From abusive household to dating violence

Social scientists have theorized about the cycle of domestic violence in family abuse. Little research has addressed dating violence as a consequence to the experience of domestic violence by children. This article deals with the self-reported experience of dating violence by high school students from abusive and nonabusive households. A survey was conducted of 1,353 students in a rural area of North Dakota. Results indicated that students from abusive households showed significantly higher incidence of dating violence than those from homes where no abuse was evident. However, less than one in five of the students from abusive home reported dating violence, providing little support for the cycle of violence hypothesis. Students from abusive homes viewed violence as negatively as students from nonabusive homes. Thus, while there are significant differences between the two groups, there are also important similarities. Although there is apparently a greater risk of dating violence among students who have experienced violence at home, these data do not support the idea of an inescapable pattern of violence among adolescents who have experienced violence themselves.     

A report of an international collaborative experiment to demonstrate the uniformity obtainable using DNA profiling techniques.

This paper describes a collaborative exercise intended to demonstrate whether uniformity of DNA profile results could be achieved between different European laboratories. It was shown that this goal can be obtained provided that a common protocol is followed (specifically the use of a common electrophoretic buffer as being the most important parameter). Generally, lower molecular weight loci (with lower molecular weight fragments) such as YNH24 perform better than higher molecular weight loci such as MS43a. The results of the exercise are discussed in relation to the objectives of the European DNA profiling group (EDNAP).     

Threatening and otherwise inappropriate letters to members of the United States Congress

The authors examine the characteristics of threatening and otherwise inappropriate communications sent to members of the U.S. Congress by a sample of 86 subjects, 20 of whom threatened assassination. We quote excerpts from these letters and provide quantitative data on such variables as the volume, duration, form, and appearance of such communications; the enclosures; the subjects' perceived relationships to the recipients; the thematic content of the communications; and the messages and threats communicated. Comparisons between 43 subjects who pursued encounters with members of Congress and 43 who did not revealed 17 factors associated with such pursuit. In this population, threateners were significantly less likely to pursue an encounter than inappropriate letter writers who did not threaten, regardless of the type of threat or the harm threatened. Inappropriate letters to members of Congress are compared with those directed to Hollywood celebrities. Mentally disordered persons writing to public figures often mention and sometimes threaten public figures other than those to whom the letters are addressed, which raises important issues regarding notification of endangered third parties and the sharing of information among protective agencies.     

Effectiveness of Programs to Prevent School Bullying

Sixteen major evaluations of programs to prevent school bullying, conducted in 11 different countries, are reviewed in detail. Of these 16 evaluations, 8 produced desirable results, 2 produced mixed results, 4 produced small or negligible effects, and 2 produced undesirable results. These varying findings may reflect variations in programs, in implementation, in assessment methods, or in evaluation designs. It is concluded that high-quality evaluations are needed in the future, with randomized designs, theoretically grounded interventions, multiple measures of bullying, and attempts to disentangle the effectiveness of different program components.     

Independence Day as a Cosmopolitan Moment: Teaching International Relations

This essay expands upon a teaching approach that I used in my introductory international relations (IR) course for three semesters prior to September 11, 2001. The vast majority of the curriculum of the course is read through Independence Day , a 1996 blockbuster Hollywood film. Beginning with the film and the concept of world order it arguably provides through a fictional moment of world peace (or hegemony, depending how one interprets the leading role of the U.S. in the film and the significance of the Fourth of July holiday as the world's Independence Day, hence ID4 ) students are able to understand several key concepts in IR theory, as well as the major paradigms of IR thought that I present to them. ID4 presents the viewer with the IR field's two great mythological narratives, realism and idealism, and preserves the notion of the nation-state as the predominant actor and unit of analysis for understanding world history and key events in that history.     

Sudden and unexpected death of a 6-month-old baby with silent heart failure due to anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery.

A 6-month-old girl died suddenly without any previous symptoms of heart failure. Autopsy examination showed cardiomegaly (97 g) with a severely fibrotized myocardium. The left coronary artery was originating from the pulmonary artery. Histologically, the myocardium showed myocardial infarcts of different ages, as well as grossly thickened arterial branches due to increased flow in left-right shunt. We suggest that rare anomalies of the coronary arteries should be considered in the autopsies of suspected sudden infant death syndrome cases.     

Impact of tropical conditions on thin layer chromatography in analytical toxicology: high temperatures and moderate humidities.

The impact of high temperatures (24 to 39 degrees C) and low to moderately high humidities (20 to 70%) on the applicability of TLC systems for drug identification was studied during a 6 month climatologic cycle in Burkina Faso (West Africa). In general, the Rf values as observed on the plates were found to be substantially affected as compared with values obtained at temperate climates. Some TLC systems were more affected than others and the largest deviations of up to 30 Rf units were at low humidities. Tropical conditions also had a negative effect on the reproducibility of Rf values. However, when an Rf-correction procedure was applied, using reference mixtures of known drugs on each plate, accuracy as well as reproducibility of the resulting Rfc values were drastically improved and data thus corrected were found to be compatible with existing TLC data bases developed under moderate climatological conditions. The impact of high to extremely high humidities (70 to 100%) remains to be investigated.     

痢疾杆菌福氏2a及其环丙沙星耐药株gyrA和parC基因耐药性决定区序列的测定分析

测定了痢疾杆菌福氏 2a 30 1株与喹喏酮类药物耐药性相关的 gyrA基因和 parC基因的序列 ,并对其环丙沙星耐药诱变株的 gyrA和 parC基因喹喏酮类药物耐药性决定区 (QRDR)序列进行了测定分析。结果表明 ,痢疾杆菌福氏 2a 30 1株 gyrA和 parC基因分别为 2 6 2 5bp和2 2 5 6bp ,环丙沙星诱导的耐药菌 gyrA基因QRDR(2 4 5bp)发生氨基酸残基 6 9 Ala→Val和 87 Tyr→Asp改变 ,parC基因QRDR(2 37b)发生氨基酸残基 79 Ala→Asp、84 Ala→Glu和 85 Pro→Ala改变。这一研究结果对认识痢疾杆菌喹喏酮类药物耐药性的分子机理具有重要意义     

Key longitudinal-experimental studies in criminology

Following the tradition of Joan McCord's work, this paper reviews longitudinal-experimental studies in criminology with community samples of at least 100 persons, follow-up periods of at least 5 years, personal interviews, and measures of offending. The main advantages of such studies are in investigating both the natural history of development (including the effects of risk/protective factors and life events) and the impact of interventions on offending. This paper also reviews advantages and problems of prospective longitudinal surveys, randomized experiments, and longitudinal-experimental studies in criminology. Four key longitudinal-experimental studies were conducted by Joan McCord, Richard Tremblay, Lawrence Schweinhart and David Olds. Other studies have been conducted, or are currently under way, but no criminological study has yet been published with several years of personal data on participants both before and after an intervention.Joan McCord Award Lecture given at the American Society of Criminology, Toronto, Canada.