Examination of Illicit Drug Use Frequency Using Multiple Drug Assessment Methods in Mothers Referred to Treatment by Child Protective Services

It has long been established that illicit drug use contributes to child maltreatment. However, investigators have yet to comprehensively examine illicit drug use in mothers referred to treatment by Child Protective Services (CPS). In this study, 77 mothers who were referred to treatment by CPS for co-existing drug abuse and child neglect were administered the Timeline Follow-Back measure to assess their substance use frequency during the four months preceding treatment. Reports of the mothers’ substance use were obtained for the same time period from the mothers’ significant others and CPS caseworkers, and mothers were administered urinalysis testing. The purpose of this study was to examine the concordance of these multiple reports, and identify unique predictors of different drug use reporting patterns. The practice of using urinalysis results as a prompt during the mothers’ Timeline Follow-Back administration may have contributed to greater frequency of drug use reporting in mothers. Mothers reported progressively more drug use for more distant time periods, as compared with caseworkers. Findings also suggested mothers’ reports of drug use were influenced by CPS investigatory case status (i.e., open or closed), ethnicity, and defensive responding. Implications of these findings for clinical practice and future research are discussed.     

Use of the cranial base in the identification of fire victims

Techniques exist for using the cranial base to estimate the race and sex of skeletalized individuals in forensic science cases. The applicability of these techniques to remains of fire victims has been uncertain because of possible cranial-base shrinkage that may result from burning. To determine the amount of shrinkage resulting from low-temperature burning (less than 800 degrees C), the cranial bases of eight dissecting room cadavers were measured, the bones then burned, and the cranial fragments remeasured. The wet-bone measurements were compared to the burned-bone measurements, and the percentage of shrinkage was calculated. The average change from wet to burned bone is less than 1.00%, a figure in agreement with other published studies. Since a change of 1.00% is less than intraobserver error, it is argued that low-temperature burning--such as an average house fire--does not significantly impair the accuracy of the identification techniques. Therefore, the techniques should be applicable to many fire victims.     

GeneMarker® HID: A reliable software tool for the analysis of forensic STR data

Abstract: GeneMarker^® HID was assessed as a software tool for the analysis of forensic short tandem repeat (STR) data and as a resource for analysis of custom STR multiplexes. The software is easy to learn and use, and includes design features that have the potential to reduce user fatigue. To illustrate reliability and accuracy, STR data from both single‐source and mixture profiles were analyzed and compared to profiles interpreted with another software package. A total of 1898 STR profiles representing 28,470 loci and more than 42,000 alleles were analyzed with 100% concordance. GeneMarker HID was also used to successfully analyze data generated from a custom STR multiplex, with simplified and rapid implementation. Finally, the impact of the user‐friendly design features of the software was assessed through a time scale study. The results suggest that laboratories can reduce the time required for data analysis by at least 25% when using GeneMarker HID.     

Recent developments

The tertiary sector is operating in an increasingly market-driven environment. Teaching standards are under intense scrutiny as universities strive to meet the expectations of students exercising consumer choices. Continuing professional development programmes have a pivotal role in supporting and shaping best practice in modern law schools. Early career academics in both the New Zealand and British university systems share similar teaching and learning objectives.

However, the respective professional development programmes have different compliance regimes. The United Kingdom has adopted a scheme of formal training and teaching accreditation, supported by the UK Professional Standards Framework. In New Zealand mandatory training requirements are more limited. It is submitted that New Zealand universities should similarly require probationary academics to undertake a formal programme which promotes an understanding of the scholarship of teaching. It is further argued that programmes in both jurisdictions should emphasise subject-specific pedagogical knowledge to expose law teachers to the distinct academic and vocational aspects of their discipline.     

The internet and offending behaviour: A case study

Abstract

Summary: The COPINE Project at the Department of Applied Psychology, seeks to address children's vulnerability in relation to the Internet and child pornography. As part of the project, offenders convicted of downloading such images have been interviewed. This paper considers existing models of offender behaviour alongside literature relating to Internet use. A single case study is used to illustrate a process-focused model of offending, using interview material to demonstrate how the offender represented and accounted for his behaviour. The offender in question had no history of engaging in sexual behaviour with actual children, but his case illustrated many of the stages described by offenders in their involvement with pornography, including: setting events, engagement, collecting behaviour, and the emergence of relationships.     

The unintended consequences of campaigns designed to challenge stigmatising representations of mental illness in the media

The media is widely recognised as contributing to stigma associated with mental illness by portraying it in connection with violence and/or undesirable traits. In response, campaigns directed at policing language use, imagery and story content in the media have been implemented. But these interventions can themselves perpetuate stereotypes and assumptions that ultimately run counter to the original intent of challenging stigma. By way of illustration this paper analyses an Australian campaign that I argue invites people to see stigma in innocuous uses of ordinary language and imagery, effectively associating mental illness with that which it seeks to challenge. The grounds for its criticism and praise of stories about mental illness are also often tenuous and based on a limited approach to determining the impact of story content. The pitfalls of this type of campaign can be avoided by taking heed of the shifts in thinking advocated by postpsychiatry and the deconstructionist strategies employed by activists in the mental health field.