Violent disorder in Ciudad Juarez: a spatial analysis of homicide

This article considers the extent to which specific demographic and socioeconomic factors correlate with homicidal violence in the context of Mexico’s “war” on organized crime. We draw on Ciudad Juarez as a case study and social disorganization theory as an organizing framework. Social disorganization is expected to generate higher levels of homicidal violence. And while the evidence reveals several social disorganization factors associated with homicidal violence in Ciudad Juarez, not all relationships appear as predicted by the theory. Drawing on public census and crime data, our statistical assessment detects six significant variables (or risk factors) positively associated with homicidal violence in Ciudad Juarez between 2009 and 2010. Likewise, the assessment finds another six specific variables (or protective factors) that are negatively associated with above average homicide in the city between 2009 and 2010. The featured data and level of analysis do not conclusively demonstrate causation, nor was this the intent. Rather, we propose a baseline model for testing spatial-temporal dynamics of organized violence in multiple settings.     

Psychological and behavioral adjustment in female youths with high or low psychopathic traits

The aim of the present study was to analyze the role of psychopathic traits in female juvenile delinquency. Using a sample of 236 young females from the Juvenile Detention Centers of the Portuguese Ministry of Justice and schools in the Lisbon area, a group of female youths with high psychopathic traits (n = 118; M = 15.84 years of age; range = 14–18 years of age) and a group of female youths with low psychopathic traits (n = 118; M = 15.77 years of age; range = 14–18 years of age) were formed based on the Portuguese version of the Antisocial Process Screening Device-Self-report (APSD-SR). The results showed that young females with high psychopathic traits start engaging in criminal activities and come into contact with the justice system earlier in life; exhibit higher levels of behavioral problems, conduct disorder, delinquent behaviors and serious criminality; and demonstrate lower levels of self-esteem and pro-social behavior. The importance of some variables in predicting group membership (high versus low psychopathic traits) was established through a binary logistic regression. Our findings reinforce the importance of the psychopathy construct for the early identification of potentially high-risk female youths and for the assessment of female youths who have already come into contact with the judicial system.     

How Did Things Get So Bad So Quickly? An Assessment of the Initial Conditions of the War Against Organized Crime in Mexico

Objectives: This study explores the initial conditions of the current war against organized crime in Mexico. The theoretical framework is institutional anomie theory (IAT). Composite measures were used to summarize local initial conditions for the occurrence of organized crime deaths by gang execution, confrontation, and aggressions to authority. Spatial and temporal elements were included to assess the validity of the initial conditions approach. Evidence presented here suggests that Mexican states significantly differed in their initial conditions for organized crime deaths to have occurred. Also, although trends in gang executions and confrontations have been slowing down, aggressions to authority are speeding up considerably. The evidence presented corroborates IAT. However, the significance and direction of the relationships among institutional anomie correlates and initial conditions of the war against organized crime depended upon the type of death.     

Alcohol and Domestic Violence: A Cross-Over Study in Residences of Individuals in Brazil

The objective of this study was to investigate psychological or physical violence associated with the use of alcohol, in residences of individuals in Brazil and, also describe the social characteristics of aggressors and victims. Therefore, this study expects to contribute to studies in Brazil that seek to clarify the relations between alcohol and violence in residences. A total of 454 respondents, 12–65 years old, were assessed, they were sorted by the Kish method, and the residences randomly. The SAMHSA questionnaire was utilized after translated and adapted to Brazilian conditions. 26% of the individuals reported psychological violence, and 16% reported physical violence. The study’s main results set the differences in the reports for physical violence (OR 7, 95% CI: 4–13) and psychological violence (OR 5, 95% CI: 3–8) in residences where someone arrived or became intoxicated with alcohol (P < 0.05). 50% of the aggressors were under the effects of alcohol, and 77% of the victims were relatives of their aggressors. Acts of violence are not necessarily associated with alcohol consumption. Men and women reported acts of domestic violence; psychological violence was the most prevalent form. Men are currently the primary aggressors, while women are primarily the victims     

Profiling of volatile impurities in tetramethylenedisulfotetramine (TETS) for synthetic-route determination

In recent years, alcohol consumption has been considered an important public health problem. Ethanol, the alcohol used in beverages, is a drug that affects the central nervous system (CNS) and impairs driving skills and co-ordination, increasing risk of deaths and injuries derived from crashes and road accidents. Consumption of alcoholic beverages is implicated with premature deaths, injuries and damages caused by motor vehicle crashes, which result in high costs to government and society. Considering that alcohol consumption is the main responsible factor for deaths and disabilities in young people, the aim of this work was to evaluate the prevalence of blood alcohol in offenders and/or fatal and non-fatal victims of traffic occurrences in the region of Ribeir?o Preto, S?o Paulo State, from 2005 to 2007. The results revealed that in 2134 cases investigated, blood alcohol positivity was generally found in young adults, 25-45 years old and male. The study showed the high risk of drinking and driving and the importance in establishing actions of prevention and intervention to promote the reduction in the number of traffic occurrences related to consumption of alcoholic beverages.     

Legislative Twitter Style: Electoral Vulnerability,Social Media,and Constituency-Building in Large Multimember Electoral Systems

How do legislators use social media to cultivate their constituencies in large multimember electoral districts? Colombia's Senate nationwide district offers a suitable case to examine how lawmakers, through their behaviour on Twitter, geographically target their audiences. We employ microblog user geolocation methods which infer locations using textual content in order to identify where Colombian senators' Twitter ‘home’ is. We find that senators' location targeting on Twitter largely mirrors the geographical distribution of their votes. Deviations from that pattern mostly stem from their vulnerability to intraparty competition and the nature of their parties' organisation.     

Non-monetary obstacles to medical care: Evidence from postpartum contraceptives

We use changes to Medicaid immediate postpartum policy to test whether non-monetary costs are meaningful obstacles to health care. Medicaid in several states currently covers long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs, including IUDs and implants) immediately following delivery of a child, eliminating much of the time-cost and stress associated with obtaining a LARC. Postpartum LARCs can reduce unintended and short-interval pregnancies, which are associated with adverse neonatal outcomes. Births that occur in Catholic-owned hospitals are an ideal control group, because these hospitals are prohibited from offering family-planning services, including LARCs. Using difference-in-differences and individual-level administrative data from Louisiana and New York, we find eliminating non-monetary obstacles increases take-up of a high-value and highly effective form of contraception. Additionally, we find no evidence of crowd-out of outpatient LARCs.     

Development Cooperation and Dependency: An Analysis of Brazilian-Spanish Cooperation in Latin America Between 2010 and 2018

Based on analysis of Brazilian-Spanish cooperation in Latin America, this article aims to contribute to the discussion on whether South–South Cooperation (SSC) represents an alternative model with specific and differentiated objectives, or if it largely reproduces the constraints and interests traditionally associated with the North–South model, but with new institutions and actors. We start by analysing the main criticisms levelled at cooperation in the literature, emphasising the identification, review and comparison of the mechanisms of domination and dependency that derive from the bilateral and multilateral practices of traditional development cooperation. We then construct a synthetic dependency index to measure the ability of Spain and Brazil – as representative cases of North–South Cooperation (NSC) and SSC with Latin America – to influence the foreign trade, investment and foreign policy decisions of aid recipients, and to empirically contrast the lower level of verticality that much of the available literature assumes about SSC schemes. The empirical analysis suggests significant differences between NSC and SSC in terms of their ability to reproduce dependency patterns and validate the discourse that tends to identify the latter as an alternative cooperation model.