Managing incidental findings in human subjects research: analysis and recommendations.

No consensus yet exists on how to handle incidental findings (IFs) in human subjects research. Yet empirical studies document IFs in a wide range of research studies, where IFs are findings beyond the aims of the study that are of potential health or reproductive importance to the individual research participant. This paper reports recommendations of a two-year project group funded by NIH to study how to manage IFs in genetic and genomic research, as well as imaging research. We conclude that researchers have an obligation to address the possibility of discovering IFs in their protocol and communications with the IRB, and in their consent forms and communications with research participants. Researchers should establish a pathway for handling IFs and communicate that to the IRB and research participants. We recommend a pathway and categorize IFs into those that must be disclosed to research participants, those that may be disclosed, and those that should not be disclosed.     

Pink Chaddis and SlutWalk Couture: The Postcolonial Politics of Feminism Lite

The SlutWalk campaigns around the world have triggered a furious debate on whether they advance or limit feminist legal politics. This article examines the location of campaigns such as the SlutWalk marches in the context of feminist legal advocacy in postcolonial India, and discusses whether their emergence signifies the demise of feminism or its incarnation in a different guise. The author argues that the SlutWalks, much like the Pink Chaddi (panty) campaign in India, provide an important normative and discursive challenge to a specific strand of feminism based on male domination and female subordination in the area of sexuality and also speaks to the emergence of consumer agency in the very heart of pleasure in the neo-liberal moment. It serves as a space clearing gesture, a form of feminism ??lite??, rather than offering a transformative or revolutionary politics, and thus enables the possibility of feminist theoretical positions in a postcolonial context that have hitherto been marginalised or ignored in feminist legal advocacy in India to emerge.     

Do homicide rates increase during weekends and national holidays?

In the UK there has been limited research examining temporal patterns of homicide. To our knowledge, no studies have linked patterns of homicide to the mental health characteristics of the perpetrator. The study examined a national consecutive case series of homicide offences committed between January 1996 and December 2015 in England. Clinical data were collected by the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH). During this period 10,563 people committed a homicide. The offences were more likely to occur at the weekend, mostly on a Saturday. Weekend homicides were associated with: perpetrators under the age of 25, males and alcohol consumption. Homicides increased markedly on New Year’s Day, and public holidays. Those with a history of mental illness more commonly committed homicide during weekdays, suggesting a different pattern of offending. No change in pattern was found after licensing hours were extended in 2005 to allow 24-h licencing for the sale of alcohol. A public health approach should focus on educating young people on the health risks associated with alcohol, promoting responsible drinking and conflict avoidance, specifically on special events and at weekends.     

Optimal methods to screen men and women for intimate partner violence: results from an internal medicine residency continuity clinic

Contradictory data exist regarding optimal methods and instruments for intimate partner violence (IPV) screening in primary care settings. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal method and screening instrument for IPV among men and women in a primary-care resident clinic. We conducted a cross-sectional study at an urban, academic, internal medicine residency continuity clinic in Connecticut among English or Spanish speaking adult patients. One group of patients ( n = 340) received a self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) containing the partner violence screen (PVS) and the Hurt, Insulted, Threatened or Screamed at Questionnaire (HITS). A second group (n = 126) was screened with PVS and HITS by their primary care providers during face-to-face (FTF) clinical encounters. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine the association between IPV prevalence and screening method (SAQ or FTF) after adjusting for socio-demographic effects. The overall IPV prevalence was 17.3% using the SAQ and 9.0% with FTF screening (p = .008). Patients receiving the SAQ were more likely to report IPV than those who were screened FTF (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-5.6). This effect persisted for women, who had a higher odds of IPV when screened through a SAQ than when screened FTF (AOR: 3.5, 95% CI: 1.4-8.6). Men did not differ in reporting IPV between methods: 11% with SAQ versus 9.4% FTF (p = .69). In internal medicine residency continuity clinics, a SAQ for IPV may result in higher disclosure and completion rates among female patients compared to FTF screening. Unique screening instruments and methods may be needed for men.     

Book reviews

Sphinx and Commissar: the rise and fall of Soviet influence in the Arab world. Mohamed Heikal, London: Collins. 1978. 303 pp. £6.95.

Soviet Involvement in the Middle East: policy formulation 1966–1973. Ilana Kass, Folkestone, England: Dawson. 1978. 273 pp. £11.00.

The Limits to Power: Soviet policy in the Middle East. Edited by Yaacov Ro'i, London: Croom Helm. 1979. 376 pp. £10.95.

In the Direction of the Persian Gulf: the Soviet Union and the Persian Gulf. A Yodfat and M Abir, London: Frank Cass. 1977. 167 pp. £8.95.

Moral Claims in World Affairs. Edited by Ralph Pettman, London: Croom Helm. 1979. 199 pp. £8.50.

The United Nations: how it works and what it does. Evan Luard, London: Macmillan. 1979. 187 pp. £8.95.

The International Politics of the Nigerian Civil War, 1967–1970. John J Stremlau, Princeton University Press. 1977. 425 pp. £16.70. £6.25 pb.

The Arms Trade and International Systems. Robert E Harkavy, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger (distributed in the UK by John Wiley).

1975. 288 pp. £11.60.

The Terrorism Reader. Edited by Walter Laqueur, London: Wildwood House. 1979. 291 pp. £7.50.

International Terrorism in the Contemporary World. Edited by Marius H. Livingston et al, London: Greenwood Press. 1978. 522 pp. £24.50.

Cities of Peasants: the political economy of urbanisation in the Third World. Bryan Roberts, London: Edward Arnold. 1978. 207 pp. £4.50pb.

Shelter Provision in the Developing Countries: the influence of standards and criteria. A L Mabogunje, J E Hardoy and R P Misra Chichester, England: John Wiley. 1978. 94 pp. £4.75 pb.

Independence Documents of the World. Edited by A P Blaustein et al. Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications/Leyden: A W Sijthoff. 1977. 2 Vols. 800 pp. $75.00.

Asia's Nuclear Future. Edited by William H Overholt, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. 1978. 285 pp. £11.75.

Commodity Agreements and Price Stabilisation. David McNicol, Lexington, Massachusetts: D C Heath. 1978. 335 pp. £10.00.

Stabilising World Commodity Markets. F Gerald Adams and Sonia A Klein, Lexington, Massachusetts: D C Heath. 1978. 335 pp. £17.50.

National Interests and Presidential Leadership: the setting of priorities. Donald E Nuechterlein, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press (Distributed in the UK by Ernest Benn). 1978. 246 pp. £12.50.

Economics: an introduction to traditional and radical views. E K Hunt and H J Sherman, New York: Harper & Row. 1978. 617 pp. £5.95 pb.

The Alternative in Eastern Europe. Rudolf Bahro (translated by David Fernbach) London: New Left Books. 1978. 463 pp. £9.50.

Africa's International Relations: the diplomacy of dependency and change. Ali A Mazrui, London: Heinemann. 1977. 324 pp. £8.50.

The Foreign Polices of African States.. Edited by Olajide Aluko. London: Hodder & Stoughton. 1977. 249 pp. £4.50.

Drought in Africa 2. Edited by David Dalby et al, London: International African Institute. 1977. 200 pp. £5.00.

Landuse and Development. Edited by Phil O'Keefe and Ben Wisner, London: International African Institute. 1977. 232 pp. £5.25.

The Cyprus Revolt. Nancy Crawshaw, London: Allen & Unwin. 1978. 396 pp. £12.50.

Southeast Asian Transitions: approaches through social history. Edited by Ruth T McVey, Yale University Press. 1978. 242 pp. £12.60.

Elite Politics in an Ideological State: the case of Pakistan. Asaf Hussain, London: Dawson. 1979. 212 pp. £9.00.

Politics and Government in Malaysia. R S Milne and Diane K Mauzy. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. 1978. 406 pp.

Towards Total Revolution: the writings and speeches of Jayaprakash Narayan. Edited by Brahmanand, Richmond, England: Richmond Publishing. 1978. Vols I‐IV. 1145 pp. £35.95.

India: population, economy, society. R H Cassen, London: Macmillan. 1978. 419 pp. £10.00.

Experiments in Family Planning: lessons from the developing world. R Cuca and C S Pierce, London: John Hopkins University Press. 1977. 261 pp. £2.50 pb.

Militarism in Modern China: the career of Wu P'ei‐fu, 1916–1939. Odoric Y K Wou. Canberra: Australian National University Press (distributed in the UK by Dawson). 1978. 346 pp. £12.50.

China's Economy: a basic guide. Christopher Howe, London: Paul Elek. 1978. 248 pp. £7.50.

China and Japan 1949–1976. R K Jain, New Delhi: Radiant Publishers (distributed in the UK by Martin Robertson). 1977. 336 pp. £10.50.

Finding a Voice: Asian women in Britain. Amrit Wilson, London: Virago. 1978. 179 pp. £2.50.

Role of Rural Women in Development. Report of an international seminar held at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, 5 January‐10 February 1977. Edited by Vira Mazumdar, Delhi: Indian Council of Social Science Research. 1978. 125 pp. £3.00.

International Perspectives in Rural Sociology. Edited by Howard Newby, Chichester, England: John Wiley. 1978. 220pp. £10.95.