THE CALM AFTER THE STORM: USING MEDIATION TO RESOLVE PARENTING DISPUTES IN THE WAKE OF NATURAL DISASTERS

Hurricane Katrina not only tore apart communities along the Gulf Coast, it displaced hundreds of thousands of families throughout the country. Included in the massive numbers of displaced families were children from divorced, separated, or unmarried parents. As a result, many children have since relocated far away from one of their parents without court permission, causing an influx of parenting disputes among the unmarried parents. Litigation concerning parenting disputes that follow natural disasters is not only expensive, but is emotionally taxing on both parents and children and floods the already drained court system. This Note discusses alternative ways in which parenting disputes can be resolved following natural disasters. It explains how children are affected by relocating away from one of their parents and how those effects are comounded by natural disasters. Further, it explains how alternative dispute resolution methods help alleviate the effects of parenting disputes, specifically relocation disputes, on children. Finally, this Note proposes that all parents should be mandated to mediate any parenting disputes following natural disasters.     

Evaluation of Non‐Natural Deaths among Veterans: New Mexico Medical Examiner‐Investigated Deaths, 2002–2011

While it is recognized that veterans have increased rates of depression, post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide, and substance use disorders, rates of homicide and unintentional injury deaths in veterans have been minimally investigated. We evaluated all non‐natural deaths in New Mexico veterans between 2002 and 2011 in comparison with non‐natural deaths among non‐veterans. We reviewed all decedents in New Mexico with a history of military service and investigated by the medical examiner, excluding natural deaths and deaths due to fall from standing height. The most common manner of death was unintentional injury (62%), most of these deaths due to motor vehicle accidents (29%) followed by unintentional overdose (26%). Suicide rates among veterans were consistently higher than the general population. The most common mechanism of suicide in men was gunshot wound (72%), and intentional overdose in women (49%). Services are needed for veterans that are tailored to all ages and both sexes.     

Comparing the Scoring of Human Decomposition from Digital Images to Scoring Using On‐site Observations

When in forensic casework or empirical research in‐person assessment of human decomposition is not possible, the sensible substitution is color photographic images. To date, no research has confirmed the utility of color photographic images as a proxy for in situ observation of the level of decomposition. Sixteen observers scored photographs of 13 human cadavers in varying decomposition stages (PMI 2–186 days) using the Total Body Score system (total n = 929 observations). The on‐site TBS was compared with recorded observations from digital color images using a paired samples t‐test. The average difference between on‐site and photographic observations was ?0.20 (t = ?1.679, df = 928, p = 0.094). Individually, only two observers, both students with <1 year of experience, demonstrated TBS statistically significantly different than the on‐site value, suggesting that with experience, observations of human decomposition based on digital images can be substituted for assessments based on observation of the corpse in situ , when necessary.     

Who Can Deviate from the Party Line? Political Ideology Moderates Evaluation of Incongruent Policy Positions in Insula and Anterior Cingulate Cortex

Political polarization at the elite level is a major concern in many contemporary democracies, which is argued to alienate large swaths of the electorate and prevent meaningful social change from occurring, yet little is known about how individuals respond to political candidates who deviate from the party line and express policy positions incongruent with their party affiliations. This experiment examines the neural underpinnings of such evaluations using functional MRI (fMRI). During fMRI, participants completed an experimental task where they evaluated policy positions attributed to hypothetical political candidates. Each block of trials focused on one candidate (Democrat or Republican), but all participants saw two candidates from each party in a randomized order. On each trial, participants received information about whether the candidate supported or opposed a specific policy issue. These issue positions varied in terms of congruence between issue position and candidate party affiliation. We modeled neural activity as a function of incongruence and whether participants were viewing ingroup or outgroup party candidates. Results suggest that neural activity in brain regions previously implicated in both evaluative processing and work on ideological differences (insula and anterior cingulate cortex) differed as a function of the interaction between incongruence, candidate type (ingroup versus outgroup), and political ideology. More liberal participants showed greater activation to incongruent versus congruent trials in insula and ACC, primarily when viewing ingroup candidates. Implications for the study of democratic representation and linkages between citizens’ calls for social change and policy implementation are discussed.     

The Need for a Positive Psychological Approach and Collaborative Effort for Improving Practice in the Interrogation Room

The White Paper suggests important reforms that will reduce the likelihood of false confessions resulting from police interrogation. The research underlying these suggested reforms has yielded significant advances in our understanding of factors associated with false confessions. As we move forward, we encourage the development of empirically based approaches that provide a viable alternative to current practice. In doing so, we suggest that researchers pursue a positive psychological approach that involves partnering with practitioners to systematically develop interrogative methods that are shown to be more diagnostic. By taking such an approach, we believe that the recommendations offered in the current White Paper can be supplemented by methods that carry the support of both scientific and law enforcement communities.     

Disproportionate minority contact in the Dutch juvenile justice system

To examine whether disproportionate minority contact (DMC) exists in the Netherlands, the representation of minority youth was determined for all stages of the juvenile justice system. Using native Dutch youth as a reference group, the odds ratios (OR) to be registered and arrested as suspect, for alternative punishment and for incarceration, were calculated for the minority youth. In all stages of the juvenile justice system, the ORs for minority youths were considerably higher, except for alternative punishment, having lower ORs. This indicates that DMC exists in the Netherlands. DMC should be politicized and programs should be developed to eliminate this inequality.     

A Multi-Level Conceptual Model to Examine Child Welfare Worker Turnover and Retention Decisions

There is little disagreement about the importance of a healthy stable workforce in promoting effective provision of child welfare services. This review proposes a multi-level conceptual model of child welfare workforce turnover combining traditional individual and organizational impacts with factors associated with community context. Identified gaps in the literature along with a related research agenda are reviewed. Also presented is an overview of the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families, a longitudinal study of new hires into the child welfare workforce across Florida, providing opportunities to address gaps and test model characteristics regarding turnover decisions and related outcomes.     

Recent developments in medicine and law

This article focuses on certain noteworthy legislation and cases affecting medicine and law during the period September 1, 2001, to August 31, 2002. It does not attempt to discuss every case or piece of legislation, but instead seeks to summarize some of the more significant developments in this area of law.     

Drug and alcohol use as determinants of New York City homicide trends from 1990 to 1998

In this population-level study, we analyzed how well changes in drug and alcohol use among homicide victims explained declining homicide rates in New York City between 1990 and 1998. Victim demographics, cause of death, and toxicology were obtained for all homicide (N = 12573) and accidental death victims (N = 6351) between 1990 and 1998 from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York (OCME). The proportion of homicide and accident decedents positive for cocaine fell between 1990 and 1998 (13% and 9% respectively); the proportion of homicide and accident decedents positive for opiates and/or alcohol did not change significantly. Changing patterns of drug and alcohol use by homicide victims were comparable to changing patterns of drug and alcohol use in accident victims, suggesting that changes in drug and alcohol use among homicide victims between 1990 and 1998 cannot solely explain the decline in NYC homicide rates.