Observed Characteristics of Suicidal Hangings: An 11-year Retrospective Review

Many studies have been published regarding suicidal hanging deaths, and most forensic pathologists and coroners are very familiar with such causes of death. Forensic pathologists are challenged over their rulings regarding manner of death in part because the general public has a limited scope of knowledge. One such challenge centers on the question of whether a hanging can be a suicide if the individual is not fully suspended. The authors designed a retrospective study to review suspension in hangings and to analyze other criteria used to help in deciding manner of death. We examined 229 suicidal hanging deaths over an 11-year period (1997 through early 2009) using the data from two separate jurisdictions in Ohio. In conclusion, we found that the vast majority (83.4%) of people who hanged themselves were found partially suspended. Among other criteria analyzed, only the presence of petechial hemorrhages and acute neck injury was statistically significant.     

The Role of Emotion in Land Regulation: An Empirical Study of Online Advocacy in Authoritarian Asia

Scholarly interest about online advocacy in authoritarian settings is rapidly growing. With one of Asia's most active social media, Vietnam offers a promising site to investigate how online advocates navigate around state censorship to influence regulatory decisionmaking. Much research about online advocacy focuses on rational discourse, and fails to ask why satire and ridicule can change regulatory outcomes when reasoned debate fails. This article considers two cases studies where online advocates changed regulatory outcomes in Vietnam. It investigates why the regulators were sensitive to moral censure in social media, and responded to appeals for solidarity, but were reluctant to engage in rational public deliberation. These findings reveal insights into how online advocacy can trigger emotional responses in officials that transform the regulatory environment. The article concludes that rather than constituting cognitive missteps, emotions are integral to government regulation in Vietnam.     

Alcohol and drug use among rural and urban incarcerated substance abusers

A number of prisoners use drugs. Limited information is available about the extent to which urban and urban substance abusers differ in their drug use in criminal justice settings. In addition, many believe that rural areas are protected from drug use. However, findings from this study show only marginally statistical significant differences in drug use between incarcerated rural and urban drug users. It was expected that urban drug users would be more drug career involved with consistently higher levels of drug use and associated problems. Specifically, rural drug users in this study were older at age of first use of marijuana and cocaine; report fewer years of cocaine, hallucinogen, and heroin use; and report more alcohol and sedative use. Findings from this study suggest that rural and urban drug users are similar and that rural areas may be protective from some drug use but risky for other drug use.     

Virtual Humanity—Access,Empathy and Objectivity in VR Film Making

ABSTRACT

This scene setting considers the meaning of immersive technologies for humanitarian encounters, particularly 360 degree video “virtual reality” film making. Drawing on scholarship on the political economy of technology, aesthetics, affect and visual securitisation, as well as a number of notable deployments of VR films as a tool for NGO and IGO project fundraising, it will consider the interchange between immersion, emotion and action within VR as humanitarian praxis, and what kind of politics this may produce. In particular, the article considers the UNICEF film “Clouds Over Sidra” and the African Parks co-sponsored film “The Protectors” which highlight not only the utility of the technology in creating immersive experiences for audiences and donors but also some of the broader politics of empathy and authorial control arising from a visual technology that purports to allow audiences a more objective “see for yourself” style experience.     

Racial differences in violence and self-esteem among prison inmates

Recent scholarship in social psychology suggests that individuals with an elevated sense of self-esteem may respond aggressively or violently when this heightened egoism is threatened. The present study explores differences in self-esteem, aggression, and violent behavior among a sample of 644 male state prison inmates. The results indicated that Black inmates expressed higher levels of self-esteem than White inmates. Although Blacks and Whites did not differ on a psychological measure of aggressive personality, Black prisoners reported more violent behavior than Whites. Moreover, high self-esteem predicted violent behavior inside prison, but only for Whites. This finding suggests that the relationship between high self-esteem and violence may be race-specific.     

News media,threats and insecurities: an ethnographic approach

This article presents research from a three-year study of shifting understandings of threat and security in Britain following the 2003 Iraq War. We develop the case for a more integrated and nuanced approach to studying the relationship between policymakers, media practitioners and media publics given the increasing importance of these relationships to international relations (IR) matters of concern. Our analysis demonstrates the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that explain why certain individuals and groups arrive at certain understandings or perceptions of threats. Responding to recent calls in IR for the use of diverse and interdisciplinary methods, our methodology enables us to demonstrate how disparities emerge between official and public understandings of threats. These understandings result from people's engagement with political and media discourses, and the experience of this engagement can be characterized by connectivity, (un)certainty and contradiction.