Notes on contributors

Notes on Contributors

Notes on contributors     

Cluster hanging suicides in the young in South Australia

Retrospective review of hanging suicides in individuals aged ≤ 17 years was undertaken at Forensic Science South Australia, Australia, over two 5-year periods: 1995-1999 and 2005-2009. Seven cases of hanging suicides were identified from 1995 to 1999, with a further 14 cases from 2005 to 2009, an increase of 100% (p < 0.001). Hanging accounted for 33.3% of all suicides in this age group (7/21) from 1995 to 1999, compared with 93.3% of the total number of suicides (14/15) in the second 5-year period. In contrast, Australian national data from 1998 and 2008 showed a 30% decrease in hanging suicides in the young, from one case/100,000 population in 1998 to 0.7 in 2008. Cluster suicides occur in the young and are often initiated by direct communication. As it is possible that Internet-based social sites may facilitate this phenomenon, investigations should include an evaluation of the victim's Internet access given the potential risk of similar actions by peers.     

Real Personal Uncertainty Induced by Means of Task-Related Feedback: Effects on Reactions to Voice and No-Voice Procedures

Building and extending on research on uncertainty management and voice and no-voice procedures, we examine how real personal uncertainty moderates the way in which people react to getting or being denied an opportunity to voice one??s opinions about decisions to be made. Specifically, results of two experiments show that conditions in which participants receive task-related feedback that induces personal uncertainty (versus conditions that produce more personal certainty) lead to stronger effects of voice and especially no-voice procedures on participants?? procedural fairness judgments (Experiments 1 and 2). Findings also reveal that in these conditions stronger effects of voice and particularly no-voice procedures can be found on participants?? anger about the way they have been treated, especially when participants are predisposed to react in intense terms to affect-related events (Experiment 2). Implications for the literature on uncertainty management and the social psychology of voice and no-voice procedures are discussed.     

Digital thombos: A new source for 18th century Sri Lankan family history. Research note

The Sri Lanka National Archives (SLNA) in Colombo preserve under the names of head thombo and land thombo several hundreds of eighteenth-century registers on family composition and landownership. At the time of their compilation by the Dutch East India Company or VOC the thombos suited a general administrative purpose; currently they are used only in genealogical research and in court cases concerning land disputes. Demographic, family and colonial history, however, can profit considerably from this neglected source. In the following we describe a project to digitize the registers of the Colombo province, and we discuss and evaluate the variables in the database by focusing on the family groups of a relatively small district.     

International labour migration and local rural activities in the Kyrgyz Republic: determinants and trade-offs

This paper uses a representative household-budget survey from the Asian Development Bank to analyse the determinants of international labour migration, distinguishing between seasonal and permanent (long-term) moves and comparing them with determinants of rural local income-generating activities in the Kyrgyz Republic. It has been found that both permanent migration and local nonfarm-wages employment substitute agricultural activities and attract the most educated rural individuals. The difference is that the permanent migration option is unattainable for individuals from poor households with small land holdings. They tend to engage in local nonfarm activities, while those who are educated and have resources to finance the cost of migration choose to leave the country for long periods of time. In contrast to permanent migration, seasonal migration does not require the possession of either higher or vocational education, which can make it potentially less harmful for local development in terms of brain drain.     

When “Shelter-in-Place” Isn’t Shelter That’s Safe: a Rapid Analysis of Domestic Violence Case Differences during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Stay-at-Home Orders

Journal of Family Violence - This study explored the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on domestic violence (DV) with the following research questions: 1) Did DV occurring during the pandemic...     

The Commission for Relief in Belgium and the Political Diplomatic History of the First World War

During the First World War, the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) supplied occupied Belgium with food, provoking discord between military and political leaders on both sides. The CRB's work undermined the Allies' economic blockade of the enemy, attracting military criticism. In Germany, politicians favoured sustaining the food supply to prevent unrest, whilst the Army wanted to exploit Belgium's resources. From 1916 onwards, the CRB became a bone of contention in Germany in the dispute between military and political leaders about unrestricted submarine warfare. It also loomed large in the political and military debate about the attitude to neutral countries: the Allies wanted them to brave the German threat and cooperate with the blockade policy—otherwise, food imports from Allied countries would be forbidden. Tonnage and food for the CRB were incorporated into the negotiations with neutral countries about their imports and the use of home-grown produce. The debates about the CRB thus exemplify the relationship between military events and the war's economic and social significance. This study of the CRB shows that political/diplomatic historiography can bridge the gap between the military and socioeconomic history of the First World War.     

The strategic value of new university technology and its impact on exclusivity of licensing transactions: An empirical study

Commercialization of new university technology within the new product development process is an important tool by which established firms can expand their innovative capabilities. The strategic importance of the university technology to the firm, however, can vary considerably. An exclusivity agreement is a useful tool to protect the firm’s investment and help ensure that value is appropriated through the commercialization process. An empirical study of 66 technology transfer projects in the information and communications technology industry reveals that licensing transactions are usually secured by some form of exclusivity agreements when the product innovation enabled by the new university technology is new-to-the-firm or new-to-the-market and the firm’s perception of the strategic value of the new technologies is high.