Gender bias in courtroom dynamics

Respondents to numerous surveys about courtroom interaction have identified gender bias as a serious problem in the courts. Consistently, women perceive more bias than do men. To explore the importance of gender, role (judge vs. attorney), experience with bias, and age in predicting perceptions of gender bias in the courtroom, we conducted secondary analyses of data from a survey of judges and attorneys in Illinois. Three dimensions of bias were identified:Presence of Bias, Optimism (belief that bias is decreasing), andInstrumental Bias (use of biased behavior as a trial tactic). Although role, age, and experience had some importance in explaining the scores on these three factors, gender offered the greatest predictive power. Implications for future research and for ending bias in courtroom interaction are discussed.This research was completed with support from the Office of Social Science Research, University of Illinois at Chicago.     

The role of victim-offender relationship in women's sexual assault experiences

This study's goal is to identify differences in background, assault, and postassault factors according to the victim-offender relationship. A mail survey is conducted with more than 1,000 female sexual assault survivors (response rate 90%) recruited from college, community, and mental health agency sources. Stranger assailants are associated with a greater victim perceived life threat, more severe sexual assaults, and ethnic minority victims. Positive social reactions do not vary according to the victim-offender relationship, but stranger victims report more negative social reactions from others than do victims of acquaintances or romantic partners. Assaults by strangers and relatives are associated with more posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms than assaults by acquaintances and romantic partners. As expected, survivors' social cognitive responses to rape and social reactions from support providers are stronger correlates of PTSD symptoms than demographic or assault characteristics in general, but correlates vary across victim-offender relationship groups.     

Tissue distribution of mirtazapine and desmethylmirtazapine in a case of mirtazapine poisoning

An ingestion of an unknown quantity of mirtazapine in a suicide attempt leading to death is described. Sertraline and amitriptyline have been co-ingested. Because mirtazapine is reported to be relatively safe in overdose, body fluids and tissues were investigated for both mirtazapine and desmethylmirtazapine by high-pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry following liquid-liquid extraction. The limit of detection was sufficiently low to also apply the assay in pharmacokinetic studies. The levels of amitriptyline and nortriptyline were very low (38 and 19 ng/mL femoral venous blood) and the amount of sertraline in blood taken from the femoral vein (880 ng/mL) was considerably lower than those seen in overdosage. Accumulation of mirtazapine and N-desmethylmirtazapine was evident in fluids and tissues involved in enterohepatic circulation and excretion. The concentration determined in a brain sample suggests a contribution of the metabolite to the drug's pharmacodynamic activity. Based on literature data, significant adverse or synergistic effects among the drugs detected as well as adverse reactions such as a serotonin reaction appeared less probable. Mirtazapine exhibits alpha(1)-antagonistic properties on the cardiac-vascular system and may cause hyponatraemia. In the face of the cardiac findings at autopsy and the lack of an apparent cause of death, these effects of mirtazapine may have initiated a process leading to death.     

A: Reviews: general

REVEALING THE HOLY LAND: THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION OF PALESTINE. By Kathleen Stewart Howe. Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, 1997. 144pp. $US 60 (hb), $US 29.95 (pb).

THE EMERGENCE OF THE ‘ABBASID AUTOCRACY: THE ‘ABBASID ARMY, KHURASAN AND ADHARBAYJAN. By Fukuzo Amabe, Kyoto University Press, 1995 xi + 322pp.

THE BUKHARANS: A DYNASTIC, DIPLOMATIC AND COMMERCIAL HISTORY, 1550–1702. By Audrey Burton. Richmond, Surrey, UK; Curzon Press, 1997; xxxvii + 664pp. ISBN 0 7007 0417 5. £65.00 (hb).

THE REVOLUTION OF 1908 IN TURKEY. By Aykut Kansu (No. 58 in Social, Economic and Political Studies of the Middle East and Asia). Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1997. 341 pp.

THE MIDDLE EAST IN GLOBAL CHANGE: THE POLITICS AND ECONOMICS OF INTERDEPENDENCE VERSUS FRAGMENTATION. Edited by Laura Guazzone. Basingstoke and London, Macmillan Press Ltd and Instituto Affari Inter‐nazionali, 1997, xiv + 285 pp., 8 maps, £45 (hb).

THE QUEST FOR HEGEMONY IN THE ARAB WORLD. THE STRUGGLE OVER THE BAGHDAD PACT. By Elie Podeh. Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1995

ISTITUZIONI DEL MONDO MUSULMANO. Giorgio Vercellin. (Biblioteca Studio, n. 27). Torino, Einaudi, 1996. 419 pp.+ vxx. 36,000 It lire.

THE FORBIDDEN MODERN: CIVILIZATION AND VEILING. By N?lüfer göle. (Critical Perspectives on Women and Gender). Ann Arbor, The University of Michigan Press, 1996. 173 pp. $15.95.

WITHIN THE CIRCLE: PARENTS AND CHILDREN IN AN ARAB VILLAGE. By Andrea B. Rough. The History and Society of the Modern Middle East Series. New York, Columbia University Press, 1997. 263pp.

OVERCOMING TRADITION AND MODERNITY: THE SEARCH FOR ISLAMIC AUTHENTICITY. By Robert D. Lee. Oxford, Westview Press, 1997. 216pp.

ARABIC TODAY: A STUDENT, BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL COURSE IN SPOKEN AND WRITTEN ARABIC. By John Mace. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1996. 287 pp. £19.95. 1‐hour audio cassette to accompany the book £5.99.

THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC MARKET OF CAIRO: GENDER, CLASS AND EDUCATION. By Niloofar Haeri. London, Kegan Paul International, 1996, xviii + 272pp.

THE EGYPTIAN THEATRE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY (1799–1882). By P. C. Sadgrove. Reading, Ithaca Press, 1996. ix + 214pp.

PALESTINIAN IDENTITY, THE CONSTRUCTION OF MODERN NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS. By Rashid Khalidi, New York, Columbia University Press, 1997. 304 pp. $34.00/£22.95.

RELIGION, DEMOCRACY AND ISRAELI SOCIETY. By Charles Liebman. Reading, Harwood Academic Publishers, 1997. 115 pp. £13.00.

TO RULE JERUSALEM. By R. Friedland and R. Hecht. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996. 554pp.

IRANIAN INTELLECTUALS AND THE WEST: THE TORMENTED TRIUMPH OF NATIVISM. By Mehrzad Boroujerdi. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1996. 256 pp., incl appendix, glossary, bibliography and index.

DISCOVERING THE QUR'AN: A CONTEMPORARY APPROACH TO A VEILED TEXT. By Neal Robinson. London: SCM Press, 1996. 332pp., £16.95 (pb).

THE BOOK IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD: THE WRITTEN WORD AND COMMUNICATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST. Edited by George N. Atiyeh. Albany State University of New York Press, 1995. xviii 305pp.

RIVERS OF DISCORD: INTERNATIONAL WATER DISPUTES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. By Greg Shapland. London, Hurst & Company, 1997. 183 pp. 6 maps 5 tables, (hb) £37.50.

MOSHE SHARETT: BIOGRAPHY OF A POLITICAL MODERATE. By Gabriel Sheffer. New York, Oxford University Press, 1996. 1065 pp. £65.

CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE MIDDLE EAST (Volumes 1 and 2). Edited by Augustus Richard Norton. Leiden: E.J. Brill 1995–1996 Vol lx + 328pp, Vol 2 xvi + 353pp     

Australia,New Zealand and the Pacific Islands Forum: a critical review

The relationship between the Pacific islands and the region’s ‘bigger brothers’ – Australia and New Zealand – is often seen in two-dimensional terms with the latter appearing to act in concert and in terms characterised by underlying neo-colonial attitudes and a determination to dominate the regional agenda. Given that both are former colonial powers with considerable political and economic resources and are the major aid donors in the region as well as being members of the powerful geopolitical entity known as ‘the West’, it is not difficult to sustain an image of neo-colonial dominance. But to do so also requires casting Pacific island countries in a certain role, not only lacking agency but also cohering around a common identity and set of interests. This article examines key aspects of regional relations as played out through the region’s premier organisation, the Pacific Islands Forum, and assesses the extent to which a simple political divide between Australia and New Zealand on the one hand, and the island states on the other, can be maintained.     

Schools and Terrorism: Global Trends,Impacts, and Lessons for Resilience

This study characterizes trends in the frequency and characteristics of terrorist attacks in child-serving educational institutions around the world, examining the specific vulnerabilies of children and schools with regard to terrorist violence, as well as the various impacts that violence has on children, communities, and societies. Following the analysis of available data on terrorist attacks against educational institutions, vulnerabilities, and impacts, the study concludes with a discussion of what still needs to be understood in the intersection of child vulnerability and terrorism, and provides recommendations for improving resilience to terrorist attacks against child-serving educational institutions.     

Gender,quality of life,and growth in Asia 1970-90

This paper examines the gender distribution of the benefits of economic growth in several Asian economies from 1970–90. Using Borda rank ordering, we compare the progress made in these countries towards closing the gender gap in well-being. In addition to commonly-used indicators, trends in the ratio of females to males in the population are examined. We explore determinants of changes in this ratio, using regression analysis. The results indicate that gender equity in quality-of-life ratings is highest in those Asian economies that grew the slowest over the period in question. Further, the data indicate that economic growth does not have a significant effect on the female-to-male population ratios for this set of countries. Variables that affect women's bargaining power do, however, have a positive effect on relative female life chances, as does spending on public education.