A note on Beheiren

Abstract

It might be useful for Concerned Asian Scholars to be aware of what is probably the most active independent peace group in Japan — a country of peace groups. Like National Mobilization in this country, which it resembles in style and outlook, Beheiren (Japan “Peace for Vietnam!” Committee) emerged as a direct response to the American bombing of North Vietnam. Since its foundation on April 24, 1965, it has remained the only major group in Japan to focus its main energies on opposing the Vietnam War. This has meant publications (books, articles, newsletters — mostly in Japanese, but two fine booklets of translations of an Asahi series: Vietnam — A Voice from the Villages and The National Liberation Front by Honda Katsuichi), demonstrations, teachins, emissaries to Vietnam, international gatherings in Japan (among its guests have been David Dellinger, Ralph Featherstone, Jean-Paul Sartre, Howard Zinn, Joan Baez), anti-war ads in American newspapers, medicine to Hanoi, and, attracting the most international attention, assistance to American military men in Japan desiring to desert.     

mtDNAprofiler: A Web Application for the Nomenclature and Comparison of Human Mitochondrial DNA Sequences,

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a valuable tool in the fields of forensic, population, and medical genetics. However, recording and comparing mtDNA control region or entire genome sequences would be difficult if researchers are not familiar with mtDNA nomenclature conventions. Therefore, mtDNAprofiler, a Web application, was designed for the analysis and comparison of mtDNA sequences in a string format or as a list of mtDNA single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (mtSNPs). mtDNAprofiler which comprises four mtDNA sequence‐analysis tools (mtDNA nomenclature, mtDNA assembly, mtSNP conversion, and mtSNP concordance‐check) supports not only the accurate analysis of mtDNA sequences via an automated nomenclature function, but also consistent management of mtSNP data via direct comparison and validity‐check functions. Since mtDNAprofiler consists of four tools that are associated with key steps of mtDNA sequence analysis, mtDNAprofiler will be helpful for researchers working with mtDNA. mtDNAprofiler is freely available at http://mtprofiler.yonsei.ac.kr .     

Impeachment and presidential politics in new democracies

Research on presidentialism has long assumed that presidential impeachment is a rare event, made difficult by design in order to enhance government stability. However, the experience of Third Wave democracies suggests that more presidents have been targets of impeachment attempts than the literature might lead us to expect. In this article I seek to identify the factors that make directly elected presidents more or less vulnerable to impeachment attempts in Third Wave presidential democracies from 1974 to 2003. I find several factors that mobilize deputies against the president: presidential involvement in political scandal, strong presidential powers, and a hostile civil society. Presidents are more likely to fend off such efforts when their party commands a higher share of seats. I also find that popular protest against a president helps to prompt a congressional impeachment drive. Frequent efforts to resolve presidential crises via such legal procedures may explain in part why extra-constitutional means of conflict resolution have become a less attractive option in new democracies.     

Constructing C.A.L. tutorials

ON THE assumption that law schools should seek to foster a legal profession which takes ethics seriously, this article explores how it may promote the moral development of its students. Having examined how legal education currently fails in this regards, it explores competing psychological theories of moral development and argues that law schools should seek to start students on a ‘moral apprenticeship’ leading to the development of the necessary moral character to equip them for the ethical challenges of practice. The article then looks at the extent to which ideal methods for promoting moral development can be implemented given the current climate in legal education. In particular, it argues that an excellent and viable means of assisting in the process of moral character development is through student involvement in live‐client clinics, particularly if they are run on an extra‐curricular basis.     

Excellence in Psychological Injury and Law: Book Review of Motor Vehicle Collisions by Duckworth, Iezzi, and O’Donohue (2008)

In several ways, the book on motor vehicle collisions by Duckworth, Iezzi, and O’Donohue (2008) breaks new ground and should be considered a must-read for workers in the area of psychological injury and law. The editors have assembled a team of expert authors who have cogently analyzed the scientific evidence in the area of motor vehicle collisions and their aftermath, while calling for more research. The book is replete with information that will help practitioners understand and deal with cases involving conditions such as chronic pain, posttraumatic stress, and traumatic brain injury. Practitioners will learn about complications in such cases, including threats to validity and legal aspects. The inclusion of chapters from a medical perspective is a welcome innovation. The book is only lacking in that, although assessment is considered throughout, chapters specifically addressing this topic are not included. The book review concludes that the Motor vehicle collisions book by Duckworth et al. should be included as part of the growing list of excellent resources in the area of psychological injury and law.     

Psychotherapy for Psychological Injury: A Biopsychosocial and Forensic Perspective

This article reviews the predominant psychological approaches to therapy and other treatments in the field of psychological injury. Mostly, they concern cognitive behavior therapy and its variants. However, because of the simultaneous physical injuries or physiological effects that accompany these types of injury, practitioners should adopt an integrated biopsychosocial approach in treatment (Sperry, L., Treatment of chronic medical conditions: Cognitive-behavioral therapy strategies and integrative treatment protocols. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2006; Treatment of chronic medical conditions: Cognitive-behavioral therapy strategies and integrative treatment protocols. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2009). The paper presents a componential model of therapy that integrates the cognitive-behavioral, biopsychosocial, and forensic approaches. More research needs to be undertaken that takes into account the difficulties of conducting therapy with individuals who are expressing psychological injury. This will help in the quest to formulate evidence-based but flexible practice guidelines. The paper concludes with a model that may serve to scaffold the numerous psychotherapies that are available into a more coherent framework.     

Interpersonal Factors in the Risk for Sexual Victimization and its Recurrence during Adolescence

Being a victim of sexual aggression from a peer is a common experience among adolescents and poses a significant risk for various forms of psychopathology. Unfortunately, little is known concerning specific interpersonal factors that increase an adolescent’s risk for experiencing sexual aggression. The current study assessed the contribution made by several interpersonal factors both for the first and repeated experience of becoming a victim of sexual aggression from a peer. Data were collected annually from a longitudinal sample of 200 adolescents over a period of 4 years and were analyzed using multiple-spell, discrete-time survival analysis. Approximately 46% of the adolescents reported experiencing some form of sexual aggression by the end of wave 4. Further, 65% of victims reported experiencing a repeat incident of aggression. Females were at higher risk both for initial and repeated victimization, as were adolescents with more sexual experience and higher levels of rejection sensitivity. Results are discussed in terms of implications for future prevention efforts.