Anything less is not feminism: Racial difference and the W.M.W.M.

Feminism is the political theory and practice to free all women: women of colour, working class women, poor women, physically challenged women, lesbians, old women as well as white heterosexual, economically privileged women. Anything less is not feminism, but merely female self-aggrandisement. White Middle-class Women's Movement. My special thanks to Susie Gibson for her insight and support on this project. Thanks to Akua Rugg for being there.     

A South Indian ?ākta Anthropogon?: An Annotated Translation of Selections from Mahe?varānanda’s Mahārthama?jarīparimala, gāthās 19 and 20

This article represents the first of a projected series of annotated translations of the Mahārthama?jarīparimala of Maheśvarānanda, a Śaiva Śākta author active in Cidambaram around the turn of the fourteenth century of the Common Era. The present translation includes excerpts from the text’s presentation of two of the levels of reality (tattvas), puruṣa and prakṛti. These two tattvas, the apex of the older Sāṃkhya scheme incorporated centuries earlier by the Śaivas, provide for Maheśvarānanda the centerpiece and climax of his understanding of the structure of the Śaiva cosmos. Fundamental to the rhetoric of Maheśvarānanda’s idiosyncratic presentation is his reliance upon a simultaneous strategy of integration and distinction of his argument within the wider world of Śaiva doctrinal common sense. He seeks to integrate the characteristic meditative structure of his Krama or Mahārtha system within a theological framework shared by all Śaiva theists. It can be seen that Maheśvarānanda’s interpretation of the junction between these two reality levels delineates a picture of what it is to be a human being, equipped with an inner life and a personality. The article also reviews the quality of the published editions of the Mahārthama?jarī, discusses its textual history, and offers a number of suggested emendations to the passages translated.     

Stereochemical Analysis of Methorphan Using (−)‐Menthyl Chloroformate

Abstract: Forensic laboratories around the world have seen an increase in the number of drug seizures containing methorphan. Levomethorphan is a narcotic and a controlled substance, and its enantiomer dextromethorphan is an antitussive agent used in over‐the‐counter medications. For the forensic analysis of seized drugs containing methorphan, it is important to report the stereochemical composition of the drug. Ideally, a method based on common forensic laboratory instrumentation is desirable. The use of the chiral derivatizing agent (?)‐menthyl chloroformate followed by routine gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of the derivative was shown to successfully determine the stereochemical composition of methorphan. This approach was applied to a street seizure containing methorphan proving that it was pure dextromethorphan. The derivatives of dextro‐ and levomethorphan were subjected to mass spectroscopic and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis, which confirmed that the structure of the derivatives remained unchanged as a result of the derivatization process.     

Laws That Bit The Bullet: A Review of Legislative Responses to School Shootings

The recent mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut sparked an immediate discourse calling for a review of gun control legislation. However, this discourse was not new; rather, it was one that routinely follows this type of tragedy. In the wake of school shootings such as Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Jonesboro, a similar discourse appeared which prompted policymakers to introduce a number of pieces of legislation aimed at more efficient firearms regulation. While a few of these bills were enacted, many never made it past introduction. The flurry of legislative responses to such incidences warrants further discussion as to whether these bills are effective, or rather simply “feel good legislation.” Further, public opinion is a driving force behind such policy, but how can this change in the wake of school shootings? This paper examines both considerations and proposes directions for continued research in this critical and understudied area.     

Family Violence and Children’s Behavior Problems: Independent Contributions of Intimate Partner and Child-Directed Physical Aggression

Using data from a diverse sample of 581 families living in predominantly low-income, rural communities, the current study sought to investigate the longitudinal associations among father-perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV) and child-directed physical aggression perpetrated by the mother. The unique contributions of each of these types of family violence on children’s behavioral problems at school entry were also examined. Results confirm bidirectional associations between father-perpetrated IPV and maternal physical aggression directed toward the child, and indicate that both types of physical aggression contribute to child behavior problems at school entry.     

On Being a Novice Forensic Evaluator: Reflections from Early Career Forensic Psychologists

Previous research has considered the psychologist’s professional transition from trainee to independent practitioner. However, this work has generally focused on the experiences of psychotherapists or general psychologists. The purpose of the current commentary is to reflect on the experiences of early professional forensic evaluators. This commentary addresses four specific areas including difficulties with adversarial allegiance, perceptions of professional competency, balancing responsibilities associated with “expert” status, and roadblocks to standard test administration and scoring. When applicable, we reference empirical literature and professional ethical guidelines. We also offer suggestions for coping with these experiences. We hope this commentary will normalize these experiences for other early career evaluators as well as aid graduate students’ transition into the independent evaluator role.     

Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Heat on the PCR‐Amplification of Various Sized DNA Fragments Extracted from Sus Scrofa Molars*

Abstract: This study examined the effects of heat on the amplification of DNA from the dental pulp of Sus scrofa molars and investigated the protection afforded to the pulp tissue by the dental enamel, alveolar process, and soft tissue of the head. Segments of defleshed maxilla and mandible encasing the first molar (n = 60) were subject to a range of temperatures for 15 min. Dental pulps were retrieved. Amplifications using three‐primer and four‐primer multiplexes showed no degradation of the largest fragment following exposure to 450°C. Amplifications in the three‐primer multiplex (283 bp) were successful following exposure to 525°C in maxillary samples only. This study revealed the enamel density of maxillary molars to be greater than mandibular molars in Sus scrofa. Following incineration of intact heads for 15 min (n = 10) and 1 h (n = 4) at an average temperature of 625°C, amplifications of the largest fragment (450 bp) were successful from both maxillary and mandibular teeth.     

Sharing a Single Seat: The Poetics and Politics of Male Intimacy in the Vikramāṅkakāvya

In this essay, I trace the enabling conditions for the major statement of the subversive subtext in Bilhaṇa’s Vikramāṅkadevacarita (VDC) by unpacking the operation of the work’s patent, eulogistic text. In particular, I will explore the place given to the depiction of male intimacy as a poetic substitute or simulacrum for the political alliances central to Vikramāditya’s coming to the throne, as described in the mahākāvya’s fourth through sixth sargas. My intention in focusing on the intense friendships between men is to highlight a significant rhetorical strategy of Bilhaṇa’s, which allowed the poet both to introduce and to buffer the poem’s most explicit statement of his skepticism towards royal power. It is this charged affective theme—one that occupied only a tenuous position within the regnant critical discourse of literary emotion at the time—that sets up Bilhaṇa’s most powerful and explicit denunciation of kingship. The explicit theme of royal praise and the subtext of its denunciation can thus be seen as contrapuntally related, which goes some way towards explaining how the court poet was able to successfully carry off his potentially incendiary literary project.     

Evaluating integrative services in edge-of-care work

Children living on ‘the edge-of-care’ are typically known to local safeguarding authorities and are considered likely to face risks to their safety. Many are subject to a child protection plan and/or involved in ‘pre-proceedings’ processes. A growing number of their parents face (un)diagnosed mental health difficulties as well as economic and social precarity. This article draws on a mixed methods evaluation of a pilot service in the East of England offering a therapeutically led attachment-based intervention for families. The service cross-cuts health and social care, allowing psychologists and psychotherapists to work alongside social workers and other practitioners. The evaluation examined psychological and safeguarding outcomes and explored practitioner perspectives. A key outcome was that 85.4% of families were enabled to remain, or reunite with their child, compared with an estimated 50% of ‘edge-of-care’ cases nationally. This supports the need for similarly oriented interventions that could help lower the incidence of child removals.