Dating violence education: What do student learn?

The purpose of this study is to understand how a social change approach to dating violence education affects the ways in which students think about physical abuse in dating relationships. The program was designed to simulate a typical two-hour workshop format, using small group discussion and short lecture. a total of 331 participants, recruited from introductory psychology classes, attended one of 22 small group sessions; 14 received the Program condition (n=219), 8 the Comparison condition (n=119). Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The results revealed significant differences between the Program and Comparison groups which remained stable over a three-week period, as well as specific gender differences. Women were more likely to view violence in relationships from a structural perspective, were more knowledgeable about dating violence and responding to survivors, and were less likely to blame the victim. In addition, discriminant analyses showed that attitudes towards survivors and response towards survivors emerged as the most important content separating Program and Comparison group males, while attitudes toward survivors, a structural explanation for dating violence, and general knowledge about dating violence were the best discriminators for females. Finally, implications for educating students about physical abuse in dating relationships were examined, including the need to address power and control issues.     

Are There Ethnic Differences in Levels of Psychopathy? A Meta-Analysis

Although considerable research on psychopathy has been conducted over the past 30 years, relatively few studies have examined key issues related to potential ethnic differences in this constellation of socially maladaptive personality traits. Given recent sociopolitical and scientific developments, an issue of considerable debate is whether Black individuals possess "more" traits of psychopathy than do Whites. To address this issue, a meta-analysis of differences between these groups' scores on the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991) was performed, using 21 studies (N = 8,890) of correctional, substance abuse, and psychiatric samples. Blacks exceeded Whites by an average of less than 1 point on the PCL-R total score. Effect sizes for core interpersonal and affective traits of psychopathy (Factor 1) were sufficiently homogeneous to clearly interpret, although other features manifested statistically significant heterogeneity. Our finding that Blacks and Whites do not meaningfully differ in their levels of core psychopathic traits is consistent with community-based findings for self-report measures of psychopathy and clinical diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder.     

Developmental validation of the quantifiler real-time PCR kits for the quantification of human nuclear DNA samples

The Quantifiler Human DNA Quantification Kit and the Quantifiler Y Human Male DNA Quantification Kit were designed for the quantification of human genomic DNA in forensic samples. The kits use a real-time PCR-based process to quantify, respectively, total human DNA or human male DNA only. We report the results of a developmental validation study that we performed with the Quantifiler Kits, following the official SWGDAM guidelines. The Quantifiler Kits were tested for performance criteria such as species specificity, sensitivity, stability, precision and accuracy, and in addition, were tested with forensic case-type samples and mixed (male:female) DNA samples. The Quantifiler Kit methods were highly specific for human DNA, and could detect as little as 32 picograms of DNA using 2 microL of sample per assay. The accuracy and precision of the Quantifiler Kit methods was comparable or superior to that of other quantification methods.     

Twelve short tandem repeat loci Y chromosome haplotypes: genetic analysis on populations residing in North America

A total of 2443 male individuals, previously typed for the 13 CODIS STR loci, distributed across the five North American population groups African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic, and Native American were typed for the Y-STR loci DYS19, DYS385a/b, DYS389I/II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438 and DYS439 using the PowerPlex Y System. All population samples were highly polymorphic for the 12 Y-STR loci with the marker DYS385a/b being the most polymorphic across all sample populations. The Native American population groups demonstrated the lowest genetic diversity, most notably at the DYS393 and DYS437 loci. Almost all of the 12-locus haplotypes observed in the sample populations were represented only once in the database. Haplotype diversities were greater than 99.6% for the African Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, and Asians. The Native Americans had the lowest haplotype diversities (Apaches, 97.0%; Navajo, 98.1%). Population substructure effects were greater for Y-haplotypes, compared with that for the autosomal loci. For the apportionment of variance for the 12 Y-STRs, the within sample population variation was the largest component (>98% for each major population group and approximately 97% in Native Americans), and the variance component contributed by the major population groups was less than the individual component, but much greater than among sample populations within a major group (11.79% versus 1.02% for African Americans/Caucasians/Hispanics and 15.35% versus 1.25% for all five major populations). When each major population is analyzed individually, the R(ST) values were low but showed significant among group heterogeneity. In 692 confirmed father-son pairs, 14 mutation events were observed with the average rate of 1.57x10(-3)/locus/generation (a 95% confidence bound of 0.83x10(-3) to 2.69x10(-3)). Since the Y-STR loci reside on the non-recombining region of the Y chromosome, the counting method is one approach suggested for conveying an estimate of the rarity of the Y-haplotype. Because the Y-STR loci are not all in disequilibrium to the same extent, the counting method is a very conservative approach. The data also support that autosomal STR frequencies can be multiplied by the upper bound frequency estimate of a Y-haplotype in the individual population group or those pooled into major population groups (i.e., Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Asian). These analyses support use of the haplotype population data for estimating Y-STR profile frequencies for populations residing in North America.     

Stopping (or Slowing) the Revolving Door: Factors Related to NGRI Acquittees' Maintenance of a Conditional Release

The current study sought to extend the knowledge about factors associated with NGRI acquittees' maintenance of a conditional release after hospital discharge. The medical and forensic records of 125 NGRI acquittees were reviewed to collect a variety of demographic, clinical, criminal, and aftercare factors. A hierarchical survival analysis approach to determining success was compared to data analysis strategies typically employed in the area. Survival analysis, which accounts for both conditional release success status and time on conditional release, revealed that minority status, substance abuse diagnosis, and a prior criminal history were the factors that significantly predicted conditional release revocation. Treatment and policy implications of these results are discussed.     

The US Congress and the politics of Afghanistan: an analysis of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees during George W Bush's second term

This article considers the role of United States Congress in the Afghanistan conflict—and notably that of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees—from 2005 to 2009. Both of these committees had some legal oversight of the Afghan War, especially with regard to funding. During the first half of this period the Republicans had a majority while in the second half the Democrats took control. This led to differences in approach and method, which are here examined. Certainly, congressional committees operate generally in the open, which gives them a unique influence in framing issues in the press and thus before the public. Furthermore, five key members of the Obama administration belonged to these committees, attended their hearings and had much of their opinion shaped by their activities. An in-depth analysis of them during Bush's second term can provide us with valuable insights into the Obama administration's later policy decisions.     

Mobilizing justice in sociolegal research: a mixed methods meta-analysis

Crime, Law and Social Change - Justice as a concept has permeated sociolegal scholarship in the U.S. since the founding of Law and Society as a field in the mid 1960s. Much of this scholarship has...     

How the Indashyikirwa Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Programme in Rwanda Influenced Parenting and Violence against Children

There is increasing interest in working at the intersections of intimate partner violence (IPV) and violence against children (VAC), especially in the family, yet few programmatic strategies exist or have been evaluated to assess the combined impact of strategies on both types of violence. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the influence that Indashyikirwa—a programme designed to reduce IPV in Rwanda— had on VAC in the families of couples participating in the programme. Indashyikirwa included a 21-session couples’ curriculum, safe spaces for IPV survivors, and community activism against violence. In addition to reductions in IPV, a randomized control trial found significant reductions in parent’s reports of children witnessing IPV, parents’ attitudes condoning harsh physical punishment of children, and parents’ use of corporal punishment as discipline. This paper uses qualitative data to better understand how and why the couples’ curriculum influenced parenting and VAC. Twenty-eight participants (fourteen male-female couples) were individually interviewed at three time points, once before and twice after the couples’ curriculum implementation. Six men and six women who completed the curriculum and subsequently carried out activism were also interviewed at two time points. The data were analyzed thematically. Pathways motivating couples’ attitude and behavior changes towards children included reflecting on the consequences of IPV for children and appreciating the benefits for children of non-violent, gender equitable households. This analysis suggests that working with co-habiting couples presents a viable strategy for working to prevent IPV, VAC and promote more gender equitable family dynamics.

     

Development and validation of the AmpFℓSTR® Identifiler® Direct PCR Amplification Kit: a multiplex assay for the direct amplification of single-source samples

Abstract: The AmpF?STR^® Identifiler^® Direct PCR Amplification Kit is a new short tandem repeat multiplex assay optimized to allow the direct amplification of single‐source blood and buccal samples on FTA^® card without the need for sample purification and quantification. This multiplex assay has been validated according to the FBI/National Standards and SWGDAM guidelines. Validation results revealed that slight variations in primer concentration, master mix component concentration, and thermal cycling parameters did not affect the performance of the chemistry. The assay’s sensitivity was demonstrated by amplifying known amounts of white blood cells spotted onto FTA^® cards, and the assay’s specificity was verified by establishing minimal cross‐reactivity with nonhuman DNA. No effect on the age of the sample stored on the FTA^® substrate was observed and full concordance was established in the population study. These findings of the validation study support the use of the Identifiler^® Direct Kit for forensic standards and database samples genotyping.