The Legalization of Emotion: Managing Risk by Managing Feelings in Contracts for Surrogate Labor

Despite a rich literature in law and society embracing contracts as exchange relations, empirical work has yet to consider their emotional dimensions. I explore the previously unmapped case of surrogacy to address the interface of law and emotions in contracting. Using 115 semistructured interviews and content analyses of 30 surrogacy contracts, I explain why and how lawyers, with the help of matching agencies and counselors, tactically manage a variety of emotions in surrogates and intended parents before, during, and after the baby is born. I establish that a web of “feeling rules” concerning lifestyle, intimate contact, and future relationships are formalized in the contract, coupled with informal strategies like “triage,” to minimize attachment, conflicts, and risk amidst a highly unsettled and contested legal terrain. Feeling rules are shared and embraced by practitioners in an increasingly multijurisdictional field, thereby forging and legitimating new emotion cultures. Surrogacy offers a strategic site in which to investigate the legalization of emotion—a process that may be occurring throughout contemporary society in a variety of exchange relations.     

Intersectional Criminology: Interrogating Identity and Power in Criminological Research and Theory

Intersectional criminology is a theoretical approach that necessitates a critical reflection on the impact of interconnected identities and statuses of individuals and groups in relation to their experiences with crime, the social control of crime, and any crime-related issues. This approach is grounded in intersectionality, a concept developed from the tenets of women of color feminist theory and activism. To demonstrate how intersectionality is useful in criminology, this article reviews a sampling of feminist and critical research conducted on Black girls’ and women’s experiences with crime, victimization, and criminal legal system processes. This research demonstrates the interlaced social impacts of race, gender, femininity/masculinity ideals, sexuality, and socioeconomic class. This article also provides a basis for widely deploying an intersectional approach throughout the field of criminology across all social identities and statuses.     

Examining the Effects of Race/Ethnicity and Race Relations on Public Opinion about the Overrepresentation of Black People in U.S. Prisons

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine whether persons of different racial/ethnic backgrounds differ in their perceptions of the role racial discrimination plays in the overrepresentation of Black people in the U.S. prison system. The paper also tested the gradient hypothesis of comparative conflict theory, which predicts Black people perceive the greatest amount of racial discrimination, followed by Latinx and white people, respectively. This study also tested whether perceptions of race relations between Black, Latinx, and white people influenced the role participants thought racial discrimination played in Black people’s overrepresentation. Nationally representative Gallup Poll data were used. Results partially supported the gradient hypothesis. Black people were more likely than Latinx and white people to perceive racial discrimination to explain Black people’s overrepresentation in prison, but Latinxs’ views did not differ from whites’. Participants who perceived poorer relations between Black, Latinx, and white people were more likely to consider racial discrimination to explain Black people’s overrepresentation. Findings suggest Black people and those who perceive poorer race relations are most likely to support criminal justice reform efforts aimed at reducing racial disparities in the criminal justice system.     

40‐Hz Square‐Wave Stimulation Requires Less Energy to Produce Muscle Contraction: Compared with the TASER® X26 Conducted Energy Weapon

Conducted energy weapons (CEWs) (including the Advanced TASER^® X26 model produced by TASER International, Inc.) incapacitate individuals by causing muscle contractions. In this study using anesthetized swine, the potential incapacitating effect of primarily monophasic, 19‐Hz voltage imposed by the commercial CEW was compared with the effect of voltages imposed by a laboratory device that created 40‐Hz square waves. Forces of muscle contraction were measured with the use of strain gauges. Stimulation with 40‐Hz square waves required less pulse energy than stimulation with the commercial CEW to produce similar muscle contraction. The square‐pulse stimulation, at the higher repetition rate, caused a more complete tetanus at a lower energy. Use of such a simple shape of waveform may be used to make future nonlethal weapon devices more efficient.     

Developmental Disabilities in Children Involved with Child Welfare: Correlates of Referrals for Service Provision

Using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW), this study explores the characteristics of child welfare involvement for children (N = 639; aged 3–17.5 years) with at least one developmental disability. In addition, a central focus of this exploration was to examine respective differences in how caregivers and caseworkers initiated referrals for services for children with disabilities. The sample was divided into three exclusive groups based on type of developmental disability: learning disability (weighted percentage 70.3%); Mental Retardation (now referred to as Intellectual Disability), Downs Syndrome, or; developmental delay (weighted percentage 1.8%); and presence of multiple types of disabilities, including autism (weighted percentage 27.9%). Results from the logistic regression analyses indicate children in this population who are placed in out-of-home care receive more referrals than those residing in-home with biological caregivers; older children and children with multiple disabilities are also more apt to obtain referrals to formal assessments. On the other hand, children who were considered in the “other” race category (includes children who identify as: multi-racial; Asian; Pacific Islander; Native American) were significantly less likely to be referred for a formal assessment. Regarding the association between specific maltreatment type and assessment referrals, children with reports of emotional maltreatment had significantly higher odds of being referred for formal assessments.     

Fatalities associated with home-made pipe bombs in Northern Ireland

Pipe bombs are crudely constructed improvized explosive devices which are easily made at home. They are increasingly used by terrorists and others, and may inflict serious injuries and cause death. Four fatalities have occurred in association with their use in Northern Ireland between 1998 and 2002. In 2 cases, death was due to penetrating shrapnel injuries to the chest causing laceration of the great vessels, and a third fatality occurred due to a bomb fragment penetrating the cranial cavity. A pipe bomb exploded close to the back of the head of a fourth victim and this was associated with a severe brain injury. The pathologist was able to determine the position of the victim in relation to the explosion by interpreting the pattern of injuries. It seems likely that 2 of the victims had been involved in the construction, transport, or use of the devices. A third victim was entirely innocent and had been in the process of removing a pipe bomb, which had been thrown through the window of her home, when it exploded. The fourth victim was a member of the security forces who had been struck by a bomb fragment, in the region of the right eye, during a period of sectarian unrest.     

“@ me if you need shoutout”: Exploring Women's Roles in Islamic State Twitter Networks

This article investigates the social media content of women who are affiliated with the Islamic State. Throughout one year, ninety-three Twitter accounts were tracked to explore the patterns of engagement by pro–Islamic State women online and examine how these patterns illuminate the roles that pro–Islamic State women occupy on social media networks. The study reveals that women who associate with the Islamic State mostly preserve the traditional gendered role of support in the online realm. However, support is not their exclusive role and some women are active in the organization, using Twitter to recruit, promote, and even commit terrorist violence.