Crafts and trades (english): Comment on T. Shanin

Eric Hobsbawm's outline of the concept of social banditry suggest certain conditions of existence for that mode of primitive rebellion. Primary among these conditions are the presence of a ‘traditional peasant environment and the absence of ‘industrial capitalism’. This paper presents a critique of Hobsbawm's specifications, and suggest two alternative conditions: the presence of class conflict which unites direct producers, and the absence of effective, institutionalised political organisation of producers’ interests. This reformulation is illustrated by reference to the Kelly Outbreak in late nineteenth century Australia.     

Political Parties and Women’s Rights in Turkey

Abstract

Political parties are important political actors, but they are seldom studied in relation to human rights. This article examines the human rights discourse of political parties in Turkey by focusing on women’s rights. The content analysis of party programmes issued by major political parties between 1923 and 2007 reveals significant differences and changes in parties’ approach to women, ranging from no mentioning of women to addressing women’s issues from a feminist perspective. Women’s rights and issues, once neglected practically by all political parties, have gained attention during the last few decades, largely due to women’s activism. While conservative, religious, and Turkish nationalist parties started to display a dualist approach that combines traditionalism with gender equality, social democrat, socialist, and pro-Kurdish parties increasingly employ feminist terminology and analysis.     

Shame and Guilt and its Relation to Direct and Indirect Experience of Trauma in Adolescence,a Brief Report

Exposure to different kinds of traumatic events is common among adolescents. This brief report study examined whether shame proneness and guilt proneness were associated with direct and indirect experience of potentially traumatic events (PTEs). We investigated the relationship between gender, PTEs, shame, and guilt among adolescents (n?=?314, age?=?15–20 years). We hypothesized that shame proneness and guilt proneness would be associated with direct experience of interpersonal and sexual PTEs, that both direct and indirect experience of potentially traumatic sexual event/s would correlate with female gender, and that potentially traumatic direct and indirect interpersonal event/s would correlate with male gender. Shame was positively associated with having experienced direct sexual trauma and with female gender. Girls had more often experienced potentially traumatic direct sexual events and boys had more often experienced potentially traumatic direct interpersonal events. Indirect experiences of traumatic events were not related to either gender or shame. We conclude that the relation between shame, PTEs, and gender is complex with both types of traumas and gender interact with shame. This study found that shame and direct experience of sexual traumatic events were associated among adolescent girls. Gender and what type of traumatic events adolescents’ direct experience is most likely related but not gender and what type of indirect experienced trauma.

     

Postmortem Changes of Female External Genitalia and Their Importance in Suspected Sexual Abuse

Examination of the female external genitalia to assess for sexual abuse is performed in living individuals, and the interpretation of the findings is based on evidence-based studies. However, in the deceased, no such studies are available, and postmortem changes could present as suspicious findings that can be mistaken for trauma. Patches of discoloration in the hymen were reported previously in one case as hypostasis (i.e., livor and lividity), and based on this finding, it was listed as a finding that is not associated with trauma. This was a retrospective study that was conducted in the Center of Forensic and Legal Medicine in Dammam, Saudi Arabia over a 4-year period. The study included 30 deceased women in whom photographic documentation of their external genitalia was assessed for postmortem changes. The postmortem interval ranged from less than 24 h to more than 100 days, and the ages of these deceased women were in the 20–40 year-old age group. In cases where the hymen, vagina, and/or fossa navicularis were clearly visible, none of these areas showed any hypostatic discoloration. A comparison between antemortem and postmortem appearance of the hymen in one case clearly showed the absence of hypostatic changes in the hymen. In conclusion, any discoloration of the external genitalia that is detected in a female decedent requires serious consideration.