This volume contains contemporary and cutting-edge research on religion and crime, which includes data-driven (quantitative and qualitative), conceptual, review, and policy-oriented papers.
Introduction: The introduction of cardiac troponin (cTn) assays have revolutionized the diagnosis and management of acute myocardial infarction in Emergency Departments worldwide. Its success has led ...to significant research and development investment in this area culminating in the development of newer high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays (hs-cTn). While these newer assays allow for more rapid diagnosis by decreasing the time interval between serial data points, there is an inevitable trade off between increasing sensitivity and specificity. This review examines in detail the introduction and implementation of hs-cTN and its implications for clinical practice.
Areas covered: This article reviews the history and development of high-sensitivity troponin assays and their application to clinical practice and current evidence base. It also discusses both the positive and negative aspects of the continuing increasing sensitivity of biochemical assays and the translation of this into clinical practice. Potential future developments are also discussed.
Expert commentary: It is clear that there are many benefits to detecting extremely low concentration of cardiac troponin including the development of rapid rule out algorithms and the cost and time-saving advantages associated with the quicker movement of patients through the health-care system. It is important to note however that detecting troponin at very low concentrations also dramatically increases the false-positive rates and leads to a potentially large increase in invasive testing and diagnosis of myocardial infarction.
Although the past decade has witnessed increased usage of ecological data to map the community-level effects of religion, the vast majority of studies in this body of scholarship continue to be ...plagued by two key shortcomings. First, ecological research on religion is often conducted in an atheoretical manner, one that privileges the structural character of religion while failing to demonstrate sensitivity to the substance of collectively held religious beliefs and values. Second, ecological scholarship often employs crude methodological techniques that overlook noteworthy distinctions within large religious collectivities (e.g., variants of conservative Protestantism, Catholicism and Judaism). This study charts new theoretical and methodological directions in the use of ecological data by exploring the complex linkages between religious ecology and mortality in the United States. We hypothesize that the other-worldly theology and individualistic orientation found in conservative Protestantism dampens this faith tradition's commitment to population health, thereby leading to demonstrably different outcomes in mortality by denominational families. Also, drawing on previous work that criticizes the "monolithic bloc" depiction of conservative Protestantism, we hypothesize that important distinctions in mortality will be found when sub-groups of conservative Protestants (evangelicals, Pentecostals and fundamentalists) are compared because each of these factions exhibits distinct degrees of other-worldliness. Using restricted county-level data from the National Center for Health Statistics and 2000 Churches and Church Congregations data, we observe noteworthy religious differences in mortality, thereby underscoring a need for the development of more sophisticated theoretical and methodological approaches to the ecological study of religion. Ecological researchers are encouraged to take seriously the content of collectively held religious beliefs and exhibit sensitivity toward the distinctive worldviews that hold sway within particular faith traditions.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, DOBA, INZLJ, IZUM, KILJ, NMLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, PRFLJ, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, ZRSKP
Utilizing data from 326 cases of alleged child sexual abuse that occurred at or through activities provided by Protestant Christian congregations, this study examines demographic and contextual ...characteristics of alleged child sexual abuse that took place within the most prevalent religious environment in the United States. Research questions are addressed in this study. First, what type of child sexual abuse most commonly occurs at or through activities provided by Protestant Christian congregations? Second, where do such offenses physically take place? Third, who are the offenders and what role(s) do they assume in the congregations? We find that the overwhelming majority of offenses were contact offenses that occurred on church premises or at the offender’s home, and that most offenders were white male pastors or youth ministers who were approximately 40 years in age. We conclude with policy implications and recommendations for future research.
Gottfredson and Hirschi's (
1990
) treatise on low self-control has been the subject of much debate and empirical testing. Although the theory was developed as an explanation for criminal offending, ...researchers have examined recently whether low self-control may increase the risk of criminal victimization. This study contributes to the literature by (1) simultaneously assessing the effects of low self-control on offending and victimization, (2) focusing on psychological and physical intimate partner abuse in the family context, and (3) using a cross-cultural dataset. We utilize Tobit regression to test the impact of low self-control on intimate partner aggression and victimization in a sample of 794 married females residing in Bangkok, Thailand. Results provide a more thorough understanding of self-control theory and intimate partner abuse in a cross-cultural context.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, NUK, PILJ, PRFLJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Religion in the United States remains a consistent source of conflict not only because of the breadth and depth of personal religious commitment, but also because of guarantees from the United States ...Constitution. The First Amendment protects religious Free Exercise but also constrains federal, state, and local governments from establishing official government religions, endorsing religions or religion itself. Despite the risk of potential conflicts with the constitution’s text, Congress has supported laws that expand religious liberty. One such example is the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (2000), which significantly enhanced prisoners’ right to religious exercise above the minimum provided by the First Amendment. In the 2015 case of Holt v. Hobbs, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Muslim prisoner who had been denied his request for religious accommodations under RLUIPA because the prison failed to satisfy the act’s strict scrutiny standard before it denied accommodations to a prisoner to practice his faith. Via an analysis of case law since Holt v. Hobbs was decided in January 2015 until March 2018, we investigate the extent to which Holt has affected judicial voting in RLUIPA cases and how such voting may have been influenced by judges’ ideological dispositions.
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.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, NUK, PILJ, PRFLJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The study of religion as an academic discipline is a rather recent development in colleges anduniversities in the United States and abroad. Although French sociologist Émile Durkheim wrote ...extensively about the role of religion in public life in the early 1900s, it was not until the 1960s that researchers from social science backgrounds, predominately sociology, began the formal, empirical study of religion as a social force that may impact a wide range of individual and societal outcomes. This special issue of Religions brings together scholars from around the world who use diverse methodologies to study the impact of religion on a broad range of outcomes. The issue thus provides a unique snapshot of current work being done in the sociology of religion. In these 18 articles, readers will find a great mix of data-driven studies (both quantitative and qualitative) and conceptual/review papers. The articles also reflect a diversity of authors, locations, topics, and faith traditions. I am pleased that many of the papers include undergraduate and graduate students as co-authors. These collaborations are important for maintaining the continuity of high-quality research over time.
PDF
