The violent and sexual victimization of college women: is repeat victimization a problem?

Little attention has been given to repeat violent and sexual victimization among college women. Using two national-level data sets, the authors find that a small proportion of college women experience a large proportion of violent and sexual victimizations. Women are more likely to experience repeat sexual victimization than repeat violence incidents. Repeat victimization tends to happen in the same month of the initial victimization, and the most likely next type of victimization is by far the same type of victimization. Comparing incident-level characteristics of repeat incidents to single incidents, there are few differences, with the exception that, in a larger proportion of single incidents, women took self-protective action. Implications for prevention and educational programs are discussed.     

Application of the Iscan method to two- and three-dimensional imaging of the sternal end of the right fourth rib

Age determination is a major field of interest in physical and forensic anthropology. Among the different methods based on macroscopic skeletal study, the Iscan method, which analyzes the sternal end of the right fourth rib, is one of the most reliable. We applied the Iscan method to two- and three-dimensional multislice computed tomography (MSCT) reconstructions of the sternal end of the right fourth rib on 39 ribs. The intra-observer variability on MSCT reconstructions was good (gamma coefficient equal to 0.86; value of the Krippendorff's alpha reliability equal to 0.79); inter-observer variability on MSCT reconstructions was also good (gamma coefficient ranging from 0.82 to 0.88; value of the Krippendorff's alpha reliability ranging from 0.78 to 0.86). We demonstrated excellent agreement between the results of analysis of bone samples and those of the two- and three-dimensional images, in particular regarding bone projections, morphology of the pit and of its rim. The accuracy of age estimation did not significantly differ between the Iscan method applied to dry bones and the same method applied to MSCT images. Determination of the Krippendorff's alpha reliability coefficient for the inter-error method confirmed the agreement between phase estimations obtained with the two methods (ranging from 0.55 to 0.71). The real civil age was comprised in 21 cases out of 36 for assessment performed on dry bones and in 23 cases out of 36 on MSCT reconstructions, which represented 58.3% and 63.9%, respectively. Use of MSCT reconstructions in forensic anthropology offers many advantages: no bone preparation, no damage to bone material, and the possibility of application to living individuals.     

Child abuse: practical application of autopsy, radiological, and microscopic studies

A 17-month-old male infant died at home. The infant's right arm was immobilized because of a humeral fracture 1 month earlier. The circumstances of death appeared unclear to the police investigators and a medicolegal autopsy was carried out. External examination revealed diffuse ecchymoses of varying color. Postmortem imaging was performed prior to autopsy (X-rays, multislice computed tomography [MSCT], and focused brain magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]). These investigations revealed four rib fractures of varying ages, one of which was posterior. Cerebral and pericerebral traumatic lesions were also diagnosed: bilateral subdural hematomas, intraventricular, meningeal, and interpedoncular hemorrhages. In the abdomen, fresh blood was visible within the anterior abdominal wall and the mesenteric root. Autopsy and microscopic study confirmed these lesions. This case report illustrates the valuable assistance rendered by MSCT and MRI to diagnose abuse when a child has died in unclear circumstances.     

The Political Power of Words: The Birth of Pro-democratic Discourse in the Nineteenth Century in the United States and France

Comparing France and the United States, I propose a general model for assessing the birth of pro-democratic discourse. I first explain why founders of the modern 'democracies' were openly and vehemently anti-democratic. Next, I focus on two types of situation where the word 'democracy' is used on the political stage – when political actors want to distinguish themselves from their opponents and when political actors want to sanctify the political regime. The first case covers three specific modes of the use of the term 'democracy': (i) distinguishing oneself negatively by discrediting the opponent (the term 'democracy' is pejorative and associated with the 'enemy'); (ii) distinguishing oneself positively by asserting one's worthiness (the term 'democracy' is positive and associated with 'us'); (iii) fighting for an exclusive claim to the term in order to set oneself apart (several camps proclaim themselves 'democrat' and mutually accuse each other of usurping or even 'stealing' the title). I conclude that the use of the word 'democracy' generally results from a single motivation – to increase one's own political power or to diminish the power of one's opponents.     

Communal violence and ethnic polarization before and after the 2015 elections in Turkey: attacks against the HDP and the Kurdish population

Given its duration and intensity, the decades-old civil war in Turkey between the Turkish state and the PKK has resulted in relatively low levels of lethal inter-communal conflict between Kurdish and Turkish populations. However, around the June 2015 elections an unprecedented wave of systematic anti-Kurdish violence swept across western Turkey. The paper will assess these events in relation to literature on communal riots and electoral violence. It will consider the impact of state led anti-Kurdish discourse and the growth of the HDP, as potential factors that aggravated the dormant tensions and laid the groundwork for widespread inter-communal violence.     

Religious Innovation and Competition in Contemporary African Christianity

ABSTRACT

This introductory essay lays out the main themes of a special issue of Journal of Contemporary African Studies which brings together six empirically grounded papers by African social scientists of different disciplinary backgrounds. These works touch on various aspects of the social impact of religious innovation and competition in present day African Christianity. They represent the first fruits on the social science side of an interdisciplinary initiative that made 23 research grants for theologians and social scientists to study Christianity and social change in contemporary Africa. These articles focus on a variety of dynamics in contemporary African religion (mostly Christianity), including gender, health and healing, social media, entrepreneurship, and inter-religious borrowing and accommodation. The editors conclude that the research and learning reflected in this volume will enhance understanding of religion’s vital entanglement in contemporary African society. The articles reveal problematic ethical and psychological dynamics in some of these new movements, particularly among some of the neo-Pentecostal groups. Yet the authors are determined to go beyond perspectives that are overly fixated with African problems and victimisation. They are keen to explore opportunities for understanding African agency and African wellsprings of hope. The editors conclude that scholars of religion and religiosity in Africa need to invest new conceptual and methodological energy in researching what it means to be actively religious in Africa today.