Using ‘Participatory’ Methods with Young People in Contexts of Violence: Reflections from Guatemala

This article is based on research carried out with young people in Guatemala City, in communities with a high incidence of youth gang violence. The demands of working with a traditionally ‘disempowered’ social group, youth, and in situations of violence, provide a timely opportunity for methodological reflection. The central objective is to discuss the means through which perceptions and experiences of gang violence were reported during the research. It deals in particular with the relative benefits of Participatory Appraisal methods in research with young people in situations of violence. Empirical material from Guatemala is used to reflect on the particular ways in which violence is variously revealed and explained. It also comments on the ways in which violence, in turn, impacted upon the conduct of the research itself.     

论司法过程中民间法法源的位阶

司法过程中民间法法源的位阶研究,实际上是对民间法跨越法律方法之桥进入司法场域的正当性和合理性的探讨,但对置身于法律移植进程中尚未历经严格法制时代的传统文化坚韧的转型国家而言,必须对民间法法源的位阶予以高度关注并将其限定并运作于现行法治的程序轨道中。     

走私犯罪侦查研究综述

走私侦查理论界学者先是按照各个走私罪名研究走私犯罪侦查方法,而后按照不同走私方式研究不同对策。目前该领域研究的重点主要是伪报类走私、通关藏匿类走私、擅自销售类走私和海上、绕关类走私的侦查方法。     

道路交通安全文化的内涵、功能与建设途径

道路交通安全历来是道路交通管理研究的热点问题。从道路交通安全文化的角度研究问题是一种全新视角。道路交通安全文化是社会安全文化的继承与发扬,包括物质文化、行为文化、精神文化、制度文化四个层次。道路安全文化的功能包括导向、约束、协调、教化、优化与辐射功能。政府、运输企业和交通参与者个人均应成为道路交通安全文化的建设主体。     

Suicide of an adolescent girl with sodium nitrite ordered on the internet

Nitrites are commonly used in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Recently, they have been identified in cases of voluntary intoxication. We report the case of a 13-year-old girl who was found lifeless on her bed next to a glass containing a white powder and a bottle containing a white powder with a moistened appearance. External examination and autopsy revealed a nonspecific asphyxia syndrome, which was confirmed by the pathological analysis. Analysis of the samples revealed metoclopramide in the peripheral blood at a concentration of 0.402 mg/L (LC–HRMS). An analysis of the gastric contents was carried out after sodium nitrite was detected in the powders found near the body (Raman spectrometry). Nitrites were found in the gastric fluid at a concentration of 30.9 mg/L. Death occurred secondary to anoxia, following ingestion of nitrites; suicide kits are available on the web and nitrites are relatively easy to source and inexpensive. Nitrites are delivered in powder form to be dissolved in liquid, which may then be consumed with metoclopramide (or an alternative anti-emetic drug) to maximize absorption and reduce emesis. The toxic effect of nitrites lies in their oxidizing power, causing the transformation of hemoglobin into methemoglobin, which, when it accumulates, induces tissue anoxia resulting in death. There has been an alarming increase in the number of cases linked to suicide using nitrites or a nitrite suicide kit. The fact that nitrites are readily available online underscores the importance of establishing effective preventive measures such as limiting the access and use of this chemical.     

Recovery Rates of Human Fetal Skeletal Remains Using Varying Mesh Sizes

Human fetal skeletal elements of different gestational ages were screened with multiple mesh sizes (6.4 mm [1/4 inch], 3.2 mm [1/8 inch], 2.0 mm, and 1.0 mm) to determine their recovery rates. All remains were previously macerated, and no significantly damaged elements were used. The 6.4 mm mesh allowed a large loss of elements (63.2% overall), including diagnostic elements, while no diagnostic elements were lost when the 1 mm mesh (0.2%) was used. When using the 3.2 mm mesh, 16.2% of the bones were lost, including some diagnostic elements (primarily tooth crowns), while 7.5% were lost using the 2.0 mm mesh. The authors recommend that the potential loss of information incurred when utilizing larger mesh sizes be taken into consideration when planning recovery methods where fetal remains may be encountered and that a minimum of 1.0 mm mesh be utilized in recovery contexts known to include fetal remains.     

Identities,Boundaries, and Accounts of Women Methamphetamine Users

Drug users often define themselves as functional users and depict others as dysfunctional (i.e. junkies). Previous research on the social identities of drug users has focused on the symbolic boundaries they create to distance themselves from stigmatized others. Investigators have yet to focus on how users account for their own boundary violations. Here, we examine the narratives of 30 former women methamphetamine (meth) users to determine how they make distinctions between functional and dysfunctional meth users (i.e. “meth heads”). The distinctions they make are based on users’ abilities to maintain control of their lives and to hide their use from outsiders. Those who saw themselves as functional but who engaged in behaviors inconsistent with this image accounted for these behaviors to maintain desired identities. We show the complexity of drug users’ identities and illustrate how anti-drug campaigns that provide grotesque caricatures of drug users may prolong drug using careers.     

Criminologists,duct tape,and Indigenous peoples: quantifying the use of silencing research methods

A recent quantitative evaluation of mainstream criminological research found that there is a dearth of research on “Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice context” conducted in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States and published in elite criminology journals while these nations continue to incarcerate Indigenous peoples at markedly disproportionate rates. Although the silence prohibits public attention to this social issue, counter-colonial critics have mostly focused on criminologists who deliberately marginalize Indigenous peoples through use of inappropriate research methods. This study is a first attempt to quantify the use of “silencing research methods” in contemporary mainstream criminology. It involves a comprehensive review of research published in elite criminology journals over the past decade (2001–2010). The findings reveal that although mainstream criminologists generally prefer non-silencing research tools, they primarily employ silencing research methods when studying Indigenous peoples. Also, studies that focus on Native American peoples use silencing research tools more often than studies on other disproportionately incarcerated social groups, i.e., African and Hispanic Americans. The study concludes that by using “silencing research methods,” elite mainstream criminology has contributed to the marginalization of Indigenous peoples to varying degrees in all four countries over the past decade.     

Public Inquiry Methods,Processes and Outputs: an Epistemological Critique

Public inquiries are an important phenomenon in modern British society, often used to address controversial or difficult issues of major concern to policy makers, the media and the public. Although people often comment adversely on how costly inquiries are and how long they take, inquiry methods are rarely discussed, let alone critiqued or challenged. However, from a social sciences perspective, inquiry methods, processes and outputs are often at odds with accepted standards for research methods. This paper discusses this divergence and the implications for how we should regard the inquiry as a way of knowing, or learning.