Female serial killers in the United States: means,motives, and makings

Most studies that have focused on female serial killers (FSKs), although informative, have examined limited sample sizes. We consulted mass media reports of demographics, motives, methods, mental health, and victim characteristics of 64 FSKs who committed their crimes in the US from 1821 to 2008. Consistent with other studies, our data showed that FSKs were typically White, educated, have been married, and held a caregiving role (e.g. mother, health care worker). Nearly 40% of FSKs in this sample experienced some form of mental illness. Their most common motive for murder was financial gain, and their most common method of killing was poisoning. FSKs knew all or most of their victims, and most were related to their victims. In all cases, FSKs targeted at least one victim who was a child, elderly, or infirm – those who had little chance of fighting back. We interpret these killers’ behaviors from clinical and evolutionary angles.     

Blood and bone: body mass,gender and health inequality in nineteenth-century British families

In mid-nineteenth-century Britain, a new institution emerged: the modern prison. Some prisons invested in scales. Upon entry, prisoners were measured and personal details documented. These meticulously compiled records afford a new vantage point from which we can peer into the dynamics of the household. Body measurements – height, weight, and body mass (weight adjusted for height) – connect to both patterns of consumption and health risk. Prison data thus speak to both gender and health inequality in the past. The paper juxtaposes a service economy (Wandsworth near London) with a modern manufacturing sector (Paisley near Glasgow) in order to contrast how economic form and opportunities in the market sector shaped relations and outcomes in the household sector. We find that families bargained over the allocation of resources; that bargaining position was influenced by economic value, mediated by maternal sacrifice; that this was an earner bias rather than gender bias; and that new industrial work for women and children supported a more egalitarian distribution that improved everyone's health status via superior heights and heavier weights. We examine Irish immigrants to assess cultural differences in family behaviour. Finally, the paper offers, for the first time, a detailed interpolation of Waaler's health risk for women.     

China’s Response to the Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa

This article examines the Chinese response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, first surveying Chinese interests in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Many Chinese workers have been evacuated and projects postponed. For the first time, China has extended humanitarian aid to countries facing a public health emergency. China is under pressure to ‘do something’ but faces its own developmental challenges as well as problems of logistics. Chinese knowledge of Africa is still relatively weak and uninformed. Although China’s assistance dwarves that from the other BRICS, the Ebola crisis has revealed problems in Sino-African relations, not least the gap between rhetoric and reality.     

Child Sexual Abuse in Turkey: An Analysis of 1002 Cases

This study investigated the characteristics of abuse suffered by children, the dimensions of the psychiatric effects associated with abuse, and the factors affecting these. One thousand two cases aged under 18, exposed to sexual abuse, and referred over a 7‐year period were assessed. Girls represented 80.8% of cases, and the numbers rose with age. The aggressors were all male, and 88.2% were known to their victim. Approximately half the children were exposed to sexual abuse involving penetration. Psychological pathology was identified in 62.1%. Female gender, the presence of penetration, physical violence, and incest significantly increased the development of psychological pathology. Levels of awareness in people close to and trusted by the child must be raised to minimize the adverse effects of trauma in the long term, preventive measures must be taken, and medical and social support units from which victims can receive assistance need to be established.     

Comparing Electronic News Media Reports of Potential Bioterrorism-Related Incidents Involving Unknown White Powder to Reports Received by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Bureau of Investigation: U.S.A., 2009–2011

There have been periodic electronic news media reports of potential bioterrorism-related incidents involving unknown substances (often referred to as “white powder”) since the 2001 intentional dissemination of Bacillus anthracis through the U.S. Postal System. This study reviewed the number of unknown “white powder” incidents reported online by the electronic news media and compared them with unknown “white powder” incidents reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during a 2-year period from June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2011. Results identified 297 electronic news media reports, 538 CDC reports, and 384 FBI reports of unknown “white powder.” This study showed different unknown “white powder” incidents captured by each of the three sources. However, the authors could not determine the public health implications of this discordance.     

儿童是目的:教育的伦理基础

人在任何时候任何情况下都是目的,而永远不能只视为手段。如果康德这一主张是对的,那么,儿童是教育的目的便是对的。教育自始至终都应以儿童为目的,这就否定了教育常常将儿童视为工具的旧观念。以儿童为目的的教育尊重儿童的生活和世界,尊重儿童的兴趣和需要,助推儿童按其本性生长。以儿童为目的的教育不是去设计、制造儿童,而是帮助儿童自我建设与自我完善。"以儿童为目的"是现代教育的基本特征,亦是入手考察与理解现代教育的重要维度。以儿童为目的的教育只能扎根于民主的或向往民主的社会中。     

公安院校学生心理健康教育的思考

高校学生的心理健康教育已愈来愈被社会重视,公安院校的学生由于日后所从事的职业的特殊性,要求我们公安院校在对学生进行素质教育,提高学生政治素质、文化素质、专业素质、体能和技能素质教育的同时,必须加强对学生的心理健康教育,以增强学生承受挫折、适应环境的能力,从而提高学生的心理素质。     

繁荣与危机:透视国内心理健康工作

我国的心理健康工作起步较晚,但发展迅速,短短十几年的时间,就初步形成了较为繁荣的局面.但在繁荣的背后,我国的心理健康工作也存在着一些深层次的危机,主要是:1、心理健康基础研究工作的薄弱;2、心理健康临床工作者专业水准的普遍低下与合适培养模式的缺乏;3、心理健康工作中一些不合理的混乱.     

论大学生心理健康及其促进

心理健康是关系到大学生能否成才的大事。因此 ,必须加强心理健康教育 ,提高大学生心理健康水平 ,帮助他们学会自我控制、减轻压力、正确抉择 ,顺利、愉快地度过大学生活 ,培养高素质的社会人才     

谈当代大学生心理健康的环境要求

当前大学生的心理状况复杂多变 ,缺乏稳定性 ,主要存在心理不适应、自我封闭、自我逃避和性心理障碍等问题。产生这些心理问题的环境因素 ,既包括大学生自身的因素 ,也包括社会的和学习的、生活的因素。解决这些问题的途径 ,在于创造良好的心理环境 ,建立科学的预测系统 ,完善心理服务的机构和机制。