Suchergebnisse

New breeding techniques (NBTs) are gaining greater uptake in plant breeding programs around the world, due to their greater precision and potential to reduce varietal development times. As the first products of research begin to enter the commercial domain, some of their technical and conceptual overlaps with GM biotechnology have become the focus of international discussions concerning their regulatory status. This review provides an insight into the mechanisms of NBTs, how their products may/may not differ from existing plant products which themselves may/may not be subject to government regulation, and whether a case can be made for them to fall under/escape GMO regulatory oversight. What is especially obvious is that until there is certainty of their regulatory status in key territories and regions, innovation in plant breeding risks stagnation, and both costly delays in market rollouts and trade disruptions are likely due to incompatible and non-harmonious regulatory practices and policies. ; Esra Seyran and Wendy Craig (Biosafety Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICBEG), Italy) ; Includes bibliographical references

The development of a legal framework and the establishment of an administrative system are two fundamental elements when building a biosafety regulatory system. Further, the ability to process applications and make decisions concerning the various uses of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are good indicators of an operational biosafety regulatory system. This study provides an update of the progress made by Latin American and Caribbean countries in the establishment of their biosafety regulatory systems, and focuses especially on the regulation of four key types of GMO use (e.g., contained use, confined use, unconfined use, and importation of GMOs or their derived products for food, feed, or processing purposes). It demonstrates that nine countries have operational biosafety regulatory systems with experience in all four types. The majority of countries, however, have little experience regulating GMOs. In fact, our study highlights common capacity deficiencies of these countries, upon which future assistance can be targeted.

AbstractPeers are critical influencers of adolescent behavior, including defending against peer victimization. The current research explored peer influence processes associated with four different types of peer‐defending behaviors (comforting, reporting, solution‐focused, and aggressive defending behaviors) within early adolescent friendship networks. Links with peer victimization, friendship ties, and gender were also explored. Data were collected from 334 early adolescents ages 11–14 in Canada. Participants self‐reported on defending behaviors, victimization, and friendships over two time‐points, 8–10 weeks apart. Data were analyzed using Stochastic Actor‐Oriented Models (SAOMs). After controlling for friendship network structure and peer selection for defending behaviors, results indicated significant peer socialization effects for comforting, reporting, and solution‐focused defending. For solution‐focused defending only, the peer socialization effect was significantly stronger for girls than for boys. There were no significant selection effects across defending behaviors. In terms of social outcomes, youth with higher levels of reporting tended to have higher levels of peer victimization (and vice versa). Peer victimization was also positively associated with aggressive defending. Defending behaviors were generally unrelated to changes in friendship ties. Overall, these results highlight how friendships contribute to the development of peer‐defending behaviors and emphasize the need to examine defending as a multidimensional behavior.

This study examined dating‐stage and developmental‐contextual models of romantic relationships during early adolescence. Same‐gender friendships, affiliation with mixed‐gender groups, dating, and romantic relationships were investigated in a sample of 1,284 young adolescents of diverse ethnocultural backgrounds. Data were collected cross‐sectionally in Grades 5 through 8, as well as longitudinally in the fall and spring of an academic year. Consistent with a stage model, affiliation with mixed‐gender groups and dating were qualitatively distinct activities that were sequentially organized and facilitated the progression from same‐gender friendships to dyadic romantic relationships. The results also provide insights on how the developmental context may alter stage pathways: Dating activities were incorporated with mixed‐gender affiliations, group‐based romantic stages showed more stability than other stages, and the ethnocultural context influenced romantic timing. Finally, results indicated that participation in romantic activities heightened adolescents' future interest in having a romantic relationship.

In this study, 196 young adolescents who reported that they bullied their peers were identified out of a sample of 1,758 students in Grades 5 through 8. After selecting from the total sample a group of nonbullying youth who were matched on gender, school, and grade, a comparison was made of the groups' dating experiences, quality of friend and boyfriend or girlfriend relationships, and acts of physical and social aggression. The results indicated that bullies started dating earlier and engaged in more advanced dyadic dating than comparison adolescents. Bullies were highly relationship oriented, yet their views of their friends and boyfriends or girlfriends were less positive and less equitable than the comparison adolescents. Finally, bullies were more likely to report physical and social aggression with their boyfriends or girlfriends. Although the bullies reported more advanced pubertal development, this factor did not fully account for their dating precocity and negative romantic relationships. The results confirmed our hypotheses that adolescents whose peer relationships are characterized by bullying are at risk in their development of healthy romantic relationships.

This study examined peer intervention in bullying using naturalistic observations on school playgrounds. The sample comprised 58 children (37 boys and 21 girls) in Grades 1 to 6 who were observed to intervene in bullying. Peers were present during 88% of bullying episodes and intervened in 19%. In 47% of the episodes, peers intervened aggressively. Interventions directed toward the bully were more likely to be aggressive, whereas interventions directed toward the victim or the bully‐victim dyad were more likely to be nonaggressive. The majority (57%) of interventions were effective in stopping bullying. Boys were more likely to intervene when the bully and victim were male and girls when the bully and victim were female. The implications for anti‐bullying interventions are discussed.

The objectives of this project were to: (a) identify early trajectories of delinquency for both boys and girls at ages 8 (Grade 3), 11 (Grade 6), and 14 (Grade 9) in a longitudinal sample of 842 at-risk youth from a multi-informant perspective (i.e., parents, teachers, self-reported youth ratings), and (b) estimate the costs associated with each delinquency trajectory on utilization of resources in the criminal justice system, remedial education, health care and social services, and social assistance. The results indicated six distinct trajectories of delinquency: two low groups, two desisting groups, an escalator group, and a high delinquency group. There were significantly more females than males in the two<em> low delinquency</em> trajectory groups, <em>p </em>&lt; .05 for both analyses. Furthermore, both the youth from the two <em>desisters</em> trajectory groups (13% of the sample) and from the two most at-risk trajectories (<em>escalators</em> and <em>high delinquency</em>, 5% of the sample) each accounted for approximately 40% of the estimated costs to government. It is interesting to note that 80% of the estimated <em>Criminal Justice</em> costs were due to the <em>high delinquency</em> and <em>escalators</em> trajectory groups. Antisocial or delinquent girls cost society more money than antisocial or delinquent boys in all domains, with the exception of the <em>Social Assistance</em> domain<strong>. </strong>Implications for crime prevention are discussed.

Abstract This study examined the stability of belonging to a gang in early adolescence, the behaviour profiles, family characteristics, and friendships of nongang and gang members. The subjects in the present study were originally part of a larger sample of boys. One hundred and forty‐two boys who had a complete data set at ages 11, 12, 13, and 14 were selected for the present study. Loglinear analyses indicated that gang membership was stable from ages 13 to 14, but not at earlier ages. Boys were divided into three groups: stable gang members (children who belonged to a gang at ages 13 and 14); unstable gang members (children who belonged to a gang at either age 13 or 14) and nongang members. Repeated analyses of variance indicated that stable gang members had significantly higher scores than nongang members on teacher ratings of fighting behaviour, hyperactivity, inattention and oppositional behaviour, and self‐reported delinquent activities (drug and alcohol use, stealing and vandalism). Peers rated gang members as more aggressive than nongang members. The results are discussed from a developmental perspective.

Research suggests that victims of bullying may lack skills in emotional regulation, a process which facilitates coping with provocative situations to lessen the stress of negative emotions (Cicchetti, Ackerman, & Izard, 1995). The present study examined the emotional regulation and display patterns of victims during classroom bullying episodes. Children in grades one through six were observed during free play in the winter and spring of three consecutive school years. Results of the study indicated that the coping styles observed in victims of bullying can be grouped into two distinct clusters: 1) problem‐solving strategies that are associated with the de‐escalation and resolution of bullying episodes; and 2) aggressive strategies that tend to perpetuate and escalate the bullying interaction. Parallels were found between victims' and bullies' emotional displays. Results are discussed in the context of how maladaptive emotional regulation processes may act as risk factors for chronic victimization.

The present study aims to investigate the latent structure of a Physical Dating Aggression Scale in Italian and Canadian adolescents and to evaluate the measurement invariance across gender and country. Participants involved 1,628 adolescents (704 Italians and 924 Canadians; 800 males and 828 females) aged 14–16 years. A revised version of the CTS Physical Aggression Scale ( Straus, 1979 ) modified to make the items more acceptable to younger teens was used. Results from Single-Group confirmatory factor analysis supported a monodimensional structure as the most parsimonious index of Physical Dating Aggression. Furthermore, Multiple-Group analyses conducted through different tests (across gender in each country separately, across country in each gender separately, and across country on the whole sample) showed a substantial factorial invariance. Results are discussed in relation to age, gender, and cultural issues on Physical Dating Aggression.