Digital Knowledge Exploitation: ICT, Memory Institutions and Innovation from Cultural Assets

There has been considerable recognition of the regional embeddedness of the knowledge-based economy and its uneven geographical incidence, with mainly urban or metropolitan areas being the crucibles of knowledge-intensive activities. Drawing from recent research conducted analysing cultural industries, the paper explores how the knowledge-based economy can be built upon, focussing on the value afforded by regional cultural diversity which offers a means of economic development and growth to peripheral regions.     

The psychological impact of burglary

Abstract

The GHQ-12 and POMS-BI questionnaires were administered to 20 victims of residential burglary and 20 matched control participants at two points in time. When assessed between one and two weeks after the crime, victims were more anxious, hostile, depressed, tired and confused, and experienced more psychological distress, in comparison with controls. When assessed for a second time one month later there was a general improvement in victims' psychological well-being but their scores still differed significantly from those of controls on almost all sub-seales of the questionnaires. The data suggest that the psychological impact of burglary is considerable and may last for an extended period of time.     

Characterization of the variant allele 9.2 of Penta D locus

DNA profiles of forensic cases of Córdoba Province, Argentina, typed by PowerPlex 16 kit (Promega), have shown in the Penta D locus few samples with a variant allele migrating as an off ladder between alleles 9 and 10. In order to determine the molecular basis of the new variant allele, three samples were subject to polymerase chain reaction amplification of the Penta D locus by monoplex, and were further purified and sequenced. The sequence analysis revealed that the off ladder allele has ten repeats motifs AAAGA as allele 10, with three nucleotides (TAA) deletion in the 3' flanking region, 128 nucleotides after the last repeat. Therefore, the variant allele could be explained by a deletion of allele 10, and was designated 9.2. Mse I digestion assay allows to corroborate allele 9.2 without sequencing. A population study in Córdoba Province indicates that allele 9.2 of Penta D locus has a frequency of 0.0063.     

Symptom Patterns among Youth Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Children and adolescents exposed to intimate partner violence display a broad range of symptoms. We sought to differentiate symptom patterns and predictors of these patterns using a person-oriented approach. Previous cluster analysis research of exposed youth was extended to include youth PTSD symptoms and trauma history. Participants were 74 mothers who had received a police call for domestic violence, and who had a child between 2 and 17 years old. Cluster analysis was used to identify four symptom patterns among exposed youth: Typical, Asymptomatic, General Distress, and Acute PTSD. These patterns were replicated in separate cluster analyses with younger and older participants. Symptom patterns were differentiated by maternal distress, maternal aggression, and youth trauma history, but not by male partner aggression. Implications for assessment and treatment of youth exposed to intimate partner violence, and suggestions for further research, are discussed.     

Parental Representations in the Play of Preschool Aged Witnesses of Marital Violence

The play of young children has long been used clinically to understand children’s experiences and inner feelings. More recently, children’s play has been examined quantitatively to understand differences due to varying backgrounds, family relationships, etc. Forty preschool children (21 girls and 19 boys) aged 27 to 71 months from families with histories of domestic violence were observed using a play interview, The MacArthur Story Stem Battery, to determine if severity of violence, frequency of visitation with their previously violent fathers, and mother-child relationship functioning impacted how parents were represented in play. Overall, girls represented their parents more positively regardless of other family circumstances. Boys, especially those who did not visit regularly with their fathers, had negative representations of their mothers. Severity of violence did not predict negative parental representations in the sample.     

Impact of procedural factors on perceived justice in divorce settlements

We used a decision-making conceptual framework from family resource management combined with procedural justice frameworks from social psychology to (i) articulate the elements and rules of procedural fairness, (ii) develop a theoretical organization and code to include procedural fairness principles as applied to legal decision processes in divorce, and (iii) describe the perceptions of divorcing parties about the violations of procedural fairness principles in their own divorce process. Procedural fairness principles included accuracy, consistency, ethicality, bias suppression, correctability, and representativeness. Results of qualitative data analyses were consistent with experimental studies in that divorced people were concerned with fair procedures and particularly with violations of the principles of ethicality, consistency, accuracy, and representativeness.     

Development of a Tetraplex PCR Assay for CYP2D6 Genotyping in Degraded DNA Samples

CYP2D6 polymorphism analysis is gaining increasing interest in forensic pharmacogenetics. Nevertheless, DNA recovered from forensic samples could be of poor quality and not suitable for long polymerase chain reaction required to type CYP2D6 gene prior to SNaPshot minisequencing analysis performed to define alleles with different enzymatic activity. We developed and validated following the guidelines of the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods a tetraplex PCR yielding four amplicons of 597, 803, 1142, and 1659 bp encompassing the entire CYP2D6 gene to analyze eleven SNP positions by SNaPshot minisequencing. Concordance, sensitivity, and specificity were assessed. The method, applied to thirty‐two forensic samples failed to amplify with long PCR, allowed the amplification of CYP2D6 gene in 62.5% of degraded samples. The new tetraplex PCR appears a suitable method for CYP2D6 analysis in forensic pharmacogenetics.     

Barriers and Supports to Dating Violence Communication between Latina Adolescents and Their Mothers: A Qualitative Analysis

Few Latinx parents and adolescents talk with one another about dating violence, yet communication with parents could help adolescents make better decisions about dating relationships. Seventeen Latina adolescents (15–17 years old) and their mothers living in Washington D.C and central Virginia participated in semi-structured interviews to explore their perceptions of dating violence behavior and communication with parents about dating violence. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and coded for emergent themes using a grounded theory approach. Seven themes emerged and were grouped into three domains: (a) Parental Messages about Problems in Dating Relationships; (b) Barriers and Supports for Parent-Adolescent Communication about Dating Problems; and, (c) Cultural Values and Differences. The results of this study can be used to inform future work focused on improving parent-adolescent communication about dating violence and to enhance healthy adolescent Latina dating decisions.