(Re)constructing the Head Teacher: Legal Narratives and the Politics of School Exclusions

School exclusions are a site of political and social contestation and in recent years statutory reforms and popular demands have focused on increasing the autonomy of head teachers. This article explores this trend and questions why, in a culture of human and children's rights, head teachers have such extensive powers within their schools and why law has, to a large extent, failed to provide a check on these powers. It does so not by doctrinal analysis of domestic and human rights law but, rather, by enquiring into how legal narratives construct the role of the head teacher and by locating the practice of exclusions within a broader social and political context. It suggests that demanding that the head teacher be unfettered in his or her decisions relating to exclusions ought not to be understood as a policy of 'non-intervention' or a return to a 'reassuring' past but, rather, as a contemporary policy that reinforces the construction of excluded pupils as marginalized non-citizens.     

Beyond social regulation? New instruments and/or a new agenda for social policy at Lisbon?

The consistent failure to match EU market integration with social policies provoked the development of new modes of European governance for welfare provision in the early 1990s. Based on policy co-ordination rather than integration, these new governance modes were consolidated as the 'Open Method of Co-ordination' (OMC) at the Lisbon Summit in 2000. This article analyses the scope and limits of the OMC, locating it in the context of broader trends and tendencies in governance and social provision. Indeed, the perceived 'success' of the OMC may reflect a deeper trend in social policy across western Europe and beyond, towards 'active' welfare policies. In many ways the OMC is consistent with the influential 'regulatory state' vision of the EU. Yet by 'activating' welfare the OMC may challenge market liberal theories of European economic regulation. The first seeks to integrate economic and social policies while the latter is premised on their separation.     

Nelson Mandela: Partisan and Peacemaker

To analyze Nelson Mandela's personal attributes relevant to peacemaking and negotiation, the study considers personality traits derived from biographical data rather than quantitative content analysis. Since Mandela's personality eludes ready characterization in terms of high or low levels of a given trait and also comprises traits apparently in tension, the analysis offered here highlights ostensibly opposing characteristics, and the evolution of Mandela's personal characteristics over time, with specific attention to his self-identity, interpersonal orientation, and political outlook. It identifies distinctive aspects of Mandela's peacemaking practice, as well as aspects that may be common among accomplished peacemakers and negotiators. It concludes that Mandela's seemingly contradictory personality traits and high degree of cognitive complexity enabled him to fulfill the different roles of partisan negotiator and of mediator/peacemaker, and equipped him, more so than other revolutionaries, for the transition to post-liberation leader.     

Phenolphthalein False‐Positive Reactions from Legume Root Nodules

Presumptive tests for blood play a critical role in the examination of physical evidence and in the determination of subsequent analysis. The catalytic power of hemoglobin allows colorimetric reactions employing phenolphthalein (Kastle‐Meyer test) to indicate “whether” blood is present. Consequently, DNA profiles extracted from phenolphthalein‐positive stains are presumed to be from blood on the evidentiary item and can lead to the identification of “whose” blood is present. Crushed nodules from a variety of legumes yielded phenolphthalein false‐positive reactions that were indistinguishable from true bloodstains both in color quality and in developmental time frame. Clothing and other materials stained by nodules also yielded phenolphthalein false‐positive reactivity for several years after nodule exposure. Nodules from leguminous plants contain a protein (leghemoglobin) which is structurally and functionally similar to hemoglobin. Testing of purified leghemoglobin confirmed this protein as a source of phenolphthalein reactivity. A scenario is presented showing how the presence of leghemoglobin from nodule staining can mislead investigators.     

With Feeling: How Emotions Shape Negotiation

Recognition of the role played by emotions in negotiation is growing. This article synthesizes current research around four broad themes: moves and exchanges, information processing, social interaction, and context. The authors' review reveals that much of the research on this topic has focused on two key emotions, anger and happiness. More recently, negotiators have turned to other emotions such as guilt and disappointment, demonstrating that not all negative emotions have the same consequences, or activate the same regions of the brain. Focusing on social interaction, the authors note that negotiators may influence each others' emotions: whether negotiators converge to anger or happiness has different consequences for agreement. Researchers have broadened their examination of emotion by considering how external factors such as power, the number of negotiators, culture, and gender influence the impact of emotional expression. The authors also consider the function and impact of expressing authentic emotions, or choosing to use emotions strategically to gain an advantage — an issue that raises important ethical questions for negotiators. The article concludes with some practical implications of the research.     

Risk Factors for Men’s Intimate Physical Aggression in Spain

This study tests a model of physical aggression in a sample of 194 men being treated for physical or psychological aggression in the greater Madrid area of Spain. The prevalence of aggression in this sample was lower than in a US batterer sample. In the path model highlighted here, borderline personality traits and alcohol problems were identified as risk factors for physical aggression perpetration and the role of borderline traits was mediated by psychological aggression. A reciprocal relationship was found between psychological perpetration and victimization but not physical perpetration and victimization. These findings are discussed within a cross-cultural context; conceptual and treatment implications are also addressed.     

Linking early ADHD to adolescent and early adult outcomes among African Americans

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to propose a mediational model for the mechanisms through which a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder between the ages of 10 and 12 predicts positive and negative early adult outcomes for African Americans.

Methods

The study sample (n = 211) was drawn from the Des Moines, Iowa subsample of the Family and Community Health Study. Participants were first assessed between the ages of 10 and 12, again between the ages of 12 and 18, and finally at 18 to 23.

Results

Findings indicate that a diagnosis of ADHD before age 13 indirectly predicted subsequent exclusionary school discipline and juvenile arrest in adolescence, and both arrests and educational attainment in young adulthood.

Conclusions

These findings offer support for the School to Prison Pipeline model, showing that for some African American children, a childhood diagnosis of ADHD can lead to negative school experiences that result in harsh school-based discipline, which in turn open the door to justice system involvement spanning several developmental stages.