Effect of Victimization on Impulse Control and Binge Drinking among Serious Juvenile Offenders from Adolescence to Young Adulthood

A vast literature has found longitudinal effects of early life stress on substance use and self-regulatory processes. These associations may vary by period-specific development among youth involved in the juvenile justice system. The current study used an accelerated longitudinal design and auto-regressive latent trajectory with structure residuals (ALT-SR) model to examine the within-person cross-lagged associations between binge drinking, impulse control, and victimization from 15 to 25 years of age. A large sample (N?=?1100) of justice-involved youth were followed longitudinally for 7 years (M _{age baseline} ?=?15.8, M _{age conclusion} ?=?22.8). In general, the sample was ethnically diverse (41% Black, 34% Hispanic, 21% White, 4.3% Other) and primarily male (87.2%). Participants reported on their frequency of binge drinking, impulse control, and frequency of victimization at each time point. The results indicated that, during adolescence, victimization and binge drinking attenuated impulse control, which resulted in more binge drinking and victimization during young adulthood. The current study highlights the importance of assessing developmental processes and period-specific transitions among at risk youth, especially for youth experiencing early life stress.     

Globale Besteuerung und Demokratische Legitimität

The democratic state has been offering the conditions for legitimately levying taxes. Tax revenues have been securing the sovereign’s ability to act, policy aims pursued through taxation have been the outcome of a democratic process and the coercion backed institutions levying taxes have enjoyed the status of democratic legitimacy. But a twofold dynamic challenges this status quo. States are under pressure to address problems to which global taxation offers the most promising response. And phenomena like capital mobility impose constraints on the state’s ability to effectively use the policy instrument of taxation. Under what institutional arrangements could taxation be maintained as a justifiable instrument? And what should future institutional arrangements of public finance look like?     

Bürger und Demokratie im vereinigten Deutschland

Since the early 1990s, the future development of the political culture of unified Germany was a matter of debate. According to some scholars, a fit between political structure and political culture is a necessary condition of a well performing and stable democracy. At the same time it was doubted, whether such a configuration would develop in Germany in the near future. Generalized support of a democratic regime and of the particular type of democracy institutionalized in the nation under observation are regarded as particularly relevant elements of a democratic political culture. Regarding the distribution and development of these attitudes, there are no indications of an increasing congruence between political structure and political culture in unified Germany. In the Eastern part of the country, the democratic regime in general, but even more the German variant of democracy is facing considerable scepticism. The particularly strong scepticism of the East Germans towards the form of democracy institutionalized in Germany particularly rooted in a distant attitude to democracy as a type of political regime. Other relevant factors are dissatisfaction with the performance of democracy in Germany, a negative view of the responsiveness of political leaders, a persisting support of socialism and a negative perception of the prevailing economic conditions.     

Virtopsy: postmortem minimally invasive angiography using cross section techniques--implementation and preliminary results

Postmortem investigation is increasingly supported by Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This led to the idea to implement a noninvasive or minimally invasive autopsy technique. Therefore, a minimally invasive angiography technique becomes necessary, in order to support the vascular cross section diagnostic. Preliminary experiments investigating different contrast agents for CT and MRI and their postmortem applicability have been performed using an ex-vivo porcine coronary model. MSCT and MRI angiography was performed in the porcine model. Three human corpses were investigated using minimally invasive MSCT angiography. Via the right femoral artery a plastic tube was advanced into the aortic arch. Using a flow adjustable pump the radiopaque contrast agent meglumine-ioxithalamate was injected. Subsequent MSCT scanning provided an excellent anatomic visualization of the human arterial system including intracranial and coronary arteries. Vascular pathologies such as calcification, stenosis and injury were detected. Limitations of the introduced approach are cases of major vessel injury and cases that show an advanced stage of decay.     

Conspiracy Mongering in Venezuela: The Chavismo Period (1998–2018)

Hugo Chávez's rise to power in 1998 brought many changes to Venezuela's political culture. One transformation not frequently commented on is the constant formulation of conspiracy theories, both by chavismo supporters and by its opponents. This article discusses some of those conspiracy theories, relating to the deceased Venezuelan President's origins, his religious beliefs, the 2002 failed coup d'état, and Chávez's own death. It also addresses more recent conspiracy theories relating to Nicolás Maduro's birth, economic warfare, and drug smuggling operations. Venezuela is currently undergoing a major humanitarian crisis, and this article defends the view that, at least partially, conspiracy mongering has been a factor in Venezuela's collapse. As part of Venezuela's reconstruction, this article recommends that Venezuelan political forces need to reach a consensus and agree not to make ridiculous conspiratorial claims.     

Ethical issues raised when early intervention is used to prevent crime

The European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, Vol. 5, No. 2, was focused on early intervention and prevention of juvenile delinquency. The author comments on the issue and focuses on the ethical problems involved with early intervention, such as the labelling effect, the risks of prediction, consent, and undesired effects.     

Editorial

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Editorial

     

The E-Marketing Strategy of Hamas

Operations to counterterrorism in the southern Philippines have resulted in the arrest and incarceration of a significant number of key militants. As a result, the Philippine government has expressed concern that these inmates may radicalize others and continue to operate while incarcerated. As a preventive measure, the government has considered a number of “soft” counterstrategies, including the development of a de-radicalization program. To study the feasibility of running such a program in the Philippine corrective system, this article examines two interrelated areas of enquiry concerning how terrorist inmates are housed and whether prison gangs foster or discourage radicalization in the Philippine prison system. Initial findings suggest that the integration of terrorist inmates with prison gangs may temporarily encourage disengagement and set the foundations for de-radicalization. However, without a specifically designed intervention strategy, the terrorist inmates may revert to militancy once they have returned to their original social settings.     

Cyber-Fatwas and Terrorism

In 1989, the term fatwa became globally known, following Ayatollah Khomeini’s death-fatwa issued on Salman Rushdie for his novel, Satanic Verses. Today, the Internet has become a useful platform for posting of fatwas and interpretations of fatwas. The present article highlights the use of jihadist fatwas, and especially online fatwas, as a major instrument in bridging the current wave of terrorism and religion. The analysis, based on a database collected in a 12-year-long project of monitoring thousands of terrorist websites, illustrates how cyber-fatwas are related to key issues in promoting terrorism: justifying the use of suicide terrorism, the killing of innocents, the killing of children and women, the killing of Muslims or the use of various weapons (including weapons of mass destruction and cyberterrorism). There are two implications of the trends documented in this study: First, the analysis of the online fatwas and the fatwa wars may provide insight about the terrorists, their motivations, their doubts and fears and, secondly, it may guide countercampaigns.