Images in International Relations: An Experimental Test of Cognitive Schemata

We build on the tradition of studying images in international relations by developing a theory of perceived relationships and their associated images. The psychological theory is connected to a set of assumptions drawn from international relations theory that suggest perceived strategic relationships can be conceived of as a function of perceived relative power, perceived culture, and the perceived threat or perceived opportunity that a subject believes another actor represents. We hypothesize that perceived relationships evoke both cognitive and affective processes that lead to at least four ideal typical images. We further hypothesize that enemy, ally, colony, and degenerate images have identifiable and interrelated components. We test to see if the component parts of these images are related to each other, if the overall image affects the processing and interpretation of new information, and if strategic foreign policy choices follow from the cognitive and affective aspects of the image. The findings indicate that three of the four images are unified schemata, used even by inexperienced analysts. We find further that affect in combination with cognition does predict policy choice in the case of the enemy image. We suggest that image theory is a promising means by which foreign policy and international relations may be fruitfully studied.     

Cranial arteriovenous malformation: suicide by exsanguination

Arteriovenous malformations of the scalp are potential sources of serious bleeding because of their location, inherent weakness, and high flow rates. A 40-year-old man used his vascular lesion as a means of suicide. Selected aspects of the historical background, diagnosis, and treatment of these vascular disorders are described.     

The differentiation of traumatic and heat-related fractures in burned bone.

Interpretations of antemortem and perimortem trauma are complicated when dealing with cases involving extreme exposure to fire. This investigation attempts to discern the signatures of perimortem trauma from heat related trauma. Femora of domestic pig, sus scrofa, with minimal soft tissue and articulated patellae were subjected to varying traumatic forces. Skeletal elements were impacted with blunt and sharp forces, cut with varying instruments, subjected to torsional forces of shot. Bones were burned in various situations in conjunction with Knox County Rural/Metro Fire Department training exercises conducted in Knox County, Tennessee. Following recovery, fragments were subjected to radiographic, macroscopic, and microscopic analyses. Skeletal elements were reconstructed to permit accurate comparison with pre-fire visual records. In addition, fracture surfaces were examined under both transmitted light and scanning electron microscopy in an attempt to discern surface signatures of the causal fracture (trauma, heat, or situational). Results indicate that signatures of sharp force trauma remain evident following incineration. Furthermore, radiopaque spatter was not observed in any shot specimen. However, these initial findings suggest that the interpretation of blunt force and torsional trauma requires a rigorous examination and comparison of fracture patterns in conjunction with surface morphology.     

Young People as Objects of Police Control in a Nordic Context: Who Are the Socially Visible Targets?

In Finland, more than one in four young females and almost one in three young males experienced some type of adversarial police contact in a year. The high prevalence of adversarial police contact among contemporary youth highlights the need to study the nature of the contacts and labelling theory’s hypothesis of control bias. Consequently, we develop the theory’s concept of social visibility to examine differential selection. We draw on a nationally representative youth survey to explore police contacts among youths aged 15 to 16 (N?=?5826). The open-ended responses suggested that police interventions typically focus on traffic situations or use of alcohol in public places. Also, we used multivariate logistic regression to examine which factors increase the likelihood of adversarial police contact. We found that a variety of delinquency and heavy alcohol use emerge as strong triggers of getting caught by the police. In addition, male gender, living in a city, having a single father, and low educational aspirations increases the likelihood of police contact, controlling for delinquency, and socio-demographic variables. Our findings seem to be consistent with mixed-model hypothesis, which highlights that both, differential involvement and selection, might operate together. We suggest that even in the Nordic conditions, which is characterised by high social equality, social biases seem to exist and some youth are more socially visible to formal social control than others.     

Crime‐Control in the Post‐Wall Era: The Menace of Security

Over the past ten to fifteen years, an increasing number of social issues have become linked, and then subordinated, to security policy. This policy area has witnessed a paradigm shift, with the emergence of a new security mentality. The crumbling of the walls built up during the Cold War, and the collapse of the Soviet empire, meant the disappearance of the East versus West polarity. And as this world order, based on a balance of terror, passed into history, the nature of the global threat situation was transformed. The antagonisms of the Cold War had hardly had time to cease creating fear before new threat images emerged onto the scene. Unlike the Cold War situation, where world peace was threatened by a frenetic arms race between two highly concrete superpowers, the perceived threats of the 1990s became increasingly vague. The military menace was superseded by what was said to be a much more diffuse criminal threat. For what is it that lies concealed behind such concepts as ‘cross‐border crime’, ‘organized crime’, ‘terrorism’ and the like? Previously, security policy analysts had been able to localize the source of a given threat with precision. Their benchmark was now gone, however. Once the established geographical demarcations between Us and Them ceased to apply, it was found that the enemy might instead be in our midst.     

Wenn Wenige den Ausschlag geben … Strategisches Erststimmenwählen bei deutschen Bundestagswahlen 1994–2009

Based on official election records from East German constituencies, this paper examines the importance of strategic voting in German Bundestag elections. The results show that: (1) voters do indeed cast strategic ballots; (2) overall, the CDU and SPD benefit most often from strategic votes; (3) up to 9% of voters in the constituency cast strategic votes; and (4) that number was large enough to tip the scales in a number of constituencies, thus affecting the allocation of surplus seats in the Bundestag.     

Why are occupational safety crimes increasing?

The objective of this article is to analyse the structure of, and trends in, reported occupational safety crimes. The central focus is directed at analysing how we might understand the substantial increase in the number of reported offences witnessed during the first decade of the 21st century. In order to analyse trends in occupational safety crimes we proceed from both official crime statistics and data that have been compiled specifically for the purposes of this study, including a nationally representative sample of offence reports relating to the occupational safety crimes reported to the police. The results show that the increase in reported offenses is primarily due to a shift in definitions and in the reactions of the authorities rather than to a powerful increase in the number of actual crimes committed. This leads to the conclusion that registered occupational safety offences should first and foremost be viewed as a measure of the work of the authorities, rather than as an indicator of real crime trends.