The phantom and threat of organized crime

Organized crime is often perceived in terms of extended, hierarchical crime “families” that extend not only their activities but also their authority structures across national boundaries. However accurate such a view may or may not have been in the United States, where it originated, evidence from a Dutch survey of organized crime enterprises reveals a different picture. For organized crime in northwestern Europe, it is more helpful to think of crime markets of two kinds: those in which the goods and services are themselves forbidden, and those in which legal goods and services are handled in illegal ways. Case studies of the drug trade, and of organized crime in the business realm, offer a detailed look at these two kinds of markets. The evidence suggests that while organized crime enterprises conduct trade across national boundaries, they do not constitute an international authority structure. Crime entrepreneurs constitute a challenge, not to the basic structure of society itself, but rather a more subtle kind of challenge to basic values and morals, particularly when criminal enterprise is linked to power at higher levels of society.     

A comparison of educational processes at similar U. K. and U. S. institutions of higher learning

The structure and organization of the middle tier of higher education in similar institutions in the U. K. and U. S. are compared to draw conclusions on the effect which differences and similarities have upon the quality of the educational process, its cost-effectiveness, student independence and maturity, faculty load, relationships with business, industry and government.     

Gender and cultural patterns of suicidal behavior: young Hindustani immigrant women in the Netherlands

Patterns of suicidal behavior vary among cultures and along gender. Young Hindustani immigrant women attempt suicide four times more often than young Dutch women. This article explores multi-disciplinary explanations for suicidal behavior in this group. The interconnection of Durkheimian concepts of social integration and regulation with ecological insights into family relations and psychological and psychiatric theories on individual distress are relevant. It is suggested that young Hindustani women who display suicidal behavior possess certain personality and cognitive constellations that are interlocked with specific parenting styles in stressful family environments. These families are embedded in a context of moral transformations resulting from migration to a Western culture and may be facing difficulties accompanying the transitional processes encountered in the West, particularly those regarding gender roles. Durkheimian fatalistic and anomic suicides elucidate this. The Hindustani women who appear most at risk are those facing contradictory norms and overregulation, which prevent them from developing autonomy.     

Blunt force cranial trauma in the Cambodian killing fields

In this paper we present a unique pattern of blunt force cranial trauma that was observed in 10 of a sample of 85 crania from a Cambodian skeletal collection comprised of Khmer Rouge victims. Initial examination of the trauma, which presents as substantial damage to the occipital with fractures extending to the cranial base, suggested the pattern was classifiable as a basilar or ring fracture. However, further investigation, including trauma analysis and historical research, revealed that this fracture type is distinctive from basilar and ring fractures. Historical data indicate that a particular execution method was the likely source of the trauma. Recognition of this trauma pattern is significant because it exemplifies the distinct fracture configuration resulting from an apparently categorical and methodical execution technique. Identification of this fracture type could potentially assist forensic investigators in the recognition of specific methods of murder or execution.     

Prior Experiences as Temporal Frames of Reference in Social Justice: The Influence of Previous Fairness Experiences on Reactions to New and Old Supervisors

This paper focuses on the psychology of social change and social justice. Specifically, we focus on subordinates’ reactions to new and old supervisors, and we argue that in evaluating these different types of supervisors, subordinates may rely on prior fair or unfair experiences as temporal frames of reference. We further propose that a result of these frames of reference may be that previous fairness experiences have a bigger impact on subordinates’ reactions to subsequent neutral communications when an old rather than when a new supervisor is the source of that communication. Findings of two empirical studies indeed show that subordinates who had had fair experiences with a particular supervisor reacted more positively toward subsequent neutral messages when the communication was coming from the old supervisor rather than from the new supervisor. Subordinates who had had unfair experiences, however, reacted more negatively toward the communication when the source was the old rather than the new supervisor. Some evidence was also found for contrast effects such that people who react to a new supervisor may react more positively with the neutral demand from this authority figure when they have earlier experienced unfair as opposed to fair treatment by a different supervisory agent. These findings were obtained on subordinates’ satisfaction with the supervisors’ communication and their acceptance of the supervisor. Finally, we discuss the implications for the psychology of social change and social justice.