HMP/YOI Holloway: a lament but also a call to arms

Abstract

London’s oldest women’s prison is to close in 2016. The unexpected speed of the UK Government’s closure plans and the lack of alternatives for London women are a cause for concern but also an opportunity. Ironically, this announcement came at a time when both the prison and its health care were evaluated as better than ever before. Staff constitute a vital source of knowledge and expertise. Good care for women who offend relies on these ingredients. Learning from the last decade should be salvaged and further developed.     

Mother–infant separations in prison. A systematic attachment-focused policy review

Abstract

Mothers in prison separated from their young children are an overlooked group. Attachment theory could provide a useful model to underpin interventions and better support women affected by separation from their infants. Current policy draws on a limited body of evidence and research has developed considerably since its first design. This review systematically searched all relevant UK prison policy and government documents with regards to mother and child separation in prison and analysed the extent to which these documents draw on attachment theory. Following initial searches, 58 documents were thematically analysed. Attachment was implicitly referred to in most documents but only explicitly mentioned in four. Global themes identified included ‘separation as trauma’. However, document groups varied in focusing either on the mother or the child and there were no joint perspectives. Developing and researching specific attachment-informed interventions might be one way forward as would further attachment-based research in this area.     

牦牛子宫内膜细胞的分离培养及性激素对其增殖的影响

为了分离培养牦牛子宫内膜细胞,并探讨不同浓度雌激素和孕激素对上皮细胞和基质细胞增殖的影响,采用Ⅰ型胶原酶消化、离心分离和差速消化纯化的方法分离纯化上皮细胞和基质细胞,对其进行免疫细胞化学染色鉴定,绘制生长曲线,最后用MTT法测定不同浓度的17β-雌二醇和孕酮对细胞增殖的影响。结果显示,1g/L胶原酶消化1h,500r/min离心10min,经2代差速消化纯化获得的上皮细胞的纯度为96%,基质细胞的纯度为93%;不同浓度的17β-雌二醇均能促进上皮细胞和基质细胞的增殖,孕酮可促进基质细胞的增殖,但对上皮细胞的增殖有抑制作用,不同浓度的17β-雌二醇和孕酮共同作用均能显著促进基质细胞增殖,而对上皮细胞增殖的影响随混合液中孕酮浓度的增加由促进转为抑制。本研究获得了高纯度的牦牛子宫内膜上皮细胞和基质细胞,证实雌激素能促进2种细胞的增殖,孕激素能促进基质细胞的增殖但抑制上皮细胞的增殖。     

ON AMBIGUITY IN PERCEPTIONS OF RISK:IMPLICATIONS FOR CRIMINAL DECISION MAKING AND DETERRENCE*

Deterrence theorists and researchers have argued that the critical dimension of sanction certainty is its level—increasing the certainty of punishment from a lower to a higher level will inhibit criminal conduct. However, the true certainty of punishment is rarely known with much precision. Both Sherman (1990) and Nagin (1998) have suggested that ambiguity about the level of punishment certainty is itself consequential in the decision to commit or refrain from crime. Here, we investigate this proposition. We find some evidence that individuals are “ambiguity averse” for decisions involving losses such as criminal punishments. This finding means that a more ambiguous perceived certainty of punishment is a greater deterrent of some crimes than a nominally equivalent but less ambiguous one. However, this effect depends on how large an individual's risk certainty perception is initially. That is, we find evidence for “boundary effects” (Casey and Scholz, 1991a, 1991b) in which this effect holds for lower probabilities but reverses for higher ones. For higher detection probabilities, individuals become “ambiguity seeking” such that a less ambiguous detection probability has more deterrent value than a nominally equivalent but more ambiguous detection probability. Results are presented from two distinct, but complementary, analysis samples and empirical approaches. These samples include a survey to college students with several hypothetical choice problems and data from the Pathways to Desistance study, a longitudinal investigation of serious adolescent offenders transitioning from adolescence to young adulthood.     

Three-dimensional modeling of the various volumes of canines to determine age and sex: a preliminary study

Canines are usually used in anthropological and forensic sciences for sex and age determination. The best methods to estimate age are based on secondary dentine apposition, evaluated from periapical X-rays. The aim of this study was to propose a new method of sex and age estimation using 3D models to obtain more precise predictions using tooth volumes. Fifty-eight dental CT scans of patients aged 14-74 with a well-balanced sex ratio composed the sample. One hundred and thirty-three healthy canines were modeled (Mimics 12.0). The sample was divided into a training sample and a validation sample. An age formula was determined using the "pulp volume/tooth volume" ratio. Sex prediction was adjusted with total volumes. Applying the equations to the validation sample, no significant difference was found between the real and predicted ages, and 100% of the sex predictions were correct. This preliminary study gives interesting results, and this method is worth being tested on a larger data sample.     

Sexual Dimorphism of Anterior Sacral Curvature

Abstract: This study assesses the predictive value of anterior sacral curvature for sex estimation from skeletonized remains. Sacra from a sample of 125 American adults of known age and sex were examined. Nine measurements describing anterior sacral curvature were used in the analysis. Statistical treatment of the data included univariate statistics and discriminant function analysis for sex classification. A bootstrap validation method was employed to assess the classification error rates. Sacral curvature was significantly greater in men than in women at the level of the S2–S3 and S3–S4 articulations (p < 0.05). Correct classification estimates for the discriminant function range from 66–72%. Although sexually dimorphic, metric observations of sacral curvature are not as reliable at predicting sex as other skeletal elements. Anterior sacral curvature should only be used for sex estimation in the absence of other, more reliable, indicators.     

新文化运动中对贞节观的理论批判

古老的贞节观念影响、控制中国女性几千年,甚至深入到社会的各个角落.它不仅仅是一种社会意识,更形成了评价女性的价值尺度、道德体系中最基本的内容.新文化运动以其巨大的冲击力摧枯拉朽地破坏着传统旧中国的封建传统,其中就包括清算古老贞节观念的内容.先觉者们办刊物,发文章,打破了性禁忌的坚冰,从理论上批判贞节观的腐朽,并大力提倡新的婚姻道德和性道德,使这笼罩在中国女性身上的巨大黑影终于开始慢慢消褪,不再面目沉重狰狞.当然,要彻底解决此问题毕竟还需假以时日,不能企望毕其功于一役,但新文化运动对贞节观念的祛魅之功是怎样估量都不过分的.     

Testing Discriminant Functions for Sex Determination from Deciduous Teeth*,†

Abstract: Three studies have proposed discriminant functions for sex determination from deciduous tooth crown dimensions, and this study tests the existing functions on a sample of 46 Portuguese immature skeletons of known sex, aged from birth to 10 years. Deciduous teeth were measured in their mesiodistal and faciolingual crown dimensions, and percentage of correct allocation accuracy in determining sex using each specific function was determined. Discriminant functions were also calculated from data collected for this study and tested using cross‐validation. Results show poor overall accuracy (33.3–75%) and poor cross‐validation (46.2–60.0%). This is related to low sexual dimorphism in deciduous tooth crown size, as well as differences in degree of sexual dimorphism and in overall tooth size between different samples. For these reasons, deciduous crown size does not seem to show significant forensic value as discriminator of sex, particularly when methods developed on one population are applied to individuals of another population.     

中性业务行为的意义、标准及立场选择

在现代技术环境下,社会分工协作日趋复杂,为保护个人的信赖利益,基于帮助犯免责事由的中性业务行为应运而生。中性业务行为确定了帮助行为可罚与不可罚的边际,是对传统的帮助犯理论的修正和例外,是法益保护与权利保障平衡的产物。