An Anthropological Examination of the Types of Skeletal Fractures Resulting from Fatal High (˃3 m) Free Falls,

Fatal falls from heights (?3 m) often result in blunt force trauma (BFT) to the skeleton. The fracture patterns that result from this BFT mechanism are well understood in forensic anthropology and forensic pathology; however, details of the specific types of fractures that result remain poorly documented. The aim of this study was to provide a detailed examination of the types of fractures that may result from fatal high falls. Fractures were recorded from 95 full‐body postmortem computed tomography scans of individuals known to have died from a high fall. Trauma was then analyzed taking into account the extrinsic and intrinsic variables known to influence a fall using multiple logistic regression. A total of 339 types of fractures were classified, of which 16 were significantly associated with this BFT mechanism. Classified fracture types will augment anthropological interpretations of the circumstances of death from BFT in cases of suspected high falls.     

Virtual autopsy and forensic identification-practical application: a report of one case

The body of an unidentified elderly woman was found trapped in a floodgate. Prior to autopsy, full-body multislice computed tomography (MSCT) was performed for study of bone lesions and cause of death. Age was estimated by analysis of the sternal end of the fourth rib and of the pubic symphyseal medial articular surfaces. The results were then compared with the autopsy findings. MSCT was superior to autopsy in diagnosis of traumatic bone lesions and also revealed dental anomalies and signs of drowning. Age estimation gave a similar result for both methods. This case report illustrates the potential value of MSCT for medico-legal investigations of death: diagnosis of injuries, possibility of determining the cause of death, and anthropological study in order to estimate age or to visualize features likely to enable identification of a corpse.     

The Physician-Patient Relationship and a National Health Information Network

The growing use of interoperable electronic health records is likely to have significant effects on the physician-patient relationship. This relationship involves two-way trust: of the physician in patients, and of the patients in their providers. Interoperable records opens up this relationship to further view, with consequences that may both enhance and undermine trust. On the one hand, physicians may learn (from additional records) that information from their patients is — or is not — to be trusted. On the other hand, patients may learn from the increased oversight made possible by electronic records that their trust in their physicians is — or is not — warranted. Release of information through new methods of surveillance may also undermine patient trust. The article concludes that because trust is fragile, attention to transparency and confidentiality in the use of interoperable electronic records is essential.     

Student/trainee-professional implicit theories of paedophilia

Abstract

This research investigates student/trainee-professional implicit theories of paedophilia and their explanations for the current crisis of paedophilia. The research methodology is based on a previous research design (Sternberg, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 607–627, 1985), and consists of two interrelated studies. Study 1 (n=60) develops scales for student/trainee-professional implicit theories of paedophilia and Study 2 (n=188) uses these scales in conjunction with other scales to define the student/trainee-professional implicit theories of paedophilia and to measure the potential explanations for the current crisis of paedophilia. The findings indicate that student/trainee-professional implicit theories of paedophilic personalities (pathology, abusive and mentally disordered old offender) and behaviours (devious, child focused, cognitive distortions, secretive, child lovers, sexual abusers, socially inept and grooming) seem to reflect both previous research and expert opinion. These tentative findings suggest that student/trainee-professionals' implicit theories of paedophilia, and as such the current crisis of paedophilia in modern society, seem to have developed in part from the transfer of expert knowledge (explicit theories), the impact of the media, and social constructionalism; and not from the student/trainee-professionals' individual personality and coping traits.     

Deconstructing Crime and Nature or, What Does Post Humanism Have to Do With Criminology?

The aim of this paper is to extend some of the theoretical concerns that Marcus Felson (2006) opens up in Crime and Nature by considering the contribution of post humanist political ecology to the construction of crime and nature that he proposes. Post humanism problematises dichotomous understandings of nature and culture as well as related binaries that follow from that division, suggesting that dominant assumptions about nature and the non human undermine antiracist and feminist efforts. While Felson (2006) takes steps towards troubling the nature/culture binary, he fails to question the constructed character of crime and crime prevention, thereby leaving unarticulated a critical problematisation of the exclusionary logics that underlie dominant practices and ways of thinking as race, sex, class and species fundamentally determine the nature of criminological knowledge. Abstracting crime from social context produces a partial analysis as spaces are reduced to their supposed propensity for criminal activity and some spaces are produced as always already criminal. Without examining and understanding how power relations intersect in the context of crime it is difficult to alter those relations to promote social justice.     

Production networks in China and India: a comparative analysis

In this paper, we examine and compare the two important production hubs in Asia: China and Greater China and India and South Asia. We show that in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, manufacturing trade has continued to be highly relevant, with trade in parts and components growing in importance. In contrast, in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, trade in parts and components remain limited. We then calculate various revealed comparative advantage (RCA) indices, which China having more components with RCA values exceeding one. Some of the most important components exported by China include electronic parts and telecommunication parts. One explanation is to why India is relatively weak in parts and components trade is that India is strong in service trade. Other reasons may be related to better port infrastructure, higher research and development intensity and higher educational enrollments in China.     

Generational Transmission of Collective Memory about Tiananmen in Hong Kong: how young rally participants learn about and understand 4 June

This article addresses the problem of generational transmission of collective memory in Hong Kong about the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. It focuses on the young participants in the annual 4 June commemoration rallies and examines the process of mnemonic socialization that brought them into the community of 4 June commemoration. Drawing upon a rally onsite survey and in-depth interviews, this study found that many young people went through a dynamic process of gradual discovery in which various social institutions—school, family and media—played complementary roles. Their understanding of Tiananmen tended to be simplified and essentialized. Yet the loss of details through essentialization has arguably allowed them to uphold a clear-cut moral judgment regarding the event and dismiss certain memory-blurring discourses straightforwardly.