The role of the high school professional in identifying and managing adolescent suicidal behavior

The ongoing contact of adolescents with high school staff may provide an opportunity for the early identification and effective management of suicidal behavior. In this study, the knowledge, attitude, and experience of 80 high school professionals regarding adolescent suicide were assessed through semistructured personal interviews. Respondents identified more than 30 signs of potential vulnerability — manifestations of depression, verbal and written cues, isolation, and self-destructive behaviors. Among predisposing factors, those related to alienation within the family were most prominent. Other important risk factors were low self-esteem, difficulty in peer relationships, and economic or ethnic differences from other students. When suicidal behaviors occurred, respondents saw students and staff as attempting to be helpful; families were more often viewed as defensive.     

Transsexual genital self-mutilation

Most genital self-mutilations in nonpsychotic patients are found in transsexuals, and premeditation of sex-conversion surgery is the main objective. In this paper, we will describe the case of a male-to-female transsexual who took out his testes as a way to facilitate the surgery and to circumvent the Brazilian laws.     

An esoteric technique useful in the identification of unidentified remains from the examination of faded,illegible hospital identification wristbands

A technique routinely used in the examination of questioned documents has been found to be of assistance when employed in the examination of faded and/or partially legible hospital identification wristbands found with unidentified remains (UIDs). A non-destructive test used predominately by forensic document examiners in the analysis of writing inks, handwritten alterations, and obliterations has proven useful throughout the years when confronted with this unusual type of documentary evidence. This discussion paper was prompted by the Tri-State Crematory disaster, Walker County, Georgia, from a request by investigators as to whether or not any information could be obtained from the examination of faded hospital identification wristbands where no information was readily discernable. Subsequent analysis by non-destructive infrared inspection, a standard technique used in the examination of questioned documents, proved useful in assisting with the identification of unidentified skeletal remains.     

From Unitary to Asymmetric Federalism in Germany: Taking Stock after 50 Years

Policymaking in the German federal system is influenced by thedynamic interplay of the institutions of cooperative federalism,of party competition in a parliamentary system, and of distributiveconflicts between governments. This is shown in an analysisof 50 years of German federalism. It is argued that while theinstitutional setting outlived most reform efforts, changingpatterns of party politics and growing distributive conflictsinduced adjustments in intergovernmental relations. Since the1980s, such adjustments have also been stimulated by Europeanpolitics. In unified Germany, intergovernmental cooperationis now burdened with asymmetries between the East and the West,which are also expressed in a more regionalized party system.However, as party political confrontations have diminished,a pragmatic revision of the federal system seems feasible.     

Which Public Goods are Endangered?: How Evolving Communication Technologies Affect The Logic of Collective Action

Public Choice - The theory in Mancur Olson's The Logicof Collective Action is built fromhistorically uncontroversial assumptionsabout interpersonal communication. Today,evolving technologies...     

Three Duties to Rescue: Moral,Civil, and Criminal

Law and Philosophy -     

Access and allocation: the role of large shareholders and investors in leaving fossil fuels underground

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics - An under-researched story is how large shareholders (e.g. Pension Funds) and investors (e.g. Export Credit Agencies) whose...