Black women and intimate partner violence: new directions for research

African American women are at elevated risk for nonfatal and lethal intimate partner violence (IPV). Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to review our current knowledge, with a focus on the sociodemographic factors that make this population particularly vulnerable to abuse. Future research directions include using more diverse Black samples, considering how living at the intersection of multiple forms of oppression shapes Black women's experience with violence, exploring the influence of historical events and oppressive images on victimization, and focusing on survivors' resilience and activism.     

Editorial

Editorial Commentary

Editorial     

监禁死亡的法医病理学研究

目的　探讨监禁死亡的法医病理学及其流行病学特点。方法　对华西医科大学法医学系 1 987～ 1 998年所作 5 2例监禁死亡案例病理材料进行统计分析。结果　性别 :5 2例均为男性。年龄 :从 1 8岁～ 70岁 ,以 2 1至 4 0年龄段为主 ( 6 1 5 3% )。民族 :汉族人居多 ( 84 6 1 % )。职业 :待业、农民、工人最多 ( 75 % )。婚姻状态 :已婚者占多数 ( 5 9 6 1 % )。监禁原因 :以抢劫、偷盗为主 ( 6 3 4 6 % ) ,首次被监禁为主 ( 94 2 3% )。监禁死亡时间以 3个月常见 ( 36 5 4 % ) ,死亡地点以派出所、看守所及监狱常见 ( 82 6 9% )。死亡方式 :自然死亡以肺结核及支气管炎为主 ( 4 6 1 5 % ) ,自杀以自缢及高坠为主 ( 4 8 1 5 % ) ,少部分为他杀 ,以同监犯人打死为主( 5 76 % )。结论　监禁中死亡与多种因素有关 ,防止该类事件的发生需要各方面的努力。     

The state of the discipline in American political science: be careful what you wish for?

This article is an attempt to survey and analyse current developments in American political science with particular reference to the current wave of institutionalist theory. The main thrust of this article is to argue that the current concerns of the field are hardly new issues, but rather perennial. We argue that the current 'state of the discipline' is in many ways more a function of recurrent intellectual dilemmas of a general social scientific nature than they are about the particulars of the current debates in the field. Most relevant to a British journal, we shall attempt to 'step outside the hermeneutic circle', and suggest which aspects of contemporary American political science are most relevant to British political scientists.     

From Sancitity to Screening: Genetic Disabilities, Risk and Rhetorical Strategies in Wrongful Birth and Wrongful Conception Cases

This analysis scrutinises the rhetorical strategies used by judges in wrongful life and wrongful birth actions as evidence for the assertion that the judicial reading of public policy in such cases has undergone a significant shift which is likely to accelerate as genetic knowledge grows and health care resources shrink. The implications of the predicted move towards increased genetic testing of prospective parents are traversed in relation to feminist analyses of the impact of genetics on reproductive technology. These are viewed as forming a nexus with the current social constructions of disability and the contemporary cultural preoccupation with risk, in a context of the increasing commercial importance of genetic information. It is argued that women cannot make free and informed choices about genetic testing and pregnancy unless legal and social mechanisms which protect those choices are in place. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.