College students' alcohol-related problems: A test of competing theories

This study examined binge drinking, drinking-driving, and other negative behaviors among college students. Specifically, this study tested the explanatory power of three criminological theories: self-control, social bonds, and routine activities. Data used in this research were collected from a survey of 558 students in a state university. Findings indicated that college students with low self-control were significantly more likely to engage in binge drinking, drinking-driving, and negative behaviors. Students who rarely participated in university-organized events or frequently attended parties were more likely to have problems of binge drinking, drinking-driving, and negative behaviors. Several control variables, such as gender and location of residence, were also predictive of alcohol-related problems among college students. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Officer proactivity: A comparison between police field training officers and non-field training officers

This article examines the behavioral differences between police field training officers (FTOs) and non-FTOs in problem-focused efforts and aggressive preventive patrol. The former refers to officer-initiated security checks and attempts to locate citizens, while the latter includes officer-initiated field interrogations and traffic stops. Data used were collected from Indianapolis, Indiana and St. Petersburg, Florida during the summers of 1996 and 1997. Findings show that FTOs, especially those in St. Petersburg, are more proactive than non-FTOs in attempting to locate suspects and witnesses, but they do not differ in the level of proactivity with respect to security checks, field interrogations, and traffic stops. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.     

Turning the tide? The emergence of national urban policies in Africa

It is widely believed that national urban policies in Africa are rare. This is a concern bearing in mind the formidable challenges posed by urbanisation in the context of low incomes and weak institutions. The paper unpacks the concept of urban policy and what it means for the way in which cities grow. It considers the situation in five countries with different approaches. The evidence indicates increasing interest in steering urban growth through coordinated actions on land, housing and infrastructure. The positive developmental arguments seem to carry more weight than the threats of disaster if squalor and social unrest are not addressed. Yet the appropriate policy responses are not clear-cut and there are many dilemmas faced. Capacitating city governments to plan and invest in networked infrastructure appears to be one of the priorities.     

A database of mitochondrial DNA hypervariable regions I and II sequences of individuals from Slovakia

In order to identify polymorphic positions and to determine their frequencies and the frequency of haplotypes in the human mitochondrial control region, two hypervariable regions (HV1 and HV2) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 374 unrelated individuals from Slovakia were amplified and sequenced. Sequence comparison led to the identification of 284 mitochondrial lineages as defined by 163 variable sites. Genetic diversity (GD) was estimated at 0.997 and the probability of two randomly selected individuals from population having identical mtDNA types (random match probability, RMP) for the both regions is 0.60%.     

New alleles and mutational events at 14 STR loci from different German populations

The molecular origin of DNA mutations and the mutation rates were analyzed at 14 short tandem repeat (STR) loci with samples from trio cases derived from 10 different German population samples. STR loci comprised of D2S1360, D3S1744, D4S2366, D5S2500, D6S474, D7S1517, D8S1132, D10S2325, D12S391, D18S51, D19S246, D20S480, D21S226, and D22S689. In a total of 488 meioses, 16 isolated genetic inconsistencies in 8 different STRs were observed, whereas no mutations were found at the other loci. The data of five mutations suggested the presence of silent or null alleles due to sequence variation in primer binding site. This could be confirmed for four suspected cases by the use of alternative primer sets and by DNA sequence analyses. Furthermore, this study revealed nine new allelic variants at five different loci.