Trace DNA success rates relating to volume crime offences

In this study, 252 trace DNA samples (from handled surfaces) from 201 burglary, robbery and drugs cases were compiled to assess success rates and to interpret the value of trace DNA evidence in volume crime investigations. The average amount of DNA recovered from the trace DNA samples collected was 1.7 ng. Full or major (12 or more alleles) profiles were recovered from 14% of samples. Samples from firearms and burglary points of entry were the least successful. Mixtures were recovered from 21% of samples, presenting a case for the collection of more elimination profiles to enable more samples to be used for database purposes. The research highlighted the difficulties in collecting data relating to the success rates of samples. Computerised automation of this process would be extremely beneficial in the assistance of policy development, method application, training, and investigative usefulness.     

Administrative avenues to democratic governance: the balance of supply and demand

Governance interventions have evolved to a much greater emphasis on the demand side of good or democratic governance. This article discusses the need for an appropriate balance between both the demand and the supply sides. In short, while citizens need to demand, governments need to respond; both are capable of some supply; and none of these should be taken for granted. The pros and cons of a balanced approach are discussed, as well as the risks of imbalance. The article also begins to explore what a balanced approach might look like, arguing that balanced approaches incorporate a reorientation and expansion of various mechanisms of control: hierarchic/bureaucratic mechanisms are reoriented to embrace and promote democratic principles and opportunities for exit and voice; market mechanisms are exploited wherever possible; and clan mechanisms based on trust and repeated interaction are introduced and emphasized. Brief examples demonstrate that operationalizing a balanced approach entails consensus building through a series of negotiations among key stakeholders. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A decision analytic model to guide early‐stage government regulatory action: Applications for synthetic biology

Synthetic biology (SB) involves the alteration of living cells and biomolecules for specific purposes. Products developed using these approaches could have significant societal benefits, but also pose uncertain risks to human and environmental health. Policymakers currently face decisions regarding how stringently to regulate and monitor various SB applications. This is a complex task, in which policymakers must balance uncertain economic, political, social, and health‐related decision factors associated with SB use. We argue that formal decision analytical tools could serve as a method to integrate available evidence‐based information and expert judgment on the impacts associated with SB innovations, synthesize that information into quantitative indicators, and serve as the first step toward guiding governance of these emerging technologies. For this paper, we apply multi‐criteria decision analysis to a specific case of SB, a micro‐robot based on biological cells called “cyberplasm.” We use data from a Delphi study to assess cyberplasm governance options and demonstrate how such decision tools may be used for assessments of SB oversight.     

When a Man Meets a Woman: Comparing the Use of Negativity of Male Candidates in Single- and Mixed-Gender Televised Debates

Much work has been done to analyze the consequences of the increasing representation of women in politics. Usually, this research compares male and female politicians from a female perspective. For instance, many studies in political communication investigate how and why female candidates show campaign styles similar to or different from their male colleagues. In contrast to this, few studies are interested in how men change their behavior when women enter the political arena. Some of these studies have demonstrated that men limit their negativity when confronted with female candidates. Unfortunately, these analyses focus predominantly on (a) the United States and (b) gender differences in campaign advertising. We seek to provide empirical evidence for non-U.S. campaigns from the most important single campaign events: televised debates. To do so, we analyze data covering all German televised debates broadcast since 1997 where male politicians participated in a two-candidate single- or mixed-gender debate. Our results indicate that the gender of the political opponent affects incivility but not the use of attacks in general. In mixed-gender debates there is less incivility. However, differences in the treatment of male and female opponents tend to decline over time. We conclude that female candidates transform campaign communication—not only because they communicate differently from men, but also because they influence male politicians’ political communication.     

Elucidating linkages between women’s empowerment in livestock and nutrition: a qualitative study

This article investigates knowledge and perceptions of women’s empowerment from the perspective of female livestock keepers and elucidates linkages between women’s empowerment and household nutrition in relation to livestock. Eight focus groups with 62 female livestock keepers were conducted in Tanzania. Women’s empowerment in livestock was associated with improved household nutrition. Other opportunities for empowerment were identified that could contribute to women’s decision-making power. The article recommends that all development interventions in the livestock sector be gender sensitive and engage local men in conversations about gender inequities. It also discusses other pathways to increase women’s empowerment and household nutrition.     

Examining Relationships among Choice,Affect, and Engagement in Summer STEM Programs

Out-of-school time programs focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have proliferated recently because they are seen as having potential to appeal to youth and enhance STEM interest. Although such programs are not mandatory, youth are not always involved in making the choice about their participation and it is unclear whether youth’s involvement in the choice to attend impacts their program experiences. Using data collected from experience sampling, traditional surveys, and video recordings, we explore relationships among youth’s choice to attend out-of-school time programs (measured through a pre-survey) and their experience of affect (i.e., youth experience sampling ratings of happiness and excitement) and engagement (i.e., youth experience sampling ratings of concentration and effort) during program activities. Data were collected from a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 10–16 year old youth (n?=?203; 50% female) enrolled in nine different summer STEM programs targeting underserved youth. Multilevel analysis indicated that choice and affect are independently and positively associated with momentary engagement. Though choice to enroll was a significant predictor of momentary engagement, positive affective experiences during the program may compensate for any decrements to engagement associated with lack of choice. Together, these findings have implications for researchers, parents, and educators and administrators of out-of-school time programming.     

When do middlemen matter? Evidence from variation in corruption in India

Corruption is a persistent problem in developing countries, and recent scholarship suggests that middlemen play an important role in corrupt acts. Yet, while intermediaries can reduce transaction costs in illicit exchange, they also increase agency costs and reduce benefits to others. The involvement of middlemen may thus vary. I argue that middlemen are most likely to engage in, and benefit from, the subset of corruption transactions that are repeated frequently, but not by the same parties. I test the implications of this argument using survey experiments administered to a large sample of politicians and bureaucrats at multiple levels of government in India. I show that middlemen are critical, but far from ubiquitous. Intermediaries are more relevant where corrupt deals are frequent but involve unfamiliar potential principals. My results suggest that anticorruption efforts must pay greater attention to the type of corruption and the incentives of middlemen.     

Ethnic Networks

Active research on a wide range of political contexts centers on ethnicity's role in collective action. Many theories posit that information flows more easily in ethnically homogeneous areas, facilitating collective action, because social networks among coethnics are denser. Although this characterization is ubiquitous, little empirical work assesses it. Through a novel field experiment in a matched pair of villages in rural Uganda, this article directly examines word‐of‐mouth information spread and its relationship to ethnic diversity and networks. As expected, information spread more widely in the homogeneous village. However, unexpectedly, the more diverse village's network is significantly denser. Using unusually detailed network data, we offer an explanation for why network density may hamper information dissemination in heterogeneous areas, showing why even slight hesitation to share information with people from other groups can have large aggregate effects.     

Patterns of Bullying and Sexual Harassment: Connections with Parents and Teachers as Direct Protective Factors

Involvement in bullying and sexual harassment in adolescence is associated with a variety of internalizing, externalizing, and health-risk behaviors. Yet, the two behaviors are often studied independently. The current study examined how bullying and sexual harassment co-occur and whether social connections protected youth from risk patterns. The data for this study come from the 2013 Minnesota Student Survey (N?=?121,311; 50% female, 74% White, 26% received free or reduced-price lunch; M _age?=?14.9, SD?=?1.3). Students reported on bullying and sexual harassment victimization and perpetration. Using latent class analysis, youth were classified into five patterns: High-Risk of All Forms of Victimization and Perpetration (7%), Relational and Cyberbullying Victimization (17%), Sexual Harassment Victimization and Perpetration (8%), Physical Bullying Perpetration (6%), and Low-Risk (62%). Compared to the low-risk class, the four other classes had lower levels of social connections, particularly with teachers and parents. Older youth (9th and 11th grade students) were at greater risk for the sexual harassment pattern, while younger youth (8th grade students) were at greater risk for bullying patterns. The results indicate that efforts to reduce bullying should also address sexual harassment and social connections with adults.     

Disgust,Anxiety, and Political Learning in the Face of Threat

Emotions feature prominently in political rhetoric and media frames, and they have potent effects on how people process information. Yet, existing research has largely overlooked the influence of disgust, which is a basic emotion that leads people to avoid contamination threats. We illustrate how disgust may impede learning, as compared to the more commonly studied emotion of anxiety. Disgust and anxiety are natural reactions to many kinds of political threats, but the two emotions influence political engagement in different ways. This study investigated the distinctive effects of disgust in a series of experiments that manipulated information about the outbreak of an infectious disease. People who felt disgusted by a health threat were less likely to learn crucial facts about the threat and less likely to seek additional information. Thus, disgust has the counterintuitive effect of decreasing public engagement in precisely those situations where it is most critical.