Homicide-suicide by a single gunshot to the head

Apart from typical suicides, there are sometimes unusual deaths from gunshots to the head. The presented case is a double death from the autopsy material of the Institute of Legal Medicine in Berlin. The report deals with a murder-suicide of a man, who killed himself and his 2-year-old daughter by a single gunshot. After having administered a tranquilizer to the child, he held her head to his own and fired a contact shot to his right temple so that the bullet passed through both heads.     

Double homicide by shooting with removal of the victims

Despite strict assault weapons laws shooting deaths are not uncommon in the Federal Republic of Germany. Especially in multiple one-stage homicides shooting is a frequently established cause of death. The described double homicide from the autopsy material of the Berlin Institute of Legal Medicine shows the difficulties in the forensic assessment of gunshot wounds. It is noteworthy under criminalistic aspects how methodically the offender proceeded in the removal of the victims and how extensive the search for the bodies was, which were only found after calling in water search dogs.     

Cigarette burns in forensic medicine

Skin lesions suspected to have been caused by a burning cigarette require thorough diagnostic evaluation as to the mode of infliction. Accidental cigarette burns must be differentiated from injuries due to self-infliction or maltreatment. The typical categories are presented on the basis of the literature and exemplary cases from the authors' own study material. An intentional infliction must be taken into consideration when a body region is involved which does not normally come into contact with a cigarette by chance. Full thickness burns from glowing cigarettes require an exposure time of more than 1s. One should also keep in mind the possibility of confusion with local skin infections or thermal effects by traditional medical practices (e.g. moxibustion). In unclear cases, repeated inspection of the lesion is recommended in order to facilitate its classification as to causation and age. The courses of healing in first- to third-degree cigarette burns are demonstrated by means of continuous photographic documentation. The discussion deals with different kinds of accidental and intentional cigarette burns, e.g. in drug addicts, psychiatric patients, victims of child abuse, maltreatment and torture, but also in persons feigning a criminal offence.     

Zum politischen Leistungsprofil der Schweiz: Thesen zur Erklärung einer Erfolgsgeschichte aus dem Blickwinkel des internationalen Vergleichs

Im OECD‐Länder‐Vergleich erreicht die Schweiz bei zentralen Indikatoren des politischen Leistungsprofils Spitzenwerte, beispielsweise bei der Arbeitslosenquote, der Inflationsrate und dem Schuldendienst für die Staatsschulden. Wie diese Erfolgsgeschichte zu erklären ist, wird in diesem Essay anhand der Jahre von 1990 bis 2012 erörtert, und zwar unter Heranziehung von Hypothesen und Daten zu schweizspezifischen Erklärungen und von Erklärungsansätzen, die die Schweiz mit anderen wohlhabenden Demokratien vergleichen. Als Schlüsselgrößen erweisen sich – neben institutionellen, prozessualen und akteursbezogenen Eigenheiten der Schweiz – insbesondere die Variablen politikfeldspezifischer Erklärungen (wie Zentralbankautonomie, Verteilungskonflikt und fiskalpolitische Fragmentierung) sowie sozialpartnerschaftliche Arbeitsbeziehungen und Parteieneffekte.     

African American Art in a Post-Black Era

The term “post-black art” was invented in the late 1990's by Thelma Golden, curator and executive director of the Studio Museum in Harlem and Glenn Ligon, an African American artist. This paper examines the origins of the term, its definition and the extent to which the phrase challenges cultural practices that adversely impact artists of color and women. A discussion of the works of two African American artists who worked in the early part of the 20th century provides historical perspective on the origins of damaging cultural practices which prevailed for many decades. Though the civil rights movement instigated real change, the era unwittingly played a role in introducing cultural policies and practices that continued to limit the way in which the work of women and artists of color was presented and interpreted to the public. The paper concludes by observing the work of individual artists who circumvented those limiting cultural policies and practices and who in their imaginatively inventive ways of engaging the public were the precursors to the current "post-black" point of view.     

Setting the scene: the European Union's engagement with transnational policy networks

This article serves as a tool to set the scene in this special issue on the manner in which the European Union (EU) engages transnational policy networks (TPNs). It paints a canvas of the main themes to be treated in articles that span a variety of thematic areas. Six main lines of inquiry are developed to better feed into the various themes covered by the specific articles. The lines of inquiry used include modalities or ways in which the EU influences TPNs around the world, TPNs’ influence of policy and decision-making within the EU, conditions under which engagement between the EU and TPNs can be considered successful, the identity and location of the TPNs, and the utility or otherwise of an EU strategy to weaken or strengthen engagement with TPNs.     

More Than a Glance: Investigating the Differential Efficacy of Radicalizing Graphical Cues with Right-Wing Messages

European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research - In recent years, online radicalization has received increasing attention from researchers and policymakers, for instance, by analyzing online...