Tradition and Prudence in Locke's Exceptions to Toleration

Why did Locke exclude Catholics and atheists from toleration? Not, I contend, because he was trapped by his context, but because his prudential approach and practical judgments led him to traditional texts. I make this argument first by outlining the connections among prudential exceptionality, practical judgments, and traditional texts. I then describe important continuities between conventional English understandings of the relationship between state and religion and Locke's writings on toleration, discuss Locke's conception of rights, and illustrate his use of prudential exceptions and distinctions. I conclude by arguing that Locke's problems are relevant to assessing contemporary liberal discussions of toleration and the separation of state and religion that lean heavily on practical justifications.     

Deaths Due to Child Abuse: A 6‐Year Review of Cases in The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office

Case files from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office from 2007 to 2012 were reviewed to analyze homicides due to physical child abuse in children <3 years old. Fatal cases mostly involved younger subjects. Intracranial injuries were the leading cause of death, while death due to extracranial injuries was uncommon. Eyes were involved in most of the cases. Spinal cord was involved in about 1/3 of the cases, mostly in the thoracic area. In some cases, previous injuries were present. There were significant differences in the pattern of injuries between age groups. Subjects showing signs of impact to the head and subjects with no evidence of an impact showed no significant difference in internal injuries. The association of multiple injuries is highly suggestive of child abuse. In suspected child abuse, a postmortem examination including neuropathological, ophthalmological, and radiological information should be always evaluated, together with investigative reports and the medical history.     

Technology Competitiveness in Emerging Markets: The Case of the Brazilian Polymer Industry

The Brazilian polymer industry (plastics, rubbers, fibers, adhesives, paints, and varnishes) is the fastest growing segment of the Petrochemical Chain. Since the polymer industry is characterized as science based, the capacity to create technology is vital for its long-range survival in the market. This paper analyzes how Brazilian polymer firms maintain their technological competitiveness, explains the main modes of technology transfer, and evaluates the degree of technological dependence of this industry. The methodology consisted of a database built with data from the Brazilian Patent Office. To confirm the findings, interviews were conducted with staff members from seven Brazilian polymer firms. The data base analysis and the interviews reveal that, in spite of the fact that Research and Development (R&D) and technological innovation have a fundamental role in their competitiveness, the firms are technologically dependent upon foreign suppliers.     

Voluntarism and health care

The writers are co-authors of Unhealthy Charities; Health Research Charities II: The Politics of Fear;and Health Research Charites: Image and Reality.     

Reshuffling the Middle East: A Historical and Political Perspective

The Middle East is experiencing one of the darkest periods in its history and a new regional order is still far from being established. Yet, it appears increasingly clear that few matters will affect its developments more than the ongoing regional demographic dynamics. The region’s history and spatial background provide a framework for approaching these epochal shifts and critically examining the ‘ethnic stabilisation’ thesis, which interprets current demographic movements as a kind of normalisation of the region’s ‘original’ demographics. Instead of this ‘medievalization of the Middle East’, many people in the region are keen on ‘getting back into history’ and ‘regaining possession’ of their multifaceted past: a powerful antidote to the geopolitical reductionism so popular nowadays.     

Exploring Violent Cosmologies From a “Radical Interactionist” Approach

Critical Criminology - This article advances a theoretical perspective on violent crime, using interviews with male prisoners in Italy who had perpetrated violence.&nbsp;By drawing on...     

A Case of Sudden Death Due to Persistent Severe Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension After Late Atrial Septal Defect Closure

Atrial septal defects (ASDs) are one of the most prevalent congenital cardiac anomalies in adults. These interatrial communications can produce changes in the right heart (remodeling and failure) and the lungs (pulmonary hypertension). Most adults with ASDs are surgically treated with excellent results. However, a small fraction of patients is at risk for postoperative complications, particularly the persistence of pulmonary hypertension. A case of a 47‐year‐old woman who was found unresponsive in the bathroom of her house and died despite resuscitative efforts is described. According to medical records, the woman underwent a surgical repair of an atrial septal defect at the age of 37. At the autopsy, macroscopic and microscopic signs of advanced pulmonary hypertension were detected, highlighting the importance for the forensic pathologists to recognize pulmonary hypertension as a cause of sudden death in adults with a history of late surgical closure of an atrial septal defect.     

Social Media and Medicolegal Death Investigation: Logged in…To the Morgue

Social media (SM) represent a global consumer phenomenon with an exponential rise in usage within the last few years. The various applications and websites are relatively easy and fast to access, and the number of users increases continuously. SM are an incredible source of freely available, public information about their users. The purpose of this study is to provide information about the usefulness of SM in forensic practice. The electronic database of the Cook County of Medical Examiner's Office (“CCMEO”) in Illinois was searched for investigative narratives that included specific SM keywords, in the period from August 2014 to January 2018. A total of 48 cases met the study's criteria. Among these, “Facebook” has been found to be the most helpful SM for medicolegal investigation purposes. Information obtained by SM can play an important role in forensic practice since it can be used to clarify certain aspects of the medicolegal death investigation, with particular regard to time and manner of death.