National identity-building and the “Ustaša-nostalgia” in Croatia: the past that will not pass

Most scholarship on post-Communist Croatia claims that the first Croatian president, Franjo Tu?man, intentionally rehabilitated the legacy of the World War II (WWII) Croatian Usta?a and its Nazi-puppet state. The rehabilitation of the Usta?a has been linked to Tu?man’s national reconciliation politics that tended toward a particular “forgetting of the past.” The national reconciliation was conceptualized as a joint struggle of both the Croatian anti-fascist Partisan and the Croatian WWII fascist Usta?a successors to achieve Croatian independence. However, the existing scholarship does not offer a comprehensive explanation of the nexus between national reconciliation and the rehabilitation of the Usta?a. Hence, this article will present how “Usta?a-nostalgia” does not stem from Tu?man’s intentions, but rather from the morphological gap occurring in Tu?man’s nation-building idea. Namely, Tu?man’s condemnation of the entire idea of Yugoslavism and Yugoslavia eventually brought about the perception that any historical agent advocating the idea of an independent Croatia is better than any form of Croatian Yugoslavism. Finally, the article will present how contemporary Croatian society is still seeped in “Usta?a-nostalgia” due to the hesitation of the post-Tu?man Croatian politics to come to terms with the legacy of his national reconciliation politics.     

Family Representative Payeeship and Violence Risk in Severe Mental Illness

Although representative payeeship is prevalent among people with mental illness and shows promise to positively influence clinically relevant outcomes, research also suggests this legal mechanism could be implemented in ways that are problematic. The current study examined whether family representative payeeship was associated with elevated risk of family violence perpetrated by persons with severe mental illness (SMI). Data were collected every 4 months for 1 year in structured interviews with N = 245 persons with SMI who received disability benefits. Multivariate analyses showed that substance abuse, history of violence, frequency of family contact, and family representative payeeship were associated with elevated odds of family violence. Analyses also showed family contact and family representative payeeship had a cumulative effect on increasing the predicted probability of family violence (controlling for covariates such as violence history and substance abuse). The data shed light on the potential for family representative payeeship to be associated with increased risk of interpersonal conflict and violence in SMI.     

Differences in attitudes toward gays and lesbians among criminal justice and non-criminal justice majors

The criminal justice system is supposed to protect and serve all members of the community equally; therefore, any prejudicial attitudes harbored by criminal justice students may negatively impact their job performance as future justice professionals. Four hundred and eighty-four students at a large Midwestern university were surveyed on their views toward gay and lesbian persons and issues. The responses of criminal justice majors were compared to the responses of students majoring in other fields. Criminal justice majors tended to have more negative views of gays and lesbians than students in other majors. However, there was not a significant difference between the two groups of students in their willingness to extend rights to and socialize with gay and lesbian individuals.     

Academic dishonesty among criminal justice majors: A research note

There is a limited, but growing body of literature on the academic integrity of criminal justice majors. This study adds to the research by surveying 850 students at a Midwestern university and comparing criminal justice majors to students majoring in other disciplines. The survey consisted of various academic dishonesty behaviors, rationales for being academically dishonest, and whether or not the behaviors were ethical. The results indicated that there were some differences between criminal justice and non-criminal justice majors; however, for most measures, the two groups of students were similar. Unfortunately, the overall level of cheating was high for both criminal justice and non-criminal justice students.     

The three phases of rock music in the Czech lands

In the Czech lands (included in Czechoslovakia until the end of 1992), rock music has evolved through three phases. In the first phase, lasting until 1968, rock musicians had no ambition to offer social or political commentaries. This began as the era of rock ‘n’ roll, which is to say music being performed for dancing. The second phase began after the Soviet bloc invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, lasting until the end of the communist era in 1989. In this phase, rock musicians (no longer playing rock ‘n’ roll were closely monitored by the authorities and were expected to sing happy songs, submitting their song texts to the authorities for approval in advance of performing them. In spite of this control, some rock groups purposefully sang political texts in the 1970s and 1980s, mocking or criticizing the communists, albeit often cryptically. Finally, in the third phase – since 1989 – having lost their ideological foe, Czech rock groups have for the most part become politically disengaged.     

Regional security cooperation reinvented: Western Balkans counterterrorism initiative

ABSTRACT

This article argues that the Western Balkans Counterterrorism Initiative (WBCTi), originally a Slovenian proposal of late 2014, represents an efficient form of regional security cooperation, particularly when regional EU integration is considered. The Initiative that was accepted by the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the EU in late 2015 is the first of its kind. It is aimed at both incorporating and integrating all forms of international assistance that concern increasing the capacity to prevent and combat terrorism, violent extremism, and radicalisation leading to terrorism. Additionally, it is directed at decreasing duplication of actions by international actors and raising levels of efficiency of security cooperation and reform. This article analyses the Initiative by focusing on its structure and claiming that its specific framework represents an innovative approach establishing a fully functional regional structure outlining EU-Western Balkans security cooperation.     

Methadone‐Related Deaths – Epidemiological,Pathohistological, and Toxicological Traits in 10‐year Retrospective Study in Vojvodina,Serbia

The number of methadone‐related deaths (MRDs) during a 10‐year period (2002–2011) in the region of Vojvodina, Serbia, was increased. The cases were evaluated according to epidemiological parameters, pathohistological findings, and toxicological screening. The majority of victims were men, aged from 20 to 38. Pathohistologically, the signs of acute focal myocardial damage were present in the heart of victims with drug abuse history shorter than 2 years, while both signs of recent and chronic focal myocardial damage were developed among victims with longer drug abuse history (2–5 years). In postmortem blood samples of 54.84% of victims, methadone was detected in combination with diazepam, both in therapeutic range. Alcohol was absent in most cases. Other detected drugs were antipsychotics and antidepressants in therapeutic concentrations. These findings raise the attention to the concomitant use of methadone and benzodiazepines with the need for further studies to clarify the mechanism of death in such cases.     

The Association Between Family Violence,Depression and Anxiety Among Women Whose Partners Have Been Treated for Alcohol Dependence

Journal of Family Violence - The negative effects of men’s excessive alcohol consumption on family members are well known. However, less is known about how men’s alcohol dependence is...