MALTREATED CHILDREN'S ABILITY TO ESTIMATE TEMPORAL LOCATION AND NUMEROSITY OF PLACEMENT CHANGES AND COURT VISITS

Research examining children's temporal knowledge has tended to utilize brief temporal intervals and singular, neutral events, and is not readily generalizable to legal settings in which maltreated children are asked temporal questions about salient, repeated abuse that often occurred in the distant past. To understand how well maltreated children can describe temporal location and numerosity of documented, personal experiences, we assessed 167 6- to 10-year-old maltreated children's temporal memory for changes in their living arrangements and prior visits to court. Small percentages of children were capable of providing exact temporal location information (age, month, or season) regarding their first or last placement or court experience, or numerosities for placements or court visits. Greater knowledge of current temporal locations did not predict better performance. However, older children's performance for several temporal judgments was better than chance, and their reports were not largely discrepant from the truth. Findings suggest caution when questioning maltreated children about when and how many times prior events occurred.     

The nature of police involvement in mental health transfers

During the course of their duties, police regularly have contact with mentally ill persons who are experiencing psychiatric crisis and require some form of mental health transfer. This study examined 2611 unique mental health transfers completed by police in the Australian state of Victoria over an eight-month period in 2009–2010. The overwhelming majority of mental health transfers performed by police during this period were the result of unplanned calls for assistance. Although police frequently requested assistance from other services, these were often not available. The study findings support a substantial body of anecdotal evidence from police citing lengthy involvement with people experiencing mentally illness, with the average mental health transfer consuming 2.5?h of police time. The frontline responses of police to people in psychiatric crisis need to be more formally acknowledged and creative solutions need to be sought with health and welfare services to better meet the needs of those who are falling between the cracks of community mental health care services.     

A Comparison of Invalidating Family Environment Characteristics Between University Students Engaging in Self-Injurious Thoughts &; Actions and Non-Self-Injuring University Students

Individuals experiencing non-suicidal self-injurious (NSSI) thoughts only are greatly overlooked by current research. This investigation aimed at determining how three groups of university students differed in their reported quality of childhood relationships with parents, and histories of physical and sexual abuses. These groups included students experiencing only NSSI thoughts (n = 126), students engaging in NSSI actions (n = 90), and students exhibiting neither (n = 1,080). Results showed that individuals experiencing NSSI thoughts only, and those engaging in NSSI actions reported poorer relationships with parents and more physical abuse than the No NSSI group; however, NSSI thoughts and NSSI action groups had similar outcomes to one another for most variables. These findings suggest that individuals experiencing only NSSI thoughts share similar negative childhood environments associated with engagement in NSSI action and that they should be included in future research, particularly investigations aimed at identifying protective factors that could prevent them from engaging in NSSI.     

Can microcredit worsen poverty? Cases of exacerbated poverty in Bangladesh

Worldwide, microcredit has been recognised as a successful innovation in poverty alleviation. However, some claim that microcredit exacerbates poverty in developing countries. This study examines cases in Bangladesh where microcredit has actually worsened poverty among borrowers and investigates the underlying reasons for this adverse trend. Our results show that microcredit can exacerbate poverty in four interrelated circumstances. We argue that households living in extreme conditions of poverty who possess minimal or no surplus financial capacity to cope with contingencies are prone to adverse effects of microcredit, and suggest ways to avoid microcredit borrowers falling victims to such unintended consequences.

Le microcrédit peut-il aggraver la pauvreté ? Quelques cas de pauvreté exacerbée au Bangladesh

De par le monde, le microcrédit a été reconnu comme une innovation efficace en vue de réduire la pauvreté. Cependant, certains affirment que le microcrédit exacerbe la pauvreté dans les pays en développement. Cette étude traite de cas observés au Bangladesh où le microcrédit a de fait aggravé la pauvreté parmi les emprunteurs et se penche sur les raisons sous-jacentes de cette tendance négative. Nos résultats montrent que le microcrédit peut exacerber la pauvreté dans quatre situations interconnectées. Nous soutenons que les ménages qui vivent dans des conditions extrêmes de pauvreté et qui possèdent une capacité financière minime ou inexistante pour faire face aux imprévus sont sujets aux effets négatifs du microcrédit et nous suggérons des manières d'éviter que les récipiendaires de microcrédit deviennent les victimes de conséquences non voulues de ce type.

O microcrédito pode agravar a pobreza? Casos de pobreza exacerbada em Bangladesh

No mundo todo, o microcrédito tem sido reconhecido como uma inovação bem-sucedida na redução da pobreza. Porém, alguns afirmam que o microcrédito agrava a pobreza em países em desenvolvimento. Este estudo examina casos em Bangladesh em que o microcrédito na verdade tem agravado a pobreza entre tomadores de empréstimo e investiga as razões subjacentes para esta tendência adversa. Nossos resultados mostram que o microcrédito pode agravar a pobreza em quatro circunstâncias inter-relacionadas. Argumentamos que as famílias que vivem em condições extremas de pobreza e que possuem mínima ou nenhuma capacidade financeira excedente para lidar com contingências são suscetíveis aos efeitos adversos do microcrédito e sugerimos maneiras de se evitar que os tomadores de microcrédito tornem-se vítimas de tais consequências não pretendidas.

¿Pueden los microcréditos incrementar la pobreza? Casos donde aumentó la pobreza en Bangladesh

Los microcréditos han sido ampliamente reconocidos como una iniciativa eficaz para disminuir la pobreza. Sin embargo, hay quienes afirman que los microcréditos incrementan la pobreza que ya existe en los países en desarrollo. Este ensayo analiza diversos casos en Bangladesh, donde se ha comprobado que los microcréditos agudizaron la pobreza de los prestatarios, e investiga las principales causas de esta tendencia negativa. Los autores señalan que los microcréditos pueden incrementar la pobreza en cuatro circunstancias que se relacionan entre sí. Sostienen también que las familias que viven en condiciones de pobreza extrema y cuentan con una mínima reserva financiera para imprevistos, o con ninguna, tienden a sufrir los efectos adversos de los microcréditos. El ensayo sugiere maneras de evitar que los prestatarios se expongan a estas consecuencias no previstas de los microcréditos.     

Protecting the planet: a proposal for a law of ecocide

A wide range of actions imperil the planet and threaten the future of humanity and other species. This essay notes some examples of crimes and harms damaging to the environment and human and non-human species as well as various forms of response that have called for more effective and appropriate models of justice and law than currently prevail. This leads to a discussion of several suggestions regarding the development and expression of an earth jurisprudence and to the history of a proposal that “ecocide” be recognised internationally as a crime. Analysis of documentary sources traces this idea from debates about the concept of genocide to consideration by United Nations officials as to how crimes against the environment might be defined, and shows how near such a proposal has previously come to acceptance and enactment. The article concludes with an argument for supporting a law of ecocide as the 5th Crime against Peace.     

The place of public fear in sentencing and correctional policy

Public opinion about sentencing and correctional issues has emerged in recent decades as a salient topic in criminology. Empirical studies have suggested that the public has dynamic perceptions about these criminal justice issues. Sentencing and correctional policy have become key issues confronting legislators and policymakers, as correctional budgets and public interest in these areas have increased. Despite the focus on public opinion about sentencing and corrections, previous research has largely ignored how the public feels about the role of policymakers regarding these issues, and what influences opinions about whether public fear should be an important consideration in policy decisions. The current study partly replicated the work of Cullen and colleagues by examining perceptions of crime salience, crime causation, goals of the criminal justice system, and attitudes towards imprisonment and rehabilitation. It uniquely examined perceptions about the importance of legislator consideration of a specific determinant, namely, public fear, in decision making about sentencing and correctional policy.