Mandated Community Service in High School and Subsequent Civic Engagement: The Case of the “Double Cohort” in Ontario,Canada

In 1999, the Ontario provincial government introduced into its high school curriculum a requirement that students complete 40 h of volunteer community service before graduation. At the same time, the high school curriculum was shortened from five years to four. Consequently, the 2003 graduating class of Ontario high school students contained two cohorts, the first of the 4-year cohorts that was compelled to complete a mandated community service requirement, and the last of the 5-year cohorts that was not. Using a quasi-experimental design, we surveyed 1768 first-year university students in terms of their perceptions and attitudes about the nature and amount of previous volunteering, attitudes towards community service, current service involvement and other measures of civic and political engagement. Comparisons of the two cohorts indicate that, while there were discernible differences between the two cohorts in terms of their past record of community service, there were no differences in current attitudes and civic engagement that might plausibly be attributed to participation in the mandatory service program. Results are discussed with relation to the current debate concerning the impact of mandatory volunteering policies on intrinsic motivation to volunteer.

Recovery of Environmental Human DNA by Insects*,†

Abstract: We tested the hypotheses that foraging insects can acquire human DNA from the environment and that insect‐delivered human DNA is of sufficient quantity and quality to permit standard forensic analyses. Houseflies, German cockroaches, and camel crickets were exposed to dusty surfaces and then assayed for human mitochondrial and nuclear loci by conventional and qPCR, and multiplex STR amplification. Over two experiments, 100% of insect groups and 94% of dust controls tested positive for human DNA. Of 177 individuals, 33–67% tested positive and 13 yielded quantifiable human DNA (mean = 0.022 ± 0.006 ng; mean dust control = 2.448 ± 0.960 ng); four had at least one positive allele call for one or more locus; eight others showed multiple peaks at some loci. Results imply that application to routine forensic casework is limited given current detection methodology yet demonstrate the potential use of insects as environmental samplers for human DNA.     

Religious Relations across the Taiwan Strait: Patterns,Alignments, and Political Effects

This study of Buddhist, Taoist, and Christian relations across the Taiwan Strait elicits three observations: (1) officials on both sides of the Strait are permitting increased cross-Strait religious interaction, but each side has different calculations for doing so; (2) each side uses religion as “soft power” to obtain its political objectives, but these low-key approaches are limited—for different reasons; and (3) even though cross-Strait religious ties are defined by the governments and religious organizations in Taiwan and China in cultural terms, they have significant political implications.     

The mental health and substance misuse needs of male ex-armed forces personnel in prison

Ex-armed forces personnel constitute the largest known occupational group in prison but there is little evidence regarding their mental health, or substance misuse, needs. A total of 105 participants were interviewed and measures assessing symptoms of common mental health (CMH) problems and substance misuse were completed along with a review of their health care records. Forty (38%) participants screened for current CMH problems (CCMH) and high levels of dual symptomology and alcohol misuse were assessed. Thirty-nine (37%) had a mental health diagnosis recorded, most commonly for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and personality disorder. Those who screened for a CCMH problem were more likely to have pre-service vulnerability to negative health outcomes and those with dual symptomology were more likely to have experienced deployment during their service. Findings suggest the mental health needs of this group are similar to the general prison population. Potentially higher prevalences of PTSD and alcohol misuse may direct service provision.     

The United Kingdom Right to Request as a Model for Flexible Work in the European Union

Flexible work, the practice of giving employees some control over their working time, can transform the modern workplace. Once the province of scattered national legislation, the European Union is now considering the inclusion of flextime rights in the Working Time Directive (WTD), the leading EU legislation related to work time. In this article, we propose that the European Commission should adopt a right to request flexible work as part of the WTD. Adoption of the right to request flexible work would significantly alleviate the challenges employees face in maintaining work–life balance. The right to request flexible work can also provide benefits to employers by increasing employee loyalty and productivity. Finally, adoption of the right to request flexible work into the WTD would improve the overall effectiveness of the EU's employment law framework in an increasingly fast‐paced and competitive society.     

Parenting interventions for incarcerated parents to improve parenting knowledge and skills,parent well-being,and quality of the parent–child relationship: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives

To systematically review and quantitatively synthesize the evidence for the impact of parenting interventions for incarcerated parents on parenting knowledge and skills, parent well-being, and quality of the parent–child relationship.

Methods

A systematic search of 19 published and unpublished literature sources was conducted between June and July 2015 (with no date, language, document type, or geographical restrictions). Studies were included if they: (a) utilized a sample of parents who completed a parenting intervention in an incarceration setting; (b) measured parenting knowledge and skills, parent well-being, or quality of the parent–child relationship as outcome measures; and (c) employed a randomized controlled trial or quasi-experimental design with no treatment, waitlist control, or treatment-as-usual as the comparison condition. Two review authors independently determined study eligibility and extracted data from eligible studies, which included rating the risk of bias for each eligible study. Meta-analysis was used to synthesize standardized effect sizes, and subgroup analyses were used to examine the moderating effect of parent gender, level of child involvement, and research design.

Results

Twenty-two studies were eligible for inclusion in the review; however, only 16 studies (N = 2292) reported sufficient data for inclusion in the meta-analyses. Parenting interventions were more effective at post-intervention for improving parenting knowledge and skills than no treatment, waitlist control, or treatment-as-usual [standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.28, 1.06] and quality of the parent–child relationship (SMD = 0.27, 95% CI 0.02, 0.51), but not for improving parent well-being (SMD = 0.14, 95% CI ?0.03, 0.30). There was significant heterogeneity across effect sizes for both parenting knowledge and skills and quality of the parent–child relationship outcome domains. There were no statistically significant differences between subgroups, and the effectiveness of parenting interventions was not maintained at follow-up time-points.

Conclusions

Existing evidence suggests small to moderate effectiveness for parenting interventions during incarceration at close to intervention completion. Further methodologically robust research is required to more confidently establish the effectiveness of parenting programs both in the short-term and in the post-release period.