The (Surprising) stability of youth crime rates

Despite the profound demographic and socioeconomic changes characterizing family life in recent years, youth crime rates have remained more or less constant since 1971. This finding is of interest given the intense public concern regarding the welfare of children. It also serves as a convenient basis for projecting the future volume of youth crime.     

Variation in Methods of Cardiac Dissection—A Potential Confounder in Measuring Cardiac Weight at Autopsy

To evaluate whether the weight of the heart measured at autopsy may be affected by the type of dissection, a prospective study was undertaken of the weights of sequential cases of nonpediatric hearts. Four hundred fifty‐eight hearts were examined (age range 17–96 years; mean 55.9 years; M:F = 3:1). The hearts were each weighed fresh, once the apex had been sliced, the auricles of the atria opened and blood drained, and again once the cardiac chambers had been opened completely. The difference in the partially and fully opened heart weights (range 146–1028 g; mean 434.8 g; range 134–1011 g; mean 420.8 g, respectively) (p < 0.05) ranged from 0 to 100 g (mean 14 g). In the most extreme example, the weight of the partially opened heart was 30.3% higher than that of the fully opened specimen. Failure to fully open the heart prior to weighing may result in significant error.     

Strategy for Fiscal Survival? Analysis of local extra-budgetary finance in China

Since the early 1980s, Chinese local governments have collected a significant amount of revenue outside the budgetary system. Fiscal shortage is commonly cited as the main reason for local extra-budgetary finance. However, a panel data analysis on provincial extra-budgetary practices reveals a different story. The findings suggest that extra-budgetary finance exists in China not as a strategy for local fiscal survival, but rather because local bureaucracies can conveniently exploit their administrative power to extract revenue from the local economy, and that extra-budgetary exactions fall disproportionately on peasants. Despite the constant calls by the central government to reform and regulate the extra-budgetary system, the centrally issued administrative directives have little impact on local practices.     

Is knowledge power? The effects of a victimology course on victim blaming

The current study examines the impact of a victimology course on students' perceptions of the blameworthiness of crime victims and knowledge of victimization issues. Victim-blaming attitudes among college students enrolled in a victimology course were compared with students enrolled in other courses. Results from a pretest and posttest suggest that the victimology students were significantly less likely to blame victims and these students also gained significantly more knowledge over time compared with the students who did not enroll in the course. Results from the multivariate analysis indicate that less knowledge over time and a higher propensity to blame victims at the beginning of the semester predicted more victim-blaming attitudes on the posttest. Overall, the findings suggest that knowledge of victimology significantly affects students' propensity to blame victims of crime.     

The role of cognitive coping in female victims of stalking

The aim of the study is to examine the role of cognitive coping in a sample of 47 female victims of stalking. Stalking victims who blamed themselves more for the stalking report significantly higher symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Respondents who ruminated more about the stalking experience, or respondents who explicitly emphasized the terror of the stalking to a higher extent, also report significantly higher symptom levels. Finally, respondents who thought more about what steps to take and how to handle the stalking report significantly higher symptom levels of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. This conclusion holds also after controlling for the severity of stalking. If the findings of the present study can be confirmed, this could possibly contribute to the help provided to victims of stalking.