The mourning process and “living with the dead”: Two case reports and a review of the literature

The discovery of mummified bodies in domestic settings is not unusual in the medico‐legal context. It is often a marker of social isolation, even in our urban modern society, and usually occurs among elderly people living alone or in precarious conditions. However, bereaved subjects can sometimes be found managing their grief by deliberately keeping the corpses of their loved ones at home. Investigation of these atypical cases can be challenging and often requires a multidisciplinary effort by different forensic specialists. We report two cases of people who lived for several months with the mummified remains of a relative. In both cases, the judge ordered a forensic psychiatry assessment of the survivors’ competency and the reasons for this peculiar behavior, which is regarded as abnormal in our society. Case 1 describes a shared psychosis, which developed out of a condition of extreme seclusion of the entire family. Case 2 shows that even a mild personality disorder on which a series of traumatic events operates can trigger psychotic decompensation, causing extreme denial of the reality of death. The analysis of these cases contributes to our knowledge of the scantly studied phenomenon of “Living with the Dead” and raises questions about the psychopathology behind it. It is useful to identify subjects who are more prone to developing this “deviant” behavior, in order to distinguish people with mental illness from those who merely want to profit from the death of a loved one.     

Italian Utilities and Public Control: Evidence of Merger Effects

ABSTRACT

Increasing competition-induced mergers amongst public utilities may favour in Italy a reduction in public control and an increase in fair value accounting. In this context, conducting a multiple case study characterized by an innovative comprehensive approach, it is investigated how the peculiarities of the sector affect integration and the subsequent accounting representation of the post-merger entity. The findings show, firstly, the persistent will of the public shareholders to maintain control and, secondly, shed light on a form of interconnected ‘accounting levelling out’ that seems ill-suited to represent the economic reality of the most significant post-merger companies, despite New Public Management provisions.     

The effects of treaty legality and domestic institutional hurdles on environmental treaty ratification

We study the effects of treaty design and domestic institutional hurdles on the ratification behavior of states with respect to multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Specifically, we examine whether (1) strong legality mandated by a treaty such as precisely stated obligations, strong monitoring/enforcement mechanisms, and dispute resolution procedures, and (2) high domestic constitutional hurdles such as requirements for explicit legislative approval deter countries from ratifying a treaty. To test our theoretical claim, we use a new time-series-cross-sectional dataset that includes information on the ratification behavior of 162 countries with respect to 220 MEAs in 1950–2000. We find that treaties that are characterized as ‘hard’ indeed deter ratification. Furthermore, explicit legislative approval requiring supermajority also makes treaty ratification less likely.     

Effects of Delinquency on Alcohol use Among Juveniles in Europe: Results from the ISRD-2 Study

The existence of a correlation between the use of alcohol and juvenile delinquency has long been acknowledged. In order to evaluate the strength and the characteristics of this association in various cultural contexts, we analysed data collected as part of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study- 2 (ISRD-2). The sample consisted of of young people (N?=?57,771) of both sexes, aged between 12 and 16 years, in 25 European countries. After estimating the prevalence of alcohol consumption among young people involved in property offences and violent offences, we assessed the degree to which these types of delinquency were associated with the use of alcohol in the 25 countries. In addition, we attempted to ascertain the influence of belonging to various types of deviant groups on alcohol use. To this end, we used a Mokken Scale Analysis. With this method, we constructed a scale of “gangness” and correlated the scores with alcohol use among juveniles. The results yielded by the present study indicate that alcohol use and delinquency are closely related with one another. In particular, we observed that alcohol consumption seems to be strongly influenced by involvement in delinquent activities. The nature and characteristics of these relationships suggest that the associations between alcohol use and delinquency are reciprocal rather than one-directional. Consequently, alcohol use constitutes a risk factor for criminal behaviour. Likewise, involvement in delinquency increase the risk of alcohol consumption and, especially, of alcohol abuse.     

From Reset to Restart: The US-Russia Cyclical Relationship in the Post-Cold War Era

ABSTRACT

After a quarter of a century of oscillating relations between Washington and Moscow, Trump’s 2017 National Security Strategy named Russia as one of the main challengers to the US-led order. Power transition theory is used to explain the alternating cooperative and competitive phases during each of the first three post-Cold War US presidencies: first, initial attempts at cooperation are driven by US willingness to integrate its former rival into the liberal order; then, regression into competition follows as Washington’s influence rises in territories that Moscow considers sensitive for its national security.     

The West’s Policeman? Assessing Italy’s Status in Global Peacekeeping

ABSTRACT

Since the 1960s, and especially the 1980s, Italy has participated in and led numerous peace support operations (PSOs), predominantly under the aegis of international organisations. Italy’s participation in PSOs authorised by the UN, the EU, NATO and other multilateral agreements stems from a combination of national interest and humanitarianism/multilateralism. However, although acknowledged as a significant contributor, a clear assessment of its status in global peacekeeping is still missing. In fact, Italy plays a role that is comparatively greater than all Western nations in the international fora taken into account, and, as such, can be described as ‘the West’s policeman’, from both a quantitative (number of troops) and qualitative (role within the missions) perspective. This might be somewhat curbed in the future, however, due to some of the country’s limitations on foreign policy.     

Rechtliche Anforderungen an die Eingriffsbilanzierung und deren naturschutzfachliche Umsetzung am Beispiel von Abgrabungsvorhaben

Zur naturschutzfachlichen Bewertung und Bilanzierung von Eingriffen in Natur und Landschaft sind seit der Einführung der naturschutzrechtlichen Eingriffsregelung im Jahre 1976 durch Wissenschaft und Praxis zahlreiche Bewertungs- und Bilanzierungsverfahren entwickelt worden, deren praktische Anwendung jedoch nach wie vor erhebliche rechtliche Probleme aufwirft. Diese resultieren unter anderem daraus, dass zur Ermittlung der mit einem Eingriff verbundenen Beeinträchtigungen häufig ausschließlich auf—zufällige—aktuelle faktische Gegebenheiten und deren Wirkungen auf Natur und Landschaft (Ist-Zustand) abgestellt wird. Der Beitrag weist nach, dass diese Vorgehensweise in bestimmten Fallgestaltungen den Grundprinzipien der naturschutzrechtlichen Eingriffsregelung zuwiderlaufen kann, und zeigt für diese Fallgestaltungen rechtskonforme naturschutzfachliche Lösungsmöglichkeiten auf. *) Die Verfasserin ist Mitarbeiterin der Anders u. Thomé Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH in Krefeld.**) Die Verfasserin ist Inhaberin des Büros für Landschaftsplanung S. u. A. Brandenfels in Münster.

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De-Mediatizing the Media Case: Elements of a Critical Approach

The Judgment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwandain the Media case focuses on the responsibility of three individualscharged on the basis of their control of a radio channel anda newspaper in Rwanda. Due to overt freedom of speech issuesrelating to this Judgment, it was immediately mass-mediatized.This article analyses the case from a purely legal perspective,focusing on the issue of ‘how’ the Judges determinedthe culpability of individuals for crimes concerning the media'sinfluence in the preparation and execution of mass crimes. Somecritical elements appear in this perspective, including: the(il)legitimacy of the extension of jurisdiction ratione temporis;the (in)opportunity to establish the mens rea of an inchoateoffence via the actus reus of a non-inchoate offence; the (un)certaindistinction between forms of direct and indirect participation;and the (in)determination of the criteria applied to reducethe sentence against one of the accused (as a form of reparationfor the violation of procedure by the Prosecutor).