Genetic risk and the birth of the somatic individual

This paper considers the implications of the rise of the new molecular genetics for the ways in which we are governed and the ways in which we govern ourselves. Using examples of genetic screening and genetic discrimination in education, employment and insurance, and a case study of debates among those at risk of developing Huntington's Disease and their relatives, we suggest that some of the claims made by critics of these new developments are misplaced. While there are possibilities of genetic discrimination, the key event is the creation of the person 'genetically at risk'. But genetic risk does not imply resignation in the face of an implacable biological destiny: it induces new and active relations to oneself and one's future. In particular, it generates new forms of 'genetic responsibility', locating actually and potentially affected individuals within new communities of obligation and identification. Far from generating fatalism, the rewriting of personhood at a genetic level and its visualization through a 'molecular optic' transforms the relations between patient and expert in unexpected ways, and is linked to the development of novel 'life strategies', involving practices of choice, enterprise, self-actualization and prudence in relation to one's genetic make-up. Most generally, we suggest, the birth of the person 'genetically at risk' is part of a wider reshaping of personhood along somatic lines and a mutation in conceptions of life itself.     

Fear as a Disposition and an Emotional State: A Genetic and Environmental Approach to Out‐Group Political Preferences

Fear is a pervasive aspect of political life and is often explored as a transient emotional state manipulated by events or exploited by elites for political purposes. The psychological and psychiatric literatures, however, have also established fear as a genetically informed trait, and people differ in their underlying fear dispositions. Here we propose these differences hold important implications for political preferences, particularly toward out‐groups. Using a large sample of related individuals, we find that individuals with a higher degree of social fear have more negative out‐group opinions, which, in this study, manifest as anti‐immigration and prosegregation attitudes. We decompose the covariation between social fear and attitudes and find the principal pathway by which the two are related is through a shared genetic foundation. Our findings present a novel mechanism explicating how fear manifests as out‐group attitudes and accounts for some portion of the genetic influences on political attitudes.     

Enforcing the ‘Community Interest’ in Combating Transnational Crimes: The Potential for Public Interest Litigation

Netherlands International Law Review - Transnational criminal law treaties could give rise to public interest litigation concerning the breach of an obligation erga omnes partes, meaning an...     

From Missionary to Ministerial Adviser: Constance Duncan and Australia‐Japan Relations 1922‐1947

The contribution of A. Constance Duncan (1896‐1970) to Australia‐Japan relations has been overlooked in mainstream historiography. This article examines her role in the development of these relations from 1922 to 1947. She was one of the few women to be accepted into the elite inner‐circle of intellectuals influencing Australian foreign policy during this period. In 1922 she embarked on a career in Japan as a missionary, or “foreign secretary”, for the Young Women's Christian Association. She returned to Australia in 1933 and took up a position with the Bureau of Social and International Affairs. Her familiarity with Japanese culture and society, together with an abiding interest in promoting world peace, led naturally to her participation in the world of international relations at a time of heightened interest in the Asia‐Pacific region and Japan in particular. She was part of an intellectual movement that considered an educated Australian public to be of paramount importance in future Australia‐Japan relations and international relations generally. This article traces her activities and examines her influence in the educational field and on Australian foreign policy‐making.     

Goffman on the Jury: Real Jurors’ Attention to the “Offstage” of Trials

Social psychologist Erving Goffman, in his classic work The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, provides a framework that explains why jurors may turn their attention at the courthouse to information not formally presented from the witness stand. We dub this “offstage observation,” a type of juror behavior that has not been systematically examined empirically. Analyzing a unique data source of 50 actual jury deliberations in civil trials, we find that jurors do look to the offstage in evaluating the claims of the parties. However, in contrast to predictions, these observations played a surprisingly minor role in the jury deliberation process.     

基于似然率方法的语音证据评价

法庭话者识别技术引入我国已有二十多年，目前该技术已经广泛应用于各类刑事和民事案件中，纵观世界各国的法庭证据评价体系，除了DNA证据以外，其他证据检验鉴定结论的表述通常有三种：同一认定、否定排除和倾向性意见。简单肯定和否定的结论存在很大的弊端．即过高估计了证据的力度，因而有时可能会造成错案。鉴于此,国外一些学者提出在鉴定结论的表述和价值评判上引入基于贝叶斯理论的“似然率”方法。本文结合目前的法庭话者鉴别方法。重点介绍基于贝叶斯理论下的“似然率”理论体系．并阐明该方法的优越性、局限性以及一些亟待解决的问题。     

Do Russians see their future in Europe or the CIS?

Historic differences between Russian elites about where the country's future lies are here addressed by examining what the Russian public thinks, using data from the New Russia Barometer survey. More than two thirds see the country's future with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and less than one third see it with Europe. Alternative explanations for these differences are tested statistically. The most important influences making Russians look to the near abroad are traditional identities, national pride and age. Although cosmopolitan contacts of individuals with the West encourage people to be pro-European, Russians are likely to continue to view their world as a CIS space. However, this does not indicate a popular demand to re-establish Imperial dominance but rather a durable commitment among most Russians to a Eurasian rather than European view of the world.