The potential to determine a postmortem submersion interval based on algal/diatom diversity on decomposing mammalian carcasses in brackish ponds in Delaware

Recently botanical evidence has been studied to determine if it is useful in forensic investigations. This study was performed to examine stillborn piglet decomposition in a brackish water environment and to semi-quantitatively document stages of decomposition, degree day accumulation per stage as well as the algal/diatom diversity useful in determining a postmortem submersion interval (PMSI). Piglets and ceramic tiles were submerged in brackish ponds and sampled on a regular basis to document algal diversity and succession between substrates and stages of decomposition. Significantly greater weight was lost from piglet carcasses during the early floating and advanced floating decay stages. Seasonal effects were observed in degree-day accumulations. Diatom diversity was significantly greater on piglet carcasses compared to tile substrates. Algal diversity decreased over time on the piglet carcasses as well as the stage of decomposition. A significant relationship and strong correlation between algal diversity found on the piglet substrate with time was observed. Our results indicate that more research is needed to examine the potential to use diatoms in not only determining manner of death but also the duration of time (PMSI) a victim may have been immersed in an aquatic environment.     

More Than Just Keeping Busy: The Protective Effects of Organized Activity Participation on Violence and Substance Use Among Urban Youth

Violence and substance use disproportionately affect African American youth in urban, disadvantaged communities. Expanding positive peer and adult connections is a mechanism by which organized activity participation may reduce risk of negative outcomes. We assessed if organized activity participation decreases the likelihood of later negative outcomes through expanding positive social connections using a parallel mediation model (Wave 1: N?=?681; 50% female; M_age?=?14.86 years; SD?=?0.65). We found indirect effects from participation to cigarette use (b?=??0.04, 95% CI: ?0.07, ?0.01) and violent behavior (b?=??0.04; 95% CI: ?0.07, ?0.01) through positive peer connections. We did not find indirect effects through positive adult connections. This may be because of the notable influence of peers on negative outcomes during adolescence. Organized activities can help youth expand positive peer connections, which, in turn, reduces risk of later negative outcomes. Implications for prevention are discussed.     

Stressors in Multiple Life-Domains and the Risk for Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors Among African Americans During Emerging Adulthood

Behavioral and mental health outcomes have been associated with experiencing high levels of stress. Yet, little is known about the link between the nature of stressors, their accumulation over time, and the risk for externalizing and internalizing outcomes. Compared to the general population, African Americans are exposed to a disproportionate number of stressors beginning earlier in life. Incorporating Agnew’s General Strain Theory into the study of stress, this study examined whether different kinds of stressors are equally salient in the risk for violent behaviors and depressive symptoms among African Americans transitioning into young adulthood. It further examined the effects of the accumulation of stressors in different life domains and their effect on risks. This study utilized data from an African American subsample of an ongoing longitudinal study that followed 604 adolescents (53?% females) from 9th grade into adulthood. Multilevel growth curve models were used to examine how changes in stressors across multiple life domains related to violent behaviors and depressive symptoms. We found that continued exposure to perceived daily stress and racial discrimination stress increased the risk for violent behaviors during young adulthood, and exhibited a nonlinear relationship between the accumulation of stressors and risk for violence. Moreover, we found that exposure to perceived daily stress, financial stress, neighborhood stress, and racial discrimination stress increased the risk of depressive symptoms and led to a linear relationship between the accumulation of stressors and risk for depressive symptoms. Findings suggest identifiable stressors that can persist over time to influence risks at young adulthood.     

Online Network Influences on Emerging Adults’ Alcohol and Drug Use

Researchers have reported that network characteristics are associated with substance use behavior. Considering that social interactions within online networks are increasingly common, we examined the relationship between online network characteristics and substance use in a sample of emerging adults (ages 18–24) from across the United States (N = 2,153; M = 21 years old; 47 % female; 70 % White). We used regression analyses to examine the relationship between online ego network characteristics (i.e., characteristics of individuals directly related to the focal participant plus the relationships shared among individuals within the online network) and alcohol use and substance use, respectively. Alcohol use was associated with network density (i.e., interconnectedness between individuals in a network), total number of peer ties, and a greater proportion of emotionally close ties. In sex-stratified models, density was related to alcohol use for males but not females. Drug use was associated with an increased number of peer ties, and the increased proportion of network members’ discussion and acceptance of drug use, respectively. We also found that online network density and total numbers of ties were associated with more personal drug use for males but not females. Conversely, we noted that social norms were related to increased drug use and this relationship was stronger for females than males. We discuss the implications of our findings for substance use and online network research.     

Trajectories of Organized Activity Participation Among Urban Adolescents: An Analysis of Predisposing Factors

Organized activity participation provides important opportunities for adolescents to develop assets and resources related to positive youth development. Predisposing factors, in addition to sociodemographics and self-selection factors, may influence how youth participate over time. In this study, we used growth mixture modeling with longitudinal data from African American adolescents attending urban high schools in Flint, MI to identify subgroups of participation trajectories (Wave 1 N = 681, mean age at Wave 1 = 14.86 years, 51 % female). We measured activity participation using psychological and behavioral engagement across multiple contexts over the 4 years of high school. We examined how predisposing risk and promotive factors were related to these trajectories, accounting for sociodemographic and self-selection factors. The results indicated three participation trajectories: a low group decreasing over time (74 %), a moderate, consistent participation group (21 %) and a moderate, increasing group (5 %). More substance use was associated with lower odds of being in the moderate/consistent versus low/decreasing participation group. More parental support was associated with lower odds of being in the moderate/increasing versus the moderate/consistent group. Our results suggest that addressing predisposing factors such as substance use may help facilitate participation over time.     

Les Cortes et le Parlement au Portugal. 750e anniversaire des Cortes de Leiria de 1254: Congrès International, 26–28 novembre 2004—Leiria

SUMMARY

The Scottish Parliament, established in 1999, was to be a novel type of parliament and to herald a ‘new politics’. While it was inevitable that the Scottish parliamentary model would inherit some of the features of the Westminster system, one of the major parliamentary models in the world, Home Rulers insisted on the Scottish Parliament's need to adopt novel procedures and principles right from the start to keep it from becoming a ‘Westminister’. An analysis of Scottish Home Rule discourse in documents from the late 1980s and the 1990s shows that at the time, Westminster was constructed as an ‘anti-model’. This article establishes in what respects Westminster was an anti-model for the architects of the Scottish Parliament and describes the ideal parliamentary model which they defined. It then considers whether the Scottish model as it exists today conforms to their expectations. The case presented here is that the Scottish parliamentary system is indeed different from the British system in several fundamental respects, such as the fact that it is more committee-based and less executive-oriented, but that it is closer to the Westminster model than has been acknowledged, and that in some respects, the Scottish Parliament has moved towards that model by adopting typically British modes of functioning. Some characteristics of the Westminster system which it has integrated are the Presiding Officer's power to have a casting vote or, more controversially, the way the executive is held to account, through adversarial Question Times. The Scottish Parliament is thus neither a mini-Westminster nor an anti-Westminster: the Scottish parliamentary model is a hybrid of the West European and the Westminster models.