Neighborhood factors related to the likelihood of successful informal social control efforts

Purpose

To expand conceptualizations of informal social control in social disorganization and collective efficacy theories to include responses to informal social control, and to examine neighborhood level predictors of responses to informal social control.

Methods

The study uses surveys of approximately 2300 residents across 66 neighborhoods, supplemented with census data at the block group level.

Results

Neighborhood mobility decreased the odds of positive responses to informal social control, measured as both “giving in” and “talking it out” when you have a disagreement with your neighbor. Disadvantage was found to decrease only the odds of “giving in.” Neighborhood level measures of social cohesion and faith in the police were also found to increase the odds of responding positively to informal social control efforts. In contrast, social ties were not found to significantly affect the likelihood of positive responses to informal social control.

Conclusions

The findings from this study broaden support of collective efficacy theory and concepts related to efficacious neighborhoods. While previous studies have raised questions about the measurement of informal social control, the findings in this paper offer support to earlier studies by providing a different approach to the conceptualization and measurement of informal social control.     

Relationship and Individual Characteristics as Predictors of Unwanted Pursuit

To further our understanding of perpetrators of unwanted pursuit following the breakup on an intimate relationship, individual characteristics, jealousy, neuroticism, and attachment style, and relationship variables, satisfaction, investment, quality of alternatives, and commitment, were examined as correlates of unwanted pursuit, which was operationalized as pursuit and aggression. Anxious attachment, behavioral jealousy, neuroticism, and investment distinguished between pursuers and non-pursuers. Pursuit and aggression were positively correlated with behavioral jealousy, anxious attachment, neuroticism, and investment. Pursuit was also correlated with commitment and lack of alternatives. In multiple regressions, behavioral jealousy was a unique predictor of pursuit and aggression. Pursuit was also predicted by anxious attachment and aggression was predicted by investment. The roles of attachment, jealousy, and relationship variables in unwanted pursuit are discussed.     

Listening to children: Participation rights of minors in Italy and the United States

This article compares laws and policies in Italy and the US regarding children's right to be heard and to engage in the life of the community. Italy has adopted a strong children's rights perspective, informed by the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The US, with its pre-modern constitution and resistance to international law, has been slow to recognise children's rights to voice and agency. The US Supreme Court has extended some due process rights to children in criminal court proceedings, but the US lags far behind Italy in recognition of children's rights to participate in civic life and collective decision-making. Child well-being rankings may reflect these differences in attitudes towards children's rights. Italy ranks significantly higher than the US on objective measures of child well-being and Italian children report superior peer and family relationships.     

Acting Like It Matters: A Scoping Review of Simulation in Child Welfare Training

Simulation-based training is often used to prepare health practitioners and is increasingly employed to train child welfare workers. This scoping review systematically searched the published and grey literature for studies that evaluated training for child welfare practitioners and used simulation methods that included standardized actors. Three studies met inclusion criteria, all documenting improvement in participants' use of specific skills. Other outcomes were mixed, possibly reflecting the heterogeneity of samples, study methods, measures, training of actors, theoretical frameworks, and content areas. Though results were mostly positive, the small number of studies indicates a substantial need for further research.     

“I Don’t Know Where it is Safe”: Trans Women’s Experiences of Violence

Scholars are only beginning to take account of how trans people experience violence motivated by their gender identity and expression. Based on a series of focus groups and interviews across Canada, this article aims to further this area of inquiry. The fear of victimization, and thus hyper-vigilance, seems to be particularly acute among trans women. Many of them spoke of the multiple and complex layers through which they defined “safety” and lack thereof. We share their experiences and perceptions of the threat of hate motivated violence, and their subsequent reactions.     

The Optimal Combination of Cartilage Source and Apparatus for Long‐Term In Vitro Chondrocyte Viability Analysis

Abstract: Most studies of long‐term chondrocytes survival were for tissue banks. They showed a gradual reduction in the viable chondrocytes percentage as a function of time and ambient temperature, but the samples were harvested under optimal conditions. The aim of our study was to determine the most reliable combination of cartilage source and assay for the in vitro postmortem chondrocyte viability analysis in the conditions that imitate a dead body. Osteochondral cylinders were procured from femoral condyles and talar trochleas of three male donors and stored in the cell culture media at 4 ± 2°C and 23 ± 2°C. The samples were analyzed by a cell viability analyzer and a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) initially 24–36 h after death and then in 4‐week intervals. The results reconfirmed the significant influence of time (p = 0.0002), but not of the temperature (p = 0.237). The largest reproducibility was presented for the knee joint and the CLSM.     

An investigation of model forensic bone in soil environments studied using infrared spectroscopy

Infrared spectroscopy has been used to examine changes to bone chemistry as a result of soil burial. Pig carcasses were buried as part of a controlled field study, and pig bone was used in soil environments established in the laboratory. The variables of species type, bone pretreatment, soil type and pH, moisture content, temperature, and burial time were investigated. The crystallinity index (CI) and the organic and carbonate contents of the bones were monitored. The data revealed decreasing trends in the organic and carbonate contents and an increase in the CI of the bone with burial time. An acidic soil environment and soil type are the factors that have the most influence on bone chemistry as a result of burial. The study demonstrates the potential of infrared spectroscopy as a straightforward method of monitoring the changes associated with aging of bones in a variety of soil environments.     

The role of alcohol and victim sexual interest in Spanish students' perceptions of sexual assault

Two studies investigated the effects of information related to rape myths on Spanish college students' perceptions of sexual assault. In Study 1, 92 participants read a vignette about a nonconsensual sexual encounter and rated whether it was a sexual assault and how much the woman was to blame. In the scenario, the man either used physical force or offered alcohol to the woman to overcome her resistance. Rape myth acceptance (RMA) was measured as an individual difference variable. Participants were more convinced that the incident was a sexual assault and blamed the woman less when the man had used force rather than offering her alcohol. In Study 2, 164 college students read a scenario in which the woman rejected a man's sexual advances after having either accepted or turned down his offer of alcohol. In addition, the woman was either portrayed as being sexually attracted to him or there was no mention of her sexual interest. Participants' RMA was again included. High RMA participants blamed the victim more than low RMA participants and were less certain that the incident was a sexual assault, especially when the victim had accepted alcohol and was described as being sexually attracted to the man. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the prevention and legal prosecution of sexual assault.     

Cell free DNA as a component of forensic evidence recovered from touched surfaces

In the course of a criminal investigation, DNA is often recovered from items that have been handled by an individual. Whilst there have been studies investigating the propensity of different individuals to deposit DNA, little is known about the factors involved in the transference of DNA through touch. This investigation seeks to clarify some of the underlying processes involved in DNA transfer, as to better understand the significance of so-called “touch DNA” evidence (tDNA). It was shown that an average yield of 11.5 ng of DNA could be recovered from 1 mL cell-free sweat samples leading to the hypothesis that cell-free nucleic acids (CNAs) of a suitable length for standard DNA profiling are transferred during handling/touching items. A method of standardization of tDNA deposition was developed to overcome the significant sample to sample variability in DNA levels characteristic of tDNA samples. The glass bead method allowed the creation of identical tDNA sample sets, thus permitting direct comparisons to be made in the efficiency of various extraction methods. Extraction methods designed to optimize CNA recovery from touched articles resulted in comparable yields in a general population study, however the methods resulted in a twofold increase in DNA yields from touched items touched by individuals with sweaty hands. These results suggest that the CNA component of touched surfaces should be included to maximize profiling success of tDNA.