The Body a ‘Double-Edged Sword’? A Qualitative Study on Swedish Female Prisoners' Relationship toward Their Bodies

Our aim was to explore female prisoners' relationship toward their bodies by means of qualitative interviews. We interviewed 14 female prisoners aged 22–53 years. Four were convicted for violent crimes, seven for drug crimes, and three for more than one crime. All of them had been addicted to drugs and the most frequently used drug was amphetamine. To analyse the participants' relationship toward their bodies we used a thematic analysis. The main result encompasses three phenomena: worries about weight, negative emotions toward the body, and negative thoughts about the body. Analyses revealed that the female prisoners' relationship toward their bodies is a changeable process. Our analyses also showed that experience of physical and sexual abuse was a very important factor for understanding these women's relationship toward their bodies.     

Ground penetrating radar surveys to locate 1918 Spanish flu victims in permafrost

The "Spanish Flu" killed over 40 million people worldwide in 1918. Archival records helped us identify seven men who died of influenza in 1918 and were interred in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway, 1,300 km from the North Pole. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) was used successfully, in a high-resolution field survey mode, to locate a large excavation with seven coffins, near the existing seven grave markers. The GPR indicated that the ground was disturbed to 2 m depth and was frozen below 1 m. Subsequent excavation showed that: a) the GPR located the position of the graves accurately, b) the coffins were buried less than 1 m deep, and c) that the frozen ground was 1.2 m deep where the coffins were located. The GPR assisted in planning the exhumation, safely and economically, under the high degree of containment required. Virologic and bacteriologic investigations on recovered tissues may give us an opportunity to isolate and identify the micro-organisms involved in the 1918 influenza and expand our knowledge on the pathogenesis of influenza.     

Majoritarian and Consensus Democracy: the Swedish Experience

According to the classical parliamentary doctrine of majoritarian rule, governments should be large, united and accountable to the voters. Since the introduction of proportional representation in the beginning of this century, these requirements have seldom been fulfilled in Continental politics. In this article the Swedish experience of minority parliamentarism is analyzed. The conclusion is drawn that the consensus model of democracy that has been practiced in this country comes closer to the ideal of the Conservatives who a hundred years ago opposed the parliamentary system.     

Court outcomes for clients referred to a community mental health court liaison service

Court liaison and diversion services come in a variety of forms, but the similarities and differences between these services are not well characterized. Findings from a six-year audit of the Newcastle (Australia) Mental Health Court Liaison (MHCL) service are reported, including client characteristics, offence and service contact profiles, court outcomes, and interrelationships among these variables. During the audit period, there were 2383 service episodes by 1858 clients (1478 males, 380 females). Drug and alcohol disorders (40.9%) and psychotic disorders (17.0%) were the most prevalent mental health problems, while assault (23.1%), theft (23.1%), offences against justice procedures (15.4%), driving offences (13.4%) and malicious damage to property (8.3%) were the most frequently recorded charges. Among service episodes with a finalized court outcome, 70.0% involved a punishment (bond: 49.5%; jail term: 29.7%). Females were less likely to be punished, but more likely to have their case dismissed under sections of the relevant Act that required further assessment and monitoring. Being married, or having an adjustment or drug and alcohol disorder, were also associated with an increased likelihood of punishment, while clients with a psychotic or bipolar disorder were less likely to be punished. Among clients who were punished, those referred from inpatient mental health services were more likely to receive a non-jail punishment, while unemployed clients were more likely to be jailed. A substantial proportion of clients had court outcomes that required an ongoing involvement with local mental health services. By being part of community mental health services, our MHCL service is able to work efficiently and effectively with the criminal justice system, while facilitating ready access to existing mental health services and continuation of care.     

Inpatient aggression by mentally ill offenders: a retrospective case-control study

A retrospective case-control study was conducted examining relationships between patients’ socio-demographic, clinical and admission characteristics and inpatient aggression. Patients aged 18–64?years with a recent offence episode, who were admitted to a regional acute mental health unit, were included as cases (N?=?82), while controls comprised the next available admission, matched for age and gender (N?=?82). The prototypical patient was a young, single male, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, a history of substance use and previous psychiatric admissions. The majority of cases had a history of aggression and recent offences against public order. They also revealed a higher likelihood of involvement in ‘less serious’ aggressive incidents (e.g. verbal threats or demands) during the index admission. Clinically, knowledge of each patient’s recent offence history, arrival mode and observed characteristics on admission (including any verbal aggression) may be important in the management of subsequent inpatient aggression.     

An accidental death caused by the absorption of phenol through skin. A case report

This paper reports the postmortem toxicological findings for a person who died shortly after being painted with benzyl benzoate as a scabicide with a brush that had been steeped in 80% phenol and not thoroughly washed before use. The paper also describes the circumstances leading up to the death.