Shame and Guilt and its Relation to Direct and Indirect Experience of Trauma in Adolescence,a Brief Report

Exposure to different kinds of traumatic events is common among adolescents. This brief report study examined whether shame proneness and guilt proneness were associated with direct and indirect experience of potentially traumatic events (PTEs). We investigated the relationship between gender, PTEs, shame, and guilt among adolescents (n?=?314, age?=?15–20 years). We hypothesized that shame proneness and guilt proneness would be associated with direct experience of interpersonal and sexual PTEs, that both direct and indirect experience of potentially traumatic sexual event/s would correlate with female gender, and that potentially traumatic direct and indirect interpersonal event/s would correlate with male gender. Shame was positively associated with having experienced direct sexual trauma and with female gender. Girls had more often experienced potentially traumatic direct sexual events and boys had more often experienced potentially traumatic direct interpersonal events. Indirect experiences of traumatic events were not related to either gender or shame. We conclude that the relation between shame, PTEs, and gender is complex with both types of traumas and gender interact with shame. This study found that shame and direct experience of sexual traumatic events were associated among adolescent girls. Gender and what type of traumatic events adolescents’ direct experience is most likely related but not gender and what type of indirect experienced trauma.

     

Distribution of the Minutiae in Hypothenar Palm Prints in Slovak Adults: Indications for Personal Identification

Minutiae are small distinguishing features found along every ridge flow, which make each friction ridge print unique. The most common friction ridge prints found at the crime scene are fingerprints; therefore, the most of the minutiae studies are focused exactly on this kind of prints. The authors believe that further examination and enlargement of the palm print database could result in better use of the palm prints for personal identification. We analyzed a total of 160 palm prints from 40 females and 40 males aged between 18 and 70 years from Slovakia. For the evaluation of the minutiae, the area of the hypothenar had to be marked out. The classification of the minutiae used for this study was based on a modified version of the classification system using the total of 13 types of minutiae. The frequency of every minutiae type was calculated and, using the chi-square test with Yates's correction, bilateral and sex differences were assessed. The relationship between the different types of minutiae was examined with Pearson's correlation test. During the initial phases of the identification process, the focus should be on the least common types of minutiae (Y or M and return), which were found not to correlate; thus, their mutual occurrence is random (e.g., overlap—Y or M, crossbar—return, or Y or M—dock). The results of the present study show which specific minutiae types are the most suitable for personal identification. These findings may be beneficial in more effective outcome of the identification process.     

Prosthetic restorations, dental root fillings and periodontal bone resorptions as a forensic-odontologic aid for determining the age above 18 years: A radiographic study of orthopantomograms from a group of teenagers and yount adults

The human teeth are a valuable source of information concerning identification and age calculation in forensic sciences. Dental treatment often causes permanent alteration of the teeth, which is visible on radiographs. The correlation of prosthetic restorations, root canal fillings and periodontal bone loss with chronological age has not yet been used for determining the completed 18th year of life in teenagers and young adults, e. g. for legal and anthropological purposes. The aim of this study was to determine whether the evaluation of such findings on radiographs correlates with the chronological age in teenagers and young adults. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The dental X-rays (orthopantomogram, OPG) of 1053 outpatients (age: 14 to 24 years) were avaluated. The values "prosthetically restored", "filled dental root", or "periodontal bone loss" were recorded for each tooth present. The data were then evaluated using statistical tools. RESULTS: The correlation between the number of prosthetically restored teeth and the chronological age is high. The positive predictive value of determining an age of at least 18 years proved to be very high. However, these findings are rarely present in this age group. The number of endodontically treated teeth correlated less exactly with age. On the other hand, the determination of periodontal bone loss gave reasonable positive predictive values for the threshold value "chronological age of 18 years or more". DISCUSSION: This study provides for the first time predictive values for the estimation whether a person is 18 years of age, based on the evaluation of teeth with prosthetic restorations, root canal fillings or periodontal bone loss on OPGs only. Whereas the number of patients with such findings is generally low in this age group, some of the positive findings can be used for age estimation as an adjunct to other sources of age calculation. The sole application of these criteria is not recommended, as sanitary conditions of the teeth depend on both social and individual circumstances. Therefore, the calculated values also reflect the culture of the sample studied. Finally, they are time-dependent and have to be compared to data from other populations. These results have some bearing on the field of forensic odontology.     

Decayed, filled and missing teeth as a forensic-odontologic aid for determining the age above 18 years: A radiographic study of orthopantomograms from a group of teenagers and young adults

The human teeth are a valuable source of information concerning identification and age calculation in forensic sciences. Dental treatment often causes permanent alteration of the teeth, which is visible on radiographs. The correlation of decayed, missing or filled teeth and chronological age has not yet been used for determining the accomplished 18th year of life in teenagers and young adults, e. g. for legal and anthropological purposes. The aim of this study was to determine whether the evaluation of these findings on radiographs correlates with the chronological age in teenagers and young adults. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The dental X-rays (orthopantomograms, OPG) of 1053 outpatients (age: 14 to 24 years) were evaluated. The values "decayed", "missing", or "filled" were recorded for each tooth present. The data were then calculated using statistical tools. RESULTS: The correlation between the number of missing teeth and the chronological age is low. However, the positive predictive value of determining the age of 18 years for certain types of teeth proved to be very high, even up to 100 %. Further, high numbers of filled teeth gave reasonable positive predictive values for an age of 18 years. The number of decayed teeth did not correlate with age. DISCUSSION: This study provides for the first time predictive values for the estimation whether a person is 18 years of age, based on the evaluation of decayed, missing or filled teeth on OPGs only. Whereas the number of patients with such findings is generally low in this age group, some of the positive findings can be used for age estimation as an adjunct to other sources of age calculation. The sole application of these items is not recommended, as sanitary conditions of the teeth depend on both social and individual circumstances. Therefore, the calculated values also reflect the culture of the sample studied. Finally, they are time-dependent and have to be compared to data from other populations. These results have some bearing on the field of forensic odontology.     

Meech Lake and free trade: studies in Canadian federalism

Canada: Its Framework, Its Foibles, Its Future. By Allan E. Blakeney . 1988 Kenneth R. MacGregor Lecture. Navigating Meech Lake. Edited by Clive Thomson . Federal Leadership in Social and Economic Policy. By Peter M. Leslie . National Citizenships and Provincial Communities: A Review of Canadian Fiscal Federalism and Ethnonationalism in a Federal State: The Case of Canada. By Peter M. Leslie . Research Papers 23 and 24. Canada: The State of the Federation 1987–88. Edited by Peter M. Leslie and Ronald L. Watts .     

When is personal data not “personal data” – The impact of Durant v. FSA

The Data Protection Act 1998 (the “Act”), which implements the EU Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC), applies to personal data and governs the activities of data controllers and data processors in relation to such data. In Michael John Durant v. Financial Services Authority (2003), the scope of the Act was restricted. In particular, key provisions, including “personal data” and “relevant filing system”, became the subject of narrow judicial interpretation when the Court of Appeal sought to limit the “unjustifiable burden and expense” imposed on data controllers in complying with the Act. Although questioned by commentators and subject to investigation by the European Commission, the significant shift in approach initiated by Durant has been endorsed in two subsequent cases: (1) David Paul Johnson v. The Medical Defence Union (2004) and (2) Terence William Smith v. Lloyds TSB Bank Plc (2005). This article considers the main principles of the Act, how the Information Commissioner, the courts and the European Commission have responded to Durant and what happens next.     

The Missing Fifth Dimension: The Writing of Australian History in Germany*

German historical writing about Australia can be traced back to the early periods of European exploration of Terra incognita. A corpus of German‐Australian literature exists in the historical notes that were part of early travel books, geographic sketches and emigrant guides. Historical fiction provides another element. However an empirical historiography which elevated Australian history from footnotes and established it as the focus of a professional discipline did not develop until later. Australia was too often wrongly viewed as a space without history. This article examines the professional treatment of Australian history in Germany and the difficult path which faced those who sought to establish the history of Australia as an independent research field. It focuses upon three aspects: (a) the historical background of German Overseas Studies; (b) Australian history as topic in Germany's historiography; and (c) the post‐war situation of Australian historical studies in Germany.