Behavioral science and the juvenile death penalty

Behavioral science data included in an amicus brief has been introduced into a recent Supreme Court decision (Thompson v. Oklahoma) involving the juvenile death penalty. However, a close examination of the data fails to provide support for either the pro- or antijuvenile death penalty position.     

A case of Cotard's syndrome associated with self-starvation

Cotard's syndrome is a psychotic condition often associated with nihilistic delusions. This syndrome can be associated with destructive behaviors directed at the self and/or others. In this report we highlight the psychiatric-legal issues involving a case of Cotard's syndrome associated with self-starvation.     

On credit and blame: disentangling the motivations of public policy decision-making behaviour

While the idea that policy-makers are motivated by the desire to earn “credit” for their work has a long history, policy studies since Weaver (J Public Policy 6(4):371–398, 1986) have also used the concept of “blame” to help understand these often observed but little studied aspect of policy decision-making activity. Observed credit- and blame-related activities range from the agenda-denial behaviour of politicians to the use of policy evaluations to paint overly positive pictures of the effectiveness of policy efforts. Despite their frequent invocation by analysts, however, the status of “blame” and “credit” and their component parts is not well understood and different uses and conceptions of the term abound in the policy literature. This article addresses three issues surrounding the concepts which require clarification: first, the relationship between “blame” and “credit” as motivators of policy agents and activities; second, the related but not synonymous behavioural notions of “blame avoidance” and “credit claiming” and their relationship to more primordial ideas of “blame” and “credit”; and third, the notions of “reactive” versus “anticipatory” blame avoidance and credit claiming. The article develops a framework to help move the discussion of these three issues and of the basic concept forward. It argues that blame especially should be studied more widely from the view of the public as well as that of the public official, and that both concepts should be analysed as part of the larger issue of the legitimation of public actions, rather than, as is often the case, solely as an aspect of the utilitarian calculations and risk management activities of politicians and officials.     

idPAD: Paper Analytical Device for Presumptive Identification of Illicit Drugs

As drug overdose deaths across the United States continue to rise, there is increasing interest in field testing of illicit substances. This work discusses a paper-based analytical device (idPAD) that can run a library of 12 colorimetric tests at the same time, each detecting different chemical functional groups and materials found in illicit drugs, distractor substances, and cutting agents. The idPAD requires no electricity, costs less than $2 USD, and requires minimal training to operate. The results of the 12 tests form a color barcode which is “read” by comparison to standard images. The accuracy of the idPAD was assessed using samples of heroin, cocaine HCl, crack, and methamphetamine at concentrations of 25%–100% in a lactose matrix, as well as pure lactose. Based on 840 “reads” by three different users, the idPAD showed 95% sensitivity and 100% specificity for detecting these drugs; the most common error was mistaking cocaine HCl for crack or crack for cocaine HCl. In a second step, samples of heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine (n = 30) and distractor substances (pharmaceuticals, cutting agents, and other illicit drugs, n = 64) were tested by two readers, yielding a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 97%. Targeted substances were detected reliably at 55–180 μg/lane, and the idPAD was found to be stable for at least 3 months when stored at room temperature. The library approach used in the idPAD may provide the accuracy and robustness necessary for a presumptive field drug test.     

Maternal Predictors of Noncoital Sexual Behavior: Examining a Nationally Representative Sample of Asian and White American Adolescents Who Have Never had Sex

Current research in adolescent sexuality has largely focused on vaginal-penile intercourse, with less attention to noncoital sexual activity. This study examined how maternal factors influence the transition from virginity to noncoital behavior among White and Asian American youth who have never experienced vaginal intercourse. We conducted logistic regression analyses to examine whether traditional maternal predictors of coital sex were important in understanding noncoital sexual activity of these two populations. Waves 1 and 2 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were utilized. For White Americans (n = 3,926), direct and indirect maternal factors were associated with noncoital sexual involvement: maternal support, control, mother–child communication about sex, and adolescents’ perceptions of maternal approval of sex. In contrast, only maternal support was associated with the onset of noncoital sexual behavior for Asian Americans (n = 611). The study underscores the need to explore culturally specific factors that may influence Asian American adolescent noncoital sexual behaviors.

Copyright Infringement in a Borderless World - Does Territoriality Matter? Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v Canadian Association of Internet Providers [2004] 2 SCR 427

The recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Societyof Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v CanadianAssociation of Internet Providers [2004] 2 SCR 427 is significantfor two reasons: (a) the Canadian Supreme Court held that InternetService Providers should be exempted from copyright liabilityas long as they provide only a conduit service in transmittingcopyright materials between Internet users (a point which isconsistent with many national copyright laws); (b) the majorityof the Canadian Supreme Court arrived at the conclusion thatthe appropriate test to determine whether an infringement forthe unauthorized transmission of online copyright material hasoccurred within the Canadian jurisdiction is the ‘realand substantial connection’ test (LeBel J, however, dissentedand was of the view that the correct test to apply is the ‘hostserver’ test). This paper studies these two tests as propoundedby the Canadian Supreme Court and assesses their strengths andweaknesses, especially in light of the territoriality principlein copyright law.     

Social entrepreneurship as intervention: Findings from a venture development program for marginalized youth

Leadership and career readiness are important goals for youth development. Entrepreneurship has recently been considered as a potential intervention to support these aims. This study examined a venture development program for low-income youth through participant surveys (n?=?57) and a comparison group (n?=?72). Findings from structural equation modeling indicate relationships between the program and project management skills, which in turn was associated with youth leadership. Findings also showed relationships between the program and financial literacy, which was associated with an increase in future orientation. This study shows early evidence of entrepreneurship and venture creation as mechanisms to support marginalized youth.     

Epidemiology of completed suicides in Singapore for 2001 and 2002

This study provides an analysis of 640 completed suicide cases in Singapore for the years 2001 and 2002, compared to previous years and in relation to demographic and socioeconomic factors, as well as to the characteristics of a subgroup of suicide victims with prior psychiatric illness. There was little change in the suicide pattern over the 2 years studied compared to previous years. The sex ratio was constant at 1.5. Population-adjusted ratios were 1 for Chinese, 0.5 for Malays, and >1 for both Indians and other ethnic groups. Falling from heights ranked first in terms of method adopted for both years. A disproportionately higher number of suicides were recorded for the 25-34 and the > or =75-year-old age groups. A total of 47 (17.2%) in 2001 and 74 (20.2%) in 2002 of the cases had a history of prior psychiatric illness, with psychotic disorders being the most common diagnostic category. There was also a statistically significant correlation between unemployment and incidence rates. Although the overall rate of elderly suicides had gone down since the 1990s, prevention strategy should focus on the elderly as this rate is still about 3-4 times the national average.     

Misidentified political figures: an underappreciated danger

A series of twelve patients is presented in which each patient suffered from one or more misidentification syndromes and also misidentified one or more political figures. The fact that misidentification syndromes have been associated with physical violence and that the majority of the patients studied had a history of physical violence suggests that these individuals could pose a significant danger of physical harm to others, including political figures. Persons who threaten political figures should be evaluated for misidentification syndromes.