Chinese warfare and politics in the ancient East Asian international system,CA. 2700 B.C. to 722 B.C.

Ancient East Asia is the second oldest “protobellic area” and pristine state system of international relations within the global international system, after West Asia (ancient Near East). In a previous study Cioffi‐Revilla and Lai (1995) reported the first findings on the origins and evolution of war and politics in ancient China (Legendary, Xia [Hsia], Shang, and Western Zhou [Chou] periods), ca. 2700 B.C to 722 B.C In this paper we make public an expanded data set (N = 104 cases, 12 variables; version 2.0), explaining our sources, measurements, and data quality control procedures. The new data set will permit investigators to test hypotheses about warfare distributions, ethnic and protracted conflicts, time series, periodicity, system dynamics, and structural relationships (e.g., war‐polarity theories). This new long‐range data set should also promote a new stage in comparative analyses of the universal and particular properties of warfare and international systems, both cross‐polity and longitudinally.     

B. F. Skinner's utopian vision: behind and beyond walden two

This paper addresses B. F. Skinner's utopian vision for enhancing social justice and human well‐being as it was introduced in his 1948 novel, Walden Two. In the first part, we address the historical, intellectual, and social context that situates the book in the utopian genre, the critiques of its premises and practices, and the fate of intentional communities patterned on the book. In the second part, we review practices in Skinner's book that advance social justice and human well‐being under the themes of health, wealth, and wisdom, and then focus on contemporary practices that are the legacy of his vision. His vision was neither the a priori truth of a particular premise about human behavior or a necessary practice (blueprint) for an intentional community but rather the use of empirical methods to discover premises and practices that work to advance the health, wealth, and wisdom of individuals and survival of the culture.     

17例杀亲案件的回顾性分析

目的总结杀亲案件的特点,为此类案件的分析、预防提供参考。方法调查溧阳地区2004—2014年破获的17例杀亲案件,对原始登记信息、现场勘验笔录、尸体检验鉴定书、破案情况进行统计分析。结果 17例杀亲案件中受害人以女性居多,嫌疑人以男性居多,杀人动机以配偶不忠或怀疑配偶不忠占较高比例。杀亲案件中有精神病患者杀人、伪装杀人,嫌疑人杀人后自杀占有一定比例。结论杀亲案件多与婚外性行为、精神病患者杀人等家庭因素有关,部分为杀人旋即自杀,致伤工具具有简单随意、易于获取的特点。     

Estimating Individual Contributions to Complex DNA SNP Mixtures.,

High‐throughput sequencing (HTS) of large panels of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) provides an alternative or complimentary approach to short tandem repeats (STRs) panels for the analysis of complex DNA mixture forensic samples. For STRs, methods to estimate individual contribution concentrations compare capillary electrophoresis peak heights, peak areas, or HTS allele read counts within a mixture. This article introduces three approaches (mean, median, and slope methods) for estimating individual DNA contributions to forensic mixtures for HTS/massively parallel sequencing (MPS) SNP panels. For SNPs, the major:minor allele ratios or counts, unique to each contributor, were compared to estimate contributor proportion within the mixture using the mean, median, and slope intercept for these alleles. The estimates for these three methods were typically within 5% of planned experimental contributions for defined mixtures.     

Nationalism and the Rise of Peru's General Velasco

Velasco's brand of military nationalism marked a real break from the orientation of the majority of Peruvian military regimes, which were pro‐United States and espoused limited government. Many attempts have been made to explain this outcome, but the release of documents from British and United States archives clarify certain issues. Above all, Velasco's use of the nationalist card enabled him to win over decisive support from both the military and political society. This support gave him sufficient leverage to consolidate his personal position, which he did before launching a major programme of domestic property expropriation.     

A Qualitative Assessment of Stress Perceptions Among Members of a Homicide Unit

Existing research on stress among police assumes the presence of uniform stressors across job roles and borrows upon generic stress instruments to tap stress types and levels. The present study draws upon interviews with 26 members of a metropolitan homicide unit to provide an inductive vantage point on stress perceptions within a specialized area of policing. We provide evidence that the occupational and organizational forms of stress detailed by these officers are shaped largely by the unique nature of homicide work. Among the unique task-related stressors observed include the complexities of homicide crime scenes, time pressures, cases assignment factors, paperwork demands, and long-term ownership over individual case files. A series of structural issues from both within and outside the police agency are identified as organizational stressors unique to homicide work. We conclude with a proposed theory of homicide investigator stress and implications for future research.     

The Effects of Local Government Consolidation on Turnout: Evidence from a Quasi‐Experiment in Switzerland

In the last decades, municipal mergers have been one major element of local government reforms in Switzerland and beyond. In this article, we describe and analyze the political effects of this development. We use a quasi‐experimental setting to test the impact of municipal mergers on electoral participation. We find that in merged municipalities, the decrease in turnout is significantly stronger than in non‐merged municipalities. Further, the effect is more pronounced in relatively small localities. There is a temporal dimension to this effect—that is, turnout drops mainly in the first election after the first merger, but not so much after the second or third merger. Hence, the study provides a skeptical yet differentiated perspective on the democratic consequences of municipal mergers and points to further research avenues to develop a more comprehensive understanding of local government consolidation.     

The Woman Victim in a Country in Crisis: A Reading of Tagwira's The Uncertainty of Hope

The article is based on my reading of Valerie Tagwira’s The Uncertainty of Hope as a feminist text that portrays female victimhood in the context of a failing postcolonial state. Tagwira writes about the experiences of a woman against the background of Murambatsvina, officially termed ‘‘Operation Clean Up.’’ The Zimbabwean Operation Clean Up of 2005 was condemned worldwide; and in her novel, Tagwira gives an often-ignored dimension of a woman’s experience of it, in the general context of a country facing serious political, economic and social challenges. For Tagwira, the challenges faced by Onai, as well as those around her, do not have links to their racial identities. Thus, Tagwira redefines the enemyvictim trope of the Third Chimurenga by subverting the state’s interpretation of the struggle discourse of the Third Chimurenga. In the state’s discourse, the victim trope is racial, the state enemy is the former colonial master (in support of the opposition political party) and the victim is the previously colonised black. In my analysis, I have used Susan Wendell’s theory on oppression and victimisation as contained in her article Oppression and Victimization: Choice and Responsibility (1990).     

The Impact of Child‐Parent Psychotherapy on Child Dependency Court Outcomes

Although parental compliance with court orders in child welfare cases is key to achieving physical parent‐child reunification and successful case closure, little research has examined how parent‐child relationship‐focused rehabilitative services uniquely influence case outcomes. This project fills this gap by investigating links between court ordering of and parental participation in Child‐Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) with court outcomes. Data were obtained from court records of 448 court‐involved parents. Hierarchical regressions revealed that greater participation in CPP led to reunification and successful case closure but not faster case closure. Courtroom professionals should consider parent‐child relationship‐based therapies as tools for achieving child welfare goals.     

刑事诉讼中被害人的诉讼权利保护

随着法制观念的深入人心和人权思想的发展,刑事诉讼中的人权保障备受各方关注,被害人作为刑事诉讼中的当事人,与犯罪嫌疑人、被告人有平等的诉讼地位,也应当享有相同的诉讼权利。但在我国《刑事诉讼法》中,被害人的诉讼权利受到限制并缺乏保障。应从立法上完善被害人的诉讼权利,建立被害人诉讼权利保护机制,以保护被害人的合法权利。