Tales of Deviance and Control: On Space,Rules, and Law in Squatter Settlements

In Latin American cities, around a third of the urban population lives in tenure situations that can be designated as informal, yet variation in the ways and extent to which these arrangements do not comply with law is extensive. Furthermore, informal dwellers often employ a variety of strategies to legitimize and ultimately legalize their tenure, implying a dynamic rather than a static relationship between illegality and legality. Conceiving of land tenure in dichotomous terms, as simply being either legal or illegal, therefore, fails to reflect this diversity, nor does it capture the evolving nature of the relationship between informal settlements and the state system. Drawing from the development of squatter settlements in Buenos Aires, this article proposes an alternative perspective and shows how settlements alternate strategies of noncompliance with adaptation to the state legal system to gradually increase their legality.     

Ricochet of a Bullet in the Spinal Canal: A Case Report and Review of the Literature on Bullet Migration

Abstract: Ricochet of a bullet in the spinal canal is well known by neurosurgeons but relatively not a common event in usual medico‐legal autopsy practice. This article presents a homicide case of a penetrating gunshot injury of the lumbar spine through the T12‐L1 intervertebral foramen with active movement of the projectile within the spinal canal to the L5‐S1 level. This case illustrates a bullet intradural and intramedullary active movement because of a ricochet of the body of T12 with active redirection of the path. In the current literature, different types of migration in caudal or cranial direction, intradural, or intramedullary are reported. If spontaneous migration of T10 to S1 seems to be more frequent, some authors reported a C1 to S2 migration. Such migration could be asymptomatic or induce neurological impairment. The medico‐legal consequences of these migrations within the spinal canal are described.     

Mothers’ Attitudes Toward Corporal Punishment of Children in Qazvin-Iran

The aim of this study was to assess mothers’ attitudes toward Corporal Punishment (CP) of children in Iran. A qualitative study was carried out using focus group discussions. Five sessions were held among 42 participants (30 mothers and 12 caregivers). Results indicated that 80% of participants used CP to bring up their children; 70 % did not know the meaning, predisposing factors, and manifestations of child abuse, and more than 50 % did not know the complications resulting from CP and the ways of preventing. Their attitude toward CP was that the use of CP was sometimes necessary to bring up their children while their information about predisposing factors and complications of child abuse might be minimal. The findings have been used in providing an educational package with the topics of parenting skills in order to decrease child abuse that has been resulted by parents.     

Capitalizing on Criminal Accomplices: Considering the Relationship between Co-offending and Illegal Earnings

This study investigates whether co-offending offers an avenue towards criminal success. Specifically, it considers if current and prior co-offending experience is related to the probability of reporting illegal earnings as well as the amount of these earnings. Using data from the Pathways to Desistance Study, we estimated fixed-and random-effects models to test whether co-offending experience is related to self-reported illegal earnings. The models also estimated whether “historical” co-offending experience predicted current illegal earnings. Across both modeling strategies, current and historical co-offending predicted the probability of reporting non-zero illegal earnings, net of offending frequency and controls. There is minimal evidence of a relationship between co-offending experience and the amount of illegal earnings, however. These findings lead us to conclude that access to a relatively common criminal connection—the co-offender—offers tangible benefits to adolescent offenders, primarily by affecting their ability to translate criminal opportunities into monetary gain.     

AIDS as metaphor

She is Canadian because her great great grandmothers migrated from Salt Lake City into Alberta to protect their Mormon husbands from antipolygamist persecution. She is involved in early or ethnic music groups and in researching new religions.     

An Ecological Approach to Decision-making in Renewable Resource Management

This article examines the roles of politics and processes in the formulation and implementation of U.S. natural resource policy during the Reagan and Bush administrations. The relationship between policies and procedures during these administrations will be illustrated by their effects on renewable natural resources management in the Department of the Interior and in the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture. The political history of these agencies raises doubts regarding their voluntarily adopting an ecological approach to the management of natural resources. Historically they have been largely captives of their clienteles—farmers, ranchers, miners, loggers, hunters and fishermen. Recreation and tourism have added new clients, whose interests often clash with the older interests in the land and its resources. Further complicating the roles of these agencies has been the environmental movement and new science-based analyses (e.g., impact assessment). Management science has introduced new methods that have increased the effectiveness of political control over policy and performance. Therefore, in evaluating the administration of environmental policies distinction should be made between the substance of policies and implementing procedures. Policies regarded as good may be poorly administered and policies harmful to the public interest may be efficiently executed.