The Dove Flies East: Whitehall, Warsaw and the 1950 World Peace Congress

In 1950 the Cold War turned hot in Korea, the threat of atomic annihilation hovered menacingly and the spectre of another world war haunted Europe. The establishment of the World Peace Council that year was one response to these fears. In November 1950 the Council decided to hold a World Peace Congress in Sheffield. The British Labour government sabotaged this Congress and forced it to shift to Warsaw. This article analyses this event which, to date, has received no scholarly attention. It argues that the attitudes and actions of the protagonists were a microcosm of the Cold War in that each side, East and West, saw the Congress as an opportunity to achieve moral authority, political leverage and strategic advantage over the other. The article also highlights the role of the state in controlling major political events during the Cold War.     

A longitudinal study of moral and ego development in young adults

The purpose of this study was to investigate the longitudinal changes in moral judgment and ego development in a young adult sample when a concurrent measure of verbal ability was used as a statistical control. Sixty-one late adolescents and young adults, representing three educational groups, were tested in 1977 and 1979 on the Defining Issues Tests, a measure of moral judgment (Rest), the Sentence Completion Test of Ego Development (Loevinger and Wessler) and Terman's Concept Mastery Test, a measure of verbal ability. No group or time differences were found in ego development. A significant increase was found between the 1977 and 1979 moral judgment scores,p<0.05, and between groups at both testing,p<0.001. Sex differences were found,p<0.01, with females scoring higher than males, which were statistically accounted for by verbal ability. These findings suggest that moral development continues into the young adult years and that verbal ability may moderate sex differences in moral judgment.     

Blast Suppression Foam,Aqueous Gel Blocks,and their Effect on Subsequent Analysis of Forensic Evidence*

In addition to having blast mitigation properties, aqueous foam concentrate AFC-380 blast suppression foam is designed to capture aerosolized chemical, biological, and radioactive particles during render-safe procedures of explosive devices. Exposure to aqueous environments and surfactants may negatively affect forensic evidence found at the scene, but the effects of AFC-380 foam and aqueous gel on the preservation and subsequent analysis of forensic evidence have not previously been investigated. Sebaceous finger and palm prints and DNA samples on paper, cardboard, tape, and various metal and plastic items, along with hairs, carpet and yarn fibers, and inks and documents, were exposed to AFC-380 foam. Similar mock evidence was also exposed to a superabsorbent gel of the type found in aqueous gel blocks used for shrapnel containment. Exposure to foam or aqueous gel was associated with a dilution effect for recovered DNA samples, but quality of the samples was not substantially affected. In contrast, exposure to AFC-380 foam or gel was detrimental to development of latent finger and palm prints on any substrate. Neither the hair nor the fiber samples were affected by exposure to either the foam or gel. Indented writing on the document samples was detrimentally affected by foam or gel exposure, but not inks and toners. The results from this study indicate that most types of forensic evidence recovered after being exposed to aqueous gel or blast suppression foam can be reliably analyzed, but latent finger and palm prints may be adversely affected.     

An Examination of Mental Health and Psychiatric Care among Older Prisoners in the United States

Despite that prisons in the United States (and other high-income countries) have witnessed an increase in the proportion of older inmates, and that prison populations exhibit high rates of psychiatric illness, there is limited knowledge on the nature of older inmates’ psychological health and use/provision of psychiatric care. The present study addresses these gaps, analyzing a nationally representative sample of 1,907 male and female older inmates (age range = 50–84 years; M = 56) housed in U.S. state and federal prisons. The results highlight: (a) the prevalence of psychological issues among older prisoners; (b) factors associated with certain mental disorders and symptoms of mental health issues; (c) the prevalence of psychiatric treatment before and during imprisonment for those with (and without) reported psychological health issues; (d) similarities and differences between male and female older inmates in relation to psychological health, factors associated with psychological issues, and the use/provision of psychiatric care. Discussion points toward recommendations for managing inmate mental health, as well as direction for further research on older inmate mental health and psychiatric care.     

Cultural Orientation as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Chinese American Adolescents’ Discrimination Experiences and Delinquent Behaviors

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among Chinese American adolescents’ discrimination experiences, cultural orientations, and delinquent behaviors. Data were collected from three hundred and eleven Chinese American adolescents (58% girls) and their parents when the adolescents were 7th or 8th graders and again 4 years later. The data analyses demonstrated that adolescents’ perceptions of discrimination and victimization experiences were significantly related to their delinquent behaviors conditionally based upon their cultural orientation. Specifically, adolescents’ high Chinese cultural orientation amplified the negative impact of discriminatory experiences on delinquent behaviors whereas high Western cultural orientation protected them against that impact. The significance of both ethnic and mainstream cultural orientations for understanding ethnic minority adolescents’ adjustment and improving their adjustment outcomes is discussed.     

Old Becomes New Again: Kidnappings by Daesh and Other Salafi-Jihadists in the Twenty-First Century

Daesh fighters have taken hostage over 100 foreigners in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere since 2012. The kidnappings drew international attention in August 2014, when American journalist James Foley was decapitated and a video of his death was posted online. But the pattern of kidnappings and gruesome videos distributed by violent Salafi-jihadists extends back over a decade to the killing of Daniel Pearl in 2002. This article traces shifts in the strategic rationale of Al Qaeda and Daesh for beheading Western hostages. It argues that terrorists altered their calculations on foreign hostages beginning in 2012 and U.S. counterterrorism policy does not take these shifts into account.     

The Grecian horse: does immigration lead to the deterioration of American institutions?

Concerns about the institutional impact of immigration, particularly in the United States, are not new. We can trace them back to Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton. More recently, in response to a literature that questions the desirability of current immigration restrictions, Borjas (J Econ Lit 53:961–974, 2015) speculates that immigrants coming from countries with poor institutions could reduce substantially the institutional quality in the United States to a point where it could negate all economic gains associated with immigration in terms of GDP and income. Using the Economic Freedom of North America index since 1980, we find no evidence to corroborate Borjas’s concerns. However, we find mixed evidence that immigration increases minimum wages and union density.     

Design of optimal policies: A variable structure control approach

This paper introduces methods of variable structure control (VSC) theory to economists. The VSC design is based on closed loop optimal control solutions. It is shown that VSC can yield stable solutions in the presence of parameter errors whereas conventional closed loop optimal control solutions become unstable. The methodology is applied to a simple economic model.