The Evolution of the Centre-right and the State of Scottish Conservatism

This article considers the decline of Scottish Conservatism, 1951–97. The statistical data indicate that 91 percent of the variance in Tory support is accounted for by an underlying negative trend against time, that similar patterns appear when the data is disaggregated by region, and that short-term fluctuations have been more in conformity with English results than is conventionally understood. The process of generational change is seen as a waning of the cultural conditions which produced the centre-right coalition that dominated Scottish politics, 1931–64, and its fragmentation into Conservatism, Liberalism, and Scottish Nationalism. The changed circumstances are not seen as peculiarly Scottish, but the consequences for Scottish Conservatism of an evolution affecting the centre-right across the United Kingdom.     

Suicide Risk in Emerging Adulthood: Associations with Screen Time over 10 years

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Suicide rates have increased over the past decade, and screen media (and social media in particular) are often blamed for this marked increase. However, there is...     

Farm size ‐ farm productivity re‐examined: Evidence from rural Egypt

A major component of the economic rationale for redistributive land reform is the empirically observed inverse relation between farm size and farm productivity. A major policy implication of this statistical relationship, frequently suggested, is for a small farm bias in agricultural development strategy. This article examines the hypothesis that while the above inverse relation may hold in the static context of a relatively backward agriculture, it breaks down with advancing levels of technological innovation, and to show, using primary data from village surveys, that this latter process has indeed been taking place in the context of rural Egypt. The article points out some of the conceptual and methodological confusion of earlier studies.     

Visual attention and expertise for forensic signature analysis

Eye tracking was used to measure visual attention of nine forensic document examiners (FDEs) and 12 control subjects on a blind signature comparison trial. Subjects evaluated 32 questioned signatures (16 genuine, eight disguised, and eight forged) which were compared, on screen, with four known signatures of the specimen provider while their eye movements, response times, and opinions were recorded. FDEs' opinions were significantly more accurate than controls, providing further evidence of FDE expertise. Both control and FDE subjects looked at signature features in a very similar way and the difference in the accuracy of their opinions can be accounted for by different cognitive processing of the visual information that they extract from the images. In a separate experiment the FDEs re-examined a reordered set of the same 32 questioned signatures. In this phase each signature was presented for only 100 msec to test if eye movements are relevant in forming opinions; performance significantly dropped, but not to chance levels indicating that the examination process comprises a combination of both global and local feature extraction strategies.     

AN ASBESTOS HAZARD INDEX FOR MANAGING FRIABLE ASBESTOS INSULATING MATERIAL1

This paper describes the development of an index to evaluate the potential hazard associated with the presence of asbestos in friable insulating material in a building and to recommend the appropriate action to take based on this assessment. The hazard index is determined by the number of persons exposed to asbestos fibers and by the level of their exposure. The level of the exposure is estimated from subjective assessments of several characteristics of the facility and its operations. The logic of this approach and several illustrations of its use are provided.     

Triple jeopardy for HIV: substance using Severely Mentally Ill Adults

Severely Mentally Ill (SMI) adults have disproportionately high HIV seroprevalence rates. Abuse of alcohol and other substances (AOD) and lifetime exposure to trauma by others are particularly potent risk factors, which, in combination with psychiatric disabilities, create triple jeopardy for HIV infection. This study examined the predictive utility of demographic characteristics; history of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; extent of drug and alcohol abuse; knowledge about HIV/AIDS; sexual self-efficacy; and condom attitudes toward explaining the variance in a composite of HIV high-risk behavior among 188 SMI women and 158 SMI men. History of sexual abuse, engaging in sexual activities while high on substances, and lower cannabis use were the most significant predictors of HIV sexual risk behaviors. Given the triple jeopardy for HIV risk in this population, a triple barreled approach that simultaneously addresses multiple health risks within an integrated treatment setting is warranted.     

The Millon Clinical Inventories,Research Critical of Their Forensic Application,and Daubert Criteria

Law and Human Behavior -