Method of Mathematical Modeling for the Experimental Evaluation of Flame-Retardant Materials' Parameters.

Mathematical and experimental research plays an active role in fire protection investigation. The choice of optimal conditions for the experimental program is the main methodological part of this research. The peculiarities of new fire-protective compositions were investigated. Many experiments in this work are aimed at the investigation of the physical and chemical properties of the materials.

When Bigger Is Better: Household Size, Abuse Injuries, Neglect, and Family Response in Novosibirsk, Russia.

Although previous research has demonstrated larger households to be at higher risk of physical abuse and neglect of children, we argue that unilateral conceptualization of larger households as a risk factor is inappropriate. Application of resource dilution theory must capture the possibility that larger families may have more members with both the agency and will to intervene against child maltreatment. We hypothesized a negative interaction between household size and protective informal social control by family members in predicting abuse injuries and neglect. A three-stage probability proportional to size cluster sample representative of Novosibirsk, Russia, was collected from 306 cohabiting couples. One parent in each household was interviewed. A focal child was selected using most recent birthday. When responses limited to families with minor children (below age 18) were selected, 172 families remained in the data. Physical abuse and neglect were measured using the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS). Protective informal social control by family members was measured using the Informal Social Control of Child Maltreatment (ISC_CM) Scale. Models were tested using random effects regression and logistic regression. Nearly 7% of focal children were injured in the last year, 10% were neglected. Consistent with previous research, protective informal social control was associated with lower odds of injury and fewer instances of neglect. The significant negative interaction between household size and protective control is consistent with the idea that larger households may be protective when adult family members intervene against maltreatment to protect children. Replication and further investigation of protective ISC_CM in Western populations is much needed. Future research should not conceptualize or measure household size as a unilateral risk factor.

Protective Informal Social Control of Child Maltreatment and Child Abuse Injury in Seoul.

Previous findings on the relationship between neighborhood informal social control and child abuse have been mixed. We implemented a scale created by Emery, Trung, and Wu to study protective informal social control of child maltreatment (ISC_CM) by neighbors in a three-stage random cluster sample of 541 families in Seoul, South Korea. Random-effects regression models found that protective ISC_CM significantly moderated the relationship between very severe abuse and child injuries. Very severe abuse was associated with fewer injuries when levels of protective ISC_CM were higher. Implications are discussed.