Germany's power and the weakening of states in a globalised world: deconstructing a paradox

It is somewhat ironical to ponder Germany's power at a time when radical changes due to globalisation vastly limit the efficiency of state actions worldwide. Certainly, Germany's resources increased with reunification – though the country also has to bear its costs. An enumeration of the – possible – resources of German power provides us, however, with little understanding of the nature of German power, embedded as the country is in a European system from which it derives its strength. Hence, only an analysis of this system fully renders the picture, contrary to what neo-realists and liberals might assume. While Germany did exercise a semi-hegemony over Western Europe in the monetary area up to EMU, the further integration of the EU has altered the European structure and diffused Germany's power. A particular configuration allowed Germany to devise one-sidedly the rules of EMU. This configuration does not exist in other issue-areas, such as, for example, defence and enlargement. This does not mean that power is absent from Germany's tool-box: political credit in particular is abundant. Yet in a larger Europe, where coalitions are more issue-oriented and hence more volatile than formerly, Germany's power will turn out to be more limited than its demands for recognition may lead us to believe.     

Amino acid alanine reactivity with the fingerprint reagent ninhydrin. A detailed ab initio computational study

Ninhydrin is one of the most widely used reagents for chemical development of fingerprints on porous surfaces. The detection is based on the reaction of ninhydrin with a monoacidic component of the fingerprint to form an intensively colored compound named Ruhemann's Purple. A computational study of the mechanisms and reaction energetics of the formation of Ruhemann's Purple from ninhydrin and alanine is presented. Such a study is significant from a forensic science point of view because of the strong interest in the forensic chemistry and law enforcement communities in developing alternatives to the current generation of ninhydrin like chemicals for the detection and development of latent fingerprints. Information about the mechanism of reaction between ninhydrin and amino acids can ultimately help to design compounds with stronger chromo-fluorogenic properties in aid of detecting fingerprints at crime scenes. The three most accepted mechanisms of formation have been considered using ab initio quantum mechanical calculations. At relatively high temperature ( approximately 100 degrees C) all three mechanisms are energetically feasible. However since it is recommended that forensic analyses be performed at room temperature, a revised mechanism is proposed for the formation of Ruhemann's Purple under this condition.     

On the Nature of Harms Reported by those Identifying a Problematic Drinker in the Family,an Exploratory Study

A national telephone survey on alcohol-related harms experienced by others consisted of 2,649 randomly selected adults and 415 (15 %) commented on the family member whose heavy drinking most negatively affected them. Relationships comprised close family (child, parent, sibling; 47 %), partner (22 %), extended family (e.g., aunt/uncle, cousin, grandparent; 19 %), and ex-partner (12 %). Common harms were being emotionally hurt and having a serious argument. An average of 3.4 harms was reported and multiple harms meant a higher likelihood of significant impact. Harms were classified into four domains which accounted for approximately 60 % of the explained variance: psychological (26.1 %), physical (11.4 %), social (10.9 %), and practical (9.6 %). Psychological and practical domains were associated with significant harm as were being female and sharing a home with the drinker. Perceived harms from a problematic drinking family member are broad ranging and have significant impact. Advice, information, and directions for family members dealing with a problematic drinker need development.     

Minimum lung function for breath alcohol testing using the Lion Alcolmeter SD-400.

The aim of this study was to determine the minimum lung function required by an individual to complete a breath alcohol test successfully using a Lion Alcolmeter SD-400. A total of 331 subjects routinely referred to a busy clinical respiratory function laboratory for assessment of their lung function were tested. A total of 52 (15.7%) of these subjects were unable to provide an adequate sample after two attempts. The majority of the group (86.5%) were female. There was considerable overlap of the minimum lung function parameters between those subjects who were unsuccessful at all attempts and those who were successful. The failure rate of the subjects using the Lion Alcolmeter SD-400 was approximately 50% of that found in a previous study of the Lion SD-2.     

Maturity in Adolescent and Young Adult Offenders: The Role of Cognitive Control

This study examined the role of cognitive control in explaining the psychosocial maturity of adolescent (n = 43) and young adult male (n = 40) offenders. We separated psychosocial maturity into prosocial and criminal components, which were statistically unrelated and were explained by different variables. Individuals with higher levels of prosocial maturity were older, had better proactive cognitive control, and had better short-term memory than those with lower levels of prosocial maturity. Individuals with higher levels of criminal maturity were older and had better reactive cognitive control than those with lower levels of criminal maturity. We discuss the implications of these findings with regard to juvenile justice policy and practice.     

John Treloar,Official War Art and the Australian War Memorial*

John Treloar's involvement in the Australian War Memorial began in 1917, and he was Director from 1920 until his death in 1952. The idea of a national war memorial serving also as a museum, gallery and library was not his: the credit for that goes to Charles Bean. But there would have been no museum, gallery or library without Treloar's organisational ability and collecting genius. Treloar was responsible at first for collecting a documentary record, but later as the vision expanded, he began to acquire many other kinds of material, including art. It was an unusual challenge for a soldier, public servant, and man who scrupulously distanced his emotions from his work. This article examines aspects of Australia's official and commissioned war art and teases out the relationship between the bureaucrat and the artist. I suggest that the administrative effort involved in the war art schemes has to be recognised as part of the process of cultural production, and that in these circumstances the life of the bureaucrat is as worthy of exploration as that of the artist.     

Youth-Guided Youth Engagement: Participatory Action Research (PAR) With High-Risk,Marginalized Youth

Engaging youth who live with high-risk, marginalized conditions presents a significant challenge in our society, considering the prevalence of disconnect and distrust they often experience within their social environments/systems. Yet, meaningful youth engagement is a key concept not only for youth development, but also for a systems change to more effectively support high-risk youth and families. This article presents a framework of youth engagement developed over 9 months, using participatory action research (PAR) with 16 youth leaders in a community-based research team. Although this framework has incorporated the youth leaders’ lived experiences, talents, and voices, positive youth development (PYD) and social justice youth development (SJYD) have theoretically contextualized our research. Youth leaders guided the framework's development, including the identification of key themes/dimensions, definitions, and practical examples. The framework's three components—“Basis” (philosophy and principles), “What” (goals/outcomes), and “How” (actions/processes/pathways to change)—are supported by nine themes described in this article.     

A Large-Scale Meta-Analysis Relating the Hare Measures of Psychopathy to Antisocial Conduct

The present meta-analysis integrated effect sizes from 95 non-overlapping studies (N=15,826) to summarize the relation between Hare Psychopathy Checklists and antisocial conduct. Whereas prior meta-analyses focused on specific subdomains of the literature, we used broad inclusion criteria, incorporating a diversity of samples, settings, methodologies, and outcomes in our analysis. Our broad perspective allowed us to identify general trends consistent across the entire literature and improved the power of our analyses. Results indicated that higher PCL Total, Factor 1 (F(1)), and Factor 2 (F(2)) scores were moderately associated with increased antisocial conduct. Study effect sizes were significantly moderated by the country in which the study was conducted, racial composition, gender composition, institutional setting, the type of information used to score psychopathy, and the independence of psychopathy and transgression assessments. However, multiple regression analyses indicated that the information used to assess psychopathy did not have a unique influence on effect sizes after accounting for the influence of other moderator variables. Furthermore, racial composition of the sample was related to the country in which the study was conducted, making it unclear whether one or both of these moderators influenced effect sizes. We provide potential explanations for the significant findings and discuss implications of the results for future research.