The Impact of Freezing on Bone Mineral Density: Implications for Forensic Research

It is common for researchers using animal or human remains for scientific study to freeze samples prior to use. However, effects of freezing on bone macro‐ or microstructure are relatively unknown. The research objective of this study was to determine whether freezing could potentially bias experimental results by analyzing changes in bone mineral density (BMD) with the freezing of remains over time. Eight fetal pigs were scanned to determine their initial BMD before freezing. Three piglets underwent a freeze‐thaw cycle to assess the effects of the freezing process. Four piglets were frozen and scanned weekly for 20 weeks to assess freezing over time. The overall average between the fresh initial scan and final frozen scan was significantly different (p < 0.001). Per contra, the final thawed BMD scans did not differ from the initial fresh scan (p = 0.418). Thus, completely thawed remains are recommended for experimental studies.     

Do Globalization and Free Markets Drive Obesity among Children and Youth? An Empirical Analysis, 1990–2013

Scholars of public health identify globalization as a major cause of obesity. Free markets are blamed for spreading high calorie, nutrient-poor diets, and sedentary lifestyles across the globe. Global trade and investment agreements apparently curtail government action in the interest of public health. Globalization is also blamed for raising income inequality and social insecurities, which contribute to “obesogenic” environments. Contrary to recent empirical studies, this study demonstrates that globalization and several component parts, such as trade openness, FDI flows, and an index of economic freedom, reduce weight gain and obesity among children and youth, the most likely age cohort to be affected by the past three decades of globalization and attendant lifestyle changes. The results suggest strongly that local-level factors possibly matter much more than do global-level factors for explaining why some people remain thin and others put on weight. The proposition that globalization is homogenizing cultures across the globe in terms of diets and lifestyles is possibly exaggerated. The results support the proposition that globalized countries prioritize health because of the importance of labor productivity and human capital due to heightened market competition, ceteris paribus, even if rising incomes might drive high consumption.     

Sexual Behavior and Perceived Peer Norms: Comparing Perinatally Hiv-infected and Hiv-affected Youth

A large proportion of perinatally HIV-infected (PHIV) children are becoming adolescents and exploring their sexuality. This study explored the prevalence of sexual behaviors (kissing, touching, engaging in oral sex, or having vaginal/anal intercourse) in a sample of predominantly ethnic minority youths (N = 339; 54.1% Black and 30.4% Latino; 51% female; ages 9–16) perinatally exposed to HIV (61% HIV+). Using logistic regression, we tested the association between sexual behavior and HIV status, demographic characteristics, and peer influences regarding sexual behavior. PHIV youth were less likely to be sexually active. Among sexually active youth, PHIV youth were more likely to engage in touching behavior than HIV-negative youth and were less likely to engage in penetrative sex. Youths reporting that a greater number of their peers believed that sexually active boys were “cool” or “popular” were more likely to report sexual behavior. The association between sexual behavior and peers believing sexually active girls were “cool” or “popular” varied by age, gender, and HIV status. Furthermore, friends’ sexual activity was associated with sexual intercourse. Prevention programs should strengthen messages addressing peer norms regarding sexuality, as well as address specific issues related to adolescent HIV.

Alliteration in Mate Selection: Does Barbara Still Marry Barry?

More than 30 years ago research found that alliteration is a factor in assortative mating (i.e., marriages). Alliterative matches were even more frequent when using nicknames than when using given names. Subsequently, researchers have confirmed the higher than chance occurrence of alliterative matches for given names. But nicknames have not been examined over the past 30 years. The present research finds support for three hypotheses. As predicted, nicknames are more associated with alliterative matches than are given names. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Dismemberment and Mutilation: A Data-Driven Exploration of Patterns,Motives, and Styles

Classification of violent behavior, including dismemberment and mutilation, has become increasingly more significant. This study uses a data-driven classification system based upon knowledge drawn from the pertinent literature, and examination of cases of offenders who have dismembered or mutilated their victims. The latter were extracted from the Serial Killer Database, as well as media sources, and assessed for characteristics of the perpetrators and victim(s). An informational form was developed and used to establish quantitative parameters and objectively extract pertinent information that could be used for comparison and pattern analysis. Motives and styles, as well as the organized/disorganized dichotomy for murder and dismemberment/mutilation, were examined for each case. The majority of cases demonstrated defensive styles (60%), with the second most common being offensive styles (26%), which differs from previous studies that do not exclude older cases. Additionally, 68% of cases reflected organized patterns for both murder and the acts of dismemberment or mutilation. The results support a data-driven classification system that may serve as a foundational model for the investigation of specific motives of this type of deviant behavior in future research.     

Mimetic creativity in Japanese translations of Edgar Allen Poe

Abstract:

This study of contemporary Japanese translations of selected stories of Edgar Allen Poe argues that contemporary translators have adopted a creative strategy of translation that succeeds in avoiding what Berman has called ‘the destruction of underlying networks of signification’. In a writer of gothic horror such as Poe, chains of expression that establish a mood and visualization are vital to building the reader’s sense of fear and anticipation. The current study shows that the Japanese translators employ sound symbolism and alliteration to create a feeling akin to that in Poe, yet their application of such techniques is distributed differently than in Poe’s original language, and differently from one another. This article examines the use of mimetics in four contemporary Japanese translations of two of Poe’s gothic horror narratives and two translations of one detective narrative. The results show that the Japanese translators used mimetic words in their translations at rates similar to those found in recent studies of selected writers of modern and contemporary fiction. The second finding is that when translating the passages containing the seventy-six sound-symbolic forms in the English source text, the translators of Poe used Japanese mimetic terms 34 per cent of the time. The third finding is that the 34 per cent figure for percentage of sound-symbolic English words translated with mimetic expressions in the target text represented only 12 percent of the total number of mimetics (355 tokens) used in the Japanese translations. The fourth finding reveals an overlap in translator use of a mimetic averaging 42.6 per cent.     

Longer Term Impact of Bystander Training to Reduce Violence Acceptance and Sexism

ABSTRACT

Many bystander programs to prevent violence have been developed and evaluated in college populations. An exception is the randomized controlled trial of Green Dot, found effective in reducing violence rates and violence acceptance in 26 high-schools (2010–2014). In ‘Life’s Snapshot’, 10,727 seniors were recruited from these same schools with the goal of determining the longer-term efficacy of bystander training. Students in intervention schools could have up to three years of Green Dot exposure. Seniors from intervention versus control schools had significantly lower scores (p <.01) indicating less violence acceptance or sexism for two of five measures. Seniors’ self-reports of bystander training received confirmed these findings. These cross-sectional analyses suggest that some reductions in violence acceptance associated with bystander programming may be maintained into early adulthood.     

Post-Breakup Unwanted Pursuit: A Refined Analysis of the Role of Romantic Relationship Characteristics

This study re-examined the role of romantic relationship characteristics in unwanted pursuit behavior (UPB) perpetration. Relationship characteristics were investigated accounting for the role of breakup characteristics using data from 396 divorced adults and advanced count regressions. The main effects of former relationship characteristics (except conflict) did not contribute explained variance to the frequency of UPBs when controlling for significant breakup characteristics (initiator status and post-breakup negative affect). However, moderator analyses revealed significant effects of relationship satisfaction, alternatives, investments, and anxious attachment in interaction with initiator status and of relationship alternatives in interaction with post-breakup negative affect. These findings illustrate that the association between relationship characteristics and UPB perpetration is more complex than previously thought and are theoretically and clinically valuable.     

Recidivism Outcomes for Suburban Mental Health Court Defendants

Mental health courts have recently emerged as one means to reduce the number of persons with mental illness in the criminal justice system. Using a post-test only comparison group design, this study examined rearrest rates for 1 year post discharge among three groups meeting admission criteria for a municipal mental health court. The rearrest rate of defendants who successfully completed the program (N = 351) was 14.5%, compared to 38% among defendants negatively terminated from the program (N = 137), and 25.8% among defendants who chose not to participate (N = 89). This positive result held even when controlling for a range of variables in a Cox regression survival analysis. Factors associated with rearrest are identified for each of the three groups.