Incarcerated mothers and parenting

This paper describes as a primary prevention strategy, a parent-education program aimed at enhancing the parenting skills and knowledge of incarcerated women (the majority of whom were mothers). Data are presented which describe changes in program participants' self-evaluations, parenting attitudes, and expectations of children. Upon completing of the parenting program, few differences were observed for the various pre- and post-test measures. Specifically, the analysis indicated that participants' self-esteem improved slightly but that participants appeared to regress in such parenting attitudes as beliefs in the use of corporal punishment as a means of discipline. The need for further examination of the area of parenting attitudes and practices of incarcerated mothers is underscored.     

应用单细胞凝胶电泳测定人血痕淋巴细胞降解的实验研究

目的探讨血痕形成时间与其DNA降解的淋巴细胞出现率的关系。方法应用单细胞凝胶电泳(SCGE)技术结合荧光显微镜和专业的计算机图像分析技术,测定离体72h内不同时间段的血痕中彗星样淋巴细胞出现率。结果获得人离体血液经不同放置时间间隔后,经LUC IA图像分析系统采集得到荧光图像,并获得体现DNA降解趋势的二项式回归方程y=-0.0178X2+2.4623X+8.1098,r2=0.9522,具有高度的统计学意义。结论72h内的人血DNA降解的淋巴细胞出现率与血痕形成时间之间具有高度的线性相关。     

Trisomy 21 disclosure using STR and SNP markers typed by MiSeq FGx™ Forensic Genomics System

The presence of a tri-allelic pattern at a single locus in a multiplex short tandem repeat (STR) profile is a rarely observable event. Generally, based on peak height measured by the capillary electrophoresis (CE) method and combination of alleles, the tri-allelic pattern is distinguishable into two predominant types: type 1 and 2, which are caused, respectively, by somatic mutations and chromosomal rearrangements. When tri-allelic patterns at more than one STR located on the same chromosome are detected, there is a reasonable suspicion of a trisomy due to an extra copy of a chromosome. Therefore, information on the type of three-band pattern is usually limited to STRs localized on the same chromosome included in the forensic kit in use and sometimes in insufficient numbers to classify this event correctly. The opportunity to extend this evaluation to additional markers, such as SNPs detectable using NGS, has not yet been explored. In this study, using the ForenSeq™ DNA Signature Prep kit, two cases of autosomal aneuploidy were revealed on chromosome 21, relying not only on STRs assessment but also extending the analysis to the five identity-informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (iiSNPs) localized on chromosome 21.     

Single Outcome Agreements and Partnership Working in Scottish Local Government – Year One

Single Outcome Agreements (SOAs) are a mechanism that it is argued will deliver key national and local priorities based on a new relationship between central and local government in Scotland. SOAs are to be developed and implemented through partnership working exercised by Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs). A survey of the first (2008) SOA participants from local authorities and their Community Planning partners was conducted in 2008, with a particular focus on the interrelationships between the 2008 SOA development process and partnership working at the local level. Findings of this study suggest that there was a positive link between the strength of existing CPPs and partner engagement in the 2008 SOA development. However, partner engagement in the 2008 SOA development process did not affect survey respondents' confidence that the ongoing SOA development and implementation will strengthen partnership working in the long -term. This study also suggests that in addition to the practical difficulties such as limited time and staff resources, mistrust between local partners, and local players' scepticism about the central government's intention to free up local government may be barriers to the success of the SOA. Overall, respondents in this study showed realistic but hopeful attitudes to what the SOA was about and what could be achieved through it over time. The information gathered through this study should be merited as baseline data which captured the SOA participants' early experience and expectations.     

An experimental test of the pivotal voter model under plurality and PR elections

This paper examines the decision to vote or not vote in experimental elections. We replicate the important findings of Duffy and Tavits (2008), though with a different design. Our results support their finding, that is, turnout is affected by the belief that one's vote counts and that overestimation in the perception that one's vote counts does not disappear completely over time. Going beyond previous research, we also find that turnout is not higher under a proportional system than under a plurality system, as well as that beliefs about being in a pivotal position have a greater impact on turnout among the risk averse.     

Between hearts and pockets: locating the outcomes of transnational homemaking practices among Mexican women in Canada's temporary migration programmes

Temporary migration programmes (TMPs) contain features such as reduced costs and the social legitimation of regularized entry that allow women, including the very poor, to access transnational livelihoods. For mothers, taking up opportunities for employment abroad inevitably involves ‘transnational homemaking’, the set practices involved in caring for family relationships and maintaining household economies across borders. In this article, we examine the transnational homemaking practices undertaken by rural Mexican migrant women employed in highly masculinized TMPs in Canada, tracing how they construct and maintain household economies across borders through a delicate (re)negotiation of reproductive roles and responsibilities with non-migrating kin in Mexico. We find that migration yields material and subjective benefits that enable the expansion of their citizenship across multiple dimensions ranging from the economic to the sexual. At the same time, as racialized, gendered, migrants from the global South, their labour and status in Canada are highly precarious. The advantages derived from transnational migration are thus tenuous, limited, and contradictory.     

Mothers Facing Imprisonment: Arranging Care for Their Adolescent Children

Although the population of imprisoned mothers is increasing, little formal data have been gathered about their dependents. This article draws on data from a study that examined the impact of maternal incarceration on 20 adolescent children in Victoria, Australia, focusing specifically on how and what care arrangements were made for the children and the implications of this care. Findings show a number of supportive and hindering factors that influence the making of care arrangements, including the support of another adult who enabled the woman in her role as mother, mothers' realistic outlook, and subsequent behaviors. Even where there were chronic problems, such as substance use, with a balance of supportive factors, these women were able to make reasonable and stable care arrangements for their children.     

An academic perspective on the copyright reform

The recently proposed new Copyright Directive was released on 14 September 2016. It has been described by EU law-makers as the pillar of the copyright package promised by the European Commission (EC), to be delivered before the end of Mr. Juncker's mandate. In its Communication of 6 May 2015, the EC had stressed “the importance to enhance cross-border access to copyright-protected content services, facilitate new uses in the fields of research and education, and clarify the role of online services in the distribution of works and other subject-matter.” The proposed Copyright Directive is thus a key measure aiming to address two of these three issues. However it is not without shortfalls.We have therefore decided to publicly express our concerns and send an open letter to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council to urge them to re-assess the new provisions dealing with mandatory filtering of user-generated content in the light of the CJEU case law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.In a more extended statement, we examine in details the text of both the explanatory memorandum and the Directive itself.Our conclusions are:1. A comprehensive re-assessment of Article 13 and Recital 39 in the light of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the E-commerce Directive (in particular Article 15) including CJEU case law is needed, as the proposed Copyright Directive does not expressly address the issue of its compatibility with both of these texts.2. Recital 38 does not clarify the domain and effect of Article 13. Rather, it creates confusion as it goes against settled CJEU case law (relating to Articles 14 and 15 of the E-commerce Directive and Article 3 of the Infosoc Directive). Recital 38 should therefore be deleted or substantially re-drafted/re-phrased. If the EU wants to introduce a change in this regard it should clearly justify its choice. In any case, a recital in the preamble to a directive is not an appropriate tool to achieve this effect.We hope that this exercise will prove useful for the debate that has now begun both in the European Parliament and in the Council.     

Canadian Police Mothers and the Boys’ Club: Pregnancy,Maternity Leave,and Returning to Work

This article explores police mothers’ perceptions of their workplace experiences during pregnancy and maternity leave and returning to work. Using Charmaz’s (2014 Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory. London, UK: Sage. [Google Scholar]) constructivist grounded theory with a critical feminist lens, qualitative interviews were conducted with 16 police mothers in the province of Ontario, Canada. Our analysis reveals that policewomen work inordinately hard to prove physical and emotional strength in an attempt to be accepted into policing’s boys’ club; encounter negative workplace responses to pregnancy; are often demoted or reassigned during maternity leave; and need to re-prove themselves as officers upon returning to work. Our research aims to enhance retention and foster changes that will best support police mothers, police organizations, and the communities they serve.     

Reducing recurrent care proceedings: initial evidence from new interventions

The English family justice system faces a crisis of recurrence. As many as one in four birth mothers involved in public law care proceedings in English family courts are likely to reappear in a subsequent set of proceedings within seven years. These mothers are involved in up to one-third of total care applications, as they are – by definition – linked to more than one child . Few birth mothers experiencing the removal of a child to care are offered any follow-up support, despite often facing multiple challenges including poverty, addiction, domestic violence and mental health problems. Since 2011, however, a number of new services have been established to begin to address their unmet needs. This article summarises the findings of the first academic-led evaluation of two of these initiatives. Presenting evidence from a mixed-methods evaluative study, it concludes that the new services were able to foster relationships that ‘worked’ in reducing recurrent proceedings. None of the women engaging with the services went on to experience what could be described as a ‘rapid repeat pregnancy’ within the evaluation window. Just as significantly, a number of clients reported some improvement in their psychological functioning, and the practitioners involved reported positively on their experience of delivering and managing innovative services. The article closes with a discussion of the challenges of evaluating personalised, strengths-based interventions and the possibilities of evidencing empowerment in these cases.