The gendering effects of co-authorship in criminology & criminal justice research

Historically, research from various fields has indicated that females are underrepresented in academic papers. Not only are females less likely to publish relative to males, but they are also less likely to be sole-, co-, and first-authors in journal publications. While this gender discrepancy has become smaller in recent decades, males are still disproportionately represented in academic papers. The current study reviews author characteristics of articles published in the top fifteen criminology/criminal justice journals over a forty-year period (1974–2014). Among the 11,348 articles in the study, results indicated that while female sole- and first-authorship increased throughout the study period, 26.6% of sole-authors were female while 32% were first-authors and composed 33.3% of all co-authors. Further, females were less likely to be sole- and first-authors, less likely to have co-authors, and more likely to publish with other female co-authors.     

Bupropion Overdose Resulted in a Pharmacobezoar in a Fatal Bupropion (Wellbutrin®) Sustained‐release Overdose: Postmortem Distribution of Bupropion and its Major Metabolites

Bupropion (BUP) overdose commonly causes generalized seizures and central nervous system depression. The case of a 28‐year‐old woman who died from a massive lethal overdose with sustained‐release bupropion (Wellbutrin^® 300 mg) is herein presented. The autopsy revealed the presence of a pharmacobezoar consisting of at least 40 tablets in the stomach. Determination of bupropion and its active metabolites (hydroxybupropion, threobupropion, erythrobupropion) was achieved by a liquid chromatographic mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method. Postmortem concentrations for bupropion, hydroxybupropion, threobupropion, and erythrobupropion were obtained in intracranial blood, urine, bile, liver, kidney, and vitreous humor. In this case, intracranial blood level of the parent drug was 1.9 mg/L. Threobupropion was the most abundant metabolite in both blood and urine, 59.3 and 890.6 mg/L. Tissue distribution showed the highest concentration in the liver, 12.3 mg/kg. The 0.8 bupropion concentration ratio vitreous/blood suggested that vitreous could be a valuable specimen for toxicological analysis should postmortem blood be unavailable.     

Psychometric Markers of Genuine and Feigned Neurodevelopmental Disorders in the Context of Applying for Academic Accommodations

The article reviews systemic and context-specific challenges of psychoeducational assessment using two case studies: a 19-year-old woman with feigned attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and a 50-year-old man with genuine dyslexia. These cases demonstrate that providing a thorough evaluation of performance validity is an essential component of determining eligibility for academic accommodations in both clinical and higher education settings. At the same time, discounting failure on certain performance validity tests may be necessary to protect against false positive errors. In addition, empirically based test selection and interpretation has the potential to enhance the clinical confidence during differential diagnosis. Examining the internal consistency of a given neurocognitive profile provides valuable clinical information to determine both the credibility of the overall presentation and applying established diagnostic criteria. Although clinical research has yet to identify definitive markers of non-credible neurocognitive profiles, a multivariate approach to performance validity assessment that combines empirically validated indicators and sound clinical judgment can improve detection rates while simultaneously protecting against false positive errors.     

Comparing Standard and Selective Degradation DNA Extraction Methods: Results from a Field Experiment with Sexual Assault Kits,

A growing number of U.S. cities have large numbers of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) in police property facilities. Testing older kits and maintaining current case work will be challenging for forensic laboratories, creating a need for more efficient testing methods. Methods: We evaluated selective degradation methods for DNA extraction using actual case work from a sample of previously unsubmitted SAKs in Detroit, Michigan. We randomly assigned 350 kits to either standard or selective degradation testing methods and then compared DNA testing rates and CODIS entry rates between the two groups. Results and conclusions: Continuation‐ratio modeling showed no significant differences, indicating that the selective degradation method had no decrement in performance relative to customary methods. Follow‐up equivalence tests indicated that CODIS entry rates for the two methods could differ by more than ±5%. Selective degradation methods required less personnel time for testing and scientific review than standard testing.     

Who is Likely to Help and Hurt? Profiles of African American Adolescents with Prosocial and Aggressive Behavior

Prosocial behavior and aggression among children and adolescents are important indicators of social and interpersonal competence. The goal of this study was to investigate whether there are different prototypes among African American adolescents that can help explain prosocial and aggressive (relational and overt) behaviors. Also of interest was whether these profiles differed for boys and girls. The selection of independent variables (e.g., empathy, anger management, normative beliefs about aggression, and ethnic identity) was guided by an information processing model of aggression and prosocial behaviors. The sample consisted of 789 (57% female) African American adolescents between the ages of 11 and 14. Cluster analysis produced three profiles that were similar for boys and girls. These were labeled “well-adjusted,” “poorly adjusted,” and “low identity.” A fourth profile was labeled “low empathy” for girls and “poor anger management” for boys. These four clusters significantly differentiated who engaged in prosocial behavior and relational and overt aggression. Findings suggest that prevention programs may consider targeting well-adjusted youth to serve as peer modes. Additionally, programs that promote empathy, anger management, ethnic identity, and normative beliefs against aggression may be useful for reducing aggression and increasing prosocial behavior among poorly adjusted youth.     

Reforming Service Delivery in China: The Emergence of a Social Innovation Model

In this paper, I find that the political economy of public goods provision by the local government in Shanghai influenced the decision to transition from the existing public service delivery model based on residency, to a social innovation model where the government contracts with non-profits and private firms to provide services at lower costs and experiment with different levels of provision (购买服务). Contracting also forms a bridge between old governance models and new ones, which potentially allow for a process of administrative modernization without social instability. Contracting for public-goods provision is increasing in prevalence not only in Shanghai but also in many other provinces, and is professionalizing participating organizations and providing public goods to vulnerable populations. While this practice is not yet increasing non-profit participation in the policy process, the creation of access channels that are currently operating solely in one direction may at some future date allow groups to participate in relevant policy areas. Contracting public goods might have the potential of significant effects beyond the term of the contract by increasing pluralism in local public policy and generating more demand for transparency and accountability of government services. As such, this is an interesting bellwether for future political change in China.     

“The times have changed,the dope has changed”: Women's cooking roles and gender performances in shake methamphetamine markets*

Drug markets are typically portrayed as male dominated, with men occupying the higher positions and women fulfilling the lower positions. Yet, the results of recent work highlight how women's participation and experiences in drug economies varies by the structure and organization of the specific market. We focus on the shake‐and‐bake (“shake”) methamphetamine (meth) market, which seems to have emerged mainly in response to legal attempts to curtail methamphetamine production. We explore how women adapt to structural changes and how they perform gender to navigate a market in which the focus is on personal consumption instead of on monetary gain. By relying on semistructured interviews with 40 women who cooked meth, we identify the gendered strategies they adopt and how these coincide with their position in the drug market. Cooking roles took three forms (partner, lead, and team), and each role was characterized by distinct patterns of gender performance and autonomy (emphasized femininity, matriarchal control, and gender neutral). We show that certain market conditions allow for increased participation among women in meth manufacturing. Yet, even within favorable conditions, variability remains in women's positions and gender performances. The findings highlight the role of organizational and legal context in shaping both the roles women adopt in drug markets and the ways they perform gender.     

Critical Mass for Affirmative Action: Dispersing the Critical Cloud

The concept of critical mass has been invoked by social scientists and the Supreme Court in affirmative action decisions as a solution to problems related to underrepresentation of minority students in institutions of higher education. Little distinction is made by scholars between the Court's use of critical mass as a metaphor and its application in research as a mathematical concept. I use Agent‐Based Modeling—a simulation technique in which systems are modeled through repetitive interaction of autonomous decision‐making “agents” to observe the complex dynamics that emerge from interaction—to investigate the Supreme Court's conception of the relationship between student‐body composition and student isolation and stereotyping. Findings demonstrate that the relationship between student body representation and the educational outcomes of interest as detailed by the Court, specifically minority students' feeling of isolation and majority students' retention of negative stereotypes, does not exhibit a specific threshold or tipping point as we would expect from a system that has a critical mass at which sudden and sustainable change in the state of the system occurs. Simulations of student interactions show there is not one definable threshold or critical mass of minority students that achieves educational goals of reducing either the isolation felt by minority students or the negative stereotypes held by majority students about their minority peers. Instead, greater minority representation is consistently associated with better outcomes for students in all contexts.     

Follow-up of a social skills training (SST) for juvenile delinquents: effects on reoffending

Objectives

To examine (1) the long-term effects on reoffending of an individual SST for juvenile delinquents in The Netherlands and (2) whether effects differ by demographic and offense history characteristics.

Methods

The present study is a follow-up of a matched control study comparing post-treatment effects of N?=?115 juveniles receiving Tools4U, an SST with a parental component, to N?=?108 control group juveniles receiving treatment as usual (TAU). Analyses were conducted separately for delinquents and truants. Effects in terms of recidivism were assessed using official delinquency data after 6 and 12 months and 1.46 years after SST termination. Percentage of recidivists, number of re-arrests, and violent recidivism were outcome variables.

Results

Overall, 39% of the juveniles reoffended, and there were no differences between Tools4U and TAU on any of the selected recidivism outcomes. Additionally, demographic and delinquency characteristics and post-treatment effects did not moderate effectiveness.

Conclusions

Tools4U was not more effective than TAU in preventing recidivism, which may be explained by a generally low percentage of recidivists. With established treatment integrity, and a lack of well-researched effective treatment alternatives, Tools4U could still be a reasonable treatment option for adolescent onset juvenile offenders, although more research is needed to confirm this.