"Ripple Effects" in Youth Peacebuilding and Exchange Programs: Measuring Impacts Beyond Direct Participants

A number of organizations have a mission of encouraging peace throughout the world by enhancing young people's knowledge and understanding of other countries and cultures. One strategy used to further this mission is international or intercultural exchange programs. Most evaluations of exchange programs gather data only from the direct participants who traveled to another country. But these programs have the potential to have impacts that expand beyond the direct participants—or "ripple effects." Thus, a more appropriate methodology to evaluate exchange programs is "360-degree feedback," which gathers data from multiple sources. This study uses 360-degree feedback to evaluate a youth peacebuilding and exchange program by gathering data not only from the exchange students but also from chaperones, host families, and students and teachers in the host school. ANOVA analyses finds that the program had positive impacts on the exchange students and, in many cases, even greater ripple effects on indirect participants.     

Contribution of parkland trees to farmers’ livelihoods: a case study from Mali

Native species of trees and shrubs contribute significantly to farmers' livelihoods by supplying food, medicinal products, fodder, and wood. In the case study reported in this article, this contribution to farmers' annual revenue varied from 26 per cent to 73 per cent, and was as high as US$ 650 a year for households for which agroforestry products were the primary source of revenue. Household consumption was not quantified in the study, but farmers' comments confirmed that native trees also played an important role in assuring food security, especially in the ‘hunger period’ when grain stores are low and farmers are waiting for the next harvest.     

A Comparison of Four Presumptive Tests for the Detection of Blood on Dark Materials

Detection of blood on dark materials is difficult for crime scene examiners so presumptive tests are used to assist. This study compared the ability of luminol, leuko crystal violet, tetramethylbenzidine, and Combur Test®E to detect whole, diluted blood (1:100) and a key‐shaped blood transfer stain (1:10), on dark cotton sheeting, tea towel, socks, synthetic carpet, and car mats. Powdered bleach was used to evaluate specificity of the blood detection tests. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and overall misclassification rate (OMR) assessed the quality of the blood tests. Luminol was the preferred test for diluted blood having the highest sensitivity (79%–96%), NPV (66%–93%), and the lowest OMR (3%–15%). Luminol was also found to be most efficient with a testing time on 25 items of 2 h 50 min compared with up to 8 h. Overall, luminol was the most effective method, also providing information on bloodstain patterns.     

A Case of Nonfatal Intoxication Associated with the Recreational use of Diphenidine

Diphenidine is a dissociative drug that shows several psychotropic effects including euphoria, shifts in perception of reality, hallucinations, and transient anterograde amnesia. In this study, a case of acute intoxication occurring after diphenidine intake is reported. A 30‐year‐old Caucasian male was hospitalized after he was found in a confused and agitated state and unable to communicate. The physical examination displayed tachycardia, miotic pupils, and increased both body temperature and respiratory rate. After a liquid–liquid extraction procedure, GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of diphenidine in plasma and urine at concentrations of 308 and 631 ng/mL, respectively. Methylphenidate and diclazepam were also detected in the plasma. The clinical progress of the patient was favorable, and his symptoms were cured with a symptomatic treatment. The combined circumstantial elements and toxicological results of the case reported revealed the occurrence of an acute intoxication ascribable to the recreational abuse of diphenidine.     

Undocumented Border Crosser Deaths in Arizona: Expanding Intrastate Collaborative Efforts in Identification

Undocumented Border Crosser (UBC) deaths in Arizona are a major issue faced by medicolegal authorities. Currently, the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner (MCOME) is in possession of over two hundred unidentified individuals, more than half of whom are presumed to be UBCs. The primary goal of this study was to address the growing number of UBC deaths in Maricopa County in order to provide a more comprehensive picture of this important anthropological issue within the state of Arizona. Of the 107 total UBC cases evaluated for the study, the majority were male and age estimates for all individuals were between 15 to 60 years old. Modeled after the recording system established by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, the biographic and geographic data for these cases were entered into a new UBC database at MCOME and later added to the online Map of Migrant Mortality.     

The legal and administrative processes in adoption: views and experiences of newly formed adoptive families

The early stages of adoptive placements are important in achieving successful long-term outcomes for adopted children and their families. This paper reports on findings from the Wales Adoption Study, in which adoptive parents shared their views and experiences of the legal and administrative processes in obtaining an adoption order. Parents described a range of difficulties that added to anxieties and delays. These arose mainly through poor communication about the steps in the legal process and avoidable administrative errors or oversights. Some parents also experienced lack of information and support regarding agreed contact arrangements and work with their child to help them make sense of their adoptive status.     

Mutual Best Friendship Involvement, Best Friends�� Rejection Sensitivity, and Psychological Maladaptation

Rejection sensitivity (RS) refers to the tendency to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and overreact to experiences of possible rejection. RS is a clear risk factor for psychological maladaptation during early adolescence. However, there is growing evidence of significant heterogeneity in the psychological correlates of RS. To investigate when RS poses the greatest psychological risk during early adolescence, this study examines mutual best friendship involvement (or lack thereof) and the best friends?? RS as potential moderators of the associations between RS and psychological difficulties. Participants were 150 7th grade students (58 boys; M age = 13.05 years) who nominated their best friends, and reported on their RS, social anxiety, and self-esteem. Results from a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that mutual best friendship involvement and best friends?? RS were both significant moderators when fear of negative evaluation (a type of social anxiety) served as the dependent variable. The association between RS and fear of negative evaluation was stronger for adolescents without mutual best friends than adolescents with mutual best friends. In addition, the association between RS and fear of negative evaluation was the strongest for adolescents whose best friends were highly rejection sensitive (relative to adolescents whose best friends were moderately or low in RS). Findings highlight the importance of considering best friendships in studies of RS and strongly suggest that, although having mutual best friendships may be protective for rejection sensitive adolescents, having a rejection sensitive best friend may exacerbate difficulties. The significance of friends in the lives of rejection sensitive adolescents is discussed as well as possible applied implications of the findings and study limitations.     

Expert Testimony Regarding Child Witnesses: Does It Sensitize Jurors to Forensic Interview Quality?

Does expert testimony on forensic interviews with children help adults distinguish between poorly conducted and well-conducted interviews? This study evaluates the effects of social framework expert testimony regarding child witnesses in a case involving allegations of child sexual abuse. A 2 (Expert Testimony: present or absent) × 3 (Child Forensic Interview Quality: poor, typical, or good) × 2 (Child’s Age: 4- or 10-year-old) factorial design was used to examine whether expert testimony is prejudicial or beneficial to jurors (N = 463). The results revealed that, without expert testimony, mock jurors did not consider the forensic interview quality when reaching a verdict. However, with expert testimony, mock jurors were more likely to render guilty verdicts if the interview quality was good versus poor. Further expert testimony increased mock jurors’ knowledge about child witnesses. These findings suggest that expert testimony related to the impact of interview techniques on the reliability of children’s reports may assist fact-finders in evaluating child abuse cases.     

Insects found on a human cadaver in central Italy including the blowfly Calliphora loewi (Diptera, Calliphoridae), a new species of forensic interest

In the case of unidentified bodies the estimation of the period since death or of the season of death plays an important role to focus the attention on a reduced number of people among the ones reported missing. Forensic entomology can be one of the most important methods for these estimations, as occurred in this case. Flies are typically the first insects to colonize a dead body. The case reported here concerns the colonisation by insects of a male body in advanced decay found during the winter in Central Italy. This case is of particular interest as few data are available on the entomological evidence in the cold season. In particular, in this case we recovered Calliphora loewi (Calliphoridae), a species never collected before on dead bodies in Southern Europe. Larvae of the black soldier fly Hermetia illucens (Stratiomyidae), pupae and larvae belonging to genus Hydrothea (Muscidae), and Necrobia rufipes (Cleridae) specimens were also collected. The estimated PMI enabled identification of the cadaver, confirmed by DNA analysis.     

Using iPhones? to Enhance and Reduce Face-to-face Home Safety Sessions within SafeCare?: An Evidence-based Child Maltreatment Prevention Program

Innovative handheld technologies are changing the possibilities for public health interventions. The present research describes a preliminary examination of the iPhone? when used as an assessment tool and an enhancement to an evidence-based, in-home child safety intervention. Three families with young children received an augmented version of the Safety module of SafeCare, a home-visiting child maltreatment prevention program. Specifically, parents were trained to use an iPhone to video rooms in their homes, as well as communicate feedback, logistics, and safety content between the home visitor and parent. The effectiveness of iPhone and video was examined using a multiple baseline design across in-home settings replicated across families. Home hazards were reduced dramatically across rooms and across participants. Face-to-face time of the home visitor was progressively reduced and replaced by video data collection. These data suggest smartphones are promising for data collection and for augmenting face-to-face interactions. Implications for reducing costs as smartphones become increasingly ubiquitous and for engaging and retaining participants are discussed.