The Political Power of Words: The Birth of Pro-democratic Discourse in the Nineteenth Century in the United States and France

Comparing France and the United States, I propose a general model for assessing the birth of pro-democratic discourse. I first explain why founders of the modern 'democracies' were openly and vehemently anti-democratic. Next, I focus on two types of situation where the word 'democracy' is used on the political stage – when political actors want to distinguish themselves from their opponents and when political actors want to sanctify the political regime. The first case covers three specific modes of the use of the term 'democracy': (i) distinguishing oneself negatively by discrediting the opponent (the term 'democracy' is pejorative and associated with the 'enemy'); (ii) distinguishing oneself positively by asserting one's worthiness (the term 'democracy' is positive and associated with 'us'); (iii) fighting for an exclusive claim to the term in order to set oneself apart (several camps proclaim themselves 'democrat' and mutually accuse each other of usurping or even 'stealing' the title). I conclude that the use of the word 'democracy' generally results from a single motivation – to increase one's own political power or to diminish the power of one's opponents.     

Trauma Interventions and Systems Change in Rural Areas: The Role of the Juvenile Court Judge in Collaboration with Mental Health Professionals

This article will focus on the evolution of the collaborative work of the Louisiana Rural Trauma Services Center (LRTSC), a Center within the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, and the 23rd Judicial District, a jurisdiction in south Louisiana serving three rural parishes. We will describe how the collaboration and joint efforts, and the changes that have been made in terms of availability of evaluation and treatment resources, seem to be influencing both the educational and judicial systems in St. James Parish and potential sustainability of some of the identified resources. The article will examine how the court and the LRTSC work together with emphasis on the evaluation, reporting and recommendation processes, outcomes and benefits to date, and challenges for the future.     

Forensic-medical aspects of dermatoglyphics of the hands and feet

Issues on possibility of using capillary patterns of hands and feet in medicolegal examination of unidentified dead bodies and unknown persons, in cases of disputed paternity and maternity and child substitution are considered. Up-to-date theories on inheritance of dermatoglyphics features, their racial, sexual, age and occupational variability as well as interrelationship with some genetic diseases are analysed. Ways of researches in the field of dermatoglyphics of hands and feet for expert practice are outlined.