Unemployment: A double burden and a public issue

Almost all European countries suffer from mass unemployment. More than 20 million persons in Europe are out of work. When the unemployment rate reaches such levels it can be assumed that it has implications not only for each unemployed individual but also for society as a whole. In this article, a distinction is made between unemployment as a private trouble and unemployment as a public issue. This distinction with regard to unemployment was introduced by Mills (1959) and illuminates the different, although interrelated, effects of unemployment on the individual and on the overall structure of society. The private trouble perspective raises the question of how individuals are affected by unemployment and the public issue examaines how unemployment affects society as a whole. We apply the reasoning by first discussing the relations between individual consequences of unemployment. We focus on two often neglected aspects, namely, economic hardship and shame. Then the implications for working life and society are discussed. There is much evidence indicating that the social and health consequences of unemployment are not limited to the unemployed and their families but also affect the working life and the overall structure of society. It is argued that mass unemployment might increase the process of social disintegration in society.     

Molding Minds That Form Policy: How to Make Research Useful

How can policy-relevant ideas be effectively communicated to practitioners? While the existing literature has focused on what kind of theory and research are policy relevant, it does not say much about how this knowledge can be communicated. If you want to make a difference, you must know how to reach your target. We take note of the important, but in this context often overlooked opportunities for knowledge diffusion that are provided by the education of young minds and the training of mid-career officials and officers. This article first discusses three contending perspectives on the relationship between scholars and practitioners. It then makes a conceptual elaboration of conditions for communicating research to practitioners, drawing on a wide body of literature on the power of ideas. We conclude by summarizing pointers for how scholars may reflect and how we can act, if we wish to enrich foreign policy practice with research-based ideas.     

Daunorubicin-induced chronic cardiomyopathy — An experimental model system for study of sudden death. A preliminary report

Experimental cardiomyopathy in terms of heart hypertrophy and noninflammatory myocardial lesions was induced in rabbit by i.v. administration of anthracycline antibiotic daunorubicin during 2 to 12 weeks. The animals showed a high rate of unexpected mortality in comparison with controls. This mortality was evaluated from the point of view of the unexpected death as a forensic pathologic term.     

A defence model for the Baltic states

It is often argued that the Baltic states should not be accepted in NATO because they are not defensible and NATO forces would not be able to intervene in time if they were attacked. This article presents a possible Baltic defence concept which appears to be well adapted to Baltic terrain and Baltic material and manpower resources, and which should at the very least impose significant delay (weeks) and heavy losses on a massive attack. Friendly intervention could be in the form of air strikes against aggressor columns blocked on the roads.     

Influence of post mortem changes on experimental safety belt injuries

Belt protected car occupants involved on head-on collisions do not seem to suffer as severe injuries as unembalmed cadavers subjected to comparable simulated head-on collisions. Therefore it has been questioned if cadavers constitute adequate test specimens for study of thoracic tolerances. This investigation compares injuries in safety belt wearing living and dead pigs which have been subjected to simulated head-on collisions on an acceleration tract. Tests were performed on all 20 pigs (10 living and 10 dead). The arterial side of the circulatory system of the dead pigs was infused. The force in the safety belts, the intraaortic pressure, the impact velocity and the deceleration of the sled were recorded. The tests were high speed filmed. Post mortem examination of the pigs revealed differences in injury severity. Dead pigs more easily suffered rib fractures. Deformation of the rib cage due to stripping of the periosteum and laceration of surrounding tissue occurred mainly in the dead pigs. Laceration of intrathoracic blood vessels was seen in dead pigs while isolated heart lesions were seen only in living animals. The main cause of these differences in tolerance level seems to be post mortem changes of the mechanical properties of the different tissues. The results are valid for pigs but indicate that great care has to be exercised when results obtained from cadaver experiments are evaluated concerning thoracic tolerance.     

Analyzing Criminal Trajectory Profiles: Bridging Multilevel and Group-based Approaches Using Growth Mixture Modeling

Over the last 25 years, a life-course perspective on criminal behavior has assumed increasing prominence in the literature. This theoretical development has been accompanied by changes in the statistical models used to analyze criminological data. There are two main statistical modeling techniques currently used to model longitudinal data. These are growth curve models and latent class growth models, also known as group-based trajectory models. Using the well known Cambridge data and the Philadelphia cohort study, this article compares the two “classical” models—conventional growth curve model and group-based trajectory models. In addition, two growth mixture models are introduced that bridge the gap between conventional growth models and group-based trajectory models. For the Cambridge data, the different mixture models yield quite consistent inferences regarding the nature of the underlying trajectories of convictions. For the Philadelphia cohort study, the statistical indicators give stronger guidance on relative model fit. The main goals of this article are to contribute to the discussion about different modeling techniques for analyzing data from a life-course perspective and to provide a concrete step-by-step illustration of such an analysis and model checking.

Coping with transnationalism in Northern Europe

This report communicates findings on the management techniques devised to cope with the effects of transnationalism in Northern Europe. The most important aspect of this collective policy coordination effort is extensive and intensive interactions among governmental elites across national boundaries. Recently, an effort has been made to increase central, cabinet control of these trans‐Nordic activities. The national bureaucracies remain the most crucial actors while the regional officials have an influence on outcomes to the extent that they can mobilise political commitments or transgovernmental coalitions.     

Reading level and the prevalence of a dyslexic profile among patients in a forensic psychiatric clinic

This study aims to investigate Swedish language reading ability of forensic patients and the number of them that present a dyslexia profile. Another aim is to compare the reading level in different subtypes of psychiatric diagnoses. Assessments were made of 185 patients by a battery of reading tests. They were also interviewed about their schooling and their self-estimated reading and writing ability. The results show that the patients’ reading level is below average for grade six children in Swedish compulsory school, and that 16 per cent show a dyslexic profile. Male patients with an immigrant background and a diagnosis of psychosis and anxiety disorders perform the lowest when measuring literacy skills. This proportionately low reading ability can cause difficulties in understanding texts as presented in broadsheet newspapers, civic information and patient records, and might even jeopardize the understanding of adult spoken language.