Trust in the clouds

The “cloud” is not new, and its roots go back to the original plans for computing from the 1950s. Now that computing is moving back to the original cloud-based models that were envisioned more than 60 years ago, with it, consumers are realizing the increases in security and safety that accompany the move to centralized servers. Yet the perception of “trust” in this context is often still formed by views that people have from their use of computers over the past two decades, which is localized in nature (“if I can see it, I can control it”). This view is based on perception more than fact. Our paper discusses different views of trust in other contexts (such as banking and travel) and concludes that users of cloud computing should recast their view of trust in a similar way that consumers of banking and travel have changed their perceptions of trust in the last 100 years.     

Secondary missile injury from lightning strike

A 48-year-old-woman was struck dead by lightning on October 24, 2010, in Pretoria, South Africa. The cause of death was due to direct lightning strike. Examination showed secondary missile injury on her legs. This secondary missile (shrapnel) injury was caused by the lightning striking the concrete pavement next to her. Small pieces of concrete were located embedded within the shrapnel wounds. This case report represents the first documented case of secondary missile formation (shrapnel injury) due to lightning strike in the literature.     

Does Self-Control Influence Maternal Attachment? A Reciprocal Effects Analysis from Early Childhood Through Middle Adolescence

Objectives

The purpose of this study is twofold. First, this study assesses the extent to which self-control and maternal attachment mutually influence one another. Second, it investigates whether this process continues to occur during adolescence. To date, studies of the etiology of self-control have yet to adequately address these issues, despite the fact that a number of theoretical perspectives emphasize the reciprocal nature of the parent-child relationship.

Methods

The current study seeks to shed light on these issues by examining the relationship between self-control and maternal attachment using structural equation modeling for eight waves of data spanning a period of time that encompasses early childhood through middle adolescence.

Results

The results yield two findings bearing on the adequacy of Gottfredson and Hirschi??s model of self-control development. First, measures of self-control and maternal attachment were found to mutually influence one another during childhood. Second, these effects were reduced to nonsignificance during adolescence.

Conclusions

This study finds that self-control emerges during childhood in a complex manner in which it both shapes and is shaped by parental attachment.     

Physical Health in Preschool Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Exposure to violence and traumatic events during childhood has long been associated with poor physical and psychological health during adulthood. Very few studies, however, have taken steps to understand the immediate relationship between exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and physical health problems in young children. In this study, we examined the mother-reported physical health problems of 102 preschool-age children who have been exposed to IPV. We found that children exhibiting more traumatic stress symptoms displayed fewer total health problems; however, gastrointestinal problems and asthma were related to poor psychological adjustment. We also found that preschool-age girls were more likely to display health problems than boys. Future studies of the physical health consequences of exposure to IPV in young children would benefit from examinations of specific changes in physiological processes to draw conclusions about the effects of violence on immune system functioning and physical health.     

Adulthood animal abuse among women court-referred to batterer intervention programs

The substantial increase in the enrollment of women in batterer intervention programs (BIPs) over the past 30 years has greatly outpaced research on women who perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV). As a result, it is unknown whether existing programs, which were originally designed to treat male perpetrators, are effective at preventing recidivism among women. Recent research shows that men who perpetrate IPV may also aggress against nonintimate partners, children, and animals, and that the reach of their aggressive tendencies has implications for treatment. Conducting similar investigations on women who perpetrate IPV may help to inform treatment delivery in BIPs. This study examined the prevalence of adulthood animal abuse perpetration and its association with psychological and physical IPV perpetration in a sample of women arrested for domestic violence (N = 87). Seventeen percent (n = 15) of the women committed at least one act of animal abuse since the age of 18, in contrast to the 0.28% prevalence rate reported in the general population. The overrepresentation of animal abuse in this sample was consistent with that of men arrested for domestic violence. Furthermore, women who reported committing animal abuse as an adult showed moderately higher rates of psychological aggression and physical assault perpetration against their partners, relative to women who did not report animal abuse. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Beyond town and gown: university economic engagement and the legacy of the urban crisis

University-driven land development and research into the amelioration of social problems are examples of the wider dimensions of economic engagement by large American research universities in metropolitan settings since 1949, and both dimensions are strongly conditioned by the experiences of universities and surrounding neighborhoods during the “urban crisis” of the 1960s. The rise of the modern American research university between 1950 and 1980 coincided with the economic decline of large American cities and the slide of their poorest neighborhoods into severe socioeconomic distress. The elite identification of the university as a force for economic and social change was a direct response to these urban upheavals, and the dynamics of its new role were fueled by the presumptions of postwar consensus liberalism. The urban crisis had an effect on town-gown relations that endured into the early twenty-first century, not least because it made local governments and universities allies rather than adversaries. Countering definitions of the role the university should take in economic development have arisen from a “town” comprised not of elected officials, but of community members from both within and outside of the university. The long shadow of urban crisis attests to the historical contingency of town-gown interactions and the usefulness of historical, case-based approaches to understanding the role of universities in urban and metropolitan economies.     

A higher bar: Institutional impediments to hate crime prosecution

Why are hate crime cases so rarely prosecuted? Most states and the federal government have hate crime laws on their books, yet available data indicate few prosecutions in most jurisdictions. Drawing on case files and interviews with police and prosecutors in one jurisdiction, three institutional impediments to hate crime prosecution are identified: evidentiary inflation, by which law enforcement uses a higher burden of proof than what is required by statute; loose coupling between police departments and prosecutors' offices; and cultural distance between law enforcement and victims. Findings also reveal that advocacy groups and media can successfully increase the visibility of cases and draw the attention of prosecutors. The findings align with aspects of legal endogeneity theory and enhance our understanding of the role of organizations in constructing the meaning of law. The results also help explain why some laws are rarely enforced, even when they have support from key personnel in an organization.     

Save the kids: The need for regulation of cryptocurrency to protect adolescents from fraud

Cryptocurrency has become the new hot investment for young investors. Everyone wants to get in on the next cryptocurrency bubble, and there are those that want to exploit this excitement and exploit children. Influencers who have young audiences are pushing cryptocurrency investments onto their audiences and not fully educating them on the risks. To avoid this exploitation, The Securities and Exchange Commission should actively regulate decentralized exchanges where children purchase cryptocurrency, put age limit regulations into place, and require know your customer systems to verify that minors are not purchasing cryptocurrency without the consent of a guardian.