Parental Models of Family Violence and Associations with Partner Violence for College Women from Three Countries

The present study provides a cross-national comparison of parental models of family violence as predictors of romantic partner violence reported by college women. Participants included college women from the United States (n?=?319), Spain (n?=?95), and Turkey (n?=?207) to report violence in five relationships: father-to-mother, mother-to-father, father-to-participant, mother-to-participant, and romantic-partner-to-participant. Multiple regression revealed that partner violence received by college women was best explained by mother-to-father violence for the United States sample, but by father-to-mother violence for the Spanish and Turkish samples. Results may be useful for college women to identify family and cultural risk factors for romantic partner violence so that they may work to protect themselves and their educational opportunities.     

Music therapy for improving mental health problems of offenders in correctional settings: systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives

The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of music therapy on improving the mental health of offenders in correctional settings.

Methods

Multiple databases and journals were searched to identify randomized controlled trials and quasi-randomized controlled trials of music therapy for offenders in correctional settings.

Results

Five studies (n?=?409; predominantly male) were included in random-effects meta-analyses. Music therapy was effective for promoting offenders’ self-esteem (Hedges’ g?=?0.55, p?<?0.001) and social functioning (g?=?0.35, p?<?0.05). Effects on anxiety and depression depended on the number of sessions. For both outcomes, the studies with 20 or more sessions had larger effects than the study that had fewer than 20 sessions, and this difference was statistically significant (Q?=?11.88, df?=?1, p?<?0.001, anxiety; Q?=?9.16, df?=?1, p?=?0.002, depression). No significant effects were found on behavior management or between different music therapy approaches.

Conclusions

Music therapy may be helpful for offenders to improve mental health. Future studies should consider including offenders of both genders, using larger sample sizes, and examining long-term effects. Publication bias may be an issue for this review given the small number of studies and the small sample sizes.

     

Problems in the measurement of dynamic risk factors in sexual offenders

ABSTRACT

Having valid and reliable tools to measure ‘dynamic’ risk factors and minimising assessor bias is said to be critical in helping to make decisions regarding how individuals convicted of committing crime should be managed and treated, and how resources within the Justice System should be prioritised. This article outlines the problems and issues associated with the measurement of such putative dynamic risk factors (see Ward, 2015 Ward, T. (2015). Dynamic risk factors: Scientific kinds or predictive constructs. Psychology, Crime and Law, 22(01-02), 2–16. [Google Scholar] [Dynamic risk factors: Scientific kinds or predictive constructs. Psychology, Crime and Law.], 22(1–2), 2–16], this volume for a critique of current conceptions of these), and suggests ways of ensuring that measurement is conducted in the most appropriate way for the population being dealt with. Specifically, we would note that the evidence suggests that psychometric analysis, and structured professional judgment can be used to measure dynamic psychological problems using some tools within some samples. However, their use can be hindered by a number of conceptual factors including how the tests are designed and used, their reliability and validity, the context in which they are used, and the samples used. Finally, we would note that interviews are also an important part in the process of dynamic assessment.     

The United Nations in the new world disorder

Dimitris Bourantonis and Jarrod Wiener (eds.), The United Nations in the New World Order: The World Organization at Fifty (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1995)

Klaus Hüfner (ed.), Agenda for Change: New Tasks for the United Nations (Opladen: Leske & Budrich, 1995)

David Whittaker, United Nations in Action (London: UCL Press, 1995)     

A novel method for sorting and reassociating commingled human remains using deviation analysis

This study provides an innovative and novel method for sorting commingled human remains at the sacroiliac joint using deviation analyses. Virtual models were created at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Donated Skeletal Collection from 69 os coxae and 66 sacra using an EinScan-Pro 2× + Handheld Surface Scanner. The shape of the auricular surfaces was analyzed in Geomagic Wrap 2017, and the congruency of the two auricular surfaces was measured using a deviation analysis. ROC curves were performed on a reference sample composed of 200 commingled and non-commingled joint pairs to identify threshold values that could help sort the commingled remains. A validation sample of 225 pairs was subsequently analyzed to demonstrate the efficacy of this new method on a sample of unknown individuals. Statistical analyses demonstrated that the deviation analysis values from sacroiliac joints of commingled pairs were significantly larger than those from non-commingled individuals (p < 0.0001). Based on the selected threshold values, 98%–100% of pairs were correctly sorted and reassociated. This novel and objective technique improves upon previously subjective strategies for sorting commingled remains and, in the future, will be applied to additional joint surfaces.     

Estimating age in Maori, Pacific Island, and European children from New Zealand

The islands of New Zealand are populated by persons of European, Maori, and Pacific Island extraction. The purpose of this research is to quantify the levels of dental maturation of each of these three populations, in order to obtain data that will be useful in forensic identification and age estimation. The sample consisted of 1383 orthopantomographs (660 males, 723 females) of 477 Maori, 762 European, and 144 Pacific Island children between the ages of 3 and 14 years. Each radiograph was digitized and the stages of mineralization of the seven left mandibular permanent teeth were assessed using the eight stages described by Demirjian. Values for 1, 3, 5, 50, 95, 97, and 99% confidence intervals are listed for each maturity score. Intra-observer reliability was evaluated using Bland-Altman's method on data from re-scoring one out of every 20 radiographs and standard dental maturation curves were constructed for the three populations by means of a quantile regression method. Despite the fact that quantile regression analysis showed that across the age group investigated there were differences between boys and girls, knowledge of the sex does not increase the accuracy of the age estimate, simply because the magnitude of the error of age estimation is greater than the difference between the sexes. Our analysis also shows that population divergence is most marked after the age of 9 years, with a peak difference seen at age 10.     

The right to health in public health: is this a new approach?

The international human rights community has frequently reaffirmed the importance of full respect for the right to health. However, there remains a large gap between the standards set out in Art 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the situation prevailing in most countries. While there has been a substantial amount of work done to expand upon the content of the right to health, there has been little consideration of what a right to health means for public health programming generally. This article addresses this issue by considering the compatibility of the essential elements of contemporary public health programming practice with the principles contained in General Comment No 14, para 43(f) (a minimum core obligation of the right to health). The article considers that while both contemporary public health practice and para 43(f) do contain compatible elements, the right to health brings with it new elements of monitoring (through right to health indicators) and accountability, both of which will require new tools to be adopted by the public health sector.     

Post-Executive Order 13583: A Reexamination of Occupational Barriers in Federal Law Enforcement

This study examined occupational barriers in federal law enforcement between 2011 and 2015, replicating research conducted prior to the passage of Executive Order 13583 (2011 Executive Order No. 13583, 76 C.F.R. 52847 (2011). [Google Scholar]). Qualitative and quantitative data were generated from surveys collected from 101 sworn female federal law enforcement officers on the challenges they face in the work environment. With little progress to gender equity, findings revealed that male colleagues’ resistance to women in federal policing and the perceived lack of promotions has increased, while work–life balance policies and sexual discrimination continue to be a challenge. Policy implications for improving organizational practices are discussed.     

Algorithmic surveillance: the collection conundrum

ABSTRACT

Supporters of increased surveillance see tremendous potential in the ever increasing creation, collection, and retention of personal data. Most acknowledge that the massive collection of information also creates challenges where the collection outpaces the ability to meaningfully process the data. Increased processing power and more finely tuned algorithms are often portrayed as the solution to this haystack conundrum. While a human may struggle to find the needle in an overflowing haystack of disordered information, powerful computers can take a logical and structured approach that will make the haystack eminently more searchable. This article evaluates this premise from a human rights perspective and considers whether algorithmic surveillance systems can be designed to be compatible with the right to privacy. In addition to assessing the incongruity between traditional safeguards (such as foreseeability and accountability) with algorithmic surveillance, this article also confronts the problem of initial collection and addresses the contention that well-defined algorithmic search can effectively limit the intrusiveness of surveillance. Evolution in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union will be factored into this analysis.     

The Conservative Project to ‘Break the Link between British Courts and Strasbourg’: Rhetoric or Reality?

The Conservative party has repeatedly pledged to replace the HRA with a British Bill of Rights, with the aim of ‘breaking the link’ between domestic courts and Strasbourg. This article examines the implications of this proposal, the nature of the current relationship with the European Court, and the extent to which the link has already been weakened. It considers the bases of the Conservative proposal, and the options available in breaking that link in a Bill of Rights, taking account of the potential introduction of limitation clauses and the possibility of according Strasbourg judgments against the UK an advisory status only. Finally, taking account of the European Court's recent movement towards ‘enhanced’ subsidiarity, it will examine the consequences for the protection of human rights of reliance on a Bill of Rights intended to be interpreted and applied independently of Strasbourg influence.