Search results

A high and possibly increasing prevalence of mental disorders in prisoners has been demonstrated in recent surveys. Psychiatric care of prisoners is subject to wide regional variations in Germany, especially regarding inpatient treatment. Although hospitalized psychiatric patients in prison closely resemble those in forensic psychiatric secure hospitals with regard to socio‐demographic (percentage of women, age peak) and forensic characteristics (delinquency, prison experience), marked discrepancies in the diagnostic spectrum necessitate very different treatment planning based on general clinical psychiatry when considering the approach and especially the treatment duration. In Berlin, we try to develop a care structure within the prison system, which addresses inmate‐specific problems and circumstances as well as the possibility of inpatient and outpatient treatment and semihospitalization according to the principle of “equivalence”.

It is basically a primarily legal philosophical and political problem whether or not mentally disordered persons “belong” in prison. Countries applying the construct of criminal responsibility or incompetence to stand trial can prevent mentally disordered persons from being imprisoned. Secure confinement can then be ordered in a forensic psychiatric institution, if necessary. Of course this principle does not prevent people from becoming mentally unwell when put in a prison environment, nor does the presence or a history of mental disorder automatically result in the absence of criminal responsibility. The still high prevalence of mental disorders in prisoners has been impressively demonstrated in more recent surveys. In a systematic review of 62 surveys from 12 different western countries including 22,790 prisoners (mean age 29 years, 81% men), 3.7% of the men had psychotic illnesses, 10% major depression, and 65% a personality disorder, while 4% of women had psychotic illnesses, 12% major depression, and 42% a personality disorder. In comparison to the general population, prisoners have an increased risk of suffering from a mental disorder that transcends countries and diagnoses. Psychotic disorders increase the risk of suicide, which as a rule is considerably higher in prisoners than in the general population. Suicide is the leading cause of death in penal institutions, especially during the early stages of confinement.

This article reviews the international literature of the last two decades on self‐injurious behaviour in prisons and jails and introduces the risk factors associated with this behaviour. Studies from a variety of countries investigated different samples (e.g. in jails or prisons; female or male inmates). We only chose those studies using a control group of inmates without self‐injurious behaviour. The findings on potential risk factors for self‐injurious behaviour are largely contradictory because of the differences in sample selection and dependent variables (deliberate self‐harm without suicidal intent vs. suicide attempts). We also discuss some methodological problems in predicting self‐injurious behaviour.

This paper investigates the audit report lag (ARL) in statutory audits. It tests a number of factors that may influence the ARL in 375 Maltese companies in the years 2006–2010. A mixed-methods research methodology is adopted, whereby company financial statements over the period are examined. Extracted information, including the ARL, is subjected to statistical tests on the relationship between such ARL and six independent variables: company size, audit firm size, audit opinion, profitability, the presence of an extraordinary item, and type of industry. This is then complemented by the analysis of 12 semistructured interviews with statutory auditors. The ARL is found to be shorter in large companies, when profit figures are positive, in financial service companies, and when the audit firms are large. A longer ARL is found when the audit report is qualified and in the absence of an extraordinary item. Interviewee response is generally consistent with these results except for the relationship to ARL of the absence of an extraordinary item. ARL is also seen to vary according to the users’ perceptions of the relevance and usefulness of the financial statements. Besides confirming or otherwise the relationship of the ARL to the stated major factors, the study also brings to light the need for cooperation by both audit firms and client companies to reduce such ARL.

In this paper I explore how members of rural Maya households in central Quintana Roo (Mexico) interact with the wider social system and cope with long-term transformations in productive relations since c. 1840. Maya householders integrate elements of capitalist and non-capitalist modes of production. Through particular cultural forms they regulate internal uses of wealth and their relationships with the larger capitalist world. Social and economic stratification is a fundamental feature of life among Maya householders today as it was in the past. While disparities between wealth strata within the local context have increased, the community is far from disintegrating into antagonistic groups.

For professional sustainability work, graduates need to be able to work in teams and collaborate with stakeholders; in other words, they need to have developed interpersonal competence. There is growing evidence that project-based sustainability courses facilitate interpersonal competence development. However, research so far has focused on single case studies and on assessing learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to deepen the understanding of how graduate students learn interpersonal competence in project-based sustainability courses.

This study adopts a multi-case study approach triangulating observations, semi-structured interviews and focus groups supported by Photovoice method. A comparison of three project-based sustainability courses in graduate programs at universities in the USA, Germany, Switzerland and Spain is conducted to gain generalizable insights on how interpersonal competence can be developed through project-based sustainability courses.

Receiving inputs, experiencing, reflecting and experimenting are four learning processes supportive of interpersonal competence development. Interpersonal attitudes seem to be mostly learned through a combination of experiencing and reflecting, followed by experimenting; not surprisingly, interpersonal knowledge is mostly developed through a combination of receiving inputs, experiencing and (collective) reflection; and interpersonal skills seem to be mostly learned through a combination of receiving inputs and experimenting, or, more directly, experiencing and experimenting.

These findings support the unique learning opportunities offered through project-based sustainability courses and can help instructors to better facilitate students’ development of interpersonal competence.

The value of this study is three-fold: (i) it provides a comprehensive picture of interpersonal competence, including attitudes, knowledge, and skills; (ii) it spells out specific teaching and learning processes; and (iii) it links these to specific interpersonal competence facets and components.