Sequelae to torture. A controlled study of torture victims living in exile

Twenty-eight Turkish refugees living in Denmark were examined by the authors in the period 1984-85. Fourteen of the persons alleged having been tortured in Turkey during the period 1980-83. The remaining 14 persons reported that they had not been tortured and thus acted as controls. All the testimonies were found valid according to a method previously used by us. The most common forms of violence reported were blows and electrical torture. Blindfolding, solitary confinement and threats were also frequent. At the time of examination the main mental complaints were sleep disturbances with nightmares and impaired memory. Emotional lability and concentration disturbances were also frequent. Physically the torture victims suffered from headache, various cardio-pulmonary and muscular pains, dyspepsia and reading disturbances. All reported that they had been healthy before torture. The clinical examination revealed only a few signs related to torture, although examples of minimal scars, fractured or missing teeth, discrete neurological disorders and mental depression were found. The 14 controls had significantly fewer complaints, and almost no abnormalities were found during the clinical examination. The present study clearly demonstrates the traumatic effects of torture.     

Negotiating the 1951 Greenland Defense Agreement: Theoretical and Empirical Aspects

Since 1951 a Danish-American defense agreement on Greenland has regulated US military activities there. The article gives a detailed empirical-theoretical analysis of the negotiation of the Agreement under five perspectives: bargaining power, agenda setting, negotiating positions, strategies and outcomes. An important parameter was the fact that negotiations took place in a cooperative setting with a long shadow of the future. This made for a skewed, though regular negotiation process with a give-and-take of positions, counter-positions and concessions. Negotiating strategies varied, with the US side concentrating on an "authority" strategy, while the Danes relied on a mixture of off-setting "moral" and "tied hands" strategies. Although the US got the best outcome, it was not a dictate, because the ground was leveled by the negotiations taking place as part of the build-up of a long-term security relationship and the fact that the United States was the demandeur vis-à-vis Denmark.     

可见与不可见——从观念时代到全球时代：德国视觉哲学一百年1900—2000

本文追溯了德国视觉文化研究一百年来的发展史,并认为应把视觉文化置于一个更广阔的全球化语境中来进行研究和讨论.     

The differential predictive validity of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory: the role of gender

Most criminogenic risk assessments are developed and empirically validated on samples of boys or samples comprised of mostly boys, and subsequently applied to girls. Using a sample of male (n = 1,267) and female (n = 453) probationers, the purpose of the current study was to examine the potentially differential performance of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) and the instrument’s eight domains for female juvenile offenders. Findings revealed gender differences in the predictive validity of the YLS/CMI in which girls scored significantly higher on the risk assessment, but recidivated at significantly lower rates than boys two years following the administration of the assessment. The predictive validity of the instrument was impacted by these gender differences in which the YLS/CMI total score was a better predictor of recidivism for boys (area under the curve (AUC) = .623) than girls (AUC = .565). The only subscales that significantly predicted recidivism for girls were the family (AUC = .607) and personality (AUC = .572) domains, whereas all of the subscales significantly predicted recidivism for boys. Directions for future research as well as gender-responsive assessment, programming, and policy implications are discussed.     

The State of Nature and Laws of Seinfeld: Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That

Seinfeld (1989–1998) and it’s co-creator’s Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–present), are each considered groundbreaking television. Critics regard their humor and intellectual comedy as Twain-like and creative. While both shows have been criticized for their character’s indifference and apolitical attitude, the programs resonate with those in society who more subtly consider law and politics. This project argues that Seinfeld and Curb present a unique theory of justice. These two shows constitute a common and current image of what is just in society. While critics have argued that Seinfeld and Curb are not shows about nothing, I argue that these comedians offer us a legal philosophy. For those who view these characters as merely “self-absorbed, superficial, and immature,” I posit that they represent the obscure area between what John Locke termed “the state of nature” and what legal scholars call “legal culture.” I propose that these sitcoms demonstrate a way of speaking about law that provides a constitutive theory of law and justice.     

Dual-Factor Mental Health from Childhood to Early Adolescence and Associated Factors: A Latent Transition Analysis

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - The dual-factor model of mental health indicates the importance of simultaneously assessing symptoms and subjective wellbeing, but there is limited understanding...     

The use of Hemastix® severely reduces DNA recovery using the BioRobot® EZ1

Abstract: The choice of reagents for presumptive tests for blood, and subsequent extraction methodologies, can significantly affect both the quantity and quality of purified DNA. Blood samples directly tested with Hemastix^® yielded <1% of the DNA recovered from untested samples when purified using the Qiagen BioRobot^® EZ1 and EZ1^® DNA Investigator kit. Full short tandem repeat profiles were obtained from both tested and untested samples, suggesting that the Hemastix^® reagent(s) affect DNA binding, rather than produce DNA damage. The Hemastix^® inhibition of DNA yield could be overcome by the addition of MTL buffer to the sample prior to extraction. Laboratories may wish to modify current procedures for extracting blood samples, utilize other extraction/purification methodologies, or inform their submitting agencies to avoid direct exposure of questioned bloodstains to Hemastix^® reagents.     

Online Tallies and the Context of Politics: How Online Tallies Make Dominant Candidates Appear Competent in Contexts of Conflict

In this article, we extend the classical notion of online tallies to shed light on the psychology underlying the rapid emergence of dominant political leaders. Predicated on two population-based panel surveys with embedded experiments, we demonstrate that citizens (1) store extremely durable tallies of candidate personalities in their long-term memory and (2) retrieve different tallies depending on the context. In particular, we predict and demonstrate that when contexts become more conflict-ridden, candidate evaluations rapidly shift from being negatively to positively associated with online impressions of candidate dominance. Although the notion of online tallies was originally proposed as an explanation of why citizens are able to vote for candidates on the basis of policy agreement, we demonstrate how the existence of context-sensitive online tallies can favor dominant candidates, even if the candidate is otherwise unappealing or does not share policy views with citizens on key issues.