A Behaviour Sequence Analysis of Serial Killers’ Lives:From Childhood Abuse to Methods of Murder

The aim of the current research was to provide a new method for mapping the developmental sequences of serial killers’ life histories. The role of early childhood abuse, leading to types of serial murder and behaviours involved in the murders, was analysed using Behaviour Sequence Analysis. A large database (n = 233) of male serial killers with known childhood abuse (physical, sexual, or psychological) was analysed according to typologies and crime scene behaviours. Behaviour Sequence Analysis was used to show significant links between behaviours and events across their lifetime. Sexual, physical, and psychological abuse often led to distinct crime scene behaviours. The results provide individual accounts of abuse types and behaviours. The present research highlights the importance of childhood abuse as a risk factor for serial killers’ behaviours, and provides a novel and important advance in profiling serial killers and understanding the sequential progression of their life histories

Detecting a decline in serial homicide : have we banished the devil from the details?

The current research provides perspective regarding the true prevalence of serial murderers in modern society and addresses the conflict between the evidenced decline in serial homicide and the viewpoint that the phenomenon is increasing. The likelihood that serial murderers are responsible for most unresolved homicides and missing persons is examined in the context of a declining prevalence. A mixed methods approach was used, consisting of a review of a sample of unresolved homicides, a comparative analysis of the frequency of known serial homicide series and unresolved serial homicide series, and semi-structured interviews of experts. In failing to become serial killers, aspiring and probable serial killers and spree killers have impacted the rate of serial murder by not reaching their potential. The past decade contained almost half the cases (13%) that existed at the 1980s peak of serial homicide (27%). Only 282 (1.3%) strangled females made up the 22,444 unresolved homicides reviewed. Most expert respondents thought it unreasonable that any meaningful proportion of missing persons cases are victims of serial homicide. Technology, shifts in offending behavior, proactive law enforcement action, and vigilance of society have transformed serial killing and aids in viewing offenders as people impacted by societal shifts and cultural norms. The absence of narrative details inhibited some aspects of the review. An exhaustive list of known unresolved serial homicide series remained elusive as some missing persons are never reported. Future research should incorporate those intending to murder serially, but whose efforts were stalled by arrest, imprisonment, or death

Public policy and future mineral supplies

A widespread and pessimistic view of the availability of mineral commodities calls for strong government initiatives to ensure adequate future supplies. This article provides a more market oriented and optimistic perspective, one that focuses on production costs and prices rather than physical availability. It sees short-run shortages continuing to plague commodity markets in the future as in the past. Though painful while they last, these shortages are temporary and do not pose a serious long-run threat to human welfare. Moreover, even without government intervention, they self-correct. The sharply higher prices that they evoke create strong incentives that foster supply and curb demand. Potentially more serious are long-run shortages due to mineral depletion. Such shortages are often thought to be inevitable, a conclusion that flows directly from the physical view of depletion. For various reasons, we reject this view of depletion in favor of an economic view. The latter recognizes that depletion may create long-run shortages, but stresses that this need not be the case if new technology can continue to offset the cost-increasing effects of depletion in the future as it has in the past. The economic view also suggests that a list of mineral commodities most threatened by depletion can best be compiled using cumulative availability curves rather than the more common practice of calculating commodity life expectancies based on estimates of available stocks.<p>Validerad;2018;Nivå 2;2018-08-08 (rokbeg)</p

Violence is rare in autism : when it does occur, is it sometimes extreme?

A small body of literature has suggested that, rather than being more likely to engage in offending or violent behaviour, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may actually have an increased risk of being the victim rather than the perpetrator of violence (Sobsey et al., 1995). There is no evidence that people with ASD are more violent than those without ASD (Im, 2016). There is nevertheless a small subgroup of individuals with ASD who exhibit violent offending behaviours and our previous work has suggested that other factors, such as adverse childhood experiences, might be important in this subgroup (Allely et al., 2014). Fitzgerald (2015) highlights that school shootings and mass killings are not uncommonly carried out by individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, with frequent evidence of warning indicators. The aim of the present review is to investigate this in more detail using the 73 mass shooting cases identified by Mother Jones (motherjones.com) in their database for potential ASD features. This exercise tentatively suggests evidence of ASD in six of 73 included cases (8%) which is ten times higher when compared to the prevalence of ASD found in the general population worldwide (motherjones.com). The 8% figure for individuals with ASD involved mass killings is a conservative estimate. In addition to the six cases which provide the 8% figure, there were 15 other cases with some indication of ASD. Crucially, ASD may influence, but does not cause, an individual to commit extreme violent acts such as a mass shooting episode

Clinical Legal Education in Latin America: Toward Public Interest

"This chapter describes key aspects of the history of clinical legal education in Latin America, which began in the 1960s, and the evolution of new approaches to clinical education in the region. It also explains the influence of the ""First Generation"" and ""Second Generation"" of the Law and Development Movement on the Latin American clinical movement, and the emergence of clinical programs based on the ideological and practical tenants of Public Interest Law (PIL). It explains further that while PIL clinics have been particularly fertile in proposing new forms of judicial intervention -they have just recently started to think more consciously about the limits of these strategies and the necessity to reconsider their role in both legal education and professional practice. The chapter then examines these developments from the perspective of four countries in the region with substantial clinical experience: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. © 2011 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

© Rinton Press ON THE IMAGE CONTENT OF A WEB SEGMENT: CHILE AS A CASE STUDY

We propose a methodology to characterize the image contents of a web segment, and we present an analysis of the contents of a segment of the Chilean web (.CL domain). Our framework uses an efficient web-crawling architecture, standard content-based analysis tools (to extract low-level features such as color, shape and texture), and novel skin and face detection algorithms. In an automated process we start by examining all websites within a domain (e.g.,.cl websites), obtaining links to images, and downloading a large number of the images (in all of our experiments approx. 383,000 images that correspond to about 35 billion pixels). Once the images are downloaded to a local server, our process automatically extracts several low-level visual features (color, texture, shape, etc.). Using novel algorithms we perform skin and face detection. The results of visual feature extraction, skin, and face detection are then used to characterize the contents of a web segment. We tested our methodology on a segment of the Chilean web (.cl), by automatically downloading and processing 183,000 images in 2003 and 200,000 images in 2004. We present some statistics derived from both sets of images, which should be of use to anyone concerned with the image content of the web in Chile. Our study is the first one to use content-based tools to determine the image contents of a given web segment

Tailoring an educational program on the AHRQ Patient Safety Indicators to meet stakeholder needs: lessons learned in the VA

Abstract Background Given that patient safety measures are increasingly used for public reporting and pay-for performance, it is important for stakeholders to understand how to use these measures for improvement. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) are one particularly visible set of measures that are now used primarily for public reporting and pay-for-performance among both private sector and Veterans Health Administration (VA) hospitals. This trend generates a strong need for stakeholders to understand how to interpret and use the PSIs for quality improvement (QI). The goal of this study was to develop an educational program and tailor it to stakeholders’ needs. In this paper, we share what we learned from this program development process. Methods Our study population included key VA stakeholders involved in reviewing performance reports and prioritizing and initiating quality/safety initiatives. A pre-program formative evaluation through telephone interviews and web-based surveys assessed stakeholders’ educational needs/interests. Findings from the formative evaluation led to development and implementation of a cyberseminar-based program, which we tailored to stakeholders’ needs/interests. A post-program survey evaluated program participants’ perceptions about the PSI educational program. Results Interview data confirmed that the concepts we had developed for the interviews could be used for the survey. Survey results informed us on what program delivery mode and content topics were of high interest. Six cyberseminars were developed—three of which focused on two content areas that were noted of greatest interest: learning how to use PSIs for monitoring trends and understanding how to interpret PSIs. We also used snapshots of VA PSI reports so that participants could directly apply learnings. Although initial interest in the program was high, actual attendance was low. However, post-program survey results indicated that perceptions about the program were positive. Conclusions Conducting a formative evaluation was a highly important process in program development. The useful information that we collected through the interviews and surveys allowed us to tailor the program to stakeholders’ needs and interests. Our experiences, particularly with the formative evaluation process, yielded valuable lessons that can guide others when developing and implementing similar educational programs

On the Image Content of the Chilean Web

In this paper we perform a study of the image contents of the Chilean web (.cl domain) using automatic feature extraction, content-based analysis and face detection algorithms. In an automated process we examine all .cl websites and download a large number of the images available (approx. 83,000). Then we extract several visual features (color, texture, shape, etc.) and we perform face detection using novel algorithms. Using this process we semi-automatically characterize the image content of the web in Chile in terms of the detected faces and the visual features obtained automatically. We present statistics of use to anyone concerned with the image content of the web in Chile. Our study is the first one to use content-based tools to determine the image contents of the web

Synthesis of 4‑Azido‑<i>N</i>‑acetylhexosamine Uridine Diphosphate Donors: Clickable Glycosaminoglycans

Unnatural chemically modified nucleotide sugars UDP-4-N₃-GlcNAc and UDP-4-N₃-GalNAc were chemically synthesized for the first time. These unnatural UDP sugar products were then tested for incorporation into hyaluronan, heparosan, or chondroitin using polysaccharide synthases. UDP-4-N₃-GlcNAc served as a chain termination substrate for hyaluronan or heparosan synthases; the resulting 4-N₃-GlcNAc-terminated hyaluronan and heparosan were then successfully conjugated with Alexa Fluor 488 DIBO alkyne, demonstrating that this approach is generally applicable for labeling and detection of suitable glycosaminoglycans