Inducing resistance to suggestibility in children

Thirty 7-year-olds, 30 12-year-olds, and 39 adults were administered the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale, which consists of a story followed by 20 questions, 15 of which are misleading. After subjects were told that their answers were not all correct, the questions were readministered to look for shifts. Approximately half of the subjects in each age group had been warned that the questions were difficult or tricky and that they should only answer with what they confidently remembered. Results indicated that younger children recalled less of the story and were more likely to acquiesce to leading questions than older children and adults. Children also changed more of their answers upon the second questioning. Recall was negatively correlated with both acquiescence to leading questions and likelihood of changing answers, even within age groups. The warning significantly reduced the effect of misleading questions across all age groups.We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Jeffery N. Swartwood in analyzing the data and the staff, parents, and students of St. Jude School for their cooperation.     

Climate Change and Security at the Third Pole

The consequences of global climate change present a serious strategic challenge in one of the most remote parts of the world.The Tibetan Plateau is the largest high-altitude landmass on earth,with more than 45,000 glaciers that feed the major river systems in Asia,which,in turn,support 40 per cent of the world’s population.Temperatures in the region are rising twice as fast as the global average,posing serious risks to hydrological systems,agriculture,and critical infrastructure.Looking at regional cooperation through the lens of ecological security raises important questions about the extent to which the threat of large-scale climate-related disaster could trigger new forms of cooperative action.The sobering reality is that current responses fall far short of ensuring a mutually secure future.     

Parental and Others’ Responses to Physical Sibling Violence: a Descriptive Analysis of Victims’ Retrospective Accounts

Although sibling abuse may be the most common form of family violence, relatively few studies have been conducted on this topic. The current exploratory study addressed this gap in the literature through analyses of thematic categories in sibling abuse narratives gathered from an online survey of sibling violence victims. All data was collected via an online survey. Participants who reported being victimized by physical sibling violence were asked to reflect on how others—family members, professionals, and friends—responded to knowledge of the abuse. Results demonstrate a need for general education about sibling violence, particularly for parents who might minimize or normalize their children’s violent conflicts. Additionally, parents need assistance in developing appropriate responses to sibling violence, as participants often perceived their parents to be ineffective at preventing or stopping the abuse. Finally, this study suggests that negative or unhelpful parental responses can be as harmful as the sibling violence itself.     

Rights by Fortune or Fight? Reexamining the Addition of Sex to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

It is widely believed that the extension of protection against employment discrimination to women through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (CRA) was a fluke, the product of an attempted “killer amendment” by civil rights opponents gone awry. My analysis challenges this conventional wisdom, showing that the coalition of Republicans and southern Democrats in support of the sex amendment to Title VII was consistent with broader patterns of support for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the early to mid‐20th century. In other words, support appears to have been sincere, not sophisticated—proponents preferred a CRA with the sex amendment to one without. I proceed to show that concern about the direct impact on women, and not simply the instrumental impact on labor, played an important role in motivating this support. But, I also find reason for caution in interpreting support for workplace rights as evidence of broad support for women's rights at this time.     

Vertebral artery laceration mimicking elder abuse

Elder abuse was first described almost 30 years ago. Today, approximately 1 in 25 elders is abused each year in the United States. A newly described form of domestic violence, the incidence of elder abuse will surely increase as the elderly population grows. Physical abuse/inflicted trauma is generally considered the most extreme form of elder mistreatment and includes blunt trauma, sexual assault, traumatic alopecia, and burns. Elder homicide is usually due to gunshot wounds, blunt trauma, stab wounds, or asphyxia. However, the difficult aspect of assessing the possible elder abuse homicide victim is delineating such inflicted trauma from accidental trauma. We report the case of a 94-year-old "demented" male, who reportedly fell out of his wheelchair. He was transported to a local emergency room, where he became unresponsive during examination. He experienced respiratory distress and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. At autopsy, he had periorbital contusions and a midline abrasion between the eyes, with underlying supraorbital contusion. The skull, brain, and spinal cord were unremarkable for signs of trauma. The major traumatic finding was in the neck region. Neck dissection revealed hemorrhage extending from the base of the skull to the level of T-1 and anteriorly about the soft tissues, strap muscles, and vasculature. The strap muscles were individually examined and were free of hemorrhage. The carotid arteries and jugular veins were unremarkable. The larynx, hyoid, and thyroid were intact, with only surrounding hemorrhage. Further examination revealed a horizontal fracture of the C5 vertebral body and a medial laceration of the left vertebral artery at the C5 level; subarachnoid hemorrhage was absent. What initially appeared to be trauma to the neck, worrisome for strangulation or blunt force trauma, was a large retropharyngeal hematoma from the left vertebral artery laceration. Traumatic rupture of the vertebral artery usually occurs at the C1 and C2 levels, with resultant subarachnoid hemorrhage. This is an especially vulnerable location since it is where the artery turns and then enters the skull. Associated injuries include spinal cord transection or contusion, brachial plexus injury, pharyngoesophageal injury, and vertebral fractures. Retropharyngeal hemorrhage may result from deep neck infection, tumor, and trauma. Hemorrhage associated with trauma often involves flexion of the cervical spine, followed by hyperextension. The accumulation of blood slowly impinges on the pharynx/larynx and vasculature structures. The exact injuries and etiology of the hemorrhage must be determined to distinguish strangulation from blunt force trauma. The presentation of signs and symptoms can be helpful in assessing the decedent; however, in the practice of forensic pathology such a history is more often lacking.