Exhaustion and Exclusion in the African Village: The Non-State Social Welfare of Informal Reciprocity in Rural Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire

This paper examines the consequences for equity of different patterns of non-state social welfare provision, specifically the informal institutions of reciprocity among families, friends, and village neighbors in rural West Africa. Based on over 18 months of fieldwork in similar regions on either side of the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border, this paper challenges many existing assumptions in the literature, revealing that the informal institutions of reciprocity were not only less vibrant overall, but also differed strikingly in terms of who was helping who and how in particular localities. The paper argues that the informal institutions of reciprocity were more exhausted in the Ghanaian villages and more exclusive in the Ivoirian ones. The study highlights that the informal system of non-state social welfare provided by the family, friends, and neighborhood did not simply expand to fill the functional gaps left by the neoliberal retrenchment of the state. The paper concludes that when policies are designed based on an overly romanticized image of kinship and communal reciprocity in Africa, it is the very poor that increasingly fall through the gaps of the state and non-state system of social welfare.     

Assessing the effects of body‐worn cameras on procedural justice in the Los Angeles Police Department*

In this article, we explore variations in procedural justice delivered in face‐to‐face encounters with citizens before and after the implementation of body‐worn cameras (BWCs). We draw on recent advances in the measurement of procedural justice using systematic social observation of police in field settings in the Los Angeles Police Department. Data collected on 555 police–citizen encounters are examined in bivariate and multivariate models exploring the primary hypothesis that BWCs affect procedural justice delivered by police directly and indirectly. Our results indicate that significant increases in procedural justice during police–citizen encounters were directly attributable to the effect of BWCs on police behavior as well as to the indirect effects on citizen disrespect and other variables. The implications for policy include explicit measurement and monitoring of procedural justice or elements such as officer discourtesy in departments adopting BWCs. Further research questions such as more detailed examination of citizens’ behavior changes under BWCs are also considered in the context of the findings.     

Fate and Behavior of Gunshot Residue: Recreational Shooter Vehicle Distribution

The susceptibility for recreational shooters to transfer gunshot residue (GSR) to both the interior and exterior of a vehicle is investigated. A comprehensive sampling protocol was used to assess the most likely areas of GSR transfer from recreational shooter contact, such as the steering wheel and the area, the firearms were stored (the trunk). Up to 315 characteristic GSR, particles were found in several locations throughout the interior of a vehicle. As many as 876 characteristic particles were found throughout a single vehicle. The data indicate that vehicles frequently occupied by firearms users are a potential source for inadvertent transfer of GSR to persons unrelated to firearm activity. In criminal cases where vehicles have been used, such transfer processes for GSR need to be considered within the context of any case interpretation. The implications for subsequent contamination and transfer processes from such vehicles require further investigation.     

Adolescents Coping with Poverty-Related Family Stress: Prospective Predictors of Coping and Psychological Symptoms

Examined prospective associations among poverty-related family stress, coping, involuntary stress reactivity, and psychological symptoms in a sample of 79 rural, low-income adolescents. Poverty-related family stress predicted adolescents’ anxious/depressed and aggressive behavior 8 months later, controlling for prior symptoms. Coping interacted with initial symptoms and involuntary stress reactivity to predict changes in symptoms over time, showing that primary and secondary control coping were most strongly associated with changes in symptoms for adolescents with low initial symptoms and involuntary stress reactivity. The only significant predictor of coping over time was prior coping, suggesting that coping is not symptom-driven and may be somewhat trait-like. Implications for interventions and additional research are offered. Assistant Professor, University of Denver. Received PhD from University of Vermont. Research interests include the effects of poverty on family functioning, developmental issues in stress and coping, and developmental psychopathology Doctoral student in Clinical Psychology, University of Denver. Research interests include close relationship influences on adolescent development and psychopathology.     

Children's Law: Toward a New Realism

The realist approach that has dominated American jurisprudence has long had especially great acceptance in regard to children's issues. Ironically, however, decision making on such topics has seemed to be particularly unlikely to be informed by careful assessments of social reality. Symbolism has prevailed over pragmatism. Psycholegal research on children's issues has also often been misdirected. Application of the Convention on the Rights of the Child may point the way to more psychologically minded children's law.     

Intimate Partner Violence Exposure and Childhood Psychopathology: Associations with Discriminating Fearful and Angry Faces in Young Children

Journal of Family Violence - Childhood exposure to traumatic violence may shape how children respond to threatening faces and increase risk for psychopathology. Maltreated children may exhibit...