From the octopus to the spider’s web: the transformations of the Sicilian mafia under postfordism

Since 1989, when the Berlin wall fell, criminal organizations have undergone to deep changes. Globalisation has indeed brought about new opportunities for new criminal organizations, as well as creating new illegal markets. For most scholars, the Sicilian mafia, or Cosa Nostra (CN), has suffered the blows of these changes and entered a deep crisis. This article aims to show that CN is not in crisis, but it is rather experiencing the changes from a fordist to a psot-fordist regime of capitalist accumulation. In order to demonstrate this thesis, the author will analyse the flaws of previous mafia theorists, the changes in economy and also in culture.     

Kinetics of ethanol degradation in forensic blood samples

To determine ethanol in human post-mortem blood samples is problematic, largely due to the inappropriate and variable methods of preserving and storing, which can cause decomposition and loss of alcohol concentration. In this study, four crucial parameters of sample conservation were studied: temperature (T), percentage of air chamber in container (%CA), ethanol concentration in blood and post-mortem time. Blood samples from post-mortem cases were stored under different conditions (ethanol levels were known in all cases); factorial design variables: (%CA) 0, 5, 20, 35, 65%; storage temperature: 25, 4 and -10 degrees C; in a total of 15 experiments. No preserving agent was used in samples. Quantification of ethanol in blood was carried out by gas chromatography with head-space FID detector. Initial ethanol concentration ranged from 0.50 to 4.30 g/L. The kinetics of degradation observed was pseudo-first-order. The parameter that characterised the kinetics of ethanol degradation (k(0)) ranged from (4 x 10(-4) and 5.0 x 10(-1) day(-1)), depending on storage conditions. A strong dependence between ethanol degradation and the content of the air chamber was observed and this dependence was found to be stronger than that between degradation and temperature; there was an experimental relation between (k(0)) and (%CA). Activation energy for different conditions, i.e. 0, 5, 20, 35 and 65 (%CA), were calculated and contour plots were made. A mathematical equation relating air chamber, temperature and ethanol concentration at a certain time was determined. This equation allowed estimation of initial concentrations of ethanol with minimal error. A good correlation between experimental data and data calculated with the equation was obtained (r(2) = 0.9998). The best storage conditions were: 0% CA and storage at -10 degrees C, obtaining an ethanol degradation of 0.01% after 15 days. However, 33% of ethanol degradation was obtained with 35% CA at 25 degrees C after 15 days. This equation is useful in forensic cases in which original concentration of ethanol has to be estimated under different sample storage conditions.     

African American Oxford House residents: sources of abstinent social networks

The current study found that African American residents of Oxford House (OH) used Narcotics Anonymous (NA) at high rates, and that both OH and NA strongly contributed to abstinent social networks. Having siblings and other family members in one's network predicted substance use among network members, whereas spouses, parents, and children did not have an effect on the rate of substance use. These findings suggest that OH and NA may be effective sources of abstinent social support for African Americans recovering from substance abuse. However, family members are well represented in the support networks of African Americans in OH.     

Stress and coping: the roles of ethnicity and gender in substance abuse recovery

This study investigated ethnic and gender differences in reported resource losses and gains for recovering substance abusers living in Oxford Houses (OH). Participants (n = 829) completed a version of Hobfoll's (1998) Conservation of Resources (COR) Evaluation. Results indicated significant individual differences in resources, based on gender, ethnicity, and the length of OH residential stay. Men reported fewer resource gains and losses than women. With respect to ethnicity, African-Americans reported greater gains and losses in resources than European-Americans. Individuals with less time in an OH also reported having experienced more losses in the past 3 months.     

Attitudes of a community members as a function of participatory research with Oxford Houses

Citizen participation in research may include involvement in generating original ideas, planning appropriate designs, collecting data, and helping to implement interventions. Unfortunately, little is known about the attitudes of the community members who participate in such research processes. In the present exploratory study, a team of community members (4 men, 3 women; age > 30 years old) who were employed as investigator research associates to evaluate an innovative substance abuse recovery home were asked for their perspectives about their involvement in the research effort. Findings indicated that these community members felt their participation was a positive experience. Moreover, while their understanding and sense of participation in the research process increased, their identification and affiliation with their support organization was not reduced. Results imply that there is a need to better understand how citizen members of community organizations are affected by their involvement in the research process.     

Creating a home to promote recovery: the physical environments of Oxford House

The interior and exterior physical characteristics of substance abuse recovery program dwellings (11 woman, 44 men) from three geographic sections of the United States were assessed at creating a "house-as-home" for residents. Although each house was independently governed and operated by residents, results indicated vast similarities among the interior characteristics, amenities, and structural aspects. These rented dwellings also had similar well-maintained exterior characteristics, despite their geographic locations. Follow-up interviews of former residents indicated that these house characteristics and amenities helped create a sense of home not found in traditional institutional facilities. Results suggested that residents of self-governed independently operated recovery houses may create and maintain safe and sober settings that elicit a sense of home among residents.     

Medicolegal aspects of an unusual uterine perforation with multiload-Cu 375R

Perforation of the uterus is one of the most serious complications associated with insertion of intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUD). According to recent studies, this lesion occurs in 0.87 per 1000 cases, but statistics generally fluctuate between 0.05 and 13 per 1000 insertions. "Primary" perforations occur at the time of IUD insertion, and "secondary," or delayed, perforations are usually assumed to be caused by reactive uterine contractions. We report an unusual case of uterine perforation, which occurred 9 days after the insertion of a Multiload-Cu 375 IUD. The criteria for differential diagnosis between primary and secondary complications are discussed, particularly from the perspective of medical malpractice cases.     

Allele sharing in first-degree and unrelated pairs of individuals in the Ge F I AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus database

Eleven Italian forensic laboratories participated in a population study based on the AB Profiler Plus loci with proficiency testing. The validated database, including 1340 individuals, is available on-line. Tests for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, gametic unbalance, and heterogeneity of gene frequency were generally not significant. Gene frequencies at each locus were consistent with those of two previously published Italian studies, but different from a third. Individuals of each subsample were paired, and the total number of alleles shared across the nine loci was determined in each pair. The analysis was replicated over the total sample. In addition, two samples of mother-child pairs (N=315) and full-sib pairs (N=91) were subjected to allele sharing analysis. The resulting distributions were sufficiently distinct from the sample of unrelated pairs as to be of practical usefulness.     

Public opinion and penal reform in Britain

The author argues that it is very difficult to seek legitimation and support in public opinion attitudes both for reformers and counter-reformers of the penal system. He disputes the very existence of public opinion itself, and stresses that definitions of crime are often based on an emotional conspiracy whereby the parties involved ignore one another's perception: institutions, offenders, victims, the public, and last but not least, criminologists.     

The times they are a-changin’: party campaign strategies in the 2018 Italian election

Abstract

The 2018 Italian election produced striking results, with both a historic success for the two challenger parties (League and M5S) and massive defeats for the two mainstream parties (PD and FI). This article analyses party campaign strategies and their consistency with the opportunity structures provided by the configuration of Italian public opinion. Relying on issue-yield theory, original survey data were collected for both issue support and priority among Italian voters, and party emphases on issues in the electoral campaign – through Twitter data. The findings indicate a generalised ideological inconsistency of the constituencies of the main parties, while campaign strategies appear much more ideologically consistent. Moreover, it is found that parties focused mostly on conflict-mobilisation strategies, rather than on problem solving. Finally, the article shows that, in general, parties acted strategically, by aligning their campaign to the available opportunities, although with relevant variations across parties.