The science, studies and sociology of the abortion breast cancer link

This article explains the breast physiology and epidemiologic criteria supporting the abortion breast cancer link and the sociologic factors that cause this risk to remain largely unknown to both medical professionals and the public. Abortion increases breast cancer risk through multiple mechanisms. Pregnancy exposes women to high levels of estrogen acting as a mitogen and genotoxin, and induced abortion then leaves their breasts with more places for cancers to start. They have a higher risk of subsequent premature deliveries that further increase their risks of breast cancer. Rampant breast cancer seen in ever younger women will not allow this issue to be suppressed.     

Neoliberalism,the State and Economic Policy Outcomes in the Post-Arab Uprisings: The Case of Egypt

Despite the radical upheavals during the revolution of 2011 whereby the Egyptian public rejected neoliberalism and authoritarianism, Egypt has reverted back to the neoliberal model of economic development. This paper discusses the reasons behind the resilience of neoliberalism focusing on the role of dominant economic ideas, the influence of international financial institutions in policy making and the challenging domestic political environment, which has so far precluded a break from the neoliberal model. The paper ends with a critical assessment of current policies and their broader social implications for different classes and groups in Egypt.     

The Infant Injury Database: A Tool for the Study of Injury Patterns in Medicolegal Investigations of Child Abuse

In 2012, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences began prospectively collecting injury data from pediatric autopsies. These data and associated case information from 635 pediatric cases are archived in the Infant Injury Database (IID). This paper introduces the IID to the forensic community and demonstrates its potential utility for child abuse and infant fatality investigations. The database is intended to be a source of evidence‐based research for coroners/medical examiners and clinicians in the recognition and diagnosis of child abuse. RR estimates were employed to quantify the relationship between individual autopsy findings to trauma‐related and nontrauma‐related causes of death. For example, unsurprisingly, the RR of trauma cases with multiple injury types is significantly greater than other causes of death, but the RR results provide a quantitative representation of the relationship. ROC curve modeling of the presence/absence of various injury types performed well at discriminating trauma from other causes of death (AUC = 0.96).     

The sounds of silence: American history textbook representations of non-violence and the Abolition Movement

In this paper we examine how the Abolition Movement’s approach to non-violent resistance has been silenced in four American history textbooks. Despite extensive research that reveals an extensive network of groups dedicated to the peaceful abolishment of slavery little of this historical record is included in the textbooks. Instead, a skewed representation of the movement is conveyed to the reader, one that conveys an image of a movement that contributes to a climate of social violence. Through a critical discourse analytical approach to the data we carefully deconstruct how this process of misrepresentation occurs. By employing the discursive tools of narrative framing, positioning, and stance we lift up what is often hidden from the reader and demonstrate how language use communicates powerful social messaging to the reader. We argue that student readers are left with an impoverished sense of how non-violent democratic change has occurred when presented with a limited portrayal of the Abolition Movement. We therefore emphasize the importance of equipping students with the skills needed to critically interrogate both historical and contemporary sources that purports to convey the inevitability of war to resolve complex social problems; we maintain this is both an educational imperative and a civic obligation.     

Security cooperation in and with Asia: towards a pragmatic turn in the EU’s security policy?

ABSTRACT

Since the adoption of the first EU-Asia Strategy in 1994, there has been persistent scepticism about the EU’s ability to play a significant role in Asian security. Yet, since the release of the 2012 Updated East Asia Policy Guidelines, the EU has declared its intent to make greater practical contributions to Asian security. Against these premises, this article attempts to reflect on the evolution of the EU’s security approach to Asia, with the ultimate goal of analysing to what degree, it represents a continuation or a departure from former EU policies in the region. In scrutinising these developments, this article argues that in light of the strategic changes, that have occurred in Europe and in Asia, the EU has started to revise its security approach to the region in more pragmatic terms. The pragmatic character of the EU is seen as looking into the changes of the content of the security discourse, which appears increasingly depoliticised and, into the new practices of cooperation, which unlike in the past, seek to empower local actors, are sensitive to local needs and, call for greater security collaboration between the EU and Asian countries, to cope with regional and global challenges.     

Professional integrity in higher education: Behind the green curtain in the land of Oz

This article discusses concerns related to professional integrity in academics and to the use of collegiality as an informal criterion for employment and evaluation decisions. We question the nature of the educational enterprise and the academic environment within which both students and faculty operate. We use the AAUP Statement on Professional Ethics to guide our examination of collegiality, and the three traditional areas of faculty evaluation (teaching, scholarship, and service), as they relate to professional integrity. We discuss potential pitfalls in situations involving integrity concerns, and suggest that the use of collegiality in professional decisions is more prevalent and potentially harmful than many realize.