Frauds and fakes in the Australian aboriginal art market

This article examines the topic of problematic art in the Australian Aboriginal art market. For Aboriginal people art plays an important social, economic and political role. It has also become a major source of income for many. Thus when the integrity of that art is challenged by allegations of fraud and deception it is imperative to explore the veracity of these claims and the responses made to them. In the article particular attention is devoted to those responses made through both the Australian criminal and civil systems of justice. This analysis shows that there are special problems associated with establishing the authenticity of Aboriginal works of art which tend to hamper the prosecution of fraud cases while a dearth of expertise and interest in art fraud at large among Australian law enforcement bodies is a further barrier to effective action. The conclusion is reached that at present the Australian legal system is poorly equipped to deal with frauds and fakes in the Indigenous art market—a situation which will take time and more imaginative solutions to remedy.     

Halogenated solvent interactions with N,N-dimethyltryptamine: formation of quaternary ammonium salts and their artificially induced rearrangements during analysis

The psychoactive properties of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) 1a are known to induce altered states of consciousness in humans. This particular attribute attracts great interest from a variety of scientific and also clandestine communities. Our recent research has confirmed that DMT reacts with dichloromethane (DCM), either as a result of work-up or storage to give a quaternary N-chloromethyl ammonium salt 2a. Furthermore, this was observed to undergo rearrangement during analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with products including 3-(2-chloroethyl)indole 3 and 2-methyltetrahydro-beta-carboline 4 (2-Me-THBC). This study further investigates this so far unexplored area of solvent interactions by the exposure of DMT to other halogenated solvents including dibromomethane and 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE). The N-bromomethyl- and N-chloroethyl quaternary ammonium derivatives were subsequently characterised by ion trap GC-MS in electron and chemical ionisation tandem MS mode and by NMR spectroscopy. The DCE-derived derivative formed at least six rearrangement products in the total ion chromatogram. Identification of mass spectrometry generated by-products was verified by conventional or microwave-accelerated synthesis. The use of deuterated DCM and deuterated DMT 1b provided insights into the mechanism of the rearrangements. The presence of potentially characteristic marker molecules may allow the identification of solvents used during the manufacture of controlled substances, which is often neglected since these are considered inert.     

Court compliance as a predictor of postadjudication recidivism for domestic violence offenders

This study evaluated pre- and postadjudication behavior of 220 male defendants convicted of a domestic violence-related offense using court records and police department data. Our goal was the identification of possible predictors for continued criminal behavior that could pose a risk of further harm to victims. Factors identified as significant predictors of defendant recidivism were having two or more court reports of noncompliance with domestic violence treatment, two or more warrants issued by the court for noncompliance, and two or more reports to law enforcement of new criminal activity involving the defendant. Law enforcement reports were the strongest predictor of recidivism, with an odds ratio of 7.7 and confidence interval of 3.0-19.7. These results illustrate the importance of monitoring multiple dimensions of defendant behavior while under court supervision and of communicating information on noncompliance with victims and advocates to assist in safety planning efforts.     

Maize diversity,poverty, and market access: lessons from Mexico

Crop genetic diversity and poverty are linked: first, resource-poor farmers often maintain genetic diversity; and second, crop diversity, when properly valued by the market, has the potential to alleviate poverty. This article examines this supposition by drawing on three case studies of the intersection of the market with poverty and maize diversity in Mexico. These suggest that the bulk market for maize offers little room for maize landraces (local maize varieties known as criollo maize), in that it does not reward qualitative variation in maize grain and instead presents incentives that make planting ‘improved’ maize germplasm the rational economic choice for small-scale farmers. Meanwhile, attempts to add value to maize landraces via market differentiation have had varying success. Although there is potential for differentiated markets to contribute to successful business models and poverty alleviation, these cases exhibit trade-offs between product consistency, investment of labour and resources, and genetic-diversity conservation.     

Evaluation of a Teen Dating Violence Prevention Intervention among Urban Middle-School Youth Using Youth Participatory Action Research: Lessons Learned from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Start Strong Boston</Emphasis>

Almost half of adolescents aged 11 to 14 have dated and between 10 and 30% report experiencing Teen Dating Violence (TDV). However, there are no evidence-based TDV prevention interventions designed for afterschool, community-based settings with middle-school youth, in high-risk neighborhoods. Start Strong Boston (SSB) is a model that fills all three gaps, founded on partnerships between the Boston Public Health Commission, community afterschool sites, academic experts and evaluators, and youth. Here, we describe the SSB program and discuss how this collaboration built upon successes of this peer-engaged intervention, by developing and implementing a youth participatory action research (YPAR) evaluation study of SSB. Use of the YPAR framework tested the feasibility of employing Peer Researchers in an interdisciplinary evaluation team. We describe how through participation in evaluation research, Peer Researchers improve professional and leadership skills while informing measurement and conceptualization of a program affecting their own neighborhoods. Lessons learned are presented.