Sociodemographic and diagnostic characteristics of homicidal and nonhomicidal sexual offenders

The aims of this study were to compare the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and "psychopathy" in homicidal and nonhomicidal sexual offenders and to investigate the specificity of previous studies on psychiatric morbidity of a sample of sexual murderers. Information from court reports of 166 homicidal and 56 nonhomicidal sex offenders was evaluated using standardized instruments (SCID-II, PCL-R) and classification systems (DSM-IV). Sexual murderers were diagnosed more often with a personality disorder (80.1% vs. 50%; p < 0.001), especially schizoid personality disorder (16.3% vs. 5.4%; p < 0.05), as well as with sexual sadism (36.7% vs. 8.9%; p < 0.001) and sexual dysfunctions (21.7% vs. 7.1%; p < 0.05). Additionally, they had more often used alcohol during the offense (63.2% vs. 41%; p < 0.05). The results indicate that sexual murderers have more and a greater variety of psychiatric disorders when compared to nonhomicidal sex offenders.     

ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY AND CONCILIATION COURTS WHITE PAPER GUIDELINES FOR COURT‐INVOLVED THERAPY: A BEST PRACTICE APPROACH FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

This article was written by the Honorable Linda S. Fidnick and Kelly. A. Koch, Esq. Judge Fidnick is an Associate Justice with the Hampshire Probate and Family Court. Prior to her appointment to the bench in 2008, Judge Fidnick was a partner in the Amherst law firm of Burres, Fidnick & Booth LLP, where she concentrated her practice in all areas of family law. Judge Fidnick is a graduate of Smith College and the University of Connecticut Law School, and she has been a member of the Massachusetts Bar for over thirty years. Judge Fidnick is past president of the Massachusetts chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) and currently serves on the national board of directors of AFCC. Judge Fidnick and Matthew Sullivan, Ph.D. are the co‐chairs of the AFCC Task Force on Court‐Involved Therapists. Attorney Koch is a graduate of Brandeis University and WesternNew England College School of Law. She served as a law clerk to the Justices of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court and is presently an associate attorney with the Springfield, Massachusetts firm of Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas. Matthew J. Sullivan, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice in California who has written articles, presented and done trainings at numerous national and international venues on interventions in high conflict divorce, Parenting Coordination and child alienation in family law cases. He currently serves on the Board of Directors at AFCC. Lyn R. Greenberg, Ph.D. is a family forensic psychologist practicing in Los Angeles, California. She serves as the reporter for the AFCC Court‐Involved Therapist Task Force and Co‐Chairs the Family Forensic Special Interest Group of Div. 43. She Co‐Chaired the APA‐ABA Working Group on Representation and Advocacy for Children. The AFCC Task Force on Court‐Involved Therapists was given the charge of defining guidelines for the professional practice of therapists working with court‐involved families. A draft of the Guidelines was presented for Comments in March 2010 and all comments were submitted to the Task Force Reporter, Lyn R. Greenberg, Ph.D. on May 1, 2010.     

Heart rate changes in response to mild mechanical irritation of the high cervical spinal cord region in infants

Alterations in the heart rate were monitored before, during and after the application of a unilateral mechanical impulse to the high cervical spinal cord region which was administered strictly in connection with the so called manual therapy (diagnosis= KISS). The investigation is based on a survey of 695 infants between the ages of 1 and 12 months. A notable change in the heart rate was evident in 47.2% of all examined infants (n= 695). In 40.1% of these infants, the change in heart rate was characterized by heart rate decrease of 15-83% compared to control conditions. Infants in their first 3 months of life responded more often with a severe bradycardia (50-83% decrease), older infants (7-12 months) more often with a mild bradycardia (15-49.9% decrease). This comparison revealed a significantly increased occurrence of severe bradycardia in the younger age group compared to the group of children >3 months (significance 0.0017). In 12.1% (n= 84) of the infants, the bradycardia was accompanied by an apnea. We discuss the hypothesis that mechanical irritation of the high-cervical region serves as a trigger that may be involved in sudden infant death (SID).     

Microscopical discrimination of human head hairs sharing a mitochondrial haplogroup

In forensic analyses, determining the level of consensus among examiners for hair comparison conclusions and ancestry identifications is important for assessing the scientific validity of microscopical hair examinations. Here, we present data from an interlaboratory study on the accuracy of microscopical hair comparisons among a subset of experienced hair examiners currently analyzing hair in forensic laboratories across the United States. We examined how well microscopical analysis of hair can reliably be used to differentiate hair samples, many of which were macroscopically similar. Using cut hair samples, many sharing similar macroscopic and microscopic features, collected from individuals who share the same mitochondrial haplogroup as an indication of genetic relatedness, we tested multiple aspects that could impact hair comparisons. This research tested the extent to which morphological features related to ancestry and hair length influence conclusions. Microscopical hair examinations yielded accurate assessments of inclusion/exclusion relative to the reference samples among 85% of the pairwise comparisons. We found shorter hairs had reduced levels of accuracy and hairs from populations examiners were not familiar with may have impacted their ability to resolve features. The reliability of ancestry determinations is not yet clear, but we found indications that the existing categories are only somewhat related to current ethnic and genetic variation. Our results provide support for the continued utility of microscopical comparison of hairs within forensic laboratories and to advocate for a combined analytical approach using both microscopical analysis and mtDNA data on all forensic analyses of hair.     

The ‘heart’ of Eurasia? Kazakhstan's centrally located capital city

In a world still dominated by a geopolitical system of territorial states, one tool in the state- and nation-building repertoire is the strategy of moving a capital from one city to another, and to an ostensibly more ‘central’ location of a geometrically conceived territory. From Ankara to Brasília, the technique has been used in a variety of places around the world, and Kazakhstan's new capital since 1997, Astana, is one more recent iteration. Taking a Foucauldian approach to analysing political technologies of government, the author examines the strategy of the centrally located city and considers how it has been instrumental to simultaneously producing a ‘state effect’ and a ‘territory effect’ in newly independent Kazakhstan. Part of a larger mixed-methods study, this article draws on a diverse range of methods, including data from interviews, participant observation, textual analysis, focus groups and a country-wide survey.     

Being Certain Versus Being Right: Citizen Certainty and Accuracy of House Candidates' Ideological Orientations

Research on voting behavior has been reinvigorated by focusing on citizens' certainty of candidates' issue positions and ideological orientations. According to this perspective, citizens are inclined to support candidates whom they are confident possess attributes they deem important. Analysis of citizens' perceptual certainty and perceptual accuracy of 1994, 1996, and 1998 House candidates' ideological orientations reveals that many candidate characteristics (incumbency, fiscal resources) that enhance certainty fail to improve perceptual accuracy. The electoral consequence of this fact is that candidates endowed with these resources benefit from the importance of certainty to citizens without paying the electoral costs of clarifying their issue positions and ideological orientations. Similarly, several characteristics of citizens that lead to certainty reduction—gender and caring about the outcome of the election, for example—fail to improve perceptual accuracy. The implications of the empirical findings for the role of citizens' assessments of certainty in the voting decision for producing an informed electorate are considered here.     

Assessments of group influence,subjective political competence,and interest group membership

This research examines the relationship between citizens' assessments of how much influence the group they identify with is able to exercise in American politics and their subjective political competence and political participation. Appraisals of group influence have a powerful effect on subjective political competence, fulfilling theoretical expectations outlined by Leon Festinger many years ago. Moreover, assessments of group influence affect individuals' decision concerning membership in an interest group that promotes the interest of one's reference group. The work reported here is an improvement over past efforts in that it explicitly defines and assesses the causal importance of a concept that has been featured in prior research.