Correlations Among the HLA-DQB1 Alleles and Suicidal Behavior

Suicide is a worldwide health problem with multiple causes, including genetic factors. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is represented by an assembly of gene encoding the human leukocyte antigen (HLA). The purpose of our study was to determine associations between the HLA profiles and predisposition for suicidal behavior. We harvested blood samples from persons with history of suicidal attempts (case group) and persons never exhibiting such behavior (control group). The DNA was extracted and amplified via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine the HLA-DQB1 profiles. Statistical data processing was performed with the Epi Info program. We found that the presence of the HLA-DQB1*02 allele increases the risk of suicidal behavior, while HLA-DQB1*05 alleviates such risk. The genotype that presented the most increased risk for suicidal behavior was found to be HLA-DQB1*02/HLA-DQB1*03. Our study has demonstrated the presence of several associations between HLA profiles and suicidal behavior.     

Quo Vadis Judicial Reforms? The Quest for Judicial Independence in Central and Eastern Europe

This article examines judicial reforms in the new member states of the EU in a comparative perspective. It explores the interactions between domestic and European actors in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria and explains why the EU has had a differential impact on the way the principle of judicial independence has been implemented nationally. The differential impact of the EU is explained by considering both the nature of EU conditionality and the relationship between the judiciary and the political actors at the domestic level. The comparison reveals that the power of the EU is greater when tensions at the domestic level between judicial and political actors increase.     

Institutions, Policy Innovation, and E-Government in the American States

Examining the rankings of American states in one fast‐growing policy area, e‐government, states with the most sophisticated and comprehensive policies varied over a five‐year period. What factors account for change in digital government policy innovation over time? Using time‐series analysis and 50‐state data, the authors find that state institutional capacity is important for continued innovation. They also find an association between reinvention in state governments and the institutionalization of information technology, suggesting a more general orientation toward government reform and modernization. Although state wealth and education were not significant in previous studies, they emerge as predictors of later innovation. The theoretical contribution of this study is to better understand the dynamic character of innovation over time and the role of institutions. The link between reinvention and e‐government raises the possibility that the modernization of state institutions generally facilitates innovation.     

Victims of Sexual Violence in the Canadian Criminal Courts

The literature on victims of sexual violence in the criminal justice system has overwhelmingly pointed to the negative impact of these encounters. This research project sought to explore various aspects that might contribute to harm by conducting in-depth qualitative interviews and collecting limited quantitative data on 31 victims who had encountered various processes in the justice system. Results indicated a wide range of experiences, indicating that no interactions within the system were universally harmful or helpful. Victim experience was shaped by the attitudes and behaviors of specific people within the system demonstrating the importance each individual plays in their official capacity. In the final analysis however, victim satisfaction with the jail term was key to understanding experiences of harm.     

Preference for the Merit Principle Scale: An Individual Difference Measure of Distributive Justice Preferences

The present paper describes the development and validation of the Preference for the Merit Principle (PMP) Scale, a measure to assess people's preference for allocating outcomes on the basis of the distributive justice principle of merit. On the basis of data from a large sample of undergraduate students, we tested the construct and predictive validity of the scale and compared the results with the performance of two existing justice scales (Rasinski's, 1987, Proportionality Scale, and Rubin and Peplau's, 1975, Belief in a Just World Scale). Overall, we found that the PMP Scale had superior construct validity as compared with the Proportionality Scale. In brief, the PMP Scale was more independent of conceptually distinct constructs, such as prejudice and right-wing authoritarianism. In addition, unlike the Proportionality and Just World Scales, the PMP Scale was able to predict participants' future attitudes toward affirmative action     

The Moral Superiority Effect: Self Versus Other Differences in Satisfaction with Being Overpaid

This paper focuses on how people think about their own and other's reactions to being overpaid. Two experiments investigate the discrepancy between people's own satisfaction and their perception of other's satisfaction with overpayment. The results of both experiments support our hypothesis that people think others are more satisfied with being overpaid than they are themselves. Our results are consistent with the idea that people think others are more influenced by egoism-based considerations whereas they themselves are more influenced by considerations of right and wrong. In other words, people show a moral superiority effect. In the general discussion, we argue why it is less likely to find moral superiority effects on people's reactions to being equally paid and underpaid, and we relate our findings to the literature of self-serving biases.     

Functional Neuroimaging of Symptom Validity Testing in Traumatic Brain Injury

The Word Memory Test (WMT) is a commonly used symptom validity test (SVT) that assesses recognition verbal memory. The task has been adapted for use within a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm so the neural correlates of WMT activation patterns can be studied. In the current investigation, performance on the delayed recognition subtest of the WMT was examined in two patients who sustained severe TBI and compared to ten healthy controls. The patients underwent comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations and structural MRI. All participants completed two versions of the WMT: full-effort and simulated poor effort conditions. Despite extensive structural brain damage, the fMRI activation patterns during full-effort WMT performance were somewhat similar in the two TBI patients and likewise, somewhat similar to controls. The fMRI activation pattern in both patients demonstrated intact activation of the basic neural structures necessary to perform the WMT. Dissimilar patterns of activation were obtained during the simulated poor effort condition of WMT performance suggesting that fMRI techniques may be sensitive in demonstrating non-credible cognitive performance. The results of our study represent the first fMRI investigation of normal and simulated poor effort SVT performance in individuals with documented brain damage. The implications of fMRI techniques in SVT research and their clinical application are discussed.     

Intimate partner violence and immigration laws in Canada: How far have we come?

Immigrant women face numerous, and sometimes insurmountable, barriers in reporting and seeking services for intimate partner violence (IPV). A number of these obstacles relate to immigration laws, policies and legal processes they encounter due to their immigration status and sponsorship relationship. The present study was conducted in Canada, in an urban centre that boasts one of the largest immigrant populations in the world. Using a focus group methodology within a participatory action research framework, this investigation sought to identify factors that facilitate or impede women from coming forward and disclosing IPV, and traced their help-seeking actions. Qualitative data from helping professionals and women reveal that in cases of sponsorship breakdown due to IPV, the criteria required for a viable immigration application are unrealistic, and in many cases impossible to meet in situations of domestic abuse. These data indicate that despite claims to the contrary, laws and policies related to immigration have remained stable for over a decade. Systemic and structural barriers that these create for abused women are still clearly present in immigration laws and policies. The result is that many women stay in abusive relationships, often with their children, for prolonged periods of time accruing serious negative mental health effects. Implications are discussed to help inform policy and practice.     

Reassessing the Influence of Party Groups on Individual Members of the European Parliament

This paper reassesses the way in which the voting behaviour of individual members of the European Parliament (EP) is influenced by their national and European party delegations. It does so within the previously used framework of one agent with two principals. First, it shows that the previous literature was unable to fully fathom the mechanisms through which the tripartite principal–agent relationship works. Second, it develops a model that looks solely at the votes contested between the European and the national group and the results of the test correct many of the findings of the previous literature. The paper also develops a new theoretical framework of vote cohesion in which the national and European groups are motivated by group norms and external incentives. Finally, the analysis of roll-call votes from the sixth EP finds that the new members from Central and Eastern Europe are more likely to stay with their European group than the members from Western Europe.