Building bridges between the parole officer and the families of serious juvenile offenders: a preliminary report on a family-based parole program

Responding to a model of juvenile offender case supervision that called for a new intervention paradigm to guide the work of probation and parole officers, the present article reports on the use of a family-based parole initiative known as the Growing Up FAST program. Developed in part as a tool for use within this new intervention paradigm, the Growing Up FAST parole program targets serious youthful offenders who have been released from juvenile correctional facilities and their families. Based on elements contained within the "what works" literature and the Balanced and Restorative Justice model, this program recognizes the central role that field staff can play in rehabilitation efforts. Demographic information and formative data regarding the first set of families to participate in this program are presented, then program limitations and lessons learned as part of the initial offering of this parole initiative are discussed.     

The inpatient evaluation and treatment of a self-professed budding serial killer

The authors present the case of a man who was hospitalized after claiming that he was about to become a serial killer. The patient presented with extensive written homicidal fantasies and homicidal intentions without evidence of actual homicidal acts. In addition to routine assessments, hospital staff members used case conferences, psychological testing, outside forensic consultation, and a forensic review process to make decisions regarding diagnosis, treatment planning, and discharge. The patient was discharged after 8 months of inpatient treatment and was apparently free of homicidal impulses or symptoms of severe mental illness. A 2-year court commitment allowed for the enactment and potential enforcement of a discharge plan that was endorsed by the patient, the hospital, and community care providers. The authors review diagnostic and risk management issues. Comparisons with known features of typical serial killers are made.     

Fatal diphenhydramine intoxication in infants

Diphenhydramine is an antihistamine available in numerous over-the-counter preparations. Often used for its sedative effects in adults, it can cause paradoxical central nervous system stimulation in children, with effects ranging from excitation to seizures and death. Reports of fatal intoxications in young children are rare. We present five cases of fatal intoxication in infants 6, 8, 9, 12, and 12 weeks old. Postmortem blood diphenhydramine levels in the cases were 1.6, 1.5, 1.6, 1.1 and 1.1 mg/L, respectively. Anatomic findings in each case were normal. In one case the child's father admitted giving the infant diphenhydramine in an attempt to induce the infant to sleep; in another case, a daycare provider admitted putting diphenhydramine in a baby bottle. Two cases remain unsolved; one case remains under investigation. The postmortem drug levels in these cases are lower than seen in adult fatalities. We review the literature on diphenhydramine toxicity, particularly as it pertains to small children, and discuss the rationale for treating these cases as fatal intoxications.     

Politics and Literature: Means and Ends in Koestler

The fruitfulness of imaginative literature as source material for the student of politics has been a subject for much debate over recent years, though the impact of literature on the teaching of politics remains limited. This paper addresses by means of an example (that of the relationship between means and ends) some of the fundamental problems involved in the relationship and some of the advantages which imaginative literature might bring to our understanding of political issue and concepts. Following introductory comments about the relationship between politics and literature in general we consider the treatment of means and ends in political theory, especially Machiavelli's claim that when the 'act accuses, the result excuses'. Finally and substantively we consider the treatment of the means/end theme in Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon and The Gladiators and conclude with some general comments about the relationship between the study of politics and imaginative literature.     

这纠缠不清的网

＂哦,当我们第一次编谎话,我们织了怎样一张纠缠不清的网呀!＂这句话摘选自沃尔特·斯各特爵士1808年出版的史诗《玛米恩》。     

奏下去吧

最近,我受韩国艺术协会之邀访问了首尔。访问期间我生平第一次观看了“板索里”（Pansori,韩国清唱）,这也成为多年来最令我动容的艺术体验之一。虽然名为“韩国清唱”,但这种艺术形式主要是朗诵张力十足的戏剧故事,多半是“演”而不是“唱”。其与众不同之处在于,演出可能会很长一一最长可达8个小时（尽管我观看的那一场演出只有两个半小时）一而且是由一位演员演满全场。     

结婚生意

“你愿意嫁给我吗？”多年前,我用最浪漫的语调向她求婚。我承认那一刻我的声音可能有些颤抖,但令我倍感诧异的是,直到两天后我才得到她肯定的回答：“我愿意。”难道在她看来,这紧张表明我对她不够真心？还是她或许真的需要时间考虑—下,还有什么理由让她对一个如此魅力四射、前程似锦的年轻男子的求婚迟迟不予答复呢？我至今也不知道答案,且已有决断：就此问题刨根问底毫无益处,我宁可浑然沉浸在幸福的无知中。