Correlates of Substantiated Emotional Maltreatment in the Second Canadian Incidence Study

The objective of this study was to determine the correlates of substantiated psychological maltreatment (PMT) in Canada on functions of maltreatment characteristics, child profile, household profile, and child protection services interventions. This study is based on a secondary analysis of data collected in the second Canadian Incidence Study. PMT investigations were categorized into six groups: emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and other maltreatment as single form, and these same three groups when they co-occurred with another form of maltreatment. Six logistic regressions, comparing all pairs of groups, were carried out. Cases of PMT (single form) were more chronic and associated with greater adverse emotional impact than other forms of maltreatment. Mothers of psychologically maltreated children had more mental health issues. Emotional neglect cases were more complex (e.g., substance abuse, mental health, and social housing). The three co-occurrent groups present more negative factors but more risk factors are observed when PMT are also observed (e.g., emotional harm, alcohol abuse, housing problems, chronicity, and referral to other services).     

Too big to fail,too powerful to jail? On the absence of criminal prosecutions after the 2008 financial meltdown

Various explanations have been offered regarding the causes of the current global economic crisis that was spawned by the collapse of mortgage-based securities in the U.S. that were sold world-wide and that contained "toxic assets" comprised of subprime loans. There is ample evidence that such loans were originated through fraud. Firms recorded huge profits, and executives were awarded large bonuses even though some had led their companies into bankruptcy and plunged both the U.S. and global economies into the greatest recession since the Great Depression. This paper assesses the reasons why there have been no major prosecutions to date, and compares the U.S. government's response to that in the savings and loan crisis. It analyzes the influence of large financial institutions on lawmaking, regulation, and the allocation of enforcement resources, the continued general lack of understanding of financial fraud including control fraud, and problems related to the higher status and power of potential defendants.     

Let the Facts Speak

Inconclusive conclusions lead to inadmissible evidence on Xinjiang The U.S. State Department lawyers have concluded there’s no evidence to prove "genocide" in Xinjiang.The UK Parliament has decided it’s a job for the lawyers not the government.     

The Plutocracy That Is U.S. Democracy

The U.S. doesn't have democracy, it has politics. Democracy is about serving the people, giving them what they want and improving their lives. China doesn't have career politicians, it has bureaucrats. Trained and skilled administrators who are elected from the bottom and selected from the top, but only if they are good enough. If they don't measure up, they lose their job.     

South Africa's bilateral relationships in the evolving foreign policy of an emerging middle power

This article introduces the special issue on ‘South African Foreign Policy: identity, directions, and intentions’. Here we seek to summarize key insights from the contributions to this special issue to deepen understanding of South Africa’s evolving post-apartheid foreign policy through an exploration of the nature and trajectory of key bilateral relationships from both the global ‘South’ (Brazil, China, Iran, the AU) and ‘North’ (Japan and the UK). This window on the country’s international relations enriches understanding of the normative and structural factors that influence not only South African foreign policy, but those of what Edouard Jordaan calls emerging middle powers as they seek to position themselves as influential actors in international affairs. We sketch the contours of these key South African relationships in four areas where the tendencies and tensions of emerging middle power foreign policies are apparent: regionalism, multilateralism, reform of global governance, and approach to moral leadership.     

A partially randomized field experiment on the effect of an acoustic gunshot detection system on police incident reports

Journal of Experimental Criminology - To examine whether the introduction of an acoustic gunshot detection system (AGDS) allied to CCTV cameras increased the frequency of confirmed incidents of...     

The ability of the blowflies Calliphora vomitoria (Linnaeus), Calliphora vicina (Rob-Desvoidy) and Lucilia sericata (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and the muscid flies Muscina stabulans (Fallén) and Muscina prolapsa (Harris) (Diptera: Muscidae) to colonise buried remains

A novel method for the non-destructive age determination of a blood stain is described. It is based on the measurement of the visible reflectance spectrum of the haemoglobin component using a microspectrophotometer (MSP), spectral pre-processing and the application of supervised statistical classification techniques. The reflectance spectra of sample equine blood stains deposited on a glazed white tile were recorded between 1 and 37 days, using an MSP at wavelengths between 442 nm and 585 nm, under controlled conditions. The determination of age was based on the progressive change of the spectra with the aging of the blood stain. These spectra were pre-processed to reduce the effects of baseline variations and sample scattering. Two feature selection methods based on calculation of Fisher's weights and Fourier transform (FT) of spectra were used to create inputs into a statistical model based on linear discriminant analysis (LDA). This was used to predict the age of the blood stain and tested by using the leave-one-out cross validation method. When the same blood stain was used to create the training and test datasets an excellent correct classification rate (CCR) of 91.5% was obtained for 20 input frequencies, improving to 99.2% for 66 input frequencies. A more realistic scenario where separate blood stains were used for the training and test datasets led to poorer successful classification due to problems with the choice of substrate but nevertheless up to 19 days a CCR of 54.7% with an average error of 0.71 days was obtained.     

University-industry linkages in nanotechnology and biotechnology: evidence on collaborative patterns for new methods of inventing

The nanotechnology and biotechnology “revolutions” are so-called because their enabling technological breakthroughs were not simply inventions, but discoveries of entirely new methods of inventing. We hypothesize that university participants in either or both of these areas will exhibit greater collaboration with industry than researchers in other areas. We explore this hypothesis for 454 faculty members who conducted research that was patented during the period 1994–1999. Because our data include patents, publications, and funding at the individual level, we are able to examine the industry interaction of faculty who participated in the nanotechnology and biotechnology revolutions, as well as the interaction of faculty contributing to other areas of patentable science. We examine a variety of linkages, including sponsored research, consulting, publication with firm employees and measures of the potential for cross-campus collaboration. The results are striking in that they show significant differences in collaborative behavior across patent types and across the major program areas biological sciences, physical sciences and engineering. The results are consistent with a greater degree of tacit knowledge within the new methods of inventing. We also find significant differences in the embryonic nature and importance of patents across areas.     

A multi-site, randomized study of strengths-based case management with substance-abusing parolees

Objectives  

To test whether strengths-based case management provided during an inmate’s transition from incarceration to the community increases participation in community substance abuse treatment, enhances access to needed social services, and improves drug use, crime, and HIV risk outcomes.     

Jazz and substance abuse: road to creative genius or pathway to premature death

Jazz music and jazz musicians have often been linked for better or worse to the world of addictive substances. Many talented jazz musicians either had their careers sidetracked or prematurely ended due to their addiction to drugs and/or alcohol. The rigors of nightly performances, travel, and for many musicians a disapproving society exacted a toll that impacted the creativity of many artists of the genre. The fact that drug and alcohol use had a significant impact on the performance levels of numerous jazz musicians in the 1940's and 1950's has been much discussed, but more study of that impact is warranted. While recent research has provided new information regarding this challenging topic, there is still much to learn. Indeed, a number of questions for inquiry may be posed. Among those questions are the following: Was the work of these jazz artists truly inspired? Would their creative output have been enhanced had they not been addicted to substances? What was the impact of the addictive substances on their ability to function as creative artists and is there evidence to refute or verify that impact? Are there identifiable traits in certain artists that allowed them to be creative in spite of their addictions? This examination presents an evaluation of the evidence of the link between creativity and substance abuse especially as it relates to selected jazz artists during this time period and how they remained creative and actually prospered in their careers in spite of addictions to controlled substances.