Allelic frequencies at 12 STR loci in Colombian population

Three hundred and twenty-six to four hundred and fifty-one individuals were typed for 12 STR markers and revealed by silver stain method and assisted by a computer analysis. Forensic and Hardy-Weinberg values were found. The Kodak ds 1D Image Analysis Software V 2.0.3 EDAS DC 120 System was a useful tool for determining the correct size of pattern bands that were out allelic ladders, alleles 18 and 17 from F13A01, 15 from TPOX and 4 from TH01 were determined by this method and some corroborated by automatic analysis.     

Private thoughts of public representatives: assisted death, voluntary euthanasia and politicians

Assisted death and voluntary euthanasia have received significant and sustained media attention in recent years. High-profile cases of people seeking assistance to end their lives have raised, at least in the popular press, debate about whether individuals should be able to seek such assistance at a time when they consider their suffering to be unbearable or their quality of life unsatisfactory. Other recent developments include a number of attempts to legislate on the issue by the minor parties in Australia and the successful enactment of legislation in a few overseas jurisdictions. However, despite all of the recent attention that has focused on assisted death and voluntary euthanasia, a discussion of the adequacy of existing laws has not made it onto the political agenda of any of the Australian State or Territory governments. This is in spite of the fact that the private views of the majority of our elected Members of Parliament may be supportive of reform. This article explores the role of politicians' views and, as a case study, considers the opinions expressed by a number of Queensland Members of Parliament. In light of the views of these politicians and those of members of the public, as well as considerations arising from current medical practice, the article argues that there is a need for open political debate on assisted death and voluntary euthanasia. The article also suggests ways that such a debate may be achieved while minimising any political impact on governments that are prepared at least to consider this issue.     

Criminals' explanations of their criminal behavior, III: the effects of time and context

The authors looked at the explanations for their index of violent crimes as given by 69 incarcerated violent male offenders, respectively. We then examined the extent to which those explanations changed with the passing of time and with change in context. We found that explanations of impaired internal control increased with the passing of time, and that such explanation was given more often to mental health professionals rather than law enforcement professionals. Finally, we found that our subjects tended to give mental health professionals fewer explanations involving external control with the passing of time.     

An investigation of the psychological characteristics of stalkers: empathy, problem-solving, attachment and borderline personality features

This study examined the psychological characteristics of a sample of self-reported stalkers in comparison with a control group, on measures of empathy, problem-solving skills, attachment, and borderline personality features. Stalkers were identified by their endorsement of specific behavioral items, consistent with a widely adopted definition of stalking, denoting behaviors that: (a) are repeatedly directed toward an identified target; (b) are intrusive and unwanted; and (c) evoke fear in the victim. Stalkers scored significantly higher than controls on measures of insecure attachment and borderline personality features, suggesting that the stalking group demonstrates a general pattern of inadequate interpersonal attachment, has limited abilities to form and maintain appropriate relationships, is emotionally labile and unstable, and experiences ambivalence regarding their interpersonal relationships. Treatment implications are discussed herein.     

Juror Judgments in Civil Cases: Hindsight Effects on Judgments of Liability for Punitive Damages

An experiment was conducted to investigate whether hindsight bias influences an important class of legal decisions—civil jurors' judgments of liability for punitive damages. Jury-eligible citizens were shown a videotaped summary of the circumstances surrounding an environmental damage lawsuit. Some subjects were presented a foresight perspective and asked to judge whether or not a railroad should comply with an order to stop operations on a section of track that had been declared hazardous. Other subjects were asked to judge whether the railroad was liable for punitive damages after an accident occurred. Three independent variables were manipulated: temporal perspective with one third of the subjects assessing risks in foresight and two thirds assessing risks in hindsight; subject role with one half of the subjects asked to assume the role of a juror rendering a verdict and one half the role of a citizen whose personal opinion was solicited; and, in the hindsight conditions only, the amount of damage ($240,000 vs. $24,000,000) caused by the accident. Almost all measures of participants' judgments and thoughts about the case showed dramatic foresight–hindsight differences. The participants' role had an effect on some measures; for example, participants in the juror role exhibited slightly smaller hindsight effects when judging liability than did those in the citizen role. The magnitude of the damage caused by the accident had no effects on any measures.     

Juror Judgments in Civil Cases: Effects of Plaintiff's Requests and Plaintiff's Identity on Punitive Damage Awards

Two experiments were conducted to study the manner in which civil jurors assess punitive damage awards. Jury-eligible citizens were shown a videotaped summary of an environmental damage lawsuit and told that the defendant had already paid compensatory damages. They were asked to judge liability for punitive damages and, if damages were to be assessed, to assign a dollar award. Three independent variables were manipulated in the case materials: the dollar amounts that were explicitly requested by the plaintiffs in their closing arguments to the jury, the geographical location of the defendant corporation, and the location of the lead plaintiff. Consistent with prior findings of anchor effects on judgments, we found that the plaintiffs requested award values had a dramatic effect on awards: the higher the request, the higher the awards. We also found that local plaintiffs were awarded more than were geographically remote plaintiffs, while the location of the defendant company did not have reliable effects on the awards. The implications of these results for procedures in civil trials and for theories of juror decision making are discussed.     

The cultural revolution and modernity: The contradictory political implications of postmodernism in China

In order to understand the modern‐postmodern controversy in China, it is important to understand the contradictory political implications of postmodernism in that special context. Emerging in China as a post‐Cultural Revolution discourse, postmodernism has elicited both anticipation and distrust. The former comes from the promise of being liberated from the dogmas of modernity; the latter from concern about postmodern disregard of different orientations of modernity, especially conflicting totalitarian and democratic modes of modernity. While attacking modernity in general, Chinese postmodernism has so far failed to address the particular mode of modernity crystallized in the violence and brutality of the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen massacre. To undermine the modernist notions of universality, subject and grand narratives without acknowledging and accenting the oppressive deeds done under the aegis of these notions is to practice a politically conservative postmodernism which endorses the existing order while pretending to be theoretically radical and avant‐garde.     

影响厦门城市居民有序环境抗争的各因素分析

自PX事件以来,厦门市民的环境抗争就一直为全国瞩目.本文藉由厦门大学社会学系2006年进行的"厦门市居民职业状况调查"的数据,从厦门市城市居民的人居环境满意度以及基于满意度而采取的相应环境抗争这一角度入手进行分析,试图解释是哪些因素决定了公民个人在人居环境受损时采取何种环境抗争手段.