Attorneys,tell your clients to think before they post: Social media data may influence how evaluators view their parental fitness

Information from social media is used in evaluations of parental fitness with some regularity. Yet, research is lacking on perceptions of this information and no research has examined how social media data impacts forensic evaluators' opinions related to parental fitness. This study compared forensic evaluators' perceptions of data trustworthiness, usefulness, and initial opinion of parental fitness in a fictitious case in which parental fitness was questioned. Perceptions of a parent's behavior were compared across two types of data in which it was presented (an Instagram post or a medical record note) and across genders of the parent (mother or father) being hypothetically evaluated. As hypothesized, information documented on social media was viewed more critically than information documented by a healthcare provider. Further, information primarily referencing the father in the case was viewed as less trustworthy than information referencing the mother, which appeared influenced by evaluators' identified self-reported sexist attitudes. Results suggest that family law attorneys, regardless of which parent they are representing, should advise their clients of the risks to using social media.     

The Effects of Feminist Mobilization and Women’s Status on Universities’ Reporting of Rape

ABSTRACT

When establishing the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, President Obama reminded universities of their obligation to report accurate rape statistics to the Department of Education. Research has not determined, on a national scale, what factors explain variation in (under)reporting. Using data from 413 top universities’ websites and institutional and archival data, we examine how state- and university-level factors shape universities’ rape reporting. Universities with a greater feminist presence and antiviolence activism, and those located in states where women have higher socioeconomic status and more American Association of University Women partnerships, report more rapes. We examine underreporting as an institutional rather than an individual-level phenomenon, connect campus reporting to the larger reporting literature, and provide practical policy and program implications.     

SNP Miniplexes for Individual Identification of Random‐Bred Domestic Cats

Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of the cat can be obtained from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) analyses of fur. This study developed miniplexes using SNPs with high discriminating power for random‐bred domestic cats, focusing on individual and phenotypic identification. Seventy‐eight SNPs were investigated using a multiplex PCR followed by a fluorescently labeled single base extension (SBE) technique (SNaPshot^®). The SNP miniplexes were evaluated for reliability, reproducibility, sensitivity, species specificity, detection limitations, and assignment accuracy. Six SNPplexes were developed containing 39 intergenic SNPs and 26 phenotypic SNPs, including a sex identification marker, ZFXY. The combined random match probability (cRMP) was 6.58 × 10^?19 across all Western cat populations and the likelihood ratio was 1.52 × 10¹⁸. These SNPplexes can distinguish individual cats and their phenotypic traits, which could provide insight into crime reconstructions. A SNP database of 237 cats from 13 worldwide populations is now available for forensic applications.     

Detection and Identification of Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) and Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) by a Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction High-Resolution Melt Duplex Assay,

Mitragyna speciosa (MS), a plant commonly known as kratom, is a widely used “legal high” opiate alternative for pain relief. DNA extracted from MS and 26 additional plant species was amplified by PCR using primers targeting the strictosidine beta-D-glucosidase (SGD) and secologanin synthase 2 (SLS2) genes and detected by high-resolution melt curves using three intercalating dyes. Amplicon sizes were confirmed using agarose gel electrophoresis. The observed melt temperatures for SGD and SLS2 were 77.08 ± 0.38°C and 77.61 ± 0.46°C, respectively, using SYBR^® Green I; 80.18 ± 0.27°C and 80.59 ± 0.08°C, respectively, using Radiant^™ Green; and 82.19 ± 0.04°C and 82.62 ± 0.13°C, respectively, using the LCGreen^® PLUS dye. The SLS2 primers demonstrated higher specificity and identified MS DNA at 0.05 ng/μL. In a duplex reaction, SLS2 and tetrahydrocannabinoic acid synthase gene primers detected and differentiated MS and Cannabis sativa (CS) by melt peaks at 82.63 ± 0.35°C and 85.58 ± 0.23°C, respectively, using LCGreen^® PLUS.     

Recent Developments

International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique -     

How Citizens Respond to Outputs,Outcomes, and Costs: A Survey Experiment About an HIV/AIDS Program

Government performance measurement is often faulted for focusing on outputs, while citizens are said to demand more information on outcomes to hold government accountable. To compare the influence of these measures, we randomized 774 participants to receive outcome or output information about a real HIV prevention program, with or without cost information, in a survey experiment. Citizens expressed less support for spending on the program when shown outcomes (infections prevented), rather than outputs (people served). Showing participants the high cost of treating HIV/AIDS boosted support for program spending, but did not make outcome information more persuasive. We interpret these results as partly a reaction to the high per-unit cost of an outcome in an HIV prevention program. But it may reflect a tendency of citizens simply to misinterpret less costly outputs, including serving more people, as if these were outcomes. This bias has implications for performance reporting and accountability.     

Overlapping publics and the negotiation of legitimacy in South African and Namibian sexual politics

ABSTRACT

This article explores how and why social movement organizations negotiate their presence in, and demands on, multiple public spheres. We analyse the strategies of two social movement organizations, Free Gender in Cape Town, South Africa, and Sister Namibia in Windhoek, Namibia. Free Gender elected to withdraw participation from a governmental task team convened to address the issue of homophobic violence, despite the opportunity this offered the organization to participate in national politics. Sister Namibia, by contrast, decided to maintain its public presence despite experiencing political homophobia from the ruling party, the South West African People’s Organisation. We contribute to the literature on public spheres and social movements by demonstrating the need to consider the overlapping nature of public spheres in South Africa and Namibia at the local, national, and transnational levels to account for activists’ strategic decisions.     

Predictors of Latent Trajectory Classes of Physical Dating Violence Victimization

This study identified classes of developmental trajectories of physical dating violence victimization from grades 8 to 12 and examined theoretically-based risk factors that distinguished among trajectory classes. Data were from a multi-wave longitudinal study spanning 8th through 12th grade (n = 2,566; 51.9 % female). Growth mixture models were used to identify trajectory classes of physical dating violence victimization separately for girls and boys. Logistic and multinomial logistic regressions were used to identify situational and target vulnerability factors associated with the trajectory classes. For girls, three trajectory classes were identified: a low/non-involved class; a moderate class where victimization increased slightly until the 10th grade and then decreased through the 12th grade; and a high class where victimization started at a higher level in the 8th grade, increased substantially until the 10th grade, and then decreased until the 12th grade. For males, two classes were identified: a low/non-involved class, and a victimized class where victimization increased slightly until the 9th grade, decreased until the 11th grade, and then increased again through the 12th grade. In bivariate analyses, almost all of the situational and target vulnerability risk factors distinguished the victimization classes from the non-involved classes. However, when all risk factors and control variables were in the model, alcohol use (a situational vulnerability) was the only factor that distinguished membership in the moderate trajectory class from the non-involved class for girls; anxiety and being victimized by peers (target vulnerability factors) were the factors that distinguished the high from the non-involved classes for the girls; and victimization by peers was the only factor distinguishing the victimized from the non-involved class for boys. These findings contribute to our understanding of the heterogeneity in physical dating violence victimization during adolescence and the malleable risk factors associated with each trajectory class for boys and girls.     

In-Group Love and Out-Group Hate: White Racial Attitudes in Contemporary U.S. Elections

Political Behavior - Over the past two decades, political scientists have demonstrated that racial animus among white Americans is increasingly associated with evaluations of presidential...     

Nancy E. Dowd: Reimagining Equality: A New Deal for Children of Color

Journal of Youth and Adolescence -