‘If a girl’s photo gets sent around,that’s a way bigger deal than if a guy’s photo gets sent around’: gender,sexting, and the teenage years

Youth, particularly female teens, are encouraged to self-monitor and be responsible for their actions online in order to avoid harm from cyberbullying, ‘sexting,’ and other forms of cyber-risk. Highlighting findings from 35 focus groups with Canadian teens regarding sexting, we show the continued saliency of a gendered double standard applied to the online distribution of nudes. Our sample of male and female teens (n = 115) from urban and rural regions, aged 13–19, underscores the relatively lower ‘stakes’ involved with sexting for male teens. We explore this trend with specific reference to the salience of hegemonic masculinities and the gendered aspects of public and private spaces, both online and offline. Public exposure of nudes has potentially serious stigmatizing consequences for youth. We highlight teen experiences sending and receiving images of male penises (‘dick pics’), which is an under-researched aspect of sexting. We show the relative ubiquity of receiving ‘dick pics’ among female teens, exploring various reactions, and male motivations for doing so from male and female standpoints. Policy implications are discussed with specific reference to school-based cyber-safety programs, which our participants indicate remain highly gendered, neglecting epistemological questions around male experiences and responsibility.     

The 2018 California Wildfires: Integration of Rapid DNA to Dramatically Accelerate Victim Identification

In November 2018, Butte County, California, was decimated by the Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in state history. Over 150,000 acres were destroyed, and at its peak, the fire consumed eighty acres per minute. The speed and intensity of the oncoming flames killed scores of people, and weeks before the fire was contained, first responders began searching through the rubble of 18,804 residences and commercial buildings. As with most mass disasters, conventional identification modalities (e.g., fingerprints, odontology, hardware) were utilized to identify victims. The intensity and duration of the fire severely degraded most of the remains, and these approaches were useful in only 22 of 84 cases. In the past, the remaining cases would have been subjected to conventional DNA analysis, which may have required months to years. Instead, Rapid DNA technology was utilized (in a rented recreational vehicle outside the Sacramento morgue) in the victim identification effort. Sixty-nine sets of remains were subjected to Rapid DNA Identification and, of these, 62 (89.9%) generated short tandem repeat profiles that were subjected to familial searching; essentially all these profiles were produced within hours of sample receipt. Samples successfully utilized for DNA identification included blood, bone, liver, muscle, soft tissue of unknown origin, and brain. In tandem with processing of 255 family reference samples, 58 victims were identified. This work represents the first use of Rapid DNA Identification in a mass casualty event, and the results support the use of Rapid DNA as an integrated tool with conventional disaster victim identification modalities.     

Control,Communication, and Power: A Study of the Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution of Enforcement Actions at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Two decades after pioneering the use of alternative dispute resolution techniques, practices, and processes, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has emerged as the leader among federal agencies. As such, the EPA provides a useful setting for testing conventional wisdom and theories about alternative dispute resolution. This essay takes data collected as a part of an assessment of the agency's enforcement ADR program and examines how well it reflects or illuminates current theory and conventional wisdom about conflict resolution. In particular, we examine why parties to a dispute choose ADR, and the key elements needed for the successful resolution of environmental conflicts, including the dynamics between the parties at the table and mediator characteristics.     

Cambodia in the zero years: Rudimentary totalitarianism

Agrarian change in Sri Lanka. edited by James Brow and Joe Weeramunda, New Delhi, Newbury Park, London: Sage Publications. 1992. 445pp

The Political Economy of Small Tropical Islands: The Importance of Being Small. edited by Helen M Hintjens and Malyn D D Newitt, Exeter: University of Exeter Press. 1992. 247pp

Behind the Eurocentric Veils: The Search for African Realities. by Clinton M Jean, Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. 1991. 113 pp.

The struggle for Legitimacy. Latin American Labor and the United States 1930–1960. by Jon V Kofas, Tempe: Center for Latin American Studies, Arizona State University. 1992.

Economic Reform and Third‐World Socialism. by Peter Utting, London: Macmillan, and United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. 1992. 320pp

Soviet Central Asia. A Tragic Experiment. by Boris Z Rumer, Boston: Unwin Hyman. 1989. 204pp

A Captive Land: The Politics of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines. by James Putzel, New York: Catholic Institute for International Relations, London and Monthly Review Press, 1992

Human Development Report 1992. by United Nations Development Programme, New York: Oxford University Press. 1992. 216pp

Fiction reviews

Meatless Days. by Sara Suleri, London: Collins. 1990. 186pp. £12.95hb

The Chase. by Alejo Carpentier, Translated from the Spanish by Alfred MacAdam, London: André Deutsch. 1990. 122pp. £9.95hb

Aura. by Carlos Fuentes., Translated from the Spanish by Lysander Kemp, London: André Deustch. 1990. 88pp. £4.95pb

Samba. by Guillermoprieto, London: Jonathan Cape. 1990. 245pp. £13.95hb

The Buddha of Suburbia. by Hanif Kureishi, London: Faber. 1990. 284pp. £12.99hb

Changing village, changing life. by Prafulla Mohanti, London: Viking. 1990. 288pp. £14.99hb

Jasmine. by Bharati Mukherjee, London: Virago. 1990. 241pp. £12.95hb

The Middleman and Other. Stories by Bharati Mukherjee, London: Virago. 1990. 197pp. £4.99pb