Study of an economic issue as a possible indicator of suicide risk: a discussion of stock prices and suicide

There were more than 30,000 suicides in 1998 in Japan, and since then, the numbers have remained high. In 2009, the number of suicides per a day was c. 90. This phenomenon constitutes a major social problem. One of the major reasons for the rapid increase in the number of suicides appears to be the worsening economic problems. It is therefore necessary to research the relationship between economic issues and suicide. In this study, we examined the relationship between the value of the Nikkei Stock Average and suicide rates in Japan. The value of the Nikkei Stock Average may be related to suicide among men. On the basis of the results, relevant researchers and organizations should understand the factors that relate to suicide to better carry out specific suicide prevention measures.     

Group selection of service efforts and accomplishments indicators for colleges

In this study, a set of key Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) indicators was determined for higher-education external reports. Personal interviews were conducted with presidents and administrators from 28 colleges to determine their preferences for and the usefulness of performance indicators. Participants’ perceptions were analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process. In addition to determining indicators, the study discovered an unexpectedly high correlation between the key indicators selected by private and public institutions.     

The Future of Australian Public Services

It is very rare for the stars in the political firmament to come together at one time so as to create a situation where the two major eastern states and the Commonwealth will be election free, barring accidents, for three years. It is an opportunity which is rarely provided and should be grasped immediately if Australia is to continue on the path of reform and establish an enduring position in the West Pacific Basin region as well as delivering improved living standards to its people.     

Characterization of pyrotechnic reaction residue particles by SEM/EDS

Today the method commonly used for detecting gunshot residue is through the combined use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). In recent years, this same methodology began to find use in detecting and characterizing pyrotechnic reaction residue (PRR) particles whether produced by explosion or burning. This is accomplished by collecting particulate samples from a surface in the immediate area of the pyrotechnic reaction. Suspect PRR particles are identified by their morphology (typically 1 to 20 microm spheroidal particles) using an SEM; then they are analyzed for the elements they contain using X-ray EDS. This can help to identify the general type of pyrotechnic composition involved.     

Forensic identification of a rapist using unusual evidence.

This case report demonstrates a rape case, where no semen, hair, or fingerprints were left by the perpetrator at the crime scene, but rather uncharacteristic biological and physical evidence in the form of a lollipop and a pair of glasses. Three separate forensic laboratories collaborated using conventional forensic methods of PCR DNA typing, photography, and toolmark comparisons to provide investigators with scientific evidence which in turn was instrumental in bringing a violent criminal to justice. The importance of evaluating each item of evidence and realizing its forensic value is stressed in this case report.     

Equal before the law?

This article reviews empirically the relationship between politicians and decisions to prosecute or not to prosecute businesspeople who are suspected of fraud and of complicity in the supply of arms to Iraq, within the context of (a) conventional ideas about impartiality of the administration of law; and (b) the politics of bureaucratic survival. It discusses some key difficulties in ascertaining “what happened” and relative culpability in serious fraud trials, and the personal interest-inspired factors that can influence testimony. It concludes that in the UK, there is relative autonomy in decision-making in serious fraud cases, but that in “politically sensitive areas” such as the supply of arms to Iraq, there has been overt interference on purported “public interest” grounds with the information made available to the defence and even to the prosecution itself. It notes that without access to the grounds for decisionsnot to prosecute, their “purely legal” justification is difficult to challenge, and this is of most social significance where members of social elites are concerned. It concludes by addressing some difficulties in producing procedural models which provide genuine accountability for white-collar prosecutions and non-prosecutions in different countries.     

Biofuel, dairy production and beef in Brazil: competing claims on land use in São Paulo state

This paper examines the competing claims on land use resulting from the expansion of biofuel production. Sugarcane for biofuel drives agrarian change in So Paulo state, which has become the major ethanol-producing region in Brazil. We analyse how the expansion of sugarcane-based ethanol in So Paulo state has impacted dairy and beef production. Historical changes in land use, production technologies, and product and land prices are described, as well as how these are linked to changing policies in Brazil. We argue that sugarcane/biofuel expansion should be understood in the context of the dynamics of other agricultural sectors and the long-term national political economy rather than as solely due to recent global demand for biofuel. This argument is based on a meticulous analysis of changes in three important sectors - sugarcane, dairy farming, and beef production - and the mutual interactions between these sectors.