Edward Chukwuemeke Okeke,Jurisdictional Immunities of States and International Organizations

Netherlands International Law Review -     

Women's motives for violent and nonviolent behaviors in conflicts

Drawing from past research on women's motives for intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration, correlates of women's perpetration, and correlates of nonviolent conflict, we created a scale containing 125 possible motives, representing 14 broad domains (e.g., self-defense, retaliation). Participants were an ethnically diverse sample of women who had perpetrated no physical IPV against their current partner (n = 243), threats but not physical IPV (n = 70), nonsevere physical IPV (n = 193), and at least one act of severe (e.g., choke) physical IPV (n = 93). An exploratory factor analysis yielded a seven-factor solution, representing Partners' Negative Behaviors, Increase Intimacy, Personal Problems, Retaliation, Childhood Experiences, Situation/Mood, and Partners' Personal Problems. Differences by women's IPV perpetration and race and/or ethnicity were tested with means representing these seven factors and a computed variable representing self-defense. Although motives differed by perpetration type, main effects for Partners' Negative Behavior, Personal Problems, Retaliation, and Childhood Experiences were modified by interactions, suggesting ethnicity should be considered when developing interventions.     

A five-year study of mortality in a busy ski population.

A 5-year study of a busy ski population in Utah revealed a total at-risk period of approximately 3.5 million skier-days. While the morbidity (fractures, strains, sprains, and occasionally more severe injuries) associated with skiing is well recognized and considered by most physicians concerned to be distributed somewhat unevenly within the various skills of skiing, the authors have identified an exceedingly low mortality among the same population. Six individuals died as a result of injuries directly attributable to skiing. Three of these were considered to be advanced skiers and three were of intermediate skill. In three instances the environment was considered to play a role in the accident. Two of these victims were skiing out of control, one as a result of ice-covered snow and one as a result of speed in combination with a small jump. The third victim was crushed in an avalanche. One accident was completely unexplained, the skier having skied without apparent attempt at checking or change of course into a nonrecreational area. The two remaining skiers of intermediate skill both suffered injuries incident to falling forward with considerable force onto a relatively flat, hard snow surface. Notwithstanding the intense and sometimes prolonged exertion at relatively high altitudes (9,400 to 11,000 ft or 2.9 to 3.3 km), only one skier with a previous history of atherosclerotic heart disease died while skiing. One additional middle-aged skier with similar history died at the conclusion of the day.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Citizen viewpoints on energy policy

This exploration of citizen viewpoints on energy policy uses a clustering technique to analyze 101 Q-sorts obtained from a diverse national sample in April 1979.The results indicate an approximate consensus. The predominant themes in the core viewpoint and three peripheral variations are resistance to energy price increases and concern for public health, safety, and the environment, particularly in connection with nuclear power plants. There is also widespread distrust of the oil and gas industry, local utilities, the President, government generally, and energy experts, coupled with disbelief, distrust, disaffection, and undertones of moral outrage. The existence of this approximate consensus is less surprising than the absence of shared viewpoints that are independent or opposed to it. Individual interpretations of the main themes are explored through unstructured, follow-up interviews with the best representatives of the core viewpoint.The evolution of shared viewpoints has been shaped by specific events such as Three Mile Island and by recurring events, particularly chronic energy price increases and intermittent shortages, and the ongoing national debate on energy policy. In our interpretation, the social tension and personal insecurities accumulated as a result of the energy situation are potentially destabilizing. H owever, the potential for rapid change in citizen viewpoints has so far been blocked by perceptual and political rigidities that underlie an approximate stalemate in Washington.The concluding section presents some suggestions for dealing with the perceptual, political, and moral aspects of the situation.We would like to thank Gerald A. Cole for his contributions to the initial phases of this study, and The University of Michigan for financial support. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 25th Annual Meeting of the American Nuclear Society, June 5, 1979, in Atlanta.     

Using brain skill assessments to increase productivity in development administration

This article describes how BMS (brain skill and management styles) assessments have and can be used to increase productivity in development administration. The article starts with a brief outline of the management climate which executives face in developing countries (crisis and rapidly changing environments). The article points out that although developing countries have significantly increased their productivity by using traditional quantitative management tools and techniques, they increasingly find that these approaches need to be supplemented with other techniques more appropriate to the environment they must contend with. BMS programmes have been found to be one tool which, combined with established training programmes can serve to increase productivity in developing nations with existing personnel. The article describes what a BMS programme is (identifying human brain skills and management styles that exist in organizations, and matching these skills/styles to the management problem at hand where they can be best employed to enhance productivity), and illustrates how this technique has been used successfully in one developing country. The BMS programme applications in the article are based on the results of testing over 2000 managers and also the experience from implementing in-depth BMS programmes in several countries in a wide variety of organizational settings (business, government, education, military and health).     

Assessing the influence of the Columbine shooting on federal sentencing outcomes

School shootings are not a new phenomenon in the United States or internationally. In comparison to other acts of violence experienced by youth, such tragedies are uncommon but garner extensive media attention. The Columbine High School shooting received more attention across a broader range of issues than any other school shooting, with only the Sandy Hook tragedy rivaling it for media attention. In the aftermath of the Columbine shooting, public sentiment regarding violence in schools became a central point of contention that bred fear and panic. Given the embeddedness of judges within the larger community context and the effects of community characteristics on sentencing outcomes, we wondered if the Columbine shooting – via moral panic and community upheaval – might have had an impact on judges imposing criminal sentences. To assess the effect of the Columbine shooting on judicial decision-making outcomes, the current study uses United States Sentencing Commission data from 1998 through 2001. In doing so, it contributes to the extant literature concerning the embeddedness of judges within communities and answers recent call for more research on the temporal context of sentencing disparities.     

Sexual Harassment and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Damages Beyond Prior Abuse

This study examined the extent to which harassment experiences correlate with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and whether diagnosable PTSD on the basis of sexual harassment occurs after accounting for prior PTSD, prior sexual abuse, and prior psychological dysfunction. The sample consisted of a two-wave panel of 445 women who had received a domestic violence protective order from a Kentucky court. Hierarchical linear and logistic analyses confirmed that sexual harassment experiences were significantly correlated with PTSD symptoms after controlling for an extensive set of trauma variables measured in both the baseline and follow up interviews. Our findings lend further evidence that claims of PTSD from sexual harassment may be credible even if claimants have been victims of other forms of trauma.     

The Oxford Guide to Treaties

Netherlands International Law Review -