Effect sizes in the treatment of sexual offenders

This article considers the benefits of sexual offender treatment in terms of the magnitude of the effect size produced by these interventions. Comparisons are made of the effect sizes with those generated by treatment of other offenders, by treatment for mental health problems, and by treatment for physical health problems. In all cases, effect sizes with sexual offenders are comparable to (and in some cases better than) effect sizes for the treatment of the other groups. As a final note, it is suggested that using a harm reduction index to estimate effect sizes for treatment with sexual offenders would produce more meaningful results.     

Characterization of pyrotechnic reaction residue particles by SEM/EDS

Today the method commonly used for detecting gunshot residue is through the combined use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). In recent years, this same methodology began to find use in detecting and characterizing pyrotechnic reaction residue (PRR) particles whether produced by explosion or burning. This is accomplished by collecting particulate samples from a surface in the immediate area of the pyrotechnic reaction. Suspect PRR particles are identified by their morphology (typically 1 to 20 microm spheroidal particles) using an SEM; then they are analyzed for the elements they contain using X-ray EDS. This can help to identify the general type of pyrotechnic composition involved.     

Managing Networks: Propositions on What Managers Do and Why They Do It

Measuring management in networks is difficult because the allocation of managerial resources in network structures is fluid—that is, the utilization of management behaviors varies across time and space within a given program or project. As a means of focusing the network management research agenda, propositions based in contingency logic are suggested to test ideas regarding when, why, and how network managers undertake these behaviors. The propositions are intended to identify the vast inventory of network management behaviors and, most importantly, determine how the manager strategically matches behaviors with the governing context. Suggestions are also offered to help us understand how and why managerial resources are re allocated over time and space. The proposed research agenda is offered as a guide to help us determine which choices are most likely to be effective.     

A Jurisdiction-Based Model of Intergovernmental Management in U.S. Cities

Variations in levels of intergovernmental activity are explainedin terms other than standard "top-down" or "bottom-up" federalmanagement perspectives. Data from 237 cities on intergovernmentalmanagement by local managers of economic development policyindicate that differences are determined by the degree to whichmanagers assume a more mutually interactive approach throughbargaining, strategic activity, local adjustment, and otherinternal actions. The jurisdiction-based model is consistentwith growing diversity in the federal system and with changingmodels of public management.     

School Climate for Transgender Youth: A Mixed Method Investigation of Student Experiences and School Responses

Transgender youth experience negative school environments and may not benefit directly from interventions defined to support Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) youth. This study utilized a multi-method approach to consider the issues that transgender students encounter in school environments. Using data from two studies, survey data (total n = 2260, 68 transgender youth) from study 1 and focus groups (n = 35) from study 2, we examine transgender youth’s experience of school harassment, school strategies implemented to reduce harassment, the protective role of supportive school personnel, and individual responses to harassment, including dropping out and changing schools. In both studies, we found that school harassment due to transgender identity was pervasive, and this harassment was negatively associated with feelings of safety. When schools took action to reduce harassment, students reported greater connections to school personnel. Those connections were associated with greater feelings of safety. The indirect effects of school strategies to reduce harassment on feelings of safety through connection to adults were also significant. Focus group data illuminate specific processes schools can engage in to benefit youth, and how the youth experience those interventions.     

Biofuel, dairy production and beef in Brazil: competing claims on land use in São Paulo state

This paper examines the competing claims on land use resulting from the expansion of biofuel production. Sugarcane for biofuel drives agrarian change in So Paulo state, which has become the major ethanol-producing region in Brazil. We analyse how the expansion of sugarcane-based ethanol in So Paulo state has impacted dairy and beef production. Historical changes in land use, production technologies, and product and land prices are described, as well as how these are linked to changing policies in Brazil. We argue that sugarcane/biofuel expansion should be understood in the context of the dynamics of other agricultural sectors and the long-term national political economy rather than as solely due to recent global demand for biofuel. This argument is based on a meticulous analysis of changes in three important sectors - sugarcane, dairy farming, and beef production - and the mutual interactions between these sectors.