Campaign of fear and consumption: problematizing gender-based marketing of weapons

This paper problematizes the fear-based marketing of guns and tasers to both men and women as a function of neoliberalism’s emphasis on consumption as the solution to social problems. Men are marketed dangerous weapons as a way to display their masculinity, while women are told that purchasing guns or tasers is one of the best ways to protect themselves from domestic violence and sexual assault. As the paper shows, that claim is in stark contrast to data about these phenomena, and yet such marketing is often taken as a common sense solution. In addition to detailing why such marketing of weapons is problematic, we offer several recommendations.     

Unusual neck lesion in a pedestrian caused by a road accident

The authors describe a road accident that occurred in the Trieste region of Italy in 1998, wherein a pedestrian experienced a mortal injury. During the on-site examination, the forensic officer in charge noticed, in addition to dispersed abrasions, bruises, and fractures, an unusual position of the head with a highly unusual motility of the cervical rachis and, above all, an apparent whitish fibrous elastic cord, 7-8 cm long, which came out of the mouth. The cord was found to be a segment of the spinal cord, expelled and driven into the mouth cavity by the impact. This represents an interesting case because of the specific dynamics of the accident and the type of lesion involved. This kind of spinal cord injury, in particular, is infrequent among pedestrians involved in road accidents in comparison with other road casualties.     

A case of electrocution during illegal fishing activities

The passage of electric current through the human body causes variable harm, ranging from loss of consciousness to death caused by paralysis of the bulbar nerve centers. This report describes a fatal case caused by an illegal fishing practice involving stunning fish with electric shocks produced by an electric generator carried through the water inside the carcass of an old refrigerator to keep it afloat. This occurrence is unusual because of the circumstances giving rise to the use of electric current and the cause of death, which resulted from the combination of the electric current produced by the generator and the saltwater, bringing about death by drowning.     

The measurement of open apices of teeth to test chronological age of over 14-year olds in living subjects

Age determination in living subjects is a problem of increasing interest in our community, due to the increasing numbers of individuals without identification papers, who have immigrated illegally or committed crimes, and for whom it is necessary to verify whether they have reached the age of 14 years in order to be charged legally. Although the most widespread methods for age estimation refer to skeletal or dental analysis, these methods do present some drawbacks for identification of the age of 14. The aim of the present study is to discriminate between children who are or are not 14 years of age or older by measuring the open apices of teeth. We evaluated the OPGs of 447 persons aged between 12 and 16 years, of Italian, Croatian and Slovenian nationality. For each individual, dental maturity was estimated using the number of the seven left permanent mandibular teeth with root development complete, and normalized measurement of the open apices of the third molar. The results revealed that an individual is considered to be 14 years of age or older if all seven left permanent mandibular teeth have closed apices and the normalized measurement of open apices of the third molar is lower than 1.1.     

Age estimation using carpals: study of a Slovenian sample to test Cameriere's method

Carpals are often used as age indicators. In a recent study, Cameriere et al. studied the use of the ratio between the total area of carpal bones and epiphyses of the ulna and radius (Bo) and carpals (Ca) as age indicators. The present study, of a sample of 158 Slovenian children and adolescents aged between 6 and 16 years, focused on analysing the best regression for age estimation. The regression model yielded the following equation: age=-3.411+0.942 g+20.927(Bo/Ca), and explained 91.6% of total variance (R(2)=0.916). The median of the absolute values of residuals (observed age minus predicted age) was 0.09 years, with a quartile deviation of 0.786 years, and a standard error of estimate of 0.658 years. Comparisons between the previous equation referring to Slovenian children and the equivalent linear equation proposed by Cameriere et al. did not reveal any significant differences between the intercepts and slopes of the two linear models. These results suggested a common regression model for both Italian and Slovenian samples. The common regression model, describing age as a linear function of gender and Bo/Ca ratio, yielded the following linear regression formula: age=-2.907+0.408 g+20.757(Bo/Ca). This model explained 86% of total variance (R(2)=0.86). The median of the absolute values of residuals (observed age minus predicted age) was 0.02 years, with a quartile deviation of 1.02 years and a standard error of estimate of 0.96 years.     

Policy Failure in the Triangle of Growth: Labour Market,Human Capital,and Innovation in Spain and Italy

This article focuses on the Italian and Spanish models of growth and analyses labour market, human capital and innovation policy reforms since the mid 1990s. The comparison with France and Germany shows the constraints that have hindered the rise of institutional complementarities and the competitiveness of the two Mediterranean countries already before the introd uction of the euro and the outbreak of the 2008 crisis. The analysis highlights both similarities and structural differences between Italy and Spain and demonstrates the long-term institutional conditions that explain why the economic breakdown has had such a deep impact on the two countries.     

Intentional Homicide: A Fifteen-Year Study (2000–2014) at the Department of Forensic Medicine,University of Rome “Sapienza”

This study analyzes postmortem records from 260 homicide cases autopsied by the Department of Forensic Medicine in Rome from 2000 to 2014. The victims were mainly males (74%) and young (61% aged from 21 to 50 years). Although the victims were mostly Italians, the number of foreign victims (33%) has increased since 1990, primarily due to immigration. The offenders frequently used firearms (39%), particularly in multiple murders. An increase in blunt (20%) and sharp force (32%) weapons was also seen. The primary crime scene was residential (42%), and the head was the most frequently injured body region. Male victims occurred frequently in the context of organized crime (7.6%). In family or intimate-sexual relationships, women were the majority of victims (8%). Forensic pathologists play an important role during investigation. They should consider all the information available to them, including autopsy information, crime scene information, and crime investigation data.     

Analysis of Frontal Sinuses for Personal Identification in a Chinese Sample Using a New Code Number

The study of frontal sinuses for personal identification is a considered approach in the forensic field. In Yoshino's system, the frontal sinus patterns of a given person were formulated as a code number (codY) obtained by arranging the class numbers in each classification item. The aim of this work was to use a new code number (codC) with eight digits that includes other two continuous variables obtained as ratios SOR₁ (left frontal sinus area/left orbit area) and SOR₂ (right frontal sinus area/right orbit area), comparing the results with that of Yoshino. Digital radiographic images of the skulls of 150 Chinese people were analyzed. Spearman's partial correlation coefficients were evaluated between variables characterizing frontal sinus patterns. We used a maximum-weight dependence tree for statistical analysis. Results demonstrated that codC significantly reduced the probability of having the same personal code number compared with codY. Our scientific approach results valid for personal identification purposes.     

Terrorism and international political analysis∗

Abstract

The international spread of terrorism requires more careful study of its ability to influence the international order. Therefore, it is first of all necessary to distinguish the purposes for which terrorism is set up on the international level, also exactly assessing its actual transnational links. In this way, it will be possible to proceed toward a comparative analysis of terrorism in different regions of the international system. The purpose of such an analysis is to evaluate the influence that terrorism has, from the methodological standpoint, on the studies of the international system and, from the substantial standpoint, on the actual ability of terrorism to weaken that very system. Clarifying the implications of these aspects, the conclusion will be a reflection on the causal relationship that links terrorism and the international system; the former is a consequence of the nature of the latter, caused by the immobility of the international system, and hence by the blocked situation that faces anyone who wants to modify the international order.