Self-Rated Pubertal Development,Depressive Symptoms and Delinquency: Measurement Issues and Moderation by Gender and Maltreatment

This cross-sectional study examined relationships between pubertal development, depressive symptoms and delinquency in a sample of 241 males and 213 females aged 9–13 years. Four objectives were set forth for this study: (1) to examine relationships between pubertal stage or timing and depressive symptoms and delinquency; (2) to compare continuous and categorical measures of pubertal timing; (3) to examine gender as a moderator of these relationships, and (4) to examine maltreatment as a moderator of these relationships. Results indicated that mature pubertal stage and early (continuous) pubertal timing were both related to higher delinquency whereas only early pubertal timing was related to depressive symptoms. Categorical timing was not related to depressive symptoms or delinquency. Neither gender nor maltreatment were found to be moderators. These findings provide evidence against equating pubertal stage, continuous timing, and categorical timing, and highlight the need to identify possible moderators in research on pubertal development.

When Initial Interviews Are Delayed a Year: Effect on Children's 2-Year Recall

Three- to nine-year-old children were interviewed about a medical emergency (injury requiring hospital ER treatment) two years after it occurred. Half of the number of children had been interviewed shortly after injury as well as 6 and 12 months later, while the remaining children had had only one prior interview a year after injury. There was remarkably little long-term deterioration in memory by both groups. Having a delayed initial interview had two effects, and both were relevant only to the harder-to-remember hospital treatment event: (a) The late-interview group was less accurate, and (b) early-interview children had more extensive free recall, suggesting that multiple prior interviews teach children the “rules of the memory game' when they are asked open-ended questions. Forensic implications are discussed.     

大鼠脑挫伤后FN表达与损伤时程关系的研究

为寻找推断脑损伤经历时间的可靠指标,采用自制自由落体撞击法致大鼠右顶叶局灶性脑挫伤模型,于不同时间段处死大鼠后,进行纤维连接蛋白的免疫组织化学及原位杂交法研究,结果发现纤维连接蛋白及其 mRNA表达水平与伤后经历时间有一定相关性,并能较好地鉴别死前脑挫伤和死后脑挫伤,可作为推断脑挫伤经历时间的参考指标之一。     

Determination of average vehicle speed utilizing reverse projection

Reverse projection photogrammetry has long been used to estimate the height of an individual in forensic video examinations. A natural extrapolation would be to apply the same technique on a video to estimate the speed of an object by determining the distance traveled between two points over a set amount of time. To test this theory, five digital video recorders (DVRs) were connected to a single fixed camera to record a vehicle traveling down a track. The vehicle's speed was measured through Doppler radar by a trained operator and the speedometer of the vehicle was also recorded with a video camera. The recorded video was examined and the frames that best depict the beginning and end of the vehicles course were selected. Two reverse projection photogrammetric examinations were performed on the selected frames to establish the position of the vehicle. The distance between the two points was measured, and the time elapsed between the two points was examined. The outcome provided an accurate speed result with a standard degree of uncertainty. This study proves the feasibility of using video data and reverse projection photogrammetry to determine the speed of a vehicle with a limited set of variables. Further research is needed to determine how additional variables would impact the standard degree of uncertainty.     

Do homicide rates increase during weekends and national holidays?

In the UK there has been limited research examining temporal patterns of homicide. To our knowledge, no studies have linked patterns of homicide to the mental health characteristics of the perpetrator. The study examined a national consecutive case series of homicide offences committed between January 1996 and December 2015 in England. Clinical data were collected by the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH). During this period 10,563 people committed a homicide. The offences were more likely to occur at the weekend, mostly on a Saturday. Weekend homicides were associated with: perpetrators under the age of 25, males and alcohol consumption. Homicides increased markedly on New Year’s Day, and public holidays. Those with a history of mental illness more commonly committed homicide during weekdays, suggesting a different pattern of offending. No change in pattern was found after licensing hours were extended in 2005 to allow 24-h licencing for the sale of alcohol. A public health approach should focus on educating young people on the health risks associated with alcohol, promoting responsible drinking and conflict avoidance, specifically on special events and at weekends.     

刑事诉讼法中及时性原则刍议

及时性原则作为联合国刑事司法准则之一,已成为各国指导诉讼效率和期间的基本准则,我国先后两次修订《刑事诉讼法》对及时性原则均有所体现,但未予以实质性加强,一些问题仍亟待解决。     

Dépendance et luttes politiques au Kenya, 1975–1977: Ia bourgeoisie nationale à l'assaut du pouvoir d'État

Rural West Africans confront a challenging array of circumstances in pursuit of their livelihoods, which are negotiated through repertoires of knowledge, skill, wisdom and information that are held individually, communally or as the prerogative of experts. Of some significance is timing: finding the most effective or propitious moment for action. On the farm, anticipating the beginning and progress of the rains is crucial and sought through the empirical observation of natural phenomena, or as in northwest Nigeria additionally through agricultural star calendars and almanacs by Muslim clerics. Furthermore, some clerics use divination to identify propitious moments for their clients whereby they may achieve success in non-farm jobs and businesses that are an integral part of rural livelihoods. Taking action to achieve particular outcomes on and off the farm raises issues about local people's understanding of the physical world and their place within it, and the power of religion and the supernatural. An appreciation of such matters would appear to be crucial for those from the scientific and technological North who may be attempting to transform African societies.     

Coattails and spillover-effects: Quasi-experimental evidence from concurrent executive and legislative elections

Concurrent elections are widely used to increase turnout. We theorize and show empirically how concurrency affects electoral outcomes. First, concurrency increases turnout and thereby the participation of peripheral voters. Second, in combined elections, one electoral arena affects the other. In our case of majoritarian executive elections concurrent to proportional representation (PR) legislative elections, the centripetal tendency of majoritarian elections colors off to the concurrent PR race. Third, concurrency also entails spillovers of the incumbency advantage of executive officeholders to the concurrent legislative race. Drawing on quasi-random variation in local election timing in Germany, we show that concurrency increases turnout as well as council votes for the incumbent mayor's party and centrist parties more generally, with slightly more pronounced gains for the political left. As a consequence, concurrent elections consolidate party systems and political power by leading to less fragmented municipal councils and more unified local governments.     

The election timing advantage: Empirical fact or fiction?

Do non-fixed election dates in Westminster parliamentary democracies create an unfair incumbent advantage? The consensus in the literature is that the incumbent party can gain an advantage at the ballot box by controlling election timing (Bakvis, 2001; Docherty, 2010; Smith, 2004; White, 2005; Wolinetz, 2005). Surprisingly, however, there is a lack of empirical evidence to support this claim. We address this lacuna by providing an empirical test of whether the election-timing power matters for incumbent vote support. We do so by employing an innovative web-based voting experiment. Our findings show that the government does gain an advantage by timing an election when it is to their advantage, but the context is limited to conditions where the election follows immediately after a heightened level of positive government coverage.     

浅析公益诉讼中的检察权介入

检察权介入公益诉讼在我国立法上尚无明文规定,检察机关作为公益诉讼中的原告主体资格受到质疑。作为宪法"钦定"的法律监督机关,检察权对公益诉讼案件的介入实有必要亦具备现实可能性。立法应确立检察权介入公益诉讼的机制,明确并着手规范检察权介入公益诉讼的时机和方式。