The controversial question of “French Jewish literature”

Is there is specific Jewish literature in France? The study of Jewish authors and their writing is not sufficient grounds to indicate that such a group exists as a socio-historiacal entity; that their existence is real and not merely nominal. The question of the existence of Jewish literature – not to be confused with Jewish writing – is a central preoccupation of the community press, in which preferred answers are formulated with reference to an organised group of artists rather than in terms of artistic expression. We will attempt to show how and by what devices the position adopted by the press in question, often lacking in coherence and sufficient justification, has influenced that adopted by certain writers and academics.     

The quality of written expert testimony in alleged child sexual abuse: An empirical study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate written expert testimonies in cases of suspected child sexual abuse in Sweden. A total of 121 expert testimonies were rated with an instrument developed for the study, the SQX-12 (Gumpert et al., 2001) which is a 12-item checklist aimed to reflect consensus-established concepts of quality. Reports from different professional groups were compared, as were reports produced before and after the 1991 publication of national guidelines. The results suggested that the reports produced by professionals using statement analysis generally were of higher quality than reports written by professionals from child- and adolescent psychiatry. There was a slight increase in report quality, as measured by the SQX total score, over the studied years. However, it is concluded that the overall quality of written expert testimony on child credibility still does not reach the recommended level in Sweden.     

The rise and fall of Spain's ‘nuclear exceptionalism’

The present article looks at the evolution of Spanish views on deterrence and non-proliferation. Like every member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Spain is covered by the US nuclear umbrella and has accepted the logic of deterrence, while at the same time maintaining a denuclearised status and committing to the goal of disarmament enshrined in the non-proliferation treaty. This article explores the background of Spain's apparently contradictory situation as a denuclearised member of NATO and how it positions itself in regard to the nuclear question in the current security context. It concludes that while Spanish nuclear ‘exceptionalism’ originally rested on the reluctance of the political elites to alter the precarious compromise that once allowed for Spain's accession to NATO as a denuclearised member, it gradually withered away to give way to a close alignment with Alliance policies driven by a desire to preserve strong security links with its partners.     

Identification of Crystals Forming on Porcine Articular Cartilage: A New Method for the Estimation of the Postmortem Interval

Articular cartilage was examined to determine its decomposition sequence and its potential for assessing the postmortem interval. Scanning electron microscopy of articular cartilage from buried porcine trotters showed the presence of microcrystals on the synovial surface. These orthorhombic pyramidal or “coffin”‐shaped crystals, appeared at 3 weeks (22 days) after interment and disappeared after 6 weeks. The disappearance of these crystals was linked to decompositional changes to the integrity of the synovial joint. The formation and disappearance of these crystals was associated with a pH change at the cartilage surface. Scanning electron microscopy–energy‐dispersive X‐ray (SEM‐EDX) analysis showed that the five main elements contained within these crystals were carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, magnesium, and phosphorous. Such elemental analysis suggested the crystals may be struvite (MgNH₄PO₄6(H₂O)). Bacteria cultured from the cartilage synovial surface produced struvite crystals when grown in suitable media and were identified by DNA analysis to be Comamonas sp.