Spontaneous fractures in the differential diagnosis of fractures in children

A four-year-old male with cerebral palsy and spasticity, as a result of a non-accidental head injury sustained when he was two years old, died of pneumonia. Postmortem full body X-rays revealed fractures of varying ages of the left humerus and both femora, tibiae, and fibulae. This led to a thorough investigation of the case by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Child abuse, accidents, metabolic bone disorders, other primary or secondary diseases of the bones, and pathological fractures were ruled out. The final diagnosis was spontaneous fractures secondary to osteopenia. The term spontaneous fractures is used to define fractures that occur without any known external cause, especially in cerebral palsy patients with spasticity.     

Fantasy depictions of child sexual abuse: The problem of ageplay in Second Life

Abstract

This paper explores the arguments put forward for prohibiting the possession of fantasy images of child sexual abuse within the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, and applies them to sexual ageplay in Second Life. Sexual ageplay is the virtual act of simulating child sexual abuse using animated child characters operated by consenting adult users. The arguments underpinning the legislation centre on the issue of harm and the relationship between online, virtual behaviour and real world contact offences. It is argued that extant research does not support a causal connection, although some work on fantasy offence planning and online paedophilia chat groups suggests a link. Due to the lack of empirical work in the area it is concluded that legislation to criminalise such behaviour on grounds of harm causation is currently unjustified, although prohibition of sexual ageplay for known sex offenders is recommended. Further research into the extent, use and effects of sexual ageplay is required.     

Home Is Where Mother Is: Ideals and Realities in Australian Family Houses of the 1950s

Following the austerity of war, Australians in the 1950s were keen to pursue their inter-related ambitions of building families and homes. Architectural design was heavily influenced by modernism and focused particularly on the perceived needs of mothers and children, imagined to be ever-present in the home. Architects recommended modernising and centralising the kitchen so that the mother could efficiently complete chores while supervising her children. They advised designing children’s bedrooms to provide privacy and stimulate creativity, as well as incorporating indoor and outdoor play areas. While these ideals were promoted in housing magazines, analysis of other sources reveals that the reality of 1950s housing was more complex. Many Australians lived in dwellings representing the design conventions of previous eras. For those building new houses in the 1950s, postwar shortages and personal finances often constrained aspirations. Others disliked the fact that modernism challenged traditional spatial and social precepts. Even for that minority residing in newly constructed, architecturally designed housing, families did not always inhabit domestic spaces in the manner anticipated by architects. Attention to a range of historical sources allows a fuller understanding of the broad spectrum of postwar housing and the diverse ways in which 1950s Australian families dwelt in their homes.     

Multi-stakeholder public policy and governance in China: an analysis

In this article, public policy is put into a multi-stakeholder rather than adversarial perspective: we argue that there is a role for multi-stakeholder involvement in both the development and implementation of public policy; these are separate processes that can involve different patterns of stakeholder involvement (stakeholders have different skills and levels of interest in public policy) in either one or both the development and implementation phases. We need new models, approaches and examples of such multi-stakeholder public policy, and in this Special Issue, we focus on China, where such research is only slowly emerging. We present and analyse six papers that fall naturally into three categories: (1) corporate social responsiveness and societal relationships; (2) public affairs (particularly reputation management) and citizen involvement; and (3) public-management-oriented, data-based analyses. These articles, taken together, increase our understanding of multi-stakeholder research and practice, but equally as important, they give us insights into how Chinese public policy academics research and report public policy. This window into academic research and thinking offers us an opportunity to expand and deepen our understanding of public policy and its implications for public affairs in China. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.