Elements for a Robust Climate Regime Post-2012: Options for Mitigation

This article addresses the current state of negotiations within the international climate change regime (including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol) and options to be included in a post-2012 carbon market framework, such as sectoral agreements, soft targets for developing countries and a larger consideration of sinks. The article reviews the different options focusing on their potential to spur mitigation of greenhouse gases in key areas such as energy production. The size and depth of the carbon market, as well as the stringency of the cap and the stabilization path chosen, are variables affecting the effectiveness of different options. The article thus makes a clear case for all large emitters to agree on a long-term stabilization goal to guide further negotiations on medium-term carbon market frameworks, and notes that options related to the consideration of sinks, for example, should maintain proportionality with the size of the carbon market to ensure that a sufficient 'pull' for technological developments in energy-related activities is maintained.     

Corporate citizenship and social responsibility in a globalized world

This article addresses the rise of corporate citizenship in the context of the changes in the nature of individual citizenship and the emergence of new, non‐territorial forms of national identity that are occurring in the current era of intensifying globalization. It also ponders the power of corporate citizens and the role they play in the prevailing global governance framework, as well as the extent to which they can behave responsibly and pursue sustainable development goals. More generally, the article discusses the limits to corporate social responsibility and the extent to which capitalism can be ‘caring’. The argument advanced is that, by virtue of their very nature, transnational corporations (TNCs) cannot become fully responsible and accountable citizens. Nonetheless, they can be induced to transform themselves in ways that may be compatible with socially and environmentally desirable objectives. Lastly, the article explores paths for action and, in particular, the potential of NGOs and anti‐globalization social movements to become civil regulators able to push for the introduction of binding rules and regulations and the construction a governance framework capable of restraining and harnessing the power of TNCs.     

Surviving the suicides of significant others: a case study

Psychological pain has been reported to be major contributing factor for completed suicide, and classical suicidology based its wisdom on this construct. In this paper we report the case of a patient whose family experienced a high number of suicides apparently due to an escalation of psychological pain in the family members after the successive suicides. We also briefly discuss the problem of helping survivors after the suicide of loved one.     

History of childhood abuse and neglect and suicidal behavior at hospital admission

Suicide is a major public health problem. Preventive measures have been sought by identifying risk factors. This study evaluates the association of childhood abuse and neglect with suicidal behavior at the time of psychiatric hospital admission. A total of 120 subjects (72 females; mean age 42.5 +/- 15.6 years old) admitted from August 2006 to July 2007 completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) to assess severity of exposure to childhood maltreatment. Thereof 62 (51.6%) patients presented with suicidal behavior at admission. Patients who had attempted suicide had significantly higher CTQ scores. Regression analysis indicated that shorter illness duration and severity of childhood maltreatment were predictors of suicidal behavior at admission. The study showed that inpatients of a psychiatric unit of a general hospital who experienced severe childhood abuse or neglect were significantly more likely to present with suicidal behavior. History of childhood maltreatment should be evaluated as an associated risk factor of suicidal behavior at admission of psychiatric inpatients.     

Debt,democratization, and development in Latin America: How policy can affect global warming

The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis conjectures a nonlinear relationship between pollution and economic growth, such that pollution per capita initially increases as countries economically develop, but then reaches a maximum point before ultimately declining. Much of the EKC literature has focused on testing this basic hypothesis and, in studies that find evidence of an EKC, estimating the “turning point” level of development at which the per capita pollution‐growth relationship changes sign. This approach has not emphasized the policy relevance of specification issues or the potential role of policy variables. This research explores a modified EKC specification which conditions the pollution‐growth relationship on a country's level of debt and degree of democratization. These variables turn out to be significant, implying that different political and economic contexts can shift EKCs and their turning points. These findings suggest that policies to relieve debt burdens and institute political reform, in addition to their usual justifications, also could be used as a strategy to reduce carbon emissions from developing countries. © 2008 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Y-STRs in forensic medicine: DNA analysis in semen samples of azoospermic individuals

ABSTRACT: The incidence of rape has increased, especially in metropolitan areas, such as the city of São Paulo. In Brazil, studies about it have shown that the majority of this type of crime is committed by the relatives and persons close to the victim. This has made the crime more difficult to be denounced, as only 10% of the cases are reported to competent police authorities. Usually, cytological exams are carried out in sex crime investigations. The difficulty in showing the presence of spermatozoa is frequent, but it does not exclude the presence of male DNA. The absence of spermatozoa in material collected from rape victims can be due to several factors, including the fact that the agressor suffers from azoospermia. This condition can be the result of a successful vasectomy. As the majority of DNA in the ejaculation sample is from spermatozoa, there is much less DNA to be analyzed. This study presents the application of Y‐STRs (DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, and DYS393) in DNA analysis of sperm samples from 105 vasectomized men. The study demonstrated a great variation in DNA concentration. DNA extraction and amplification was possible in all sperm samples even in the absence of spermatozoa. The same profile was observed, for each individual, from DNA extracted from blood, pre‐ and postvasectomy semen samples. The use of markers specific for Y chromosome in sex crime cases, especially in the absence of spermatozoa, is very important, mainly because in most situations there is a small quantity of the agressor's DNA in the medium and a large quantity of the victim's DNA.