Children’s voices on equal time-sharing arrangement following parents’ divorce

The article presents the final part of an Icelandic research project on parents and children of divorce, focusing on grown-up children’s experiences of equal time-sharing arrangements, ETSA, after their parents’ divorce. It consists of a quantitative analysis of firstly a nationally representative sample mapping the frequency and experience of 18–59 years old individuals of ETSA after parents’ divorce, and secondly a qualitative analysis of 16 long interviews with 16 children of divorce reflecting on their experiences. Both analyses indicate different experiences of this type of arrangement. The reality of the arrangement in practice is that parents chose the arrangement on the basis of their own preferences rather than a court imposing it or because the generally accepted core conditions for a positive outcome for children were in place. These negative experiences of ETSA are discussed in further detail and the need for law reform and service improvement is considered.     

Acid alteration of several ignitable liquids of potential use in arsons

Ignitable liquids such as fuels, alcohols and thinners can be used in criminal activities, for instance arsons. Forensic experts require to know their chemical compositions, as well as to understand how different modification effects could impact them, in order to detect, classify and identify them properly in fire debris. The acid alteration/acidification of ignitable liquids is a modification effect that sharply alters the chemical composition, for example, of gasoline and diesel fuel, interfering in the forensic analysis and result interpretation. However, to date there is little information about the consequences of this effect over other accelerants of interests. In this research paper, the alteration by sulfuric acid of several commercial thinners and other accelerants of potential use in arsons is studied in-depth. For that purpose, spectral (by ATR-FTIR) and chromatographic (by GC–MS) data were obtained from neat and acidified samples. Then, the spectral and chromatographic modifications of each studied ignitable liquid were discussed, proposing several chemical mechanisms that explain the new by-products produced and the gradual disappearance of the initial compounds. Hydrolysis, Fischer esterification and alkylation reactions are involved in the modification of esters, alcohols, ketones and aromatic compounds of the studied ignitable liquids. This information could be crucial for correctly identifying these accelerants. Additionally, an exploratory analysis revealed that some of the most altered ignitable liquid samples might be very similar with each other, which could have impact on casework.     

Stranger rape: classifying Spanish sexual offences using multiple correspondence and cluster analyses

We have analysed the information in 342 police reports of stranger sexual offences recorded in 2010. We have carried out a multiple correspondence analysis and a cluster analysis using modus operandi variables to identify differential profiles in these types of sexual offences. We have come up with three profiles of stranger sexual offences, which concur in the two techniques used. By analysing the personal variables of the offenders with such profiles, we have found differences in terms of the offender’s country of origin and age. We will discuss the consequences of these results on the police investigation of stranger sexual offences.     

The effectiveness of institutional borrowing restrictions: Empirical evidence from Spanish municipalities

The need for restrictions on borrowing by subnational governments is a generally accepted notion that is justified both by public choice theory and by the fact that such restrictions are in force in the majority of decentralized countries. Furthermore, recent breaches of the Stability and Growth Pact of the European Union have led to the introduction of legislative tools aimed at balancing the budget at all levels of government have come to the forefront of interest in European public finance research. This paper is concerned with the financial situation and debt level of Spanish municipalities from 1988 to 2000. We have two main objectives: the first is to assess the value of mandatory limitations on municipal borrowing and past trends in the borrowing policies adopted by Spanish local authorities. The second is to develop an econometric model using panel data stratified by population size to measure indebtedness in Spanish municipalities. These measures enable us to formulate a series of hypotheses to explain municipal borrowing practices, which are then tested empirically. The evidence thus obtained appears to support the effectiveness of institutional borrowing restrictions to introduce some financial discipline in the borrowing policies adopted by local governments in Spain.     

A Comparison of Acculturation Measures Among Hispanic/Latino Adolescents

Acculturation has been associated with numerous health and social outcomes among Hispanic/Latino adolescents. Various self-report scales have been used to measure acculturation, making comparisons of results across studies difficult. This study administered several commonly-used acculturation scales to 221 Hispanic/Latino 9th grade students in Los Angeles. Although all of these scales purport to measure acculturation, the correlations among the scales, and their correlations with language usage measures, were modest. As expected, higher scores on Hispanic/Latino orientation scales (or lower scores on U.S./White orientation scales) were associated with higher levels of ethnic identity formation. Results indicate that these acculturation scales may measure different aspects of the complex phenomenon of acculturation. For example, purely language-based measures shared only small amounts of variance with more comprehensive measures. Additional research is needed to create and validate acculturation measures for adolescents. Jennifer B. Unger, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. She is the principal investigator of Project RED, which is examining parent-child acculturation patterns and substance use among Hispanic adolescents. Anamara Ritt-Olson, Ph.D. is a Research Associate in Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. Karla Wagner, MA is a predoctoral student and research assistant in Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. Daniel Soto, BA is the project manager on Project RED. Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and a co-investigator on Project RED.     

Nondecision making and inertia in Portuguese health policy

Despite there having been a positive context for initiating health care reforms in Portugal in the past fifteen years (accompanied by political consensus on the nature of the structural problems within the health care system), there has been a lack of reform initiatives. We use a process-based framework to show how institutional arrangements have influenced Portuguese health care reform. Evidence is presented to demonstrate inertia and nondecision making in three critical areas of Portuguese health policy: clarifying the public-private mix in coverage and provision, creating financial incentives and motivation for human resources, and introducing changes in the pharmaceutical market. Several factors seem to explain these processes, namely, problems in the balance of power within the political system, which have contributed to a lack of proper policy discussion; a lack of pluralism in the formation of health care policies (with low participation from citizens and high mobilization among structural interest groups); and the low priority of health care in public sector reforms. Portuguese politicians should be aware of the pitfalls of the current political system that constrain participatory arrangements and pluralism in policy making. In order to pursue health care reform, future governments will need to counterbalance the strong influence of structural interest groups.     

Childhood foreign body aspiration in Istanbul, Turkey

In this study, we present the data concerning 10 children (six boys, four girls) with a diagnosis of foreign body aspiration (FBA) amongst 19,951 cases that underwent autopsy between the years 1996-2002. Eight of the children were under 2 years old. All the incidents took place at home. One of the parents was in the company of the child at the time of incident. At least one of the risk factors was positive. Interestingly, all of the aspirated material was related to food except one. Only four cases had subpleural petechiae, whereas five of the seven subjects undergoing histopathological evaluation had edema, hyperemia or intra-alveolar fresh bleeding. The legal instructions, which regulate the standards of toy materials, came into force at the end of 2003. Even though the legal instructions regulating the size and consistency of toys are very important to prevent FBA, we believe that the education of the parents and carers in the prevention of food aspiration is of greater importance.