A Fine Balance: India Walks a Tightrope between Iran and the United States

India confronts the conflicting imperatives of Indian domestic politics and its strategic interests when dealing with Iran. As India's global profile has risen in recent years and its ties with the United States have strengthened, this conflict has come into sharper relief. India's traditionally close ties with Iran have become a major factor influencing how certain sections of U.S. policymakers evaluate a U.S.-India partnership. India has tried to balance carefully its relations with Iran and the United States; however, due to intense American pressure, especially after the signing of the U.S.-India civilian nuclear energy cooperation pact, India has moved closer to the United States concerning the Iranian nuclear program. But strong domestic constraints remain that will prevent India from completely abandoning its ties with Iran, even as a re-evaluation of India-Iran bilateral ties is long overdue.     

Identification of N,N-dimethylamphetamine formed by methylation of methamphetamine in formalin-fixed liver tissue by multistage mass spectrometry

Methamphetamine is methylated in the presence of unbuffered formalin solutions within hours at room temperature. The product, N,N-dimethylamphetamine, is also found in human liver exposed to methamphetamine followed by incubation with formalin. In the present study, a direct mass spectrometric method was developed to identify N,N-dimethylamphetamine in human liver before and after treatment with formalin. Human liver samples were obtained from four deaths that were investigated by the West Virginia Office of Chief Medical Examiner. Full toxicological analysis was conducted on samples from the decedents and methamphetamine was among the positive findings in each case. The method used to expose liver tissue to formaldehyde involved treating a small piece of liver from each case with formalin solution (20% v/v) for 24 h at room temperature. The formalin treated tissues were homogenized and the resulting suspension was sonicated for 5 min, and then centrifuged. Supernatant aliquots were directly analyzed by electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry without chromatographic isolation. Positive ion multistage mass spectra recorded in MS, MS/MS and MS/MS/MS (MS3) modes were used to confirm the presence of N,N-dimethylamphetamine and methamphetamine in the mixture. Liver tissue not treated with formalin did not contain a detectable level of N,N-dimethylamphetamine. Decreases in methamphetamine concentrations in liver tissue resulting from treatment with formalin were measured using deuterium-labeled methamphetamine as internal standard. The method can be completed in less than 2 h on thawed tissue. The results suggest that the process of fixing tissues with formalin may lead to false negative findings for methamphetamine.     

The causal relationship between gang joining and violent victimization: A critical review and directions for future research

Purpose

This article provides a critical review of the state of research on the gang membership-violent victimization relationship.

Methods

This study examines a comprehensive list of published quantitative studies that have assessed the relationship between gang membership and violent victimization.

Results

By examining strengths and weaknesses of the design features of various studies, this article identifies theoretical, conceptual, methodological, and statistical issues that should be considered when interpreting the causal effect of gang membership on violent victimization. Some of the methodological and design issues discussed include, but are not limited to, consequences of failing to establish temporal order, failure to conduct sensitivity analyses to determine treatment effects, use of bootstrapping methods with propensity score analysis, measurement of violent victimization, and corrections for dependence in matched samples of gang and non-gang members.

Conclusion

Suggestions for future research are provided that will help advance the empirical study of the gang membership-violent victimization nexus.     

Not by accident: An analytical approach to traffic crash harm reduction

Purpose

This study examines whether a problem-oriented approach used by police in Cincinnati, Ohio called the Crash Analysis Reduction Strategy (CARS) corresponded with a change in the number of traffic crashes that resulted in injuries after implementation onset. Under the CARS model, police developed tactics that focused on targeting high-risk driving behaviors, impaired drivers, and crash hotspot locations within the city.

Methods

Using a two-phase strategy we first assess local impact by examining injury-related traffic crash patterns at targeted locations. Second, we examine whether traffic crashes that resulted in injuries in Cincinnati significantly diverged relative to similar outcomes across a number of comparison sites.

Results

Difference-in-difference negative binomial regression analyses indicates that traffic crashes were significantly lower in Cincinnati - down roughly 5.7% to 10.3% in the post-intervention period - when contrasted with comparison sites.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that comprehensive problem solving approaches can significantly reduce the risk of life changing events such as automobile crashes that result in injuries beyond traditional policing efforts that explicitly focus on crime and violence.     

Pornographic exposure over the life course and the severity of sexual offenses: Imitation and cathartic effects

Purpose

Extant scholarship has examined pornography's putative link to the commission of sex crime. Yet, virtually no research speaks to whether an offender's exposure to pornography during many different stages of life elevates the violence of a sex offense. The current study addresses this gap.

Methods

Using retrospective longitudinal data, we systematically investigate the effect of offender pornography exposure during adolescence, adulthood, and immediately prior to the offense on the level of physical injury as well as the extent of humiliation experienced by sex crime victims.

Results

Findings indicate that adolescent exposure was a significant predictor of the elevation of violence—it increased the extent of victim humiliation. Results also suggest a tempering, or cathartic effect of pornography—using pornography just prior to the offense was correlated with reduced victim physical injury. No effects, however, were observed for adult pornography exposure.

Conclusion

Pornography use may differentially influence offenders’ propensity to harm or degrade victims over the life course.     

Racial differences in speeding patterns: Exploring the differential offending hypothesis

Purpose

Disproportionate minority contact during traffic stops has been a consistent source of commentary and study in recent years. While various theoretical perspectives have been employed to explain these empirical findings, the differential offending hypotheses has been largely ignored as a viable alternative explanation. Building on existing empirical evidence regarding criminal offending patterns and driving patterns, we examined the veracity of this explanation using data from an observational study of urban driving behavior.

Methods

Data were collected using an observational methodology in an urban environment. These data were then used to estimate various regression models and test the differential offending hypothesis.

Results

Analytic models indicated that Black drivers speed more frequently and engage in more severe speeding compared to White drivers, net of controls.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that citizen risk for specific police behavior is partially attributable to differential behavior prior to the encounter. These results mirror the findings of previous research in other geographic locations using different methodologies; thus, contributing to the conclusion that understanding officer decision-making and behavior requires consideration of other factors beyond a citizen's race.     

The tussle with trust: Trust in the news media ecology

This article offers a conceptual exploration of the changing notion of trust and distrust in today's news media ecology. Central is the question whether the relationship between the traditional media actors, media organisations, journalists and news users, can be increasingly characterised by distrust. Do we really notice a decline in trust in the news media? And moreover, are these feelings of distrust grounded? In order to answer these questions, we look at the changing economic, technological and societal context and how this might explain the strained relationship between these actors. We find that to a large extent the goals of the media actors diverge or even conflict. Mutually bridging these goals is difficult as they boil down to ideological and normative choices. This requires us to reconsider our ways of looking at trust. Therefore, this article's central argument is that a trusted relationship between the media actors is unlikely to result from a definitive settlement between the actor's conflicting goals. Rather, maintaining a trusted relationship is likely to become a matter of constant renegotiation. For this renegotiation to succeed, transparency and integrity are key. We find inspiration in the recent work of Solove (2001), Nissenbaum (2004) and Mansell (2008, forthcoming) to take a different, more contextual approach towards the notion of trust. As regards the relationship between news organisations and users, we suggest these norms should be negotiated in a balanced and transparent way, giving users an equal say in the process. The relationship between journalists and news users should be guided by a mutual interest in truth telling, whereby users are not only merely seen as consumers, but also as potential contributors to news stories. Policy makers in turn should act as facilitators of such spaces of renegotiation.