector.     

Predicting Life Satisfaction During Middle Adulthood from Peer Relationships During Mid-Adolescence

The immediate advantages of adolescent friendships and disadvantages of peer rejection are well documented, but there is little evidence that these effects extend into adulthood. This study tested the hypothesis that peer relationships during adolescence predict life satisfaction during middle adulthood, using data from a 30-year prospective longitudinal study. Participants included 996 (49.5 % female) 8th grade students from a community sample of Swedish youth. Self-reports of friendship and peer reports of rejection were obtained when participants were age 15. Self-reports of global life satisfaction and perceived relationship quality were collected at age 43 for women and age 48 for men. Path analyses tested a direct-effects model that examined links from adolescent friendship participation and peer rejection to middle adulthood outcomes, and a buffered-effects model that examined links from adolescent peer rejection to middle adulthood outcomes, separately for those with and without friends during adolescence. Strong support emerged for the buffered-effects model but not the direct-effects model. Adolescent friendship participation moderated associations between adolescent peer rejection and adult global life satisfaction and between adolescent peer rejection and adult perceived relationship quality such that peer rejection predicted poorer adult outcomes for youth without friends but not for youth with friends. The findings suggest that the risks of peer rejection—and benefits of friendship—extend from adolescence well into middle age.     

Striving in the Way of God: Justifying Jihad by Young Belgian and Dutch Muslims

Since March 2013, the news has been dominated by young Muslims from European countries leaving for Syria to join the armed struggle against the Assad regime. This is especially remarkable in light of the fact that it would appear that, until very recently, European foreign fighters were far and few between. The armed struggle is a topic that is widely discussed among young Muslims on social media such as Facebook. During the research on which this article is based, I analyzed conversations between young Muslims on Facebook and also conducted interviews with a number of them. The key question was: Why is it that so many young people use social media to profess their willingness to sacrifice their lives in armed struggle while at the same time most of them are not prepared to turn their words into deeds? Despite all the media reports, the fact remains that of the large number of young Muslims who are potentially ready to go into battle, the vast majority prefer to stay at home for the time being. When I confronted the participants in these discussions with this inconsistency they offered a number of reasons as to why martyrdom was not yet granted to them. The way in which these considerations shape their lives and the role played by their religious convictions form the subject of this article.