Attitudes toward Consent-Based and Non-Consent-Based International Law in a Regional Power Context

International legal scholars have identified and argued for and against new forms of non-consent-based international law. We study variation in Brazilian public opinion about adherence to international law created in three different ways: through a consent-based multilateral treaty, by the U.N. Security Council with the participation of Brazil, and by the U.N. Security Council without the participation of Brazil. Information that Brazil has participated in creating the international legal obligation through a multilateral treaty or membership on the Security Council yields levels of support for adherence to the legal obligation that are similar to those found when the origins of the legal obligation are generic. Information that the international legal obligation was created without Brazil’s participation, on the other hand, results in reduced support for compliance. This difference, which is particularly concentrated among highly educated respondents, is not driven by reduced concerns about reputational consequences or sanctions. Our results suggest that the increased use of non-consent-based forms of international law might be challenged by a lack of public support for compliance.     

Globalization and Fiscal Federalism: Does Openness Constrain Subnational Budget Imbalances?

Recent research has shown that more globalized countries—defined as those with stronger international trade and financial linkages—tend to have larger governments. The empirical evidence reported in this paper shows that globalization is also associated with the government's fiscal stance, nationally and subnationally. Greater access to external sources of finance, which can be facilitated through globalization, is associated with increased market scrutiny over policies, resulting in a higher premium on fiscal discipline.     

Across time and space: Explaining variation in news coverage of the European Union

News about the European Union (EU) looks different in different countries at different points in time. This study investigates explanations for cross‐national and over‐time variation in news media coverage of EU affairs drawing on large‐scale media content analyses of newspapers and television news in the EU‐15 (1999), EU‐25 (2004) and EU‐27 (2009) in relation to European Parliament (EP) elections. The analyses focus in particular on explanatory factors pertaining to media characteristics and the political elites. Results show that national elites play an important role for the coverage of EU matters during EP election campaigns. The more strongly national parties are divided about the EU in combination with overall more negative positions towards the EU, the more visible the news. Also, increases in EU news visibility from one election to the next and the Europeanness of the news are determined by a country's elite positions. The findings are discussed in light of the EU's alleged communication deficit.     

“The Big Society,” Public Expenditure,and Volunteering

The debate on volunteering has paid insufficient attention to the relationship between public spending and volunteering. The importance of this relationship is highlighted by the British government's “Big Society” plan, which asserts that an increase in volunteering will compensate for the withdrawal of public agencies and spending. This idea is based on the widely held belief that a high degree of government intervention decreases voluntary activities. This article uses a multidisciplinary approach to improve understanding of how public spending affects the decision to volunteer. A theoretical model conceptualizes this relationship in terms of time donation by employed individuals. The model is tested empirically through an econometric analysis of two survey data sets and interpretative analysis of narratives of local volunteers and public professionals. The results suggest that volunteering is likely to decline when government intervention decreases and that a collaborative approach to sustaining volunteering is needed.     

Relationship of the Family Environment to Children's Involvement in Bully/Victim Problems at School

Previous studies regarding the relationship of the family environment to children's involvement in bully/victim problems at school primarily focused on children's perceptions of family dimensions. No studies were known using data from multiple reporters within 1 family (parents and children) on family characteristics of bully/victim problems. The aim of this study was to investigate differences between families of victims, bullies, bully/victims, and noninvolved children on family functioning, child-rearing practices, and problem-solving strategies in hypothetical conflict situations and perception differences between children and their parents on those dimensions. The findings revealed important perception differences between children and their parents, with parents holding up a more positive picture of their family. Important differences between families of bullies, victims, and bully/victims were documented looking at the family functioning and parent–child interactions from the perspective of the children. In contrast, almost no differences between the groups were observed if parents' reports were considered. Discussion leads to suggestions for further antibullying interventions at the school.     

Season and suicide: recent findings from Italy

Seasonal asymmetry in yearly suicide occurrence is a long-observed phenomenon in psychiatric, suicidological, and sociological research, and the effects of seasonal factors on suicidal behavior have been the focus of a number of earlier studies. Taking into account limitations of data and methods, these studies have generally favored interpretations based on psychosocial factors. Recent studies have challenged the widely held notion that seasonal effects on suicide are a unitary phenomenon, not influenced by age, gender, or circumstances of the act. In particular, the seasonal occurrence of suicides has been found to differ significantly between the young and the elderly, and differences have also been found between male and female cycles of occurrence. Suicides using violent methods have been shown to follow clearer seasonal patterns than suicides by less violent methods (such as drug or gas poisoning), possibly reflecting the greater impulsive component involved in the choice of a violent lethal means. In this paper, findings from Italy are used to illustrate the clinical implications of studies into the topic of season and suicide, with the aim of developing more effective preventative strategies.     

Computerized craniofacial reconstruction using CT-derived implicit surface representations

In forensic craniofacial reconstruction, facial features of an unknown individual are estimated from an unidentified skull, based on a mixture of experimentally obtained guidelines on the relationship between soft tissues and the underlying skeleton. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using full 3D cross-sectional CT images for establishing a reference database of densely sampled distances between the external surfaces of the skull and head for automated craniofacial reconstruction. For each CT image in the reference database, the hard tissue (skull) and soft tissue (head) volumes are automatically segmented and transformed into signed distance transform (sDT) images, representing for each voxel in this image the Euclidean distance to the closest point on the skull and head surface, respectively, distances being positive (negative) for voxels inside (outside) the skull/head. Multiple craniofacial reconstructions are obtained by first warping each reference skull sDT maps to the target skull sDT using a B-spline based free form deformation algorithm and subsequently applying these warps to the reference head sDT maps. A single reconstruction of the target head surface is defined as the zero level set of the arithmetic average of all warped reference head sDT maps, but other reconstructions are possible, biasing the result to subject specific attributes (age, BMI, gender). Both qualitative and quantitative tests (measuring the similarity between the 3D reconstructed and corresponding original head surface) on a small (N = 20) database are presented to proof the validity of the concept.     

Definitions of suicidal behavior: lessons learned from the WHo/EURO multicentre Study

Based on the experience matured during the 15 years of the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study on Suicidal Behavior, this paper provides an excursus on main elements that characterize components for definitional needs. It describes the rationale for choosing the initial set of definitions within the study and the subsequent problems and developments. As a result, unifying terminologies are proposed.     

Medicolegal aspects of an unusual uterine perforation with multiload-Cu 375R

Perforation of the uterus is one of the most serious complications associated with insertion of intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUD). According to recent studies, this lesion occurs in 0.87 per 1000 cases, but statistics generally fluctuate between 0.05 and 13 per 1000 insertions. "Primary" perforations occur at the time of IUD insertion, and "secondary," or delayed, perforations are usually assumed to be caused by reactive uterine contractions. We report an unusual case of uterine perforation, which occurred 9 days after the insertion of a Multiload-Cu 375 IUD. The criteria for differential diagnosis between primary and secondary complications are discussed, particularly from the perspective of medical malpractice cases.