Adaptation of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory among a Portuguese sample of incarcerated juvenile offenders

The aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) and two of its short forms (NPI-16 and NPI-13) among a Portuguese sample of male incarcerated juvenile offenders (N?=?221). Of these, only the NPI-13 short version demonstrated a good fit in terms of its factor structure. The NPI-13 also showed promising psychometric properties in terms of its internal consistency, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity. Statistically significant associations were found with age of crime onset, crime seriousness, conduct disorder symptoms, alcohol abuse, and cannabis use. These findings justify the use of the NPI-13, especially its Entitlement/Exploitativeness dimension, among incarcerated male youths.     

Reply to ‘The politics of evidence: a response to Rulli and D'Odorico’

ABSTRACT

Indicators of carbon storage in forests and other land uses have gained much prominence to evaluate and endorse land-based climate change mitigation policies. The outcomes of such assessments can have direct livelihood implications for dwellers living at the forest–agriculture frontier, such as shifting cultivators or subsistence farmers. This contribution critically discusses the methodological relevance of carbon stock indicators to assess long-term emission dynamics of land uses, and furthermore addresses the ‘politics of measurement’ that can be involved in policy practice. From a complex socio-ecological systems perspective, the paper argues that carbon stock indicators provide necessary but not sufficient information to endorse land use policies with mitigation aims. While they may indicate one-off sequestration gains through vegetation and land-use change, they cannot account for permanent hidden emissions that emerge as part of the broader agrarian transitions that accompany land-use change. Over the long term, this may render related mitigation interventions ineffective, if not counterproductive. Furthermore, carbon stock estimates for future land-use scenarios sometimes draw on biased assumptions, or are constructed within histories of discrimination, through which they may further marginalize subaltern groups such as shifting cultivators. A paradigm shift is needed that includes more integrative assessment approaches.     

Reassessing the WIC effect: evidence from the Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System.

Recent analyses differ on how effective the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is at improving infant health. We use data from nine states that participate in the Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System to address limitations in previous work. With information on the mother's timing of WIC enrollment, we test whether greater exposure to WIC is associated with less smoking, improved weight gain during pregnancy, better birth outcomes, and greater likelihood of breastfeeding. Our results suggest that much of the often reported association between WIC and lower rates of preterm birth is likely spurious, the result of gestational age bias. We find modest effects of WIC on fetal growth, inconsistent associations between WIC and smoking, limited associations with gestational weight gain, and some relationship with breastfeeding. A WIC effect exists, but on fewer margins and with less impact than has been claimed by policy analysts and advocates.     

Energy Security and Climate Change in the European Union,China and Latin American Relationships:Major Challenges and Areas of International Cooperation

The author discusses the subject in both ecological and political perspectives based on a most comprehensive,authoritative and updated bibliography.Hence,Latin America and the Caribbean(LAC) is as much diversified as there are sub-regions and regional organizations in geopolitical and geo-economical terms and often dialectic regarding energy security,climate change and LAC ties with Europeans and China and so is the tripartite relations with the rest of the world so far as energy security and climate cha...     

Assessment of the Effects Exerted by Acid and Alkaline Solutions on Bone: Is Chemistry the Answer?

The treatment of corpses with extremely acid or basic liquids is sometimes performed in criminal contexts. A thorough characterization by chemical analysis may provide further help to macroscopic and microscopic analysis; 63 porcine bone samples were treated with solutions at different pH (1–14) for immersion periods up to 70 days, as well as in extremely acidic sulfuric acid solutions (9 M/18 M) and extremely basic sodium hydroxide. Inductively coupled optical emission spectrometry (ICP‐OES)/plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), energy dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDX), X‐ray powder diffraction (XRPD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that only the sulfuric acid solution 18 M was able to completely dissolve the sample. In addition, chemical analysis allowed to recognize the contact between bone and substances. Hydrated calcium sulfate arose from extreme pH. The possibility of detecting the presence of human material within the residual solution was demonstrated, especially with FT‐IR, ICP‐OES, and EDX.     

Examination of the stability and consistency of investigative interviewer performance across similar mock interview contexts

Purpose. Three studies examined the degree to which investigative interviewers' adherence to best‐practice guidelines is consistent across similar mock interviews. Method. In each study, two interviews were administered within a period of several hours. Further, group and individual stability of interviewer performance was analysed, and performance was measured by calculating the proportion of open‐ended and leading questions as well as the presence of predetermined problem behaviours. The studies varied depending on the type of interview paradigm employed. Interviewer performance in Study 1was measured in a group context where participants rotated between the role of interviewer, child respondent, and observer. In Study 2, an adult played the role of a child recalling abuse but this occurred in isolation (participants did not observe others or play the child). Study 3 was similar to Study 2 except that in each interview an unfamiliar child aged 5–7 years recalled an innocuous event. Results. Interviewer performance was relatively stable across tasks, although the strength of the relationship between measures varied across analyses. Improvement in open‐ended question usage occurred in Study 1 but not Studies 2 and 3. Irrespective of the assessment context, the dichotomous rating scale yielded greater consistency than when questions were tallied. Further, group stability overestimated individual stability. The practical implications of these findings for trainers and researchers are discussed.     

World War One Italian and Austrian soldier identification project: DNA results of the first case

We report the results of an attempt to identify the supposed remains of a famous World War I (WWI) Italian soldier who was killed in battle along the Italian front in 1915.Thanks to the availability of offspring from both paternal and maternal lineage Y-STRs and mtDNA were analysed and both showed a clear exclusion scenario: the remains did not belong to the supposed war hero.This is the first effort of identification of the remains of soldiers who perished during World War I within a multidisciplinary project aimed at the retrieval of historical and cultural aspects linked to WWI, and the systematic study of the remains of soldiers and ultimately their identification. This last step involves both Italian and Austrian laboratories.     

The Utility of Skeletal and Surgical Features for the Personal Identification Process: A Pilot Study

This pilot study provides a conceptual framework for the application of the anthropological analysis of skeletal features and surgical interventions for the purpose of identification in cases of unknown deceased individuals with unavailable fingerprint, genetic or odontological antemortem data. The study sample includes 276 individuals with known demographic and clinical information from the Italian CAL Milano Cemetery Skeletal Collection. In the sample, 124 (45%) individuals showed one or more skeletal features that may be potentially individualizing. Of these, 79% showed two and more features, which occurred in a multitude of different combinations. Skeletal findings may provide useful postmortem information that can be compared with antemortem witness statements and clinical imaging. However, more research into the utility of dry bone findings and the availability of comparative material, including imaging, and epidemiological data needs to be undertaken before skeletal features can be implemented into identification protocols and databases.     

DNA identification of sperm cells collected and sorted by flow cytometry

In cases of rape, obtaining enough biologic material for DNA identification of the attacker is often difficult because the methods for distinguishing and separating sperm cells from vaginal cells are not sufficiently efficacious. This article describes a new, innovative method for spermatic DNA extraction from the vaginal washing fluid by means of flow cytometry. The high specificity and sensitivity of the flow-cytometric sorting method provides enough sperm cells for DNA typing. The ease of execution of this method, involving vaginal washing with physiologic solution and flow-cytometric reading of the fresh sample, substantially increases its cost-benefit ratio.