Book reviews

William C. Green and Theodore Karasik (Eds.), Gorbachev and his Generals: The Reform of Soviet Military Doctrine (Westview Press, 1990, 239pp. ISBN 0–8133–7898–2)

Daniel Patrick Moynihan, On the Law of Nations (Harvard University Press, 1990)

Peter J. Stavrakis, Moscow and Greek Communism, 1944–1949. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London. 1989. ISBN 0–8014–2125–X.

Scalpino, R.A., The Politics of Development: Perspectives on Twentieth‐Century Asia (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1989, pp.131)

Sean M. Lynn‐Jones, Steven E. Miller and Stephen van Evera (Eds.), Soviet Military Policy (MIT Press, 1989. £26.95 [cloth]; £13.50 [paperback]).     

Custody decisions in Alabama before and after the abolition of the tender years doctrine

This study investigated the impact of the abolition of the tender years doctrine on custody decisions in divorce cases. This doctrine supported the presumption that the mother is the more suitable parent for young children. In March of 1981, the Supreme Court of the State of Alabama found this doctrine to be unconstitutional. To assess the hypothesis that this ruling had a significant effect on custodyrelated decisions, a sample of court records for divorce cases in an Alabama county was examined as representative of the state on a number of key variables. Overall, no significant differences were found on indicator variables for the comparisons before and after the ruling. There was neither an increase in custody grants to fathers nor an increase in custody requests by fathers.     

"False confessions" and identification with the aggressor: another forensic misuse of a psychiatric concept

Some psychiatrists misuse theoretical concepts beyond their generally accepted dimensions in an attempt to support a conclusion favorable to a litigant or defendant. In the case presented, the concept of identification with the aggressor was used in an attempt to eliminate or minimize the effect of a confession and to buttress the claim that the confession itself was false. Quotations from the actual reports and testimony are used to reflect both this tactic and the context in which these issues were pursued, including a rather startling admission by the psychiatrist dealing with the thoroughness of his professional effort. A brief history of "identification with the aggressor" is presented, a history which contrasts with its application to rather routine police questioning. Similarly, skepticism is clearly merited when a psychitrist testifies as to truthfulness or falsity of a statement.     

Independent instances of "souvenir" Asian skulls from the Tampa Bay area

In the summer of 1984, police in Pinellas County, Florida, confiscated six identically colored imported Asian skulls (in a shipping case) from a private citizen. In May 1988, in nearby Hillsborough County, police confiscated a very similar skull from another private citizen, who allegedly had found it in an abandoned house. Aside from slight color differences between the six found in Pinellas County and the one found in Hillsborough County, the skulls are virtually identical in their osteological characteristics and condition and in the vital statistics derived from each. Each skull is as clean and dry as those typically sold by commercial scientific supply outlets in the United States. Each is edentulous (primarily premortem), between approximately 20 and 60 years of age at death, and morphologically Asian. Five of the seven are morphologically male, one is morphologically female, and one is a mosaic with respect to gender-related features. Police, medical examiners, coroners, and forensic anthropologists should be aware of such "souvenir" specimens, in the event that they encounter similar skulls. Discriminant function analyses for race and sex yield considerably conflicting results, which underscores the need for using extreme caution when interpreting forensic science estimates based on such techniques.     

The establishment of the presence and group classification of sperm in mixed stains by isoelectric focusing

The article deals with experimental data on design of the method used for detection of sperm, blood and vaginal secretions according to isoelectric points of acid phosphatases, differential diagnosis of ABO group antigens in "mixed" stains as well as detection of phenotype of red cell acid phosphatase by isoelectric focusing method.     

2 fatalities due to hyperthermia in infancy. A contribution to forensic medicine case reports of death caused by heat

Two infants aged 4 1/2 and 8 months are reported to have been exposed to overheating by an electric blanket and a heating fan in bed for a period of up to approx. 19 hours. Dehydration complicated the effects of overheating. Due to the case history in combination with the autopsy and histological findings as well as the absence of toxicological findings the following diagnosis could be established: "Death from exhaustion as a consequence of long-lasting heat effect and dehydration." The necessity of thorough investigations in causes of death during infancy is shown by means of the two cases above. If possible, the rectal temperature should already be taken by the coroner. The public should get informed about the risks caused by the use of electric cushions, heating fans as well as floorboard heating.     

Causes of death in hospitalized intravenous drug abusers

The authors reviewed at autopsy the causes of death of 274 patients with evidence of intravenous drug abuse who had been admitted to a large public hospital. There were 127 who died from diseases unrelated to intravenous drug abuse, and in 41% of these, chronic alcoholism was implicated. Deaths from overdose syndromes and drug-related organ pathology comprised only 11% of all cases. The mean age at death was 39 years. There was a male/female ratio of 3.6:1. Half of all patients died from infection--72 from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) alone. These findings indicate that persons hospitalized with a history of intravenous drug abuse usually die from causes other than overdose and that AIDS and chronic alcoholism are significant problems. Emphasis should be placed upon detecting "hidden" intravenous drug deaths to provide more accurate statistical information.