Cigarette burns in forensic medicine

Skin lesions suspected to have been caused by a burning cigarette require thorough diagnostic evaluation as to the mode of infliction. Accidental cigarette burns must be differentiated from injuries due to self-infliction or maltreatment. The typical categories are presented on the basis of the literature and exemplary cases from the authors' own study material. An intentional infliction must be taken into consideration when a body region is involved which does not normally come into contact with a cigarette by chance. Full thickness burns from glowing cigarettes require an exposure time of more than 1s. One should also keep in mind the possibility of confusion with local skin infections or thermal effects by traditional medical practices (e.g. moxibustion). In unclear cases, repeated inspection of the lesion is recommended in order to facilitate its classification as to causation and age. The courses of healing in first- to third-degree cigarette burns are demonstrated by means of continuous photographic documentation. The discussion deals with different kinds of accidental and intentional cigarette burns, e.g. in drug addicts, psychiatric patients, victims of child abuse, maltreatment and torture, but also in persons feigning a criminal offence.     

Attracting future civil servants with public values? An experimental study on employer branding

Abstract

A frequently cited recommendation of public service motivation (PSM) research is to use PSM in the context of HR marketing. However, empirical evidence demonstrating the usefulness of addressing PSM in the recruitment process is limited. Moreover, we know little about the relative importance of PSM for public employers’ attractiveness. We address this gap using an experimental research design to investigate whether public service motivated individuals differ from extrinsically motivated individuals in terms of their attraction to organizations that emphasize either “traditional” public or private values in their employer branding. Our findings indicate that public service motivated individuals are attracted neither to public nor to private values in employer branding. Furthermore, individuals with very high levels of extrinsic motivation are more attracted to private values employer branding than to public values employer branding and to the control group.     

Vereine als Schulen des Vertrauens? Eine empirische Analyse zur Zivilgesellschaft in der Schweiz

In der Tradition von Alexis de Tocqueville wird zivilgesellschaftlichen Vereinigungen eine essentielle Bedeutung in der zwischenmenschlichen Vertrauensbildung zugeschrieben. Ziel des vorliegenden Beitrages ist es, den Zusammenhang zwischen Vereinsengagement und generalisiertem Vertrauen differenzierter zu betrachten und empirisch für die Schweiz zu untersuchen. Dabei werden sowohl das Engagement in verschiedenen Organisationstypen (brückenbildende vs. abgrenzende und isolierte vs. verbundene) als auch die vereinstypusunabhängige Integration miteinander verglichen. Empirische Analysen auf Basis aktueller Daten des Schweizer Freiwilligen‐Monitors 2007 kommen dabei zu dem Schluss, dass entgegen weitverbreiteter Meinung die Vertrauensentwicklung in der Schweiz weniger vom Engagement in spezifischen Vereinen abhängt, sondern vielmehr dem Ausmass der persönlichen Integrationsbereitschaft geschuldet ist. Von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Vertrauensentwicklung ist also nicht die Qualität der hier untersuchten einzelnen Vereinigungen, sondern die Quantität des persönlichen Engagements.     

Fatal thoracic compression after being partially run over by an automobile

The authors report on a fatal pedestrian accident in which the victim lay on the street and got under a car being run over by one of the front wheels. Both the car driver and the killed pedestrian were strongly alcohol-intoxicated at the time of the accident (2.45 a.m.). After the car had come to a standstill, the pedestrian remained trapped under the car until she was rescued by the fire brigade. On the basis of the autopsy findings and the technical expert opinion it could be reconstructed that the pedestrian's death was not caused by the consequences of being run over by the car, but by the subsequent compression of her thorax in the final accident position.