Doctors in Extremity

Book Reviews in This Article:
Robert Jay Lifton, The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide.
Eric Stovcr and Elena O. Nightingak, eds., The Breaking of Bodies and Minds: Torture, Psychiatric Abuse and the Health Professions.
Elliot S. Valenstein, Great and Desperate Cures: The Rise and Decline of Psychosurgery and Other Related Treatments for Mental Illness.     

Family Context and Childhood Adjustment Associated with Intrafamilial Unwanted Sexual Attention

Unwanted sexual attention (UWSA) encompasses unsolicited verbal comments, gestures, stares, and other noncontact behaviors made regarding one's sexuality and physical appearance. The present study examined the correlates and impact of such UWSA perpetrated toward girls by family members. The first objective of the study was to explore whether family climate is associated with intrafamilial UWSA. This included looking at three types of dysfunctional parenting styles (unaffectionate, unavailable, and patriarchal) as well as exploring the co-occurrence of UWSA by adult and child relatives. The second objective was to then measure the impact of such intrafamilial UWSA on childhood emotional health, after controlling for parenting style and the experience of more traditional forms of child sexual abuse (CSA). Of the 296 university women (mean age = 19) who participated in the study, 70% (N = 206) reported UWSA from a family member prior to age 18. Whereas each dysfunctional parenting style was related to presence of UWSA, a simultaneous multiple regression analysis indicated that two of the parenting styles, patriarchal and parental unavailability, also predicted frequency of nonphysical UWSA within the family. Presence of UWSA from a child relative was significantly correlated with presence of UWSA from an adult relative. Additionally, a hierarchical multiple regression, entering the three parenting styles simultaneously in the first step, childhood sexual abuse in the second step, and familial UWSA in the last step, indicated that the frequency of UWSA by family members significantly predicted poorer childhood mental health when controlling for the other variables. Overall, results indicate that while the specific parenting styles which co-occur with UWSA may be detrimental in their own right, the impact of UWSA on girls appears to be above and beyond that of either parenting styles or CSA. Clinical implications are discussed.     

The diagnosis of the mechanisms of bone tissue destruction from the surface of the break]

Data on bone tissue fractography are summarized and systematized. Possibilities of a microscopic fractography method in analysis of skeletal bone fractures in order to determine conditions of traumatic exposure were shown. Destruction of bone tissue is considered from the point of view of fragile and tough destruction using as a model solid body with crack at the top of which deformations of detachment, lateral and longitudinal shifts are acting. Morphologic features for different types of destruction were singled out. Use of these features may help to determine character and type of deformation at concrete areas of fracture during all destruction process.     

SPLIT IDENTITY AND CHILDREN OF DIVORCE

Divorce, although a statistical norm, is a developmental trauma to the children involved. This article looks at the two-camp emotional environment of a divorcing family and its effect on the formation of a child's identity. By examining developmental ages, chosen according to divorce research, the author attempts to show how the interspouse emotional cathexes negatively affect a child's sense of self in ways specific to the child's age at the divorce.     

Indigenismo and the Avant‐garde: Jorge Sanjinés' Early Films and the National Project

Jorge Sanjinés' 1960s films Revolución and Ukamau challenge the class and ethnic hierarchies of Bolivian society by casting the proletarian and indigenous masses as revolutionary liberators. The new national imaginary they evoke is tightly bound to the experimental cinematic techniques they employ, since their rejection of rationalist, realist aesthetics signals a partial undermining of the linear time of the modern nation. Ukamau both recalls and resists previous Bolivian indigenismo, which sought to co‐opt the Indian into a national mestizo consciousness. Its exoticist portrayal of the Indian ultimately limits its political effectiveness, but textual and contextual analyses show subversive Indian agency leaking through.     

Effect of carcass size on rate of decomposition and arthropod succession patterns.

Decomposition studies were conducted using two carcasses of domestic pigs, Sus scrofa L., 8.4 kg and 15.1 kg in weight, to determine the effects of carcass size on the rate of decomposition, composition of the arthropod fauna, and succession patterns. A total of 46 arthropod taxa were recovered during this study. No size-related differences were observed between carcasses with respect to composition of the arthropod fauna or patterns of succession. A greater number of arthropods were observed attracted to the 15.1-kg carcass, and the rate of decomposition observed was more rapid for the 15.1-kg carcass than for the 8.4-kg carcass. Internal temperatures of the 8.4-kg carcass were more directly related to external ambient temperatures during the fresh and bloated stages of decomposition. During the decay stage, both carcasses generated internal temperatures significantly above ambient temperatures. Following this stage, internal temperatures fell to approximate ambient temperatures during the postdecay and remains stages.     

Increasing strategic accountability: a framework for international NGOs

The accountability of international development NGOs (INGOs) has attracted a great deal of interest from academics and development practitioners. INGO accountability falls into two categories: practical accountability (for the use of inputs, the way activities are performed, and outputs) and strategic accountability for INGOs' performance in relation to their mission. This article presents a conceptual framework for exploring INGO accountability. It is based on information collected through a literature review and semi-structured interviews with representatives from 20 UK-based INGOs. The research found that INGOs tend to use a number of quality-assurance mechanisms to achieve ‘practical’ accountability. However, it is suggested that this kind of accountability will not necessarily enable INGOs to achieve their missions to alleviate poverty and eliminate injustice. Furthermore, the predominant use of practical accountability has led to a number of gaps in INGO accountability. It is suggested that, like the term ‘participation’ before it, accountability has been co-opted for its instrumental benefits to INGO project performance and management. It is argued that if INGOs are to achieve their missions, this will require more ‘strategic’ forms of accountability, geared towards fundamentally changing those social, economic, and political structures that promote poverty.