Bringing Policy Communities Back In: The Case of Fire Service Cover

It is argued that the concept of a policy community has an enduring value in the analysis of public policy, especially if an emphasis is placed on the way in which ideas are excluded from debates. Historical analysis based on the National Archives using a political science conceptual framework can offer fresh perspectives. The concept is developed through a specification of the conditions that encourage policy community formation and survival. Policy inertia led to a policy that produced a higher rate of deaths from fire in the UK than in other developed countries, especially among the socially excluded. The policy community concept can be of value in the policy analysis tool-kit, especially if policy frames that have become embedded to the exclusion of alternatives are identified.     

Intimate Partner Violence in Extremely Poor Women: Longitudinal Patterns and Risk Markers

Despite high revalence rates of intimate partner violence in the lives of extremely poor women with dependent children, few studies have investigated the patterns of violence that occur over time, and the characteristics of women that serve as risk markers for partner violence. This paper describes patterns of domestic violence longitudinally and uses multivariate analyses to delineate childhood and adult risk markers for recent intimate partner violence in this population of women. Analyses draw upon a sample of 436 homeless and extremely poor housed mothers receiving welfare, in a mid-sized city in Massachusetts with a large Hispanic population of Puerto Rican descent and relatively fewer Blacks. We found that among women with complete longitudinal data (N=280), almost two-thirds experienced intimate partner violence at some point during their adult life by the end of study follow-up, and that the abuse before and after the baseline interview was episodic and limited over time. To examine the role of individual women's factors, while controlling for partner characteristics, we used baseline data on women who had been partnered during the past year (N=336). Among childhood predictors, we found that sexual molestation contributed most significantly to adult intimate partner violence that occurred during the past year prior to the baseline interview. Adult risk markers included inadequate emotional support from non-professionals, poor self-esteem, and a partner with substance abuse problems. Having a partner with poor work history was another independent predictor of recent abuse. Ethnicity did not significantly predict whether women were abused or not during the past year, contrary to other findings reported in the literature.     

Consent and its meaning to the sexual victimization of women

Two conditions must be met in order for a person to be rightly considered the victim of a crime. First, there must be the victim of some form of harm. Second, the harm in question was the direct result of an act in which the harmed individual did not knowingly consent to take part. What are the dynamics of consent and how important should consent be in defining and placing criminal responsibility in crimes where women are sexually victimized? Finally, how does the conceptualization of victimization change when viewed from liberal and radical feminist perspectives?     

The Impact of Language Status as an Acculturative Stressor on Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors among Latino/a Children: A Longitudinal Analysis from School Entry through Third Grade

This study examined the relationship between limited English proficiency status, and internalizing and externalizing behaviors among a sample of Latino/a children (N = 2,840) from the US Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten (ECLS-K) data set. Results of cross sectional regression and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses suggest that there is a positive relationship between limited English proficiency and externalizing symptoms, particularly by third grade. Additionally, sex and place of birth also helped to explain externalizing behaviors at various time points in the models. Place of birth and family poverty were significantly associated with internalizing symptoms. Implications for future research and interventions related to internalizing and externalizing behavior among the Latino/a school aged population are discussed.