The experience of stress for correction officers: A double-bind theory of correctional stress

This study investigated the experience of stress for 143 mostly male New Jersey correction officers, including officers from both state and county, of all ranks, and with varying lengths of service. Each filled in a questionnaire eliciting information regarding perceptions of stress in themselves and others, situational and temporal experience of correctional stress, consequences in terms of physical health, emotional and interpersonal relations, and job performance, perceptions of sources of correctional stress, and coping techniques utilized. While objective indicators such as physical illnesses and high divorce rates suggested that the job was indeed a stressful one, the correction officers presented a tough, “macho” image, denying their stress and its consequences, although they were more willing to report stress-related problems in their fellow workers. While they identified officer-inmate interaction as their major situation of stress, they attributed their problems in this area to administrative malfunctions which place them in a classic double-bind predicament in relation to rule enforcement. Their powerlessness in this situation is rendered especially stressful by the macho working personality which the job requires of them.     

Sex assessment from carpals bones: discriminant function analysis in a contemporary Mexican sample

Sex assessment is one of the first essential steps in human identification, in both medico-legal cases and bio-archaeological contexts. Fragmentary human remains compromised by different types of burial or physical insults may frustrate the use of the traditional sex estimation methods, such as the analysis of the skull and pelvis. Currently, the application of discriminant functions to sex unidentified skeletal remains is steadily increasing. However, several studies have demonstrated that, due to variation in size and patterns of sexual dimorphism, discriminant functions are population-specific. In this study, in order to improve sex assessment from skeletal remains and to establish population-specific discriminant functions, the diagnostic values of the carpal bones were considered. A sample of 136 individuals (78 males, 58 females) of known sex and age was analyzed. They belong to a contemporary identified collection from the Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City). The age of the individuals ranged between 25 and 85 years. Between four and nine measurements of each carpal bone were taken. Independent t-tests confirm that all carpals are sexually dimorphic. Univariate measurements produce accuracy levels that range from 61.8% to 90.8%. Classification accuracies ranged between 81.3% and 92.3% in the multivariate stepwise discriminant analysis. In addition, intra- and inter-observer error tests were performed. These indicated that replication of measurements was satisfactory for the same observer over time and between observers. These results suggest that carpal bones can be used for assessing sex in both forensic and bio-archaeological identification procedures and that bone dimensions are population specific.     

Advantage of affinity histochemistry combined with histology to investigate death causes: indications from sample cases

Mast cell histochemistry has been proposed in addition to classic histological methods to estimate the course of traumatic events before and after death. We have addressed the utility of this approach on nine victims of different types of trauma. Sections of wounded skin were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and with fluorescent avidin to tag mast cells. Mast cell numbers were evaluated by both direct and digitalized counts. Intact skin was used as control. The results on mast cells implemented the findings upon hematoxylin and eosin stain and helped to put the wounds and death in chronological sequence. Digitalized morphometry allowed to reduce intra- and inter-observer variation. We conclude that combined histological and histochemical analyses can be of practical use in forensic pathology, that a preliminary setting of the reference values is needed for each laboratory, and that image analysis can be of help for the quantification of the results.     

Sex assessment from the carpals bones: discriminant function analysis in a 20th century Spanish sample

Sex assessment is one of the first essential steps in human identification, in both medico-legal cases and bio-archaeological contexts. Fragmentary human remains compromised by different types of inhumation or physical insults may frustrate the use of the traditional sex estimation methods, such as the analysis of the skull and pelvis. Currently, the application of discriminant functions to sex unidentified skeletal remains is steadily increasing. However, several studies have demonstrated that, due to variation in size and patterns of sexual dimorphism, discriminant function equations are population-specific [1,2,5,12,61]. In this study, in order to improve sex assessment from skeletal remains and to establish population-specific discriminant functions, the diagnostic values of the carpal bones were considered. A sample of 100 individuals (50 males and 50 females) of known sex and age was analyzed. They belong to a 20th century identified collection from the Municipal Cemetery of "San José", Granada (Spain) and housed in the Laboratory of Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada (Spain). The age of the individuals ranged between 22 and 85 years. Between four and nine measurements of each carpal bone were performed [41,59]. Discriminant function statistics showed a sex assessment accuracy as high as 97.8%. The results suggest that carpal bones can be used for assessing sex in both forensic and bio-archaeological identification procedures.     

A review of the evolution and state of transboundary freshwater treaties

Internationally shared basins supply 60 % of global freshwater supply, are home to about 1/3 of the world’s population, and are focal points for interstate conflict and, as importantly, cooperation. To manage these waters, states have developed a large set of formal treaties, but until now these treaties have been difficult to access and systematically assess. This paper presents and makes publicly available the assembly and organization of the largest known collection of transboundary water agreements in existence. We apply for the first time a “lineage” concept to differentiate between independent agreements and groups of legally related texts, spatially reference the texts to a global basin database, and identify agreement purposes, goals and a variety of content areas. The 688 agreements identified were signed between 1820 and 2007 and constitute 250 independent treaties which apply to 113 basins. While the scope and content varies widely, these treaties nominally govern almost 70 % of the world’s transboundary basin area. In terms of content, treaties have shifted from an earlier focus on regulation and development of water resources to the management of resources and the setting of frameworks for that management. While “traditional” issues such as hydropower, water allocation and irrigation are still important, the environment is now the most commonly mentioned issue in treaty texts. Treaties are also increasingly likely to include data and information sharing provisions, have conflict resolution mechanisms, and include mechanisms for participation beyond traditional nation-state actors. Generalizing, treaties have become more comprehensive over time, both in the issues they address and the tools they use to manage those issues cooperatively.     

American military presence in Europe

Despite the efforts put into negotiations, they have created a self-perpetuating cycle of disappointment, frustration and empty dialogue. With contradictory Palestinian and Israeli agendas – Palestinians negotiating for an independent state, an end to occupation, etc., and Israel negotiating primarily over security concerns – one must question the reason behind prolonged negotiations. Is US mediation, accused by many of extreme bias towards Israel, to blame? Or are negotiations an Israeli objective to execute a particular political agenda? In spite of the international community's recognition of establishing an independent Palestinian state, the current reality on the ground undermines any creation of one. This reality was allowed only by the strategic prolonging of negotiations. A particular focus on the proceedings following the Oslo Accords explains how Palestinian--Israeli negotiations have been used to pursue a specific objective.     

Italy's Mediterranean role

ABSTRACT

Three main drivers underlie states’ intent to expand gas supply: energy security, geopolitics and climate goals. Such considerations also drive Greece’s expansive gas policy, but come with significant caveats. First, pipeline politics entails geopolitical costs and inflated anticipated gains. Second, while gas supply has yielded energy security for Greece, its cost-effectiveness is contentious. Third, the gas option obscures the transition to smart, clean energy sources and systems. A rational actor model within a rationalist-weak cognitivist framework can account for Greece’s gas policy. Yet, its limited success points to the need for a clean energy policy promising higher climate, energy and geopolitical gains.     

The politics of institutional reform in Italy

This article reviews the recent Italian debate on possible constitutional and institutional reforms aimed at improving governmental decision‐making capacity. In the first section, the post‐war institutional developments are briefly discussed to show how the present problems have emerged. Various reform proposals affecting the electoral system, Parliament and government are then analysed, together with the political pre‐conditions and consequences linked to their possible adoption. With reference to these political considerations, the various kinds of reform are evaluated in terms of their capacity to achieve their goals and of their acceptability to the political parties.     

The implementation of the EU Transparency Obligations Directive--a country-by-country analysis

Dr Axel Gehringer Hengeler Mueller Stefano Cuccia Head of Market Supervision, TLX, Milan David Byers McCann FitzGerald, Solicitors, Dublin Henri Wagner and Anne-Marie Thomas Allen & Overy, Luxembourg Petra Zijp and Matthieu van Straaten NautaDutilh NV, Amsterdam José Manuel Cuenca and Yolanda Azanza Clifford Chance Daniel Bushner and Jonathan Parry Ashurst, London The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.