Homicide as Infectious Disease: Using Public Health Methods to Investigate the Diffusion of Homicide

This study examined the spatial and temporal movement of homicide in Newark, New Jersey from January 1982 through September 2008. We hypothesized that homicide would diffuse in a similar process to an infectious disease with firearms and gangs operating as the infectious agents. A total of 2,366 homicide incidents were analyzed using SaTScan v.9.0, a cluster detection software. The results revealed spatio-temporal patterns of expansion diffusion: overall, firearm and gang homicide clusters in Newark evolved from a common area in the center of the city and spread southward and westward over the course of two decades. This pattern of movement has implications in regards to the susceptibility of populations to homicide, particularly because northern and eastern Newark remained largely immune to homicide clusters. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings, as well as recommendations for future research, are discussed.     

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of sodium and potassium cyanide as a forensic signature

Sodium and potassium cyanide are highly toxic, produced in large amounts by the chemical industry, and linked to numerous high-profile crimes. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified cyanide as one of the most probable agents to be used in a chemical terrorism event. We investigated whether stable C and N isotopic content of sodium and potassium cyanide could serve as a forensic signature for sample matching, using a collection of 65 cyanide samples. Upon analysis, a few of the cyanide samples displayed nonhomogeneous isotopic content associated with degradation to a carbonate salt and loss of hydrogen cyanide. Most samples had highly reproducible isotope content. Of the 65 cyanide samples, >95% could be properly matched based on C and N isotope ratios, with a false match rate <3%. These results suggest that stable C and N isotope ratios are a useful forensic signature for matching cyanide samples.     

A qualitative examination of ethical and legal considerations regarding dating violence

Despite the increased attention to dating violence among adolescents and young adults, limited information is available on ethical and legal considerations specific to this population. Therefore, this qualitative study explores 21 trainees' and practitioners' conceptualization of ethical and legal issues pertaining to adolescent dating violence. Data are collected through focus groups included as part of an ethics and legal issues seminar. Six themes are identified to illustrate ethical and legal issues concerning dating violence: knowledge, client welfare, counseling interventions, informed consent and disclosure, barriers, and counselor reactions.     

Changes in Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy

Women's experiences of partner violence, both before and during pregnancy, are described using a convenience sample of women recruited from prenatal clinics. Included were an index group of women who told their clinicians that they had been physically abused during pregnancy, and a comparison group of women who told their clinicians that they had not been physically abused during pregnancy (even though later more detailed assessment found that some of these comparison women had experienced such violence). The women averaged 27 years of age, with 83% being high school graduates, 26% being married, and 66% having had previous children. The Conflict Tactics Scales 2 assessed rates of partner violence victimization of the women and their male partners, including psychological aggression, physical assault, and sexual coercion. Injuries also were assessed. Results showed that comparison men were physically assaulted at significantly higher rates than were their female partners, both before and during pregnancy (even though these victimization rates were much lower than those seen among the index couples). Index women experienced higher rates of psychological aggression, physical assault, and sexual coercion than did their male partners, and these women were significantly more likely than their male partners to be injured. Pregnancy onset was associated with significant increases in the rates of psychological aggression among both the index and comparison couples. In addition, the index women experienced a significantly increased rate of sexual violence victimization during pregnancy. However, pregnancy was not associated with significant increases in the rates of physical assault or violence-related injuries among the index or comparison couples.     

Telling the Truth About Empire? A Word on Methodology

Empire/imperialism are terms that re-emerge with patterned frequency. Claims that the Australia United Kingdom and United States agreement is imperial, that an Australian empire exists, or that coloniality continues after the end of formal colonialism are all made without connecting colonialism, settler-colonialism, coloniality, or sub-imperialism to the larger whole of which it is a part — empire. At the same time, political science has begun to make claims about empire as a particular type of politics and comparative historical literature has also emerged. This paper argues that empire should a site of inquiry for any decolonial project and elaborates what would be involved methodologically. It engages the question of methodology by comparing different approaches to the study of empire. My argument is that the interpretivist approach is the more methodologically robust principally because it raises a series of unresolvable methodological problems. I argue that study of empire, as a particular form of politics, is not just a social scientific question, it is an ethical normative question. I argue that it is politically necessary for the decolonisation of knowledge to broach the question of empire and its methodological problems. Only when we know the truth about empire, can we confidently contribute to a politics that would be post-imperial.     

Barriers to Integrating New Urbanism in Mixed-Income Housing Plans in Chicago: Developer,Housing Official,and Consultant Perspectives

This article explores the barriers to implementing mixed-income development plans that incorporate the social (income) and physical (new urbanism) mixing goals of HOPE VI. I examine a comparative case study of three HOPE VI planning efforts in Chicago, Illinois, that exhibit different results. I draw from 25 in-depth interviews across three primary types of actors involved in the development process: developers, housing officials, and consultants. This research uses the perspectives of these key actors to identify the barriers that constrain the implementation of new urbanist designs. Current research indicates that mixed-income developments vary in their degree of income mixing and how new urbanist strategies are implemented. However, there is little consensus on why this is so. Findings indicate implementation of new urbanism is constrained by limited interagency coordination, restrictive design policies, low community buy-in, and exclusive marketing and occupancy practices. Overall, the research offers lessons learned from which I recommend changes in planning practices to assist actors in the consistent implementation of new urbanism in mixed-income developments.     

Examining Connections between the Police and Prosecution in Sexual Assault Case Processing: Does the Use of Exceptional Clearance Facilitate a Downstream Orientation?

After several decades of research on how the criminal justice system handles reports of sexual assault, the attrition of cases at the police and prosecutor stages continues to draw the attention of policy makers, victim advocates, and academics. Such attrition has implications for thousands of victims and their alleged offenders each year. Current estimates show that significant rates of attrition persist and vary across jurisdictions. Recent work in two jurisdictions reveals a pattern of exceptional clearances being used to close sexual assault cases reported to the police and that prosecutors are weighing in at the arrest stage. Broadening this analysis we use incident data from a multitude of jurisdictions that report to the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) in combination with data from other law enforcement sources to investigate how legal and extra-legal incident factors as well as agency factors differentiate the decision to clear cases by exceptional means from clearance by arrest. We find that agency, legal, and extra-legal factors predict the use of exceptional clearance relative to arrest and discuss how these findings suggest a downstream orientation in case processing.     

Moving from Evidence‐Light to Evidence‐Based Practice: Randomized Control Trials in Family Law

In a resource‐constrained environment, such as the access to justice field, it is critical to develop better knowledge about effective and efficient service delivery. This article discusses the need for more rigorous evaluation and research in the field, both in order to better reach individuals with legal needs and to maximize court resources. Various evaluation methodologies will be explained, along with examples of current randomized control trial studies being conducted at the Harvard Access to Justice Lab.     

It Can't Happen in My Backyard: The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls in the United States

This article describes the issue of commercial sexual exploitation in the United States and details the risk factors associated with young girls entering the life. The consequences of commercial sexual exploitation are detailed and the barriers to effectively combat this growing phenomenon are investigated. Service providers who work with this population are highlighted, promising practices are discussed, current research is critiqued, and recommendations for developing a comprehensive response to the issue of commercial sexual exploitation are outlined.