“This is proof”? Forensic evidence and ambiguous material culture at Treblinka extermination camp

In recent years, a forensic archaeological project at Treblinka extermination camp has uncovered significance evidence relating to the mass murder that took place there. A number of questions emerged regarding the provenance and origins of objects discovered as part of this work, and why they had remained undiscovered for over seventy years. These discoveries led to an opportunity to confirm and challenge the history of the extermination camp, and demands (from the public) to view the objects. This paper will outline how archaeologists and artists came together to reflect on these issues, whilst simultaneously providing access to the new findings

What matters for life satisfaction among the oldest-old? Evidence from China

The world population is aging rapidly and the well-being of older people is of great interest. Therefore, this study investigates the determinants of life satisfaction among the oldest-old (i.e. individuals aged 80 or over) in China. Materials and methods We use the 2011/2012 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey data (n = 6530) for this paper. Logistic regression is used to analyse the effects of socio-demographic, economic, health, instrumental activities of daily living, family and community factors on life satisfaction and depression among the oldest-old in China. Results Our analysis confirms the significance of many factors affecting life satisfaction among the oldest-old in China. Factors that are correlated with life satisfaction include respondent’s sex, education, place of residence, self-rated health status, cognitive ability (using mini mental state examination), regular physical examination, perceived relative economic status, access to social security provisions, commercialized insurances, living arrangements, and number of social services available in the community (p<0.05 for all these variables). Although life satisfaction is negatively associated with instrumental activities of daily living (β = -0.068, 95%CI = -.093—.043), and depression (β = -0.463, 95%CI = -.644—.282), the overall effect of self-rated health status is positive (p<0.001). This confirms the primacy of health as the determinant of well-being among the oldest-old. Conclusions Majority of the oldest-old in China rated their life satisfaction as good or very good. Our findings show that health and economic status are by far the most significant predictors of life satisfaction. Our finding on the primacy of health and relative income as determinants of well-being among the oldest-old, and the greater influence of self-rated health status over objective health measures is consistent with the findings of many past studies. Our results suggest that efforts should be directed at enhancing family support as well as health and social service provisions in the community to improve life satisfaction of older people

Ethics, trust and the first person in the narration of long-form journalism

The use of the first-person narrator is one of the rhetorical devices that distinguishes literary journalism with its qualities of immediacy, intimacy and spontaneity in the pursuit of truth-telling. But how do the particular qualities of the narrator’s style relate to specific effects and what are the differences between an ‘implied’ and a ‘dramatised’ narrator? Through the writings of British columnist and author, Ian Jack, and through the work of the late Gitta Sereny, this article explores how these qualities convey different meanings and whether one appears more authentic (and therefore, more ethical) than the other. While Jack employs a witness narrative, reflecting and analysing the impact of the subject upon him, Sereny’s narrator is more distanced, a technique employed to address difficult moral issues. Through these examples, the article asks how writers can avoid the inherent danger that self-revelation will collapse the distinction between the creation and creator

Rethinking Bystander Non-lntervention:social categorisation and the evidence of witnesses at the James Bulger murder trial

Bystander apathy is a long established phenomenon in social psychology which has yet to be translated into practical strategies for increasing bystander intervention. This paper argues that the traditional paradigm is hampered by a focus on the physical co-presence of others rather than an analysis of the social meanings inherent in (non) intervention. The testimony provided by 38 bystanders at the trial of two ten year old boys for the murder of two and a half year old James Bulger is analysed. It is argued that their failure to intervene can be attributed to the fact that they assumed - or were told - that the three boys were brothers. The way in which this category of ‘ the family’ served to prohibit or deflect intervention is analysed. This approach is contrasted with a traditional bystander apathy account of the bystanders actions in the Bulger case. It is argued that bystander (non) intervention phenomenon should be analysed in terms of the construction of social categories in local contexts