It’s People That Make Places

ON July 9, 2010, I paused on the Great Wall of China on the outskirts of Beijing, trying to imagine all the people who had stood in that spot before, feeling the same breeze and viewing the same horizon.     

Unwanted sex among young adults in the United States: the role of physical disability and cognitive performance

This study examined associations between unwanted sexual experiences and both physical disability and cognitive performance in a nationally representative sample of young adults. We used data from 11,878 participants (ages 26-32) in Waves I, III, and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Logistic regressions determined associations between physical disability and level of cognitive performance (using a modified Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test) and the odds of experiencing physically forced and nonphysically coerced sex. Approximately 24% of females and 4% of males reported unwanted sexual experiences. Compared to respondents without disabilities, females with a physical disability had greater odds of experiencing forced sex (OR = 1.49; 95% CI [1.06, 2.08]), whereas males with a physical disability had greater odds of coerced sex (OR = 1.90; 95% CI [1.02, 3.52]). Compared to those with average cognitive performance scores, females with scores above 110 had slightly higher odds of coerced sex (OR = 1.20; 95% CI [1.03-1.41]). Further research on pathways underlying these associations is needed to inform prevention efforts.     

A Review of: “Stefan Aust. Baader-Meinhof: The Inside Story of the R.A.F. Uwe Steinhoff. On the Ethics of War and Terrorism. Seth G. Jones. Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. Ekaterina Stepanova. Terrorism in Asymmetrical Conflict: Ideological and Structural Aspects. Laura K. Donohue. The Cost of Counterterrorism: Power,Politics and Liberty.”

Approaches to terrorism and peacebuilding have a complex relationship with each other, which may be explained according to four categories outlined in this article. These range from blocking each others’ aims, nullifying terrorism, supporting a very limited, or a broader peace process. Each of these categories has implications for the inclusion and reconciliation of a wide range of actors and the hybrid nature of the emerging peace. This relates to the critical approach of using theory to create emancipatory forms of peace, which is used as a basis for the examination of the production of hybridity via the interaction of approaches to terrorism and peacebuilding in five cases in this article. These include Sri Lanka, Kashmir, the Middle East, Nepal, and Northern Ireland. We argue that “post-liberal” possibilities for a hybrid form of peace (which are inherent in such conflicts) offer a “post-terrorist” potential for peace processes.     

Comparison of the Class and Individual Characteristics of Turkish 7.65 mm Browning/.32 Automatic Caliber Self‐Loading Pistols with Consecutive Serial Numbers

Abstract: Firearms identification is based on the fundamental principle that it is impossible to manufacture two identical items at the microscopic level. As firearm manufacturing technologies and quality assurance are improving, it is necessary to continually challenge this principle. In this study, two different makes of 7.65 mm Browning/.32 Automatic caliber self‐loading pistols of Turkish manufacture were selected and examined. Ten pistols with consecutive serial numbers were examined and each fired 10 times. The fired cartridge cases were recovered for comparison purposes. It was found that for each make of pistol, the individual characteristics within the firing pin impression, ejector, and breech face marks of all 10 pistols were found to be significantly different.     

Differential Effects of Parental Controls on Adolescent Substance Use: For Whom is the Family Most Important?

Objective

Social control theory assumes that the ability of social constraints to deter juvenile delinquency will be invariant across individuals. This paper tests this hypothesis and examines the degree to which there are differential effects of parental controls on adolescent substance use.

Methods

Analyses are based on self-reported data from 7,349 10th-grade students and rely on regression mixture models to identify latent classes of individuals who may vary in the effects of parental controls on drug use.

Results

All parental controls were significantly related to adolescent drug use, with higher levels of control associated with less drug use. The effects of instrumental parental controls (e.g., parental management strategies) on drug use were shown to vary across individuals, while expressive controls (e.g., parent/child attachment) had uniform effects in reducing drug use. Specifically, poor family management and more favorable parental attitudes regarding children’s drug use and delinquency had stronger effects on drug use for students who reported greater attachment to their neighborhoods, less acceptance of adolescent drug use by neighborhood residents, and fewer delinquent peers, compared to those with greater community and peer risk exposure. Parental influences were also stronger for Caucasian students versus those from other racial/ethnic groups, but no differences in effects were found based on students’ gender or commitment to school.

Conclusions

The findings demonstrate support for social control theory, and also help to refine and add precision to this perspective by identifying groups of individuals for whom parental controls are most influential. Further, they offer an innovative methodology that can be applied to any criminological theory to examine the complex forces that result in illegal behavior.