The Race to Punish in American Schools: Class and Race Predictors of Punitive School-Crime Control

Despite the general agreement that US schools have become increasingly punitive since the 1980s, researchers are uncertain about what types of schools use tough-on-crime measures. Some assert that punitive control is concentrated in poor, predominantly ethnic minority schools. Governing-through-crime scholars argue that US schools with mostly middle-class and white students are also punitive, but in less harsh ways using soft surveillance techniques. Relying on data from large, stratified samples of middle and secondary US public schools, we found that high rates of ethnic minority enrollment predicted heavy reliance on law enforcement and security personnel. As rates of student poverty increased, use of soft surveillance techniques as well as reporting students to the police significantly increased. Implications for governing-through-crime, racial control, and reproduction of inequalities theories are discussed.     

Subtyping phosphoglucomutase-1 in semen stains and bloodstains: a report on the method

A method is described for obtaining nondistorted, reproducible phosphoglucomutase-1 subtyping patterns from semen stains and bloodstains. Isoelectric focusing of phosphoglucomutase-1 was accomplished in 80 min in a 0.2-mm-thick polyacrylamide gel with an interelectrode wick distance of 8.0 cm. The gel contained 1.2% (w/v) N-(2-hydroxyethyl) piperazine-N-3-propanesulfonic acid (EPPS) and pH 5 to 7 ampholytes (4% w/v). When maintained at room temperature, laboratory-prepared bloodstains and semen stains could be typed for phosphoglucomutase-1 up to four months and three weeks, respectively. An evaluation of phosphoglucomutase-1 typing by isoelectric focusing and the Group I system was performed on casework samples submitted to the FBI Laboratory. In addition to the increased discriminating probability of phosphoglucomutase-1 when subtyped, isoelectric focusing yielded an increase in positive calls on questioned bloodstains (65.6 versus 36.2%) and dried seminal stains (16.4 versus 13.1%) compared with the Group I system.     

College Women and Personal Goals: Cognitive Dimensions that Differentiate Risk-Reduction Sexual Decisions

As the twenty-first century begins, a high level of participation in premarital sexual intercourse by college women is well-documented. But, in the research exploring risk-reduction sexual behaviors, the relationship of cognitive abilities to responsible sexual behavior has been under-researched. Anonymous questionnaires were administered to 626 never-married, heterosexual women at a midwestern university to examine personal goal-setting, a cognitive variable postulated to be related to risk-reduction sexual behavior. Women who frequently set goals were more religious, optimistic about life, conservative in sexual attitudes, comfortable with their sexuality, and more psychologically sexually satisfied. Those who less often set goals were more likely to drink alcohol prior to sexual intercourse, become more intoxicated, and less likely to ask if new sex partners had STI(s). The cognitive variable, goal-setting, did differentiate college women who made responsible sexual decisions from those who engaged in risk-taking sexual behaviors.Professor Emerita of Family and Consumer Science, Texas State University-San Marcos. Received her PhD from the University of Texas, Austin in Child Development and Family Relations and is a Certified Marriage and Family Therapist, American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and licensed in the State of Texas. Her research interests include sexual attitudes and behavior of college students, adoption attitudes of unmarried pregnant teens, and teen pregnancy/parenting programs.University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Received his PhD from the University of Florida in Family Sociology and is a Clinical Fellow, American Academy of Clinical Sexologists and Fellow, National Council on Family Relations. His research interests include sexual attitudes and behavior of college students, adoption attitudes of unmarried pregnant teens, female sexual adjustment, and perceptions of the female physiological sexual response.     

The Expat Gap: Are Local‐Born Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries at a Disadvantage When Seeking Grant Funding?

Donor agencies and foundations use grants to stimulate entrepreneurial growth in developing countries. However, some practitioners have asked whether these grants tend to flow to expatriate entrepreneurs with ties to developed countries (where most grants originate), rather than to local entrepreneurs. This article tackles this question using a data set of 3,434 nascent ventures from 92 developing countries. The authors find that ventures with ties to a developed country are significantly more likely to raise grant financing and in more substantial amounts. Ventures with a founder born in a developed country are the most likely to receive grants, with a weaker effect when considering prior work experience in a developed country. This “expat gap” cannot be explained by differences in education level, prior experience, or ties to other developing countries. Donors seeking to support local entrepreneurs in developing countries should consider ways to make their recruitment and selection processes more equitable.     

Recent Trends in Child Maintenance Schemes in 14 Countries

Changes in family formations in western industrialized countriessince the 1960s have not been reflected in cross-national researchin the area of child maintenance. This article outlines childsupport regimes in 14 countries, considering the locus of formaldecision making, the determination of child maintenance obligations– highlighted by way of national informant responses totwo fictitious vignette scenarios – and the enforcementand penalty provisions used in the event of non-compliance.The article concludes that while some broad trends can be identifiedacross countries, there is diversity in how countries respondto family change.     

Perceived Injustice is Associated with Heightened Pain Behavior and Disability in Individuals with Whiplash Injuries

The present study examined the relationship between perceived injustice associated with whiplash injury and displays of pain behavior. Individuals (N?=?85) with whiplash injuries were filmed while performing a simulated occupational lifting task. They were also asked to complete measures of pain, perceived injustice, catastrophic thinking, depression, and functional disability. Consistent with previous research, high levels of perceived injustice were associated with more intense pain, higher levels of catastrophic thinking, depression, and disability. Analyses revealed that individuals with high levels of perceived injustice displayed more protective pain behaviors than individuals with low levels of perceived injustice, regardless of the level of physical demand of the task. The relation between perceived injustice and protective pain behavior remained significant even when controlling for pain severity, catastrophic thinking, and depression. There was no significant association between perceived injustice and displays of communicative pain behavior. The results of this study suggest that the relation between perceived injustice and pain behavior might underlie the high prevalence of occupational disability in individuals who have sustained whiplash injuries. Implications for intervention are addressed.