Addressing the mental healthcare needs of foster children: perspectives of stakeholders from the child welfare system

A qualitative study was conducted to better understand the factors that contribute to psychotropic medication (PM) overuse among children in the child welfare system in Kentucky, including barriers to providing psychosocial interventions that potentially minimize the need for PM. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with personnel in the Department of Community-Based Services (DCBS). Participants identified important areas to target for system-wide quality improvement efforts, which included improved exchange of health information, training, and communications on the use of PM, and measures to improve access to non-pharmacological psychosocial interventions to address the mental healthcare needs of children in the child welfare system.     

High‐Resolution Melting (HRM) of Hypervariable Mitochondrial DNA Regions for Forensic Science

Forensic strategies commonly are proceeding by analysis of short tandem repeats (STRs); however, new additional strategies have been proposed for forensic science. Thus, this article standardized the high‐resolution melting (HRM) of DNA for forensic analyzes. For HRM, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from eight individuals were extracted from mucosa swabs by DNAzol reagent, samples were amplified by PCR and submitted to HRM analysis to identify differences in hypervariable (HV) regions I and II. To confirm HRM, all PCR products were DNA sequencing. The data suggest that is possible discriminate DNA from different samples by HRM curves. Also, uncommon dual‐dissociation was identified in a single PCR product, increasing HRM analyzes by evaluation of melting peaks. Thus, HRM is accurate and useful to screening small differences in HVI and HVII regions from mtDNA and increase the efficiency of laboratory routines based on forensic genetics.     

Sorting and the Split-Ticket: Evidence from Presidential and Subpresidential Elections

Although prior research demonstrates that strong partisans are less likely to cast a split-ticket, recent scholarly work hints that partisan-ideological sorting—the matching of an individual’s partisan and ideological identities—may play a comparatively stronger role in shaping this voting behavior. Simply, if a high degree of congruence between identities underscores psychological orientations that prevent association with an out-group, then highly-sorted voters should be less likely to cross-party lines within the voting booth. Using the 1972–2012 ANES Time-Series and 2010 CCES surveys, we provide evidence that demonstrates that a high degree of partisan-ideological sorting produces the strongest negative effect on split-ticket voting among a variety of alternative explanations at both the national and subnational levels. We then supplement these analyses with 1992–1996 ANES panel data to demonstrate how changes in sorting over time affect this voting behavior. Our results indicate that although an increase in partisan strength alone is insufficient to reduce an individual’s propensity to cast a split-ticket, an increase in identity sorting over time has a strong negative effect on split-ticket voting. We conclude with a brief discussion about the consequences of identity convergence; namely, that sorting fosters a unique form of electoral “polarization.”     

Book Reviews

David Collins: A Colonial Life. By John Currey Brisbane: Squatters, Selectors and Surveyors. (Brisbane History Group Papers No 16) Edited by Rod Fisher and Jennifer Harrison Beyond the Ladies Lounge: Australia's Female Publicans. By Clare Wright Legacies of White Australia: Race, Culture, Nation. Edited by Laksiri Jayasuriya, David Walker and Jan Gothard This War Never Ends: The Pain of Separation and Return. By Michael McKernan Keeper of the Faith: A Biography of Jim Cairns. By Paul Strangio Platypus and Parliament: The Australian Senate in Theory and Practice. By Stanley Bach Unfolding History, Evolving Identity: The Chinese in New Zealand. Edited by Manying Ip New Guinea: Crossing Boundaries and History. By Clive Moore Erasmus in the Twentieth Century: Interpretations c.1920–2000. By Bruce Mansfield Eighteenth‐Century British Erotica. Edited by Chris Mounsey and Rictor Norton London Corresponding Society, 1792–1799. Edited by Michael Davis. Robert Emmet and the Rebellion of 1798. By Ruán O'Donnell Robert Emmet and the Rising of 1803. By Ruán O'Donnell Wilhelminism and its Legacies. German Modernities and the Meanings of Reform, 1890–1930. Essays for Hartmut Pogge von Strandmann. Edited by Geoff Eley and James Retallack Divided Lives: The Untold Stories of Jewish‐Christian Women in Nazi Germany. By Cynthia A. Crane. Conqueror's Road: An Eyewitness Report of Germany 1945. By Osmar White Conflict and Compromise in East Germany, 1971–1989: A Precarious Stability. By Jeannette Z. Madarász The Tsarist Secret Police Abroad: Policing Europe in a Modernising World. By Fredric S. Zuckerman “A Problem from Hell”: America and the Age of Genocide. By Samantha Power A History of Modern India, 1480–1959. Edited by Claude Markovitz; translated by Nisha George and Maggy Hendry Power in Transition: The Peaceful Change of International Order. By Charles A. Kupchan, Emanuel Adler, Jean‐Marc Coicaud and Yuen Foong Khong Reading Humanitarian Intervention: Human Rights and the Use of Force in International Law. By Anne Orford Stories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration: Together Forever? By John Hart The Dynamics of Political Crime. By Jeffrey Ian Ross The Battle for Hearts and Minds: Using Soft Power to Undermine Terrorist Networks. Edited by Alexander T. J. Lennon The Media and Neo‐Populism: A Contemporary Comparative Analysis. Edited by Gianpietro Mazzoleni, Julianne Stewart and Bruce Horsfield     

Police use of excessive force: Does the race of the suspect influence citizens' perceptions?

Instances of excessive force by police officers, most notably the Rodney King incident in Los Angeles and the Malice Green fatality in Detroit, suggest that the race of the suspect may influence the decision to use excessive force. If police practices are simply a reflection of the expectations of larger society, then it follows that citizens' evaluations of police brutality toward minorities might reflect this sentiment. As part of a larger study focusing on the exploration of police misconduct, a telephone survey containing 16 vignettes was developed, each vignette described a separate type of misconduct in which a hypothetical officer was involved. Of these 16 vignettes, 3 described the misconduct of excessive force and are analyzed for the present study. A random sample of 992 Ohio citizens were surveyed. The hypothesis that citizens in general assign significantly lower seriousness scores to excessive force on African Americans and Hispanics than on whites was tested. Our hypothesis was not supported. Instead, we found evidence to suggest that the behavior of the suspect during the arrest and the behavior of the police officer are much more significant correlates of citizens' perceptions of police use of excessive force than is the race of the suspect.