An Assessment of the Skeletal Fracture Patterns Resulting from Fatal High (˃3 m) Free Falls

The injury patterns resulting from fatal high (?3 m) free falls have previously been documented in clinical and medico‐legal contexts; however, details relating specifically to the skeletal blunt force trauma (BFT) have been limited. This study aimed to augment what is known of the skeletal fracture patterns resulting from fatal high free falls. Skeletal trauma was analyzed from full‐body postmortem computed tomography scans of 95 individuals who died following a high free fall. Fracture patterns were documented using the five general anatomical regions, axial and appendicular regions, and postcranial unilateral and bilateral regions. Patterns were analyzed in the context of the extrinsic and intrinsic variables that may influence fractures using multiple logistic regression. Fracture patterns involved all aspects of the skeleton, with 98.9% exhibiting polytrauma, and were influenced primarily by the height fallen, manner of death, and landing surface. This improved understanding of fracture patterns will augment anthropological interpretations of the mechanism of BFT in cases of suspected high falls.     

Community Context,Weapon Use,and Victim Injury: A Multi-Level Study of Offense Severity in the Sexual Victimization of Women

American Journal of Criminal Justice - Prior studies of the sexual assault of women suggest the importance of weapon use, victim/offender familiarity, and offender intoxication as factors that...     

New Vision for Old Ties

On the 40th anniversary of the normalization of China -U.S. diplomatic relations, a diverse group of diplomats, athletes, entrepreneurs and economists has advocated a more creative approach to resolving trade tension between the two largest economies in the world, with the bottom line that the bilateral relationship had endured in the past and would continue to do so in today's era of greater engagement.     

Briefing: Recent changes in the South African government's HIV/Aids policy and its implementation

SINCE 2002 THERE HAS BEEN A SHIFT IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN government'spolicy response to HIV/AIDS, culminating in a commitment bythe Cabinet in August 2003 to develop a plan to provide antiretroviral(ARV) drugs. While this shift in policy was greeted warmly,if cautiously, by most analysts and activists,we need to understandwhy it has occurred, in order to assess its sustainability andwhether it will translate into meaningful change on the ground.As a civil society submission to the government noted: ‘Thesuccess and sustainability of an ARV roll-out programme dependson a number of interlocking social, medical and political factors.’¹This briefing provides an outline of the government's AIDS policies,recent policy shifts, the social and political factors at playand some explanations for these shifts.     

Health care and the labor market: learning from the German experience

Many observers have begun to question the U.S. reliance on an employment-based private health insurance system. In thinking about the future of this system, it is instructive to examine the German experience. The German health insurance system is almost entirely organized and financed around the labor market. In recent years, the German labor market has changed in several ways. Among other changes, more German women now work, the proportion of retirees in the population has increased, the share of manufacturing in employment has declined, and the economy has become more open. These labor market changes have made it more difficult to organize health insurance around employment in Germany. Recent changes in the German health insurance system have, to some extent, decoupled health insurance from employment. This decoupling is likely to continue as the labor market changes further. We explore the implications of this experience for the United States.