The difference between drug money and a "lifetime's savings"

In many countries, monies suspected of being associated with drug trafficking can be seized by the authorities. One of the ways of investigating this association is through the analysis of seized banknotes for traces of controlled drugs. We report three studies which may assist the expert in assessing whether banknotes contaminated with diamorphine are part of the general population of notes in circulation or whether they show unusual contamination patterns which require explanation. Study 1 is based on three plausible contamination scenarios as they may occur during the various stages of an illicit drug transaction and seizure. It shows that notes which have been in direct contact with visible traces of diamorphine show significantly higher contamination to those in more indirect contact with the drug. Study 2 investigates the transfer of diamorphine from one highly contaminated note to other notes in a bundle over a period of 10 weeks with and without agitation. It was found that the total amount of drug transferred was smaller than 6% and no more than 4 out of a bundle of 10 previously clean notes became lightly contaminated. Based on extensive background data, study 3 proposes a probabilistic model to assess whether an observed proportion of diamorphine bearing banknotes is likely to have been contaminated by chance. The model predicts that there is only a 0.3% chance that a bundle of 100 notes from the general banknote population contains more than six contaminated specimens. Jointly, the three studies give useful indications for the spread of contamination throughout a sample and the amounts of heroin which may be expected given plausible contamination scenarios.     

An initial evaluation of stable isotopic characterisation of post-blast plastic debris from improvised explosive devices

A number of two-way radios, similar to those which have been employed to initiate Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), were acquired from a commercial supplier and grouped into four pairs. Samples of plastic material were collected from five distinct regions of each radio and analysed by Infrared and Raman spectroscopy to identify the nature of the material. One radio of each pair was then subjected to detonation with a commercially available plastic explosive. The combination of radio and explosive was considered to be representative of the components of an IED. Following detonation, fragments were recovered and, where possible, identified as specific sampling points of the radio.A combination of δ²H and δ¹³C stable isotopic analysis of material from each of the five sampling points was found to provide a pattern which was characteristic of a given radio and provided a means to associate pairs of radios. When few fragments were recovered, no positive association could be made between the fragments and the paired, undamaged radio. This was attributed, in part, to manufacturing variation in the radios. However, when three or more post-blast fragments were recovered it was possible to associate these with the paired, undamaged radio with a high degree of certainty.     

Development of impulsivity and risk‐seeking: Implications for the dimensionality and stability of self‐control*

In Gottfredson and Hirschi's self‐control theory, introduced in 1990, they contend that self‐control is a unidimensional construct that develops early in childhood and remains stable throughout the life span. According to findings reported in recent research, however, these arguments are now being challenged, with scholars pointing to ways in which self‐control may be multidimensional in nature and may change beyond the period of alleged stabilization. In this study, we draw on Steinberg's dual systems model, introduced in 2008, to consider this issue further. We examine that model's two key elements of low self‐control—risk‐seeking and impulsivity—to determine whether they are empirically distinguishable from one another and have differing developmental trajectories from childhood to early adulthood. We also consider the consequences of changes in risk‐seeking and impulsivity for within‐individual changes in crime. We examine these issues with data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) for individuals from 10 to 30 years old. The results of our analyses show support for a multidimensional and dynamic conception of self‐control—from age 10 to age 30, risk‐seeking and impulsivity are empirically distinct and develop in divergent ways that are consistent with the dual systems model. Changes in risk‐seeking and impulsivity also affect changes in crime, but their effects vary with age and changes in the other element. We discuss these findings and their implications for self‐control and the development of life‐course criminology.     

Promoting democracy in Latin America: foreign policy change and US democracy assistance, 1975–2010

Since the Cold War the USA has articulated and implemented explicit strategies of democracy promotion. One interesting target of such efforts is Latin America, in part because of the region’s geographic proximity to the USA and of the mixed record of US support for democracy there. This paper examines the impact of the end of the Cold War and the 9/11 episode on the nature, purposes, targets and consequences of US democracy assistance to Latin America. Examining democracy aid allocations, social and political factors and other variables, it traces changes in aid strategies, purposes and recipients generated by these paradigm shifts, and assesses the impact of such assistance on the politics of the region. It concludes with implications of these findings for US democracy promotion policies.     

Race and Perceived Pubertal Transition Effects on Girls’ Depressive Symptoms and Delinquent Behaviors

Most past research on the effects of early pubertal timing on girls’ depressive symptoms and delinquent behavior has focused on either age of menarche or has combined multiple indicators of development into a single index of puberty. Past research has rarely examined both the onset of puberty such as age of menarche, as well more psychologically mediated impressions of puberty (i.e., perceived pubertal timing) within the same study. This study extends past research on racial differences and pubertal related effects on girls’ depressive symptoms and delinquent behavior by examining the independent influence of different indicators of puberty (age of menarche, development of breasts, and perceived pubertal timing). Two waves of data (100 % females) were used from African Americans (N = 481) and European Americans (N = 1259) who were enrolled in seventh- and eighth-grade during the first wave of data collection in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Early age of menarche was associated with high levels of depressive symptoms at Wave 1. Additionally, both early and late perceived pubertal timing were associated with high levels of depressive symptoms and high delinquent behaviors at Wave 1. The structural relationships among these variables were similar for African Americans and European Americans. Age of menarche and perceived pubertal timing influenced depressive symptoms and delinquent behavior at Wave 2 through depressive symptoms and delinquent behavior reported at Wave 1. The implications of these findings are discussed with an emphasis on how the specific indicator used to assess puberty is important in efforts to understand pubertal timing effects.     

Liberalism and Religion: Amplifiers of War between Democratic and Non-Democratic States?

This study tests the association between liberalism and religion on militarized disputes in the politically and religiously similar and mixed state dyads. The analysis (1980–2001) integrates the Correlates of War and World Religion Datasets. The findings suggest that while religious makeup of state dyads does not vitiate the impact of democracy, religious similarity amplifies the impact of liberalism. The results also suggest that Christian–Muslim dyads, especially Christian–Sunni and Christian–Muslim other than Shia and Sunni dyads, are more likely to engage in militarized disputes, and regime differences increase the chances of conflict in the joint Muslim dyads.     

Still sucked into the body image thing: the impact of anti-aging and health discourses on women's gendered identities

Health norms have changed over the past three decades, imposing more responsibility for health onto the individual. There are gendered implications of these changes which, when combined with increasing anti-aging pressures, have the potential to intensify the disciplinary relationship women have with their bodies. This paper, based upon interviews with 14 women, examines the impact of dominant health and anti-aging discourses on women's body practices, including exercise, makeup, clothing and diet, and ongoing construction of gendered subjectivity. Findings suggest that the women in this study are motivated to do particular body practices because of their concern with having a healthy and youthful ‘looking’ body. The women's stories reveal that anti-aging and health discourses function to reinforce normative bodily demands of femininity and consequently to intensify disciplinary control of their bodies. While the pressure to fight the appearance of aging is not new, the increasing association of aging with ill health, even illness, in conjunction with the promotion of health has implications for women's relationship with their bodies and sense of self.