Attacks without Consequence? Candidates,Parties, Groups,and the Changing Face of Negative Advertising

Prior work finds that voters punish candidates for sponsoring attack ads. What remains unknown is the extent to which a negative ad is more effective if it is sponsored by a party or an independent group instead. We conducted three experiments in which we randomly assigned participants to view a negative ad that was identical except for its sponsor. We find that candidates can benefit from having a party or group “do their dirty work,” but particularly if a group does, and that the most likely explanation for why this is the case is that many voters simply do not connect candidates to the ads sponsored by parties and groups. We also find that in some circumstances, a group‐sponsored attack ad produces less polarization than one sponsored by a party. We conclude by discussing the implications our research has for current debates about the proper role of independent groups in electoral politics.     

GC–MS analysis of eight aminoindanes using three derivatization reagents

Aminoindanes are a class of novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) that have become more prevalent over the past decade. GC–MS is often utilized for identifying seized drugs and is well regarded for its ability to separate mixtures. However, certain aminoindanes have similar mass spectral data and require specific gas chromatographic stationary phases for separation. Derivatization is an alternative method that can be applied to GC–MS to enhance chromatographic results, providing more selective analysis in seized-drug identification. This study investigates derivatization techniques to provide options for forensic science laboratories in accurately identifying aminoindanes. Three derivatization reagents, N-methyl-bis(trifluoroacetamide) (MBTFA), heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA), and ethyl chloroformate (ECF) were evaluated for the analysis of eight aminoindanes by GC–MS using two common gas chromatographic stationary phases, Rxi®-5Sil MS and Rxi®-1Sil MS. All three derivatization methods successfully isolated eight aminoindanes, including the isomers 4,5-methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane (4,5-MDAI), and 5,6-methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane (5,6-MDAI) that could not be differentiated prior to derivatization. Reduced peak tailing and increased abundance were observed after derivatization for all the compounds, and mass spectra of the derivatives contained individualizing fragment ions that allowed for further characterization of the aminoindanes. This excluded 4,5-MDAI and 5,6-MDAI as they shared the same characteristic ions and were only distinguishable by their retention times. All three derivatization techniques used in this study allow for successful characterization of the aminoindanes and give forensic science laboratories flexibility in their analysis approach when they encounter these compounds.     

Playing to the Crowd: Agenda Control in Presidential Debates

Presidential debates allow candidates to send a message directly to voters. We use an experimental design complemented with a content analysis of all presidential debates in 1992, 2004, and 2008 to explore how candidates should and do use agenda setting, framing, and message tone to shape the agenda in debates. We find that candidates are differentially attentive to various topics, depending on the comparative advantage provided by the topic. Yet, this agenda control occurs only at the margins because topic salience in public opinion predicts candidate attention and conditions voters' receptiveness to debate rhetoric. Our findings thus suggest that topic salience constrains candidates' abilities to focus the agenda strategically.

[Supplementary material is available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Political Communication for the following free supplemental resources: Experimental Sample and Randomization; Experimental Treatments; Experimental Results; and the Presidential Debate Rhetoric Codebook.]     

The Trafficking in Persons Report: a game of risk

The State Department ranks countries on adherence to minimum standards set forth by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000. The Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) is updated annually and failure to enact changes to combat trafficking results in higher tier rankings. This paper evaluates the TIP by situating this tool in light of special features of the modern era, such as globalization and risk. Through a survey of the theoretical literature on risk and on trafficking risk factors, we devise six preliminary risk clusters and discuss how the TIP could incorporate governments’ response to trafficking risk factors into the ranking system. Our intentions are to spark debate about how risk factors could be incorporated in the TIP, to provide a preliminary model and to encourage further research in this area.     

An Exploratory Framework for Community-Led Research to Address Intimate Partner Violence: a Case Study of the Survivor-Centered Advocacy Project

This case study discusses the Survivor-Centered Advocacy (SCA) Project, a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project that convened anti-violence advocates from culturally specific communities to design and implement research. The project used a unique approach to build grassroots research capacity and center survivors of intimate partner violence from historically marginalized communities. This approach coalesced into the creation of an exploratory Community-Led Research (CLR) framework that incorporated trauma-informed, research justice and language justice principles. The CLR framework responded to community members’ desire to lead, rather than simply participate in, the research process. As a result, five studies were designed and executed by practitioners turned community-based researchers, most of whom had never before engaged in research, except as subjects. The CLR framework integrated the skills and experiences of community-based and external researchers, and led to high levels of engagement, rich data, more equitable research processes and innovative research projects.     

Childhood Abuse,Intrapersonal Strength,and Suicide Resilience in African American Females who Attempted Suicide

There is a significant association between childhood abuse and suicidal behavior in low-income African American women with a recent suicide attempt. Increasingly, empirical focus is shifting toward including suicide resilience, which mitigates against suicidal behavior. This cross-sectional study examines childhood abuse, intrapersonal strengths, and suicide resilience in 121 African American women, average age of 36.07 years (SD?=?11.03) with recent exposure to intimate partner violence and a suicide attempt. To address the hypothesis that childhood abuse will be negatively related to suicide resilience and that this effect will be mediated by intrapersonal strengths that serve as protective factors, structural equation modeling examined the relations among three latent variables: childhood abuse (measured via physical, sexual, and emotional abuse), intrapersonal strengths (assessed by self-efficacy and spiritual well-being), and suicide resilience (operationalized via the three components of suicide resilience—internal protective, external protective, and emotional stability). The initial measurement model and the structural model both indicated excellent fit. Results indicated that childhood abuse was negatively associated with intrapersonal strengths and suicide resilience, intrapersonal strengths were positively associated with suicide resilience, and intrapersonal strengths fully mediated the association between childhood abuse and suicide resilience. Thus, the results suggest a positive and protective influence of intrapersonal strengths on suicide resilience in the face of childhood abuse in suicidal African American women. The clinical implications and directions for future research that emerge from these findings are discussed.     

The effects of an experimental intensive juvenile probation program on self-reported delinquency and drug use

In the late 1990s Ventura County, California, USA, implemented the South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP), designed to provide intensive, multi-agency services to youth on probation. SOCP built their program guided by Clear’s “corrections of place” model, which argued that community corrections could decrease offender risk by focusing on restorative principles rather than on coercion. SOCP was designed as a randomized experiment, comparing youths in the experimental group with those on routine probation. Researchers interviewed youths in both the experimental and control groups 1 year after random assignment. This article reports on self-reported crime and drug use, finding few significant differences across groups. Specifically, we find that SOCP youths were significantly more likely to indicate that they had committed a violent crime generally, although a majority of both groups indicated they had done so. We found that those in SOCP who robbed people also did so significantly more often than did the comparison group. In the control group, youths reported committing homicide significantly more often, but this was a rare event. Among those youths who reported taking part in gang or posse fights, those in the control group did so significantly more often. Finally, youths in the control group were significantly more likely to have used ecstasy on more days during the previous month than were those in the SOCP.

Local Transportation Sales Taxes: California's Experiment in Transportation Finance

Over the last 25 years, voters in 20 California counties approved “local transportation sales taxes” to pay for transportation projects. A growing source of revenue, they generate roughly $2.5 billion per year. Four features explain their popularity: they require direct voter approval; funds are raised and spent within the counties that enact them, so voters experience benefits directly; most automatically expire; and they usually specify the improvements to be financed. These taxes are an important revenue source, but tend to favor capital investments over operations and maintenance. They have enhanced local governments' decision‐making authority, but may have made regional transportation planning in multicounty regions more difficult to achieve.