The patterns and prevalence of mass murder in twentieth-century America

Even though previous research has not examined mass murder prior to 1965, scholars have asserted that the mid-1960s marked the onset of an unprecedented and ever-growing mass murder wave. Using news accounts and the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) as sources of data, this study analyzes 909 mass killings that took place between 1900 and 1999. Although the mid-1960s marked the beginning of a mass murder wave, it was not unprecedented, because mass killings were nearly as common during the 1920s and 1930s. The results also show that familicides, the modal mass murder over the last several decades, were even more prevalent before the 1970s. Moreover, mass killers were older, more suicidal, and less likely to use guns in the first two-thirds of the 20th century. Although some have claimed that workplace massacres represent a new “strain” in mass murder, the findings suggest that the only new type of mass killing that emerged during the 20th century was the drug-related massacre.     

大力发展健康向上的老年文化

发展健康向上的老年文化是构建和谐社会的必然要求,是尽快消除文化阳光照不到的＂盲区＂的客观要求。健康向上的老年文化是以先进文化为主导的文化,是颐养身心的健康文化,是尊老敬老的传统文化。大力发展健康向上的老年文化需要多管齐下,采取多种措施：要由老龄委牵头多部门共管,创建老年文化精品工程;建立保障老年文化服务资金的长效机制;引进市场机制,发展优秀老年文化产业;加强人才队伍建设,开展丰富多彩的老年文化活动。     

Golden Age of Think Tanks

正Research and ideas play an increasingly important role in China’s policymaking By Tang YuankaiOn April 19,the National School of Development at Peking University celebrated its 20th anniversary.Six foreigneducated economists,including Justin Yifu Lin,who went on to become the first chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank     

The Ratio of 6β‐Hydroxycortisol to Cortisol in Urine as a Measure of Cytochrome P450 3A Activity in Postmortem Cases

Poisoning can occur with chronic accumulation of a drug due to reduced metabolic capacity; conversely, under‐treatment may occur due to an increased metabolic rate. Over half of all drugs are metabolized by the cytochrome P450 3A complex (CYP3A). The activity of CYP3A can be assessed by the urinary ratio of 6β‐hydroxycortisol to cortisol. The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of this ratio as a postmortem marker for determining whether altered CYP3A enzyme activity occurred prior to death. In a series of 244 postmortem cases, this ratio ranged from 0.014 to 78.6 (median 3.50). The median was significantly higher (5.14) in a subgroup of 28 cases that exhibited the presence of CYP3A‐inducing drugs. In cirrhosis, the median ratio was 1.69. This pointed to a reduced metabolic capacity of CYP3A. Thus, the ratio may constitute a rough indicator of the CYP3A metabolic capacity, which could be of value in special cases.     

九鬼周造“粹”论的哲学构造

日本哲学家九鬼周造,在其代表作《“粹”的构造》中吸收、转化了海德格尔前期思想,借以分析“粹”这一日本独特的审美意识。其理论建构回应了两个具有内在同一性的问题：海德格尔提出的非西方文化是否有必要、有可能去学习西方概念体系的疑问;京都学派的理论难题,如何面对西方思想的普遍扩张渗透,确立日本思想独立的自我意识。     

A Call for Help?: How Public School Principals’ Subjective Report of Institutional Weakness Relates to Disciplinary Incidents

ABSTRACT

Disciplinary incidents at U.S. public middle- and high-schools are a public policy concern. Although businesses popularly give credence to leaders’ subjective intelligence, principals’ reports of their schools’ strengths and weaknesses are questioned. To determine whether principals’ reports carry legitimacy as indicators of student offenses, the current study utilized a nationally representative survey of principals who reported on their sense of the institution and the number of disciplinary incidents in the past year (N = 1,872; replication cohort, N = 1,833). Findings showed that the more institutional shortcomings a principal endorsed, the higher total number of incidents occurred, even after controlling for institutional strength and several indicators of school crime. These findings have policy and intervention implications for improving student outcomes, and so would be of interest to funding agencies, school administrators, teachers, and parents.     

新世纪马来西亚华文教育研究综述

马来西亚是除中国大陆、台湾、港澳地区以外唯一保留华文教育体系的国家并且华文教育体系完备,具有鲜明的国别特点。对2000年以来马来西亚华文教育的相关文献进行梳理和归纳,主要是整体状况、学校、教材、课程、师资与学习动机六个主题。新世纪马来西亚华文教育总体呈现以下五个特点:华文教育的推广和国家建设之间的博弈;各层次华文学校皆在夹缝中生存;华文教材和课程体系不完善且水平参差不齐;华文师资紧缺且教师专业素质不高;华文学习动机体现了深层次的语言意识形态。马来西亚华文教育在华人的努力和奋斗下,整体上既有困境和挑战也有光明的未来,发展道路并不平坦,但由于各种国际和国内因素的交织,尚有较大的发展空间。     

Changing contexts: A quasi-experiment examining adolescent delinquency and the transition to high school

In a quasi-experiment, we examine whether changing schools during the transition from 8th to 9th grade influences adolescent delinquency, using a sample of more than 14,000 students in 26 public school districts (PROSPER study). The dataset follows students for eight waves from 6th through 12th grade and facilitates a unique, direct comparison of students who change schools with those who remain in the same school during this period. Results show that students who transition between schools report significantly less delinquency after the shift than those who do not, and that this difference persists through 10th grade. This decline is most pronounced when adolescents from multiple middle schools move to a single high school (i.e., multifeeder transitions). Students who transition between schools have fewer delinquent friends and participate in less unstructured socializing following the change in school environment, which partially mediates their reduced delinquency. Results provide some support for theories of differential association and routine activities. Our findings highlight the role of a crucial, yet understudied, life transition in shaping adolescent delinquency. The results from this quasi-experiment underscore the potential of alterations in social context to significantly dampen juvenile delinquency throughout high school.     

Conclusion: Mental health and legal responses to the adolescent mental health crisis: Raising the bar on best interests and promoting family connectedness in divorcing families

We are currently facing an unprecedented increase in adolescent mental health problems resulting in alarmingly high levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidality. Significant mental health problems among youth pose unique challenges to families in the process of separation and divorce, as well as to family law professionals across all disciplines. The current adolescent mental health crisis calls for new ways of approaching our work with high conflict families to promote family connectedness and shift away from adversarial approaches that may exacerbate conflict and further destabilize families. As a conclusion to the special issue on adolescent mental health needs, the authors make multidisciplinary best practices recommendations and advocate for systems level changes in recognition of the needs of youth in crisis at this pivotal developmental stage.     

The expanding role of expert psychological evaluations and testimony in Hague child abduction litigation

Hague Convention cases are a growing niche in forensic assessments. These cases focus on returning children, or preventing their return, after international abductions, by one of the parents, has occurred. This article focuses on the legal underpinnings of the Hague Abduction Convention, the “affirmative defenses” that may be invoked to prevent a return order, including “grave risk of harm,” “mature objection”, and the “well settled defense.” The article will also focus on the increasing roles that forensic evaluators play in these matters, the distinction between the role of forensic experts in custody proceedings and Hague cases, and the inherent limitations present in these unique kinds of evaluations.