Retrospective reports of parental partner abuse: Relationships to depression,trauma symptoms and self-esteem among college students

This study tested whether retrospective reports of childhood exposure to parental partner abuse were associated with internalizing aspects of adult adjustment. Participants were 550 men and women college students. Among women, childhood exposure to partner abuse was related to depression, trauma-related symptoms, and low self-esteem; among men, exposure was associated with trauma-related symptoms. These relationships were statistically independent of reported parental alcohol abuse and divorce. Relationships of parental partner abuse to low self-esteem and depression among women were also independent of variation in retrospective reports of child sexual and physical abuse. However, the relationship of partner abuse to trauma-related symptoms depended, in part, on the co-occurrence of child abuse. The discussion addressed implications of the findings for future research and for clinical practice.     

Gender and colonialism: Women's organisation under the Raj

The popular media have recently born witness to a renewed interest in India under British rule. This article examines the portrayal of Indian liberation struggles in two of the more serious expositions, The Jewel in the Crown and Gandhi, questioning the political implications of this portrayal. It shows that they both neglect the crucial role played by women in the maintenance and demise of the Raj. We argue that women's contribution was so significant that its omission constitutes a misrepresentation of history that can fairly be termed revisionist. We suggest that the reason for this process of mystification lies in the relevance of India's fight for national liberation and sexual equality in the early twentieth century, to present day struggles against imperialism and male domination, which are two of the most explosive issues affecting the modern Western world.     

Comparative study of postmortem barbiturates, methadone, and morphine in vitreous humor, blood, and tissue

With the introduction of radioimmunoassay (RIA) techniques, it has become toxicologically possible to determine drug concentrations in postmortem vitreous humor. This study demonstrates and confirms this toxicological feasibility. In 49 medical examiner's drug related cases, postmortem tissue levels of morphine, barbiturates, and methadone were compared to the vitreous humor.     

“She has done me no work”: language and power asymmetry in impoverished families in Poland

Based on an in-depth semantic analysis of interviews with poor Polish couples living in a foreclosed state farm and the examination of the so-called “linguistic sexism” of the Polish language, the author shows that despite a manifest change in the social context of poor households, power relations within impoverished rural married couples still remain the same. The traditional power imbalance can be observed at the level of the respondents’ utterances, especially with regard to gender roles, work and household duties, dowries and inheritance. In households with downwardly mobile men, husbands tend to assert even more symbolic power than in households in which the husbands have jobs, even if low-paying ones. Wives of downwardly mobile men in the community studied are inclined to verbally support their husbands and patriarchal family relations, despite the fact that often the traditional basis of patriarchy—economic providership—is now women’s responsibility also.     

Special report on reimbursement. Medicare program abandons 1986 malpractice rule

Hospitals with claims "properly pending" before fiscal intermediaries or in the courts need do nothing in order to obtain corrected reimbursement for fiscal years so pending. However, to speed processing of corrected reimbursements for fiscal years pending in appeals before the PRRB, hospitals should request that the Board determine its jurisdiction and remand to the fiscal intermediary for payment as soon as possible. It will be helpful to include with any such request a copy of the notice of program reimbursement and the original appeal letter for each fiscal year under appeal. Despite the fact that HCFA Ruling 91-1 effectively concedes that HCFA has applied an invalid regulation to all fiscal years since May 1, 1986, HCFA counsel have stated that HCFA will not permit reopening of closed cost reports to correct the inappropriate apportionment of malpractice insurance costs. Nevertheless, hospitals that do not presently have a claim or appeal pending have several options. Under the Provider Reimbursement Manual, HIM-15, sections 2930-2931, fiscal intermediaries are required to reopen cost reports filed within the three-year reopening period to correct errors. Accordingly, should a fiscal intermediary deny a provider's reopening request, the provider should seriously consider taking an appeal to the PRRB. The PRRB's jurisdiction to review fiscal intermediary denials of requests to reopen cost reports was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, see State of Oregon v. Bowen, 854 F.2d 346 (9th Cir. 1988), a decision that is controlling in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)