Public Opinion in Russia on the Politics of Human Trafficking

The growing literature on human trafficking lacks survey data on citizens' attitudes towards it in states of origin. This article discusses the results of a nationwide public opinion poll conducted in June 2007 in Russia and explores the views of two focus groups. It examines Russians' thoughts about the causes and scale of human trafficking and beliefs about what should be done to tackle it, by whom and how. Both sets of data reveal pessimism about state capacity to address human trafficking effectively.     

A pilot study of the suicide victim's last contact with a health professional

Suicide victims frequently have contact with health care professionals in the months before death. The primary aims of this pilot psychological autopsy study were to determine the feasibility of undertaking a full study and to describe the characteristics of the last health care professional contacts with suicide victims aged > 34 years. We interviewed the informants of 52 suicides. Interviews were obtained from 37 health care professionals who had contact with 28 of the suicides during the 3 months before death. The primary reasons for the last contact with the health care professional were mental health (62%), physical health (22%), and social (14%). 87% of health care professional contacts occurred within 1 month of death. Symptoms of depression were noted in 49% of health care professional contacts. Consensus psychological autopsy diagnoses of depression were made in 64% of suicide victims. Overall suicide risk was assessed by 38% of health care professionals during their last contact. This was more likely to occur when the deceased presented as depressed, was aged < 60 years or seen by a psychiatrist. None was assessed to be suicidal. The family informants regarded nine of the suicide victims to have been suicidal before death but informed a health care professional in only one third of the cases. Critical information that might have altered the management is not often accessed from family members.     

Religious Protection from Populist Violence: The Catholic Church and the Philippine Drug War

Populists often demonize outgroups while undermining institutions that protect citizens against the abuse of state power. Under these conditions, how can vulnerable communities protect themselves? We argue that actors coupling a normative commitment to human rights with the local organizational capacity to intervene can systematically reduce victimization. Focusing on the Philippine Catholic Church in the country's ongoing “drug war,” we identify five potential mechanisms producing protection. Directly, these actors can raise attention, offer sanctuary, or disrupt enforcement, while indirectly they can shrink vulnerable populations and build local solidarity. We evaluate this argument with a mixed-method research design. A new dataset of over 2,000 drug war killings throughout Metro Manila shows that neighborhoods with a Catholic parish experience approximately 30% fewer killings than those without. Original interviews with clergy and laity in these parishes support both direct and indirect mechanisms, with strongest evidence for attention raising and building community solidarity.     

Identity and Media-use Strategies of the Estonian and Latvian Russian-speaking Populations Amid Political Crisis

Abstract

In this essay, we examine the connections between media use and trust strategies, and the identity development of the Russian-speaking populations in Estonia and Latvia in the context of the political crisis in Ukraine. We argue against the levelling, uniform view of Russian-speaking audiences as being completely under the influence of Russian media and thereby politically identifying themselves with the Kremlin. We present a typology of Russian-speaking audiences, explain how they construct their identities as audience members within these types in times of political crisis, and discuss how this self-identification as audience members shapes the development of broader civic and ethnic identities among the Estonian and Latvian Russian-speaking populations.     

Skin penetration surrogate for the evaluation of less lethal kinetic energy munitions

Although the benefits of the use of less lethal kinetic energy munitions are numerous, there is a need to evaluate the munitions prior to deployment to ensure their intended effect. The objective of the current research was to validate a surrogate that could be used to predict the risk of penetration of these devices. Existing data from biomechanical testing with post-mortem human specimens (PMHS) served as the foundation for this research. Development of the surrogate involved simulating the various layers of the skin and underlying soft tissues using a combination of materials. A standardized 12-gauge impactor was used to assess each combination. The energy density that resulted in a 50% risk of penetration for the anterior thorax region (23.99 J/cm(2)) from the previous research was matched using a specific combination of layers. Twelve various combinations of materials were tested with the 50% risk of penetration determined. The final validated surrogate consisted of a Laceration Assessment Layer (LAL) of natural chamois and .6 cm of closed-cell foam over a Penetration Assessment Layer (PAL) of 20% ordnance gelatin. This surrogate predicted a 50% risk of penetration at 23.88 J/cm(2). Injury risk curves for the PMHS and surrogate development work are presented.     

The Predicament of Modern Law: Parker's History of a Law Without a History that Matters

Kunal Parker's Common Law, History, and Democracy in America, 1790–1900: Legal Thought Before Modernism shows how nineteenth‐century thinkers thought about law and history differently than do post‐Holmesian modernist sociolegal scholars, whose ahistorical law appears contingent on politics, power, or will. Understanding time and history to be essential to law, nineteenth‐century jurists conceived of a common law that was able to work with and to shape democracy, Parker argues. Contra modernist histories then, Parker claims that the common law was not a reactionary force that stood in the way of democracy and economy. His history of legal thought before modernism suggests, further, the predicament of antifoundationalist modern law and modernist scholars: stripped of time and without its own history, how can law be anything other than politics, power, or will?     

Irish Matrimonial Property Division in Practice: a Case Study

This article analyses patterns of property division on maritalbreakdown in Ireland. At present, little information is availableon the operation of marital breakdown legislation (the FamilyLaw Act 1995 and the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996). This isprimarily due to a strict in camera rule, which has preventedproper study of judicial decisions; lack of reporting and ofwritten judgments are also problems. Little information is availableon the nature or frequency of property orders or agreements.Consequently, practical evaluation and informed policy discussionhave been severely curtailed. In an attempt to fill this gap,this study analyses 89 divorce, separation and judicial separationcases, using data collected from 44 private and Legal Aid familylaw practitioners in multiple locations. The principal focusis on the types of orders or agreements made and the reasons(if any) given for those orders. Differences between privatepractice and Legal Aid cases are considered, as are regionalvariations in orders. Consent and contested outcomes are contrasted,as are divorce and judicial separation cases. The impact offactors such as gender, age, employment status, dependent childrenand marriage duration is analysed. The conclusion highlightskey issues and discrepancies which may give rise to concern.     

Alcoholism Level Differences between Vietnamese Batterers and Non-Batterers

Frequency of alcohol consumption and alcoholism levels were compared between Vietnamese batterers and non-batterers. A sample of 200 Vietnamese men was administered a self-reported questionnaire which combined the Conflict Tactics Scale 2 and the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test. Results of the study revealed statistical significant differences between the two groups regarding frequency of alcohol consumption and alcoholism levels. However, through logistic regression analysis, it was found that participants’ frequency of alcohol consumption and alcoholism levels were not statistically significant in predicting battering among Vietnamese men. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Determining Factors of the Effectiveness of IP-based Spin-offs: Comparing the Netherlands and the US

In this paper we describe and analyse IP-based spin-offs as a relatively new phenomenon for transferring knowledge from science to industry. We argue that the effectiveness of this mechanism is subject to a complex array of institutional factors. These factors entail national, sectoral, regional and managerial institutions. Based on an indicative comparison between the Netherlands and the United States we find that is especially the combination of national and sectoral institutions that condition whether an IP-based spin-off is established in the first place, whereas regional and managerial institutions condition its subsequent chances of success. We finish by formulating some notions for public policy.