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Objectives. To assess the impact of the gender of judges, prosecution attorneys, and defense lawyers on sentencing decisions at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Methods. We use regression modeling of all sentences handed down by the ICTY and test for the impact of gender with direct measures of the numbers and percentages of female actors and through interactive terms to assess whether there is a gender impact on sexual violence cases. Results. The results demonstrate that higher levels of female representation in both the prosecution and defense teams are statistically significant predictors of ICTY sentencing. Conclusions. Gender exercises an important impact on ICTY sentencing, and our results show that concern for female representation in international organizations is appropriate and worthy of further study.

The aim of this project is to understand how and why social movement actors shift their framing of issues when they come under attack on moral grounds for the practice or right they seek to protect. Specifically, I wanted to understand how actors justify a practice when it is accused by a mobilized countermovement of violating the perceived fundamental right of another party, and why their argumentation may change over time. I specifically investigated the cases of the pro-slavery movement in the 19th century and the pro-abortion movement in the 20th and 21st centuries because in each of these cases, the actors shifted their framing of the practice in question from one of a “necessary evil” to a “positive good.”Through an in-depth analysis of numerous primary sources from various actors within the pro-slavery and pro-abortion movements, I discovered that within social movements, even actors trying to maintain the status quo (rather than establish a new right or practice) are heavily influenced by countermovement dynamics and can find their strategies confined and dictated by the terms of the debate established by the opposition. In both cases in question, the actors were pushed to justify their “right” within the realm of morality, and this pushed them to intentionally shift from an apologetic to unapologetic framing of the issue to both mobilize greater support and try to gain leverage over the opposition. Additionally, the political and cultural climates can significantly impact issue framing and the choices available to movement actors who need to adjust their rhetoric in response to their political needs and goals and the mores of society. Finally, in order to discredit the rights-holding status of the other party involved (the slave or the fetus), movement actors used both dehumanizing language to describe them and endeavored to situate the practice they were trying to protect within the context of a broader sociopolitical battle for a particular vision for society and law, thereby shifting the discussion of morality entirely away from the nature of the slave or fetus. These findings are significant for the study of social movements and rights discourse within political science as they raise questions for further study on the relationship between law and morality, the role of rhetoric in politics, and the nature of competing rights claims.

In 2002, the National Institutes of Health sponsored a meeting concerning methodological challenges of research in psychosocial interventions in Autism Spectrum Disorders. This paper provides a summary of the presentations and the discussions that occurred during this meeting. Recommendations to federal and private agencies included the need for randomized clinical trials of comprehensive interventions for autism as the highest, but not the sole priority. Ongoing working groups were proposed to address psychosocial interventions with a focus on relevant statistics, standardized documentation and methods of diagnosis, development of outcome measures, establishment of standards in research; and the need for innovative treatment designs, including application of designs from other research areas to the study of interventions in ASD.

In the last several decades there has been immense international emphasis and promotion of gender equality and female participation in the social, economic, and political spheres of society. There has also been an increase in civil conflict recurrence in countries as well as countries transitioning to democracy. This study explores the effect of female participation on peace and democracy. In the first part, I focus on the effect female participation has on decreasing the risk of peace failing in post-civil conflict countries. In many countries, women are marginalized and conflict further marginalizes them. However, I argue that the post-conflict environment allows women to escape this cycle of marginalization and their inclusion and participation is very crucial to sustaining peace. I find that female political and social female decreases the risk of peace failing in post-civil war countries. In the second part, I focus on the effect female participation has on decreasing the risk of authoritarian reversals in countries that have transitioned to and toward democracy. Previous empirical research has focused on women’s role in transitions to democracy, factors that contribute to the survival of democracy, as well as how women’s participation affects the stability country. I argue that women’s social, economic, and political participation decreases the risk of authoritarian reversals in countries that have newly transitioned to and toward democracy. I find that female social participation sustains democracy in countries that have transitioned to democracy and that female economic participation sustains democracy in countries that have transitioned toward democracy. Overall I find support that female participation matters for both peace and democracy.

Tractable analytic expressions are obtained for the temporal broadening and scintillations of a narrowband, space-time Gaussian pulse propagating through clear-air weak atmospheric turbulence in a laser satellite communication system. The temporal broadening is deduced from the $1/e\\sp2$ point of the temporal mean intensity and calculation of the temporal scintillations involves the second moment of intensity. Integral representations for the first and second moment of intensity are obtained by means of the two-frequency mutual coherence function and four-frequency cross-coherence function, respectively. Analytic approximations to these integrals are then made based on the modified von Karman spectrum model for the refractive-index fluctuations and the Hufnagel-Valley turbulence profile model. We present the general results for a collimated Gaussian pulse and for nominal parameter values characteristic of laser satellite communication. Specific numerical examples are calculated for both upper atmosphere UAV-UAV cross-links (near field) and uplink/downlink communication propagation paths (far field). It is shown that both the temporal broadening and temporal scintillations increase with the strength of turbulence and the outer scale. The inner scale has an insignificant effect on the temporal broadening but inner scale effects on the temporal scintillations were not included in this analysis. The temporal broadening is independent of the optical wavelength, whereas the temporal scintillations decrease with optical wavelength. Both the temporal broadening and temporal scintillations decrease with increasing pulsewidth, with the percent broadening and scintillations being substantially greater for narrow pulses than for wide pulses. In particular, pulses of the order 10-20 fsec can broaden by more than 100% and the temporal scintillation index can exceed 1, whereas wide pulses have negligible broadening and less scintillations. Furthermore, the scintillations at spatial off-axis points and at the leading/trailing edge of the pulse are greater than the on-axis scintillations. Lastly, we show that the temporal broadening and temporal scintillations for a downlink communication channel are the same as those for an uplink communication channel.

Background Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) has recently emerged as a treatment choice for patients with colorectal liver metastases (CLM) and inadequate future liver remnant (FLR). The aim of this study was to define the results of ALPPS compared with two-stage hepatectomy (TSH) for patients with CLM. Materials and methods A meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. Identification of eligible studies was performed using three distinct databases through February 2017; Medline, ClinicalTrials.gov and Cochrane library—Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials using a syntax including medical subject headings terms “portal vein ligation,” “PVE,” “staged hepatectomy,” “staged liver resection,” “liver resection,” “two-stage hepatectomy,” “TSH,” “in situ liver transection with portal vein ligation,” “associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy” and “ALPPS”. Results Among the 634 records identified, 9 studies comparing ALPPS with TSH met the inclusion criteria. These studies included 657 patients with unresectable CLM (ALPPS, n  = 186 vs TSH, n  = 471). There was no difference in final postoperative FLR between ALPPS versus TSH (mean difference: 31.72, 95% CI: −27.33 to 90.77, p  = 0.29). The kinetic growth rate was faster with the ALPPS versus TSH (mean difference 19.07 ml/day, 95% CI 8.12–30.02, p  = 0.0006). TSH had a lower overall and major morbidity versus ALPPS (overall morbidity: RR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.07–1.8, p  = 0.01; I 2 : 58%, p  = 0.01; major morbidity: RR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.18–2.08, p  = 0.002; I 2 : 0%, p  = 0.44). Overall survival was comparable following ALPPS versus TSH. Conclusion While ALPPS may be a suitable approach for patients, the higher morbidity and mortality should be considered when determining the operative approach for patients with extensive CLM.

Context Working lands with forest plantations are widespread. To sustain biodiversity in these landscapes there is a need to understand how species respond to patterns such as the amount and configuration of remnant vegetation. Objectives We examine how the occurrence and reporting rate of bird species are shaped by landscape composition and configuration in working lands with extensive forest plantations in south-eastern Australia. Methods We used a whole-of-landscape study design, surveying birds in 36 landscapes (each a circle 1 km in diameter) with blue gum ( Eucalyptus globulus ) plantations. Landscapes varied in the proportion (0–72%) and arrangement of remnant vegetation. Birds were surveyed four times (8 sites per landscape) at a total of 288 sites. We modelled responses of bird species as a function of remnant vegetation amount and configuration, and the diversity of landscape elements. Results We detected 107 bird species and quantified how landscape elements influenced birds at three levels: sites within landscapes, the landscape (1 km diameter circle) and the extended landscape (3 km diameter circle). Analyses focused on 26 species observed at ≥ 10% of sites. Site-level analyses revealed 12 species were more likely to occur in remnants than plantations. The amount of remnant vegetation was positively correlated with four species at the landscape-level and five species at the extended landscape. Well-connected remnant patches positively influenced five species at the landscape-level and three species at the extended landscape. The diversity of landscape elements positively influenced two species at the landscape-level and two species at the extended landscape. Some bird species were associated with landscape elements at each level, others at only one or none. Conclusions Bird distributions are linked to the presence, amount and configuration of remnant vegetation within forestry landscapes. We recommend maintaining and increasing the extent and connectivity of remnant vegetation to support native birds.