Analysing the relationship between immigrant status and the severity of offending behaviour in terms of individual and contextual factors

Background: Social inclusion is a context for both risk and protective factors of migrant youth delinquency. This study aims to shed light on the issue by comparing delinquency amongst native, first-generation, and second-generation immigrant youths in Portugal, a country located in the south of Europe, an area where research in this field is still scarce. Methods: The research is based on the International Self-Reported Delinquency (ISRD-3) dataset, which includes information on over 4,000 adolescents, who self-reported on their socio-demographic status, leisure activities, school and neighbourhood environment, family bonds, and self-control. Results: Nested Logistic Regression analyses showed that a young first-generation immigrant is twice as likely to commit a crime, with or without violence, as a young native born in Portugal. However, no differences were found regarding the prevalence of delinquency amongst second-generation immigrants and natives, which is likely due to the integration and cultural assimilation of the immigrant over time. Regarding the analysed risk factors, it was found that both structural and individual factors, identified by the theories of control, stress, as well as situational action theory, have a direct effect on the commission of juvenile crimes (both non-violent and violent). Moreover, this effect is significant in adolescents living in Portugal in general, both immigrants and natives. The most influential variable for both types of delinquent behaviour, with and without violence, is peer delinquency, followed by low morality and self-control. Conclusion: These findings have relevant policy implications and are useful for evidence-based interventions aimed at promoting migrant adolescent well-being and targeting host countries’ performance.This work was supported by the Research Centre in Political Science (UID/CPO/00758/2013), University of Minho, supported by the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology), and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds, and by the Research Centre on Child Studies (CIEC) financially supported by Portuguese national funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) within the framework of the CIEC projects under the references UIDB/00317/2020 and UIDP/00317/2020

Juvenile Justice in Portugal: How are self-report studies measuring up to official delinquency estimates

This paper empirically discusses the evolution and status of the self-report method in assessing delinquent behavior in Portugal. This paper addresses the methodological criticisms of self-report research and the question of the consistency between self-reported data and official estimates of delinquent behavior in the context of a particular national setting. We review the specific methodological criticisms of self-report delinquency research and the validity and reliability of self-report measures. Using a particular national setting and data from samples of youngsters, we seek to review and compare findings of previous self-report research in Portugal with official data. Have self-report measures been reflective of delinquent involvement? How have any discrepancies between to the two types of delinquency data evolved? The frequency and seriousness of self-reported delinquent behavior are analyzed for differences among several socio-demographic and socio-economic over time. These data are then compared with data on self-reported police contacts and with data found in police and court records.CIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho (FCT R&D unit 317), Portugal; National Funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) and co-financed by European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) through the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program (POCI) with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

GRB 060121: Implications of a Short/Intermediate Duration Gamma-Ray Burst at High Redshift

Since the discovery of the first short-hard gamma-ray burst afterglows in 2005, the handful of observed events have been found to be embedded in nearby (z < 1), bright underlying galaxies. We present multiwavelength observations of the short-duration burst GRB 060121, which is the first observed to clearly outshine its host galaxy (by a factor >10^2). A photometric redshift for this event places the progenitor at a most probable redshift of z = 4.6, with a less probable scenario of z = 1.7. In either case, GRB 060121 could be the farthermost short-duration GRB detected to date and implies an isotropic-equivalent energy release in gamma-rays comparable to that seen in long-duration bursts. We discuss the implications of the released energy on the nature of the progenitor. These results suggest that GRB 060121 may belong to a family of energetic short-duration events, lying at z > 1 and whose optical afterglows would outshine their host galaxies, unlike the first short-duration GRBs observed in 2005. The possibility of GRB 060121 being an intermediate duration burst is also discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to ApJ

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative sars-cov-2 infection: An international cohort study

Background The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (740%) had emergency surgery and 280 (248%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (261%) patients. 30-day mortality was 238% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (512%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 380% (219 of 577), accounting for 817% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 175 [95% CI 128-240], p&lt;00001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (230 [165-322], p&lt;00001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3-5 versus grades 1-2 (235 [157-353], p&lt;00001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (155 [101-239], p=0046), emergency versus elective surgery (167 [106-263], p=0026), and major versus minor surgery (152 [101-231], p=0047). Interpretation Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Fostering English-taught higher education programs in a Spanish university: the "TechEnglish" innovative project

In recent years, coinciding with adjustments to the Bologna process, many European universities have attempted to improve their international profile by increasing course offerings in English. According to the Institute of International Education (IIE), Spain has notably increased its English-taught higher education programs, ranking fifth in the list of European countries by number of English-taught Master's programs in 2013. This article presents the goals and preliminary results of an on-going innovative education project (TechEnglish) that aims to promote course offerings in English at the Technical University of Madrid (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM). The UPM is the oldest and largest of all Technical Universities in Spain. It offers graduate and postgraduate programs that cover all the engineering disciplines as well as architecture. Currently, the UPM has no specific bilingual/multilingual program to promote teaching in English, although there is an Educational Model Whitepaper (with a focus on undergraduate degrees) that promotes the development of activities like an International Semester or a unique shared curriculum. The TechEnglish project is an attempt to foster courses taught in English at 7 UPM Technical Schools, including students and 80 faculty members. Four tasks were identified: (1) to design a university wide framework to increase course offerings, (2) to identify administrative difficulties, (3) to increase visibility of courses offered, and (4) to disseminate the results of the project. First, to design a program we analyzed existing programs at other Spanish universities, and other projects and efforts already under way at the UPM. A total of 13 plans were analyzed and classified according to their relation with students (learning), professors (teaching), administration, course offerings, other actors/institutions within the university (e.g., language departments), funds and projects, dissemination activities, mobility plans and quality control. Second, to begin to identify administrative and organizational difficulties in the implementation of teaching in English, we first estimated the current and potential course offerings at the undergraduate level at the UPM using a survey (student, teacher and administrative demand, level of English and willingness to work in English). Third, to make the course offerings more attractive for both Spanish and international students we examined the way the most prestigious universities in Spain and in Europe try to improve the visibility of their academic offerings in English. Finally, to disseminate the results of the project we created a web page and a workspace on the Moodle education platform and prepared conferences and workshops within the UPM. Preliminary results show that increasing course offerings in English is an important step to promote the internationalization of the University. The main difficulties identified at the UPM were related to how to acknowledge/certify the departments, teachers or students involved in English courses, how students should register for the courses, how departments should split and schedule the courses (Spanish and English), and the lack of qualified personnel. A concerted effort could be made to increase the visibility of English-taught programs offered on-line

¿Son los jóvenes de origen migrante más propensos a la delincuencia que los jóvenes portugueses? Una aproximación dinámica con datos del ISRD-3 en Portugal

Las diferencias en la implicación delictiva entre jóvenes de origen migrante y jóvenes nativos en el contexto urbano ha sido uno de los principales temas de estudio en criminología durante las últimas décadas. El interés se debe al hecho de que los inmigrantes están sobrerrepresentados en las estadísticas penitenciarias de muchos países europeos. En este estudio, utilizamos los elementos clave identificados en la llamada Teoría de la Acción Situacional (SAT) para determinar qué factores influyen de manera diferente en la propensión al delito de jóvenes de origen inmigrante en compara ción con jóvenes nativos en Portugal. A través de los datos del estudio internacional sobre delincuencia juvenil (ISRD-3), que incluyó 4043 adolescentes de 12 a 18 años, se evaluaron los datos obtenidos a través de muestras escolares. Los resultados mues tran, según un análisis de regresión logística multinomial, que factores como la delincuencia del grupo de amigos y la moralidad están significativamente relacionadas con el proceso de elección delictiva. Los resultados sugieren una falta de precisión a la hora de discriminar un patrón delictivo específico entre inmigrantes de segunda generación. Se discutirán las implicaciones para los instrumentos de medición y las políticas públicas europeas en el ámbito de la inmigración.Differences in crime involvement between young people of immigrant origin and native young people in a European urban context has been one of the major topics of study in criminology during recent decades. This interest stems from the fact that immigrants are over-represented in the crime statistics of many European countries. In this study, we use the Situational Action Theory (SAT) to determine which factors differentially influence crime propensity in young migrants living in Portugal compared to native youth. A dynamic perspective of youth crime could help us to better understand the key elements of second-generation crime propensity. Using the Portuguese International Self-Reported Delinquency study (ISRD-3) dataset, which included 4043 adolescents aged 12-18, we evaluated the data from school samples. Our results show that peer delinquency and morality are significantly related to the choice process for committing a crime. The results suggest a lack of differential factors in crime propensity among second generation, which could be a starting point for examining self-reported instruments and integration policies in Europe