Human rights, ethical principles, and standards in forensic psychology

Human rights create a protective zone around persons and allow them the opportunity to further their valued personal projects without interference from others. This article considers the relationship between human rights and the general ethical principles and standards contained in the American Psychological Association's (APA's) code of ethics as applied to the forensic domain. First, it analyzes the concept of human rights, their structure, and their justification. Second, it briefly describes the APA's most recent code of ethics and the principles and standards that compose it. Third, it concludes by explicitly examining the relationship between the present human rights model and the APA's code, demonstrating how it is able to provide an additional ethical resource for forensic practitioners in their clinical work and so deepen their ethical sensibilities and decision making. Finally, the article presents a case study and discusses the human rights issues confronting practitioners inherent in such situations.     

The Internal Structure of the Child Depression Inventory in Russian and UK Schoolchildren

The internal structure of a self-report rating scale for depressed mood for schoolchildren—the Child Depression Inventory (CDI)—was examined in both a Russian and a UK sample. The internal reliability and consistency of the scale was high in both samples, and factor analysis revealed that the internal structure of depressed mood was similar in both samples, and further that it was also similar for boys and girls across the two countries. The results support the use of the CDI to measure depressed mood in research with non-Western samples.     

Vote early,vote often? Tele–democracy in European cities

This paper presents the detailed results of an empirical survey on tele–democracy in 31 European cities covering 14 states. It shows that progressive city–administrations in Europe are early adopters of tele–democracy with a diffusion rate of 72 per cent. Analysis of the survey results illustrates that cities are using tele–democracy to improve service access and the quality of services. This research shows that electronic or Internet voting is a priority for only a minority of cities. The paper suggests a typology of tele–democracy and makes wide–ranging policy suggestions. In the debate over whether information and communications technologies will have a beneficial or detrimental effect on the quality and legitimacy of local government, this paper takes an optimistic stance based on the evidence of the survey.     

美国工商界道德意识面面观

调查显示,美国有相当数量的工商界人士在本人的道德标准与企业组织要求之间进退两难。文章以准确的数据反映了美国社会工商界道德观念和行为的现状,并根据心理学家劳伦斯·科尔勃格的道德发展理论分析了经理人员不良行为产生的原因。文章分析了美国宇宙飞船“挑战者”号的失事这一案例,提出了现有的伦理道德理论和标准能否恰当地解决新技术、新形式组织和新的社会制度带来的责任问题。     

Mediation and Restorative Justice in Belgium

In this article we present, discuss and try to evaluate initiatives which were recently introduced into the Belgian criminal justice system, aimed at the development of creative answers to crime that avoid the use of traditional prison sentences. We decided to focus this analysis on the practice of mediation as it is actually considered the most innovative approach to the crime problem. Mediation as a problem-solving intervention has to be considered in direct relation to the discussion of the purpose of the criminal justice system. By putting the emphasis on the dialogue between the victim and the offender, a common solution is worked out with the help of a mediator. In this way reparation, redress and sometimes even reconciliation become core values of the penal action.     

Recovering the transnational life of Charlotte Maxeke: an interview with Zubeida Jaffer

Abstract

A conversation with Zubeida Jaffer, discussing her recent book Beauty of the Heart: The Life and Times of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke (2016) and Maxeke’s perspectives towards colonialism, women’s rights, and transnational pan-African movements during the twentieth century.