Do Mothers and Teens Disagree About Sexual Communication? A Methodological Reappraisal

This study investigated whether parent–teen disagreement in reports of sexual discussions is due to methodological factors. Forty-four mothers and their 12- to 15-year-old daughters (n = 18) and sons (n = 26) completed parallel questionnaires including measures of communication about 18 different sexual topics during the teen's entire life and during the past year. Analyses examined whether congruence rates were influenced by the use of global as compared to specific items, assessment of conversations during the teen's entire life as compared to the past year, and use of forced-choice as opposed to continuous-response categories. Taken as a whole, results support the notion that methodological limitations are partly responsible for lack of congruence in parent–teen reports. Suggestions for methodological improvements in future research are discussed.     

State Policies Affecting Cities and Counties in 1992

Most states did not make major changes in their policies affecting cities and counties in 1992. California and Maryland are the two leading exceptions. As many states continued to experience fiscal stress, fourteen states cut aid to local governments, while ten states increased aid. Some important changes also occurred in local revenue authority, sorting out responsibilities, and restrictions on unfunded mandates.     

The coordination of policy priorities among regional institutions from the Baltic Sea to the Arctic: the institutions – coordination dilemma

We examine the coordination of policy priorities among the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, the Council of Baltic Sea States, and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The member states of these groups established these institutions to coordinate their regional cooperation. However, the member states ended up having to coordinate the parallel work of these institutions. This coordination effort influenced their cooperation, creating an institutional coordination dilemma. We analyze how interests, leadership, and identity politics influence this dilemma and how negative, problem-solving, and positive forms of coordination can amend its effects regarding the temporal consistency of policy priorities and their sectoral overlap.     

Policies and Developments Relating to the Sexual Exploitation of Children: The Legacy of the Stockholm Conference

This article begins by noting the huge amount of attention that is now being paid at almost every level – international, European, national and by independent organisations and NGOs – to the growing problem of international child sexual exploitation and considers why this is the case. It then comments briefly on what we mean by international sexual exploitation, noting that different definitions are used. The main part of the article reviews developments in this field, beginning with the main international measure: the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and then goes on to review the 1996 First World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation (the Stockholm Congress). After that some key measures subsequently adopted at international and national level, as well as by the European Union (which is increasingly taking international child sexual exploitation within its remit) are outlined. Lastly, some final thoughts are set out in the conclusion.     

State Livelihood Planning and Legibility in Vietnam’s Northern Borderlands: The “Rightful Criticisms” of Local Officials

Macro-level policies frequently transform and reconfigure local livelihood options. While there is a small but growing body of ethnographic work regarding ethnic minority livelihoods in Vietnam’s mountainous borderlands, there is far less research examining the state decrees and policies implemented there and the opinions of state workers who have to apply them. This article starts to address this gap. First, we examine contemporary Vietnamese state legislation regarding upland livelihoods. We focus on the directions found in 82 livelihood-related state decrees, examining their scope and edicts while critiquing what they overlook regarding upland livelihood needs and approaches. Then, from in-depth interviews with state officials in Hà Giang Province, a mountainous upland region with a proportionately large ethnic minority population, we explore the opinions of those charged with the implementation of these decrees. Building on O’Brien’s earlier work on rightful resistance in China, we suggest that a form of “rightful criticism” has emerged among upland state officials, allowing us to reveal the contours of political power in Vietnam’s borderlands. Moreover, we draw attention to the lack of acknowledgement of ethnic diversity in these uplands within policy and official practice.     

An Update on the Hazards and Risks of Forensic Anthropology,Part I: Human Remains

This work reviews the hazards and risks of practicing forensic anthropology in North America, with a focus on pathogens encountered through contact with unpreserved human remains. Since the publication of Galloway and Snodgrass' seminal paper concerning the hazards of forensic anthropology, research has provided new information about known pathogen hazards, and regulating authorities have updated recommendations for the recognition and treatment of several infections. Additionally, forensic anthropology has gained popularity, exposing an increased number of students and practitioners to these hazards. Current data suggest many occupational exposures to blood or body fluids go unreported, especially among students, highlighting the need for this discussion. For each pathogen and associated disease, this work addresses important history, reviews routes of exposure, provides an overview of symptoms and treatments, lists decontamination procedures, and presents data on postmortem viability. Personal protection and laboratory guidelines should be established and enforced in conjunction with the consideration of these data.     

Suicidal Drug Overdoses in New Mexico: A 5‐year Retrospective Review

To better understand the changing toxicology trends in suicidal drug overdoses in the setting of an increased national trend of multidrug overdoses, a retrospective review of electronic records from New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator database was performed between 2008 and 2012 to assess the drug type and current risk factors in suicide deaths. Information on demographics, circumstances, suicide risk factors, toxicology findings, and death certificates was collected and analyzed. Three hundred and forty‐two suicide cases of suicide overdoses were identified. Decedents were predominantly female (61.8%). Scene investigation revealed risk factors including suicide ideation (47.4%), previous suicide attempts (38%), and suicide note (38%). Psychiatric illness was present in 72% of cases, with depression being the most common illness. Chronic pain was seen in 27.2% of cases. Most deaths were attributed to multiple drugs (76%). Utilizing the toxicology information will assist in creating public awareness and provide a framework to support targeted efforts to attempt to prevent future suicides.     

Neither Fair nor Unchangeable But Part of the Natural Order: Orientations Towards Inequality in the Face of Criticism of the Economic System

The magnitude of climate change threats to life on the planet is not matched by the level of current mitigation strategies. To contribute to our understanding of inaction in the face of climate change, the reported study draws upon the pro status quo motivations encapsulated within System Justification Theory. In an online questionnaire study, participants (N = 136) initially completed a measure of General System Justification. Participants in a “System-critical” condition were then exposed to information linking environmental problems to the current economic system; participants in a Control condition were exposed to information unrelated to either environmental problems or the economic system. A measure of Economic System Justification was subsequently administered. Regressions of Economic System Justification revealed interactions between General System Justification and Information Type: higher general system justifiers in the System-critical condition rated the economic system as less fair than did their counterparts in the Control condition. However, they also indicated inequality as more natural than did their counterparts in the Control condition. The groups did not differ in terms of beliefs about the economic system being open to change. The results are discussed in terms of how reassurance about the maintenance of the status quo may be bolstered by recourse to beliefs in a natural order.