Emoticon convergence in Internet chat rooms

The present study examines sex and age differences in the use of emoticons (graphic representations of facial expressions) in Internet chat rooms. Data were collected from four Noesis chat rooms (“18+”, “30-something”, “40-something” and “50+”). Although women were more likely than men to use emoticons, there was no difference between the sexes in the range of emoticons used. The fact that men expressed a similar range of emoticons to women implies a general convergence towards female expression in mixed-sex communication contexts. Chat room users without a profile picture were also more likely to use winking emoticons. This may be because these types of emoticons are more flirtatious in intent, and it is easier for chatters to engage in risky communications when they are less identifiable. Furthermore, age had little bearing on the uptake of emoticons as well as the types of emoticons expressed. We draw upon Communication Accommodation Theory to help explain why emotional expression may converge in the chat room context.     

Addressing Public Risks: Extreme Events and Critical Infrastructures

We consider noncoercive means for harnessing the efforts of the private sector as partners with public authorities for addressing potential harms from widely dispersed risks. Our focus is the public and private sector approach in the United States to protecting the nation's critical infrastructures. We empirically address how two key elements of this approach—mobilization of attention and planning partnerships—work to foster “communities of interest” that pursue common sets of solutions for risk reduction. Our depiction of the varied communities of interest underscores differences in starting points in creating such communities, in the ability to mobilize and focus attention within them, and in the likelihood of sustaining efforts to address threats to critical infrastructures. The fundamental issue raised by our research is striking an appropriate balance between governmental and private sector roles in addressing risks for which it is hard to create and sustain protective actions.     

The hidden battle: HIV/AIDS in the household and community

The AIDS epidemic will cause significant increases in illness and death in prime‐age adults, which will manifest itself through negative social, economic and developmental impacts. The epidemics economic impacts at the household level are decreased income, increased health‐care costs, decreased productive capacity and changing expenditure patterns. Three coping strategies are observed: altering household composition; withdrawing savings or selling assets; and receiving assistance from other households. Following death, the impacts break out of the family into the community, primarily through orphaning. In the near future, the sheer number of orphans may overwhelm the capacity of existing community resources to cope. The distribution of the impacts of the AIDS epidemic falls unevenly among the genders. In Africa, women have higher infection rates and bear a disproportionate burden of the care of HIV‐positive people. Orphaned girls are more vulnerable to exploitation.     

Afghans have their memories: A reflection on the recent experience of assistance in Afghanistan

As the international community re-engages in Afghanistan, there is an opportunity to make good on commitments to the Afghan people in a principled and transparent manner. But Afghanistan comes with a history, and unless this history is understood and taken into account, both the political process and reconstruction are likely to end in failure. This article looks at the legacy of the way in which the donors and aid organisations operated in the past, and the manner in which they dealt with both the Mujaheddin and Taliban administrations. It examines how, in a period characterised by progressive hardening of political positions, accompanied by increasing aid conditionality, efforts to achieve greater coherence between political and aid strategies and to establish 'principled' positions often led to conflict and contradictions and at times seemed to undermine the impartiality of the international community. It then explores the extent to which the present pace and nature of international support for political and reconstruction activities are enabling--or not--the emergence of an administration in Kabul that has domestic legitimacy and can effectively manage reconstruction.     

Stressful life events and adolescent drug use: Moderating influences of the MAOA gene

Purpose

Though stressful life events appear to impact the likelihood and frequency of substance use among adolescents, these effects are often varied and inconsistent. We suggest that the polymorphic MAOA gene may be partially responsible for variable susceptibility to environmental pressures and substance use. More specifically, we hypothesize that adolescents possessing low activity alleles for the MAOA genotype are more likely to respond to stressful life experiences by initiating substance use.

Methods

The genetic subsample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health was analyzed (2,574 adolescents) using logistic regression models for each gender. Respondents’ self-reports of eight key stressors were used to create a composite life stress scale which was allowed to interact with a variable that represented the number of low activity MAOA alleles.

Results

For males, a significant interaction emerged between stressful life experiences and the MAOA gene for alcohol (p = .029) and marijuana (p = .039) initiation. For females, the interaction was not significant in each model.

Conclusions

MAOA interacts with life stress to increase the likelihood of substance use initiation for males. Those with a low activity MAOA allele are more likely to initiate substance use than those with a high activity allele when exposed to stressful experiences.     

Interpreting Statutory Purpose – Lessons from Yemshaw v Hounslow London Borough Council

Yemshaw v Hounslow LBC is a significant case in the fields of housing and family law, as well as giving rise to important issues as to the judicial role and statutory interpretation more broadly. This note critically analyses the reasoning of the Supreme Court in Yemshaw, in which the principal issue was whether the definition of ‘violence’ for the purposes of the Housing Act 1996 extended to non‐physical as well as physical forms of harm. In rejecting the view of the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court adopted a wider definition of violence to encompass emotional and psychological as well as financial abuse. This commentary adopts a fresh stance by examining closely the context surrounding the enactment of the Housing Act 1996 and how this informs the question of statutory interpretation. In so doing, the author suggests that the interpretation employed by the court is significantly undermined.     

The Effect of Decomposition on the Efficacy of Biometrics for Positive Identification

Biometrics, unique measurable physiological and behavioral characteristics, are used to identify individuals in a variety of scenarios, including forensic investigations. However, data on the longevity of these indicators are incomplete. This study demonstrated that iris and fingerprint biometric data can be obtained up to four days postmortem in warmer seasons and 50 + days in the winter. It has been generally believed, but never studied, that iris recognition is only obtainable within the first 24 hours after death. However, this study showed that they remain viable for longer (2–34 days) depending upon the environmental conditions. Temperature, precipitation, insects, and scavenger activity were the primary factors affecting the retention of biometrics in decomposing human remains. While this study is an initial step in determining the utility of physiological biometrics across postmortem time, biometric research has the potential to make important contributions to human identification and the law enforcement, military, and medicolegal communities.