Introduction to special issue

As regards prognosis, none of these cases, however exhausted, are really hopeless whilst life exists: and, for the most part, the prognosis may be considered favourable. (Gull, 1873)Received M.D. Ph.D. from Albert-Ludwig University in Freiburg, Germany. Research Interests are depressive disorders, eating disorders, in particular anorexia nervosa, and more recently women's health.     

Correlation Versus Interchangeability: The Limited Robustness of Empirical Findings on Democracy Using Highly Correlated Data Sets

This article shows that highly correlated measures can producedifferent results. We identify a democratization model fromthe literature and test it in more than 120 countries from 1951to 1992. Then, we check whether the results are robust regardingmeasures of democracy, time periods, and levels of development.The findings show that measures do matter: Whereas some of thefindings are robust, most of them are not. This explains, inpart, why the debates on democracy have continued rather thanbeen resolved. More important, it underscores the need for morecareful use of measures and further testing to increase confidencein the findings. Scholars in comparative politics are drawnincreasingly to large-N statistical analyses, often using datasets collected by others. As in any field, we show how theymust be careful in choosing the most appropriate measures fortheir studies, without assuming that any correlated measurewill do.     

The incidence of overdissipation in rent-seeking contests

Tullock's analysis of rent seeking and overdissipation is reconsidered. We show that, while equilibrium strategies do not permit overdissipation in expectation, for particular realizations of players' mixed strategies the total amount spent competing for rents can exceed the value of the prize. We also show that the cross-sectional incidence of overdissipation in the perfectly discriminating contest ranges from 0.50 to 0.44 as the number of players increases from two to infinity. Thus, even though the original analysis of overdissipation is flawed, there are instances in which rent-seekers spend more than the prize is worth.     

Interwar Internationalism, the British Labour Party, and the Historiography of International Relations

This article questions two interrelated myths pertaining to the interwar internationalism of the British Labour Party and the theories of so-called idealists in the academic discipline of International Relations (IR). In IR, interwar "idealists" are (in)famous for a detached and utopian approach to international politics. Conventional historiographical verdicts on the international policy of the Labour Party in the interwar period suggest that the party was the practical mirror of this naïve international outlook. In fact, the two themes are connected, most notably through Labour's Advisory Committee on International Questions . This article brings the study of Labour's internationalism and the international theories of purported idealists together by focusing on debates on the League of Nations and the use of force. The analysis reveals that conventional historiographical narratives are inadequate and too simplistic for grasping the diversity of Labour's internationalism and interwar progressivist ideas about international politics in general.     

“Scientific independence”, capacity building,and the development of UNESCO’s science and technology agenda for Africa

Abstract

This article analyses the shifting rationales for scientific collaboration in the work of the United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the science sector in Africa from the late colonial period through to the era of capacity building. Focusing on the late colonial period and the post-independence decades of “national science” in Africa, it analyses UNESCO’s role in science policy, engineering training, and natural resources research. It demonstrates that in the era of national science UNESCO’s activities were couched in the language of independence: developing capacities in the sciences was regarded as the key to obtaining “scientific independence” to match the recently obtained political independence. This marked a significant change from the 1950s when UNESCO based its operations in Africa on collaborations with the European colonial powers. The article argues that the link between scientific independence and political self-determination gave way as UNESCO rebranded scientific capacity-building activities as efforts in the pursuit of an unclearly-defined common good.     

Complex Suicide by Self‐stabbing and Drowning: A Case Report and a Review of Literature

Sharp force injuries and drowning are methods exceptionally combined in complex suicides. We report a challenging case of complex suicide by self‐stabbing and drowning that illustrates the difficulty in discriminating between homicide and suicide in such circumstances of death. The corpse of a young man was found submerged in a river, stabbed nine times with two wounds that had penetrated the thorax and had caused lung injuries and a hemopneumothorax. The postmortem and histological examinations were consistent with a death caused by drowning, but the manner of death still remained undetermined. Police investigation finally concluded to a suicide, although no suicide note had been left and the victim had no underlying diagnosed mental disorder. The parameters that may help distinguish suicide from homicide at the autopsy should be interpreted in light of a thorough forensic investigation to determine the exact manner of death in such a case.     

An eight-year follow-up: Outcome from adolescent compared to adult onset anorexia nervosa

Seventy-five women were traced and reassessed on average eight years after the onset of anorexia nervosa. All patients received treatment and 88% were hospitalized at least once. Comparisons between early (11–15 years; N=35), late (16–18 years; N=24) adolescent and adult (19–27 years; N=14) onset revealed no significant differences in outcome for age at onset. For 70% of adolescent and 42% of adult onset patients the outcome was good, meaning that the weight was within ± 15% of norm with regular cyclical menstruation,17% and 21% had an intermediate, and 9% and 21%, respectively, had a poor outcome, 5.3% had died. Taken together, 59% had physically recovered and were free of any eating disorder. Severity of illness reflected in a low body mass index, excessive exercise, and poor psychosocial functioning at intake were poor prognostic indicators;length of illness and food restriction or bulimia as eating patterns were unrelated to outcome. The observation that all women with chronic anorexia nervosa, and even a third of those who had physically recovered from anorexia nervosa, qualified for one or more psychiatric diagnoses suggests that the psychosocial correlates of anorexia nervosa require further study.Supported by grant MH ROI35585-01A1.Received an M.D.-Ph.D. degree from Albert-Ludwig University in Freiburg, Germany. Research interests have been depressive disorders, eating disorders, in particular anorexia nervosa, and more recently women's health.Received M.D. degree from the University of Illinois in Chicago, Illinois. Research interest is in preventive medicine.