Association for Conflict Resolution Guidelines for Eldercaring Coordinators

On November 6, 2014, the AFCC Board of Directors endorsed the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) Guidelines for Eldercaring Coordination, including ethical principles for Eldercaring Coordinators, training protocols, and court pilot project template. The collaboration between Task Forces created by ACR and the Florida Chapter of AFCC, composed of twenty U.S./Canadian and twenty Florida‐wide organizations, produced both an overarching guide to assist in the development of programs and a more detailed model addressing state/province‐specific needs and characteristics. Eldercaring coordination is a dispute resolution option specifically for high‐conflict cases involving the care, needs, and safety of elders.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• There are currently no dispute resolution options for parties involved in high‐conflict cases regarding the care, needs, and safety of an elder.
• The ACR Guidelines for Eldercaring Coordination address the discrepancies between dispute resolution options available for parents in conflict regarding their minor children and mature families with unresolved concerns about the care, needs, and safety of an elder.
• The ACR Guidelines for Eldercaring Coordination provide information regarding the ethical practice of eldercaring coordination including a specific definition, recommended qualifications, ethical practices, grievance procedures, training protocols, and a court pilot project template.
• The practice of eldercaring coordination will address the influx of court cases expected as baby boomers continue to age, reducing delays in court hearings, as parties will have the opportunity to resolve their concerns without continuous court attention.
• As of June 2015, five states began Pilot Projects on Eldercaring Coordination, which will be studied by an independent research group to enhance the progress of the process and to develop the best practices for initiating the programs elsewhere.

     

Exploring the criminal histories of stranger sexual killers

Although sexual homicide is receiving increasing research attention, few studies have examined the criminal histories of sexual killers in any detail. This study examined the criminal histories of 81 British stranger sexual killers to determine whether they were generalist, specialists or both and whether their criminal histories reflected violent, sexual, marginality and over control pathways. Results found most stranger sexual killers were generalist offenders and sexual homicide was part of a varied criminal repertoire and non-sexual crimes predominate. This ‘antisocial orientation’ means future offending may not be limited to sexual violence. Criminal histories reflected the violent, sexual, marginality and over control pathways, but offenders in the violent pathway were more criminally orientated. The clinical and investigative implications of these findings were considered as they suggest knowledge of the criminal histories of stranger sexual killers is an important consideration for criminal justice professionals.     

The association of distress and denial of responsibility with maladaptive personality traits and self‐esteem in offenders

This study aimed to examine the relationship of offenders' distress and responsibility with maladaptive personality traits, self‐esteem, and offence‐type. It also further validated the Distress and Responsibility Scale (DRS; Xuereb et al., 2009a, Pers. Individ. Diff., 46, 465). A new sub‐scale measuring social desirability was included and assessed in the DRS. Maladaptive personality traits and self‐esteem were measured in relation to the following predictions: (1) that maladaptive personality traits would positively correlate with distress (2) that self‐esteem would negatively correlate with distress and acknowledging responsibility. The sample was 405 male sexual, violent, and general offenders from a UK prison. Participants anonymously completed a questionnaire measuring the variables under investigation. The factor‐structure of the DRS was confirmed via Confirmatory Factor Analysis after minor changes. No significant differences in distress and denial of responsibility were found between sexual, violent, and general offenders. Maladaptive personality traits positively correlated with chronic and offence‐related distress, chronic self‐blame, and minimization of offence harm. Chronic and offence‐related distress and responsibility negatively related to self‐esteem. The study concludes that the DRS has reached stability, and that the social desirability scale increases the measure's validity. Assessment and treatment for offence‐related distress and denial of responsibility should be offered to all offence groups. Offenders would benefit from structured interventions to manage difficulties associated with maladaptive personality traits, including chronic distress and self‐blame. Finally, it was concluded that self‐esteem might serve a self‐defensive function for offenders.     

The Effects of Burning and Mold Growth on the Chemical Composition of Firelog Fuels

Firelogs consist of a cellulosic material, such as sawdust or wood particles, and a combustible binder (fuel). Historically, the fuel typically consisted of a petroleum‐based (paraffin) wax; however, some manufacturers now include vegetable oils in their firelog fuels. To determine fuel composition, fuels from various brands of firelogs were extracted and analyzed by high‐temperature gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HTGC‐MS) and a GC‐MS with a polar column specific for the analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). Firelogs were also burned, allowed to grow mold, and analyzed by GC‐MS to determine the effects that burning and mold growth have on firelog fuel composition. Mold did not tend to preferentially degrade any of the fatty acids. Burning caused a decrease in the relative amount of all of the fatty acids present in the vegetable oil fuel, with a greater effect on unsaturated fatty acids than saturated ones.     

Understanding State Rulemaking Processes: Developing Fracking Rules in Colorado,New York,and Ohio

Rulemaking is an integral component of environmental policy at both the federal and state level; however, rulemaking at the state level is understudied. With this research, we begin to fill that gap by focusing on rulemaking regarding the issue of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in three states: Colorado, New York, and Ohio. This policy issue is well suited to begin exploring state‐level rulemaking processes because the federal government has left fracking regulation to the states. Through semistructured interviews with a range of actors in the rulemaking process across these states, we establish a foundation from which future research in this area may build. This exploratory research yields some valuable insights into the roles different stakeholders are playing in regulating fracking in these three states, and our findings may be useful for explaining state‐level rulemaking more generally.     

Development and Initial Findings of an Implementation Process Measure for Child Welfare System Change

This article describes a new measure designed to examine the process of implementation of child welfare systems change. The measure was developed to document the status of the interventions and strategies that are being implemented and the drivers that are being installed to achieve sustainable changes in systems. The measure was used in a Children's Bureau-supported national effort to assess the ongoing implementation of 24 systems-change projects in child welfare jurisdictions across the country. The article describes the process for measure development, method of administration and data collection, and quantitative and qualitative findings.     

Predictors of Women’s Same-Sex Partner Violence Perpetration

The present study examined family of origin, individual characteristics, and intimate relationship variables as predictors of women’s reports (N?=?209; M?=?29.5 years) of physical aggression toward their current or most recent same-sex partner in the past year. Participants completed measures that assessed a series of family of origin, individual, and intimate relationship variables. Results of a least-squares regression revealed that identifying as heterosexual (as opposed to lesbian), higher levels of relationship fusion, more experiences of psychological aggression victimization, and having more prior physically aggressive relationships were associated with more frequent perpetration of partner violence. Results of exploratory models testing whether internalized homophobia or dominance/accommodation were indirectly related to physical aggression perpetration revealed that fusion (i.e., enmeshment with one’s partner) mediated the relationship between internalized homophobia and perpetration of partner violence. Similarly, fusion mediated the association between dominance/accommodation and the perpetration of partner violence. Findings underscore the importance that individual and relationship characteristics have in predicting partner violence perpetration in women’s same-sex relationships.