Determining Bruise Etiology in Muscle Tissue Using Finite Element Analysis

Bruising, the result of capillary failure, is a common physical exam finding due to blunt trauma and, depending on location and severity, a potential indicator of abuse. Despite its clinical relevance, few studies have investigated the etiology of capillary failure. The goal of this study was to determine whether capillaries primarily fail under shear stress or hydraulic‐induced tensile stress. An arteriole bifurcating into four capillaries was modeled using ANSYS 14.0 ^®. The capillaries were embedded in muscle tissue and a pressure of 20.4 kPa was applied. Any tensile stress exceeding 8.4 × 10⁴ Pa was considered failure. Results showed that failure occurred directly under the impact zone and where capillaries bifurcated, rather than along the line of greatest shear stress, indicating that internal tensile stress is likely the primary mode of capillary failure in bruising. These results are supported by the concept that bruising can occur via blunt trauma in which no shearing lacerations occur.     

The Russian Far East’s illegal timber trade: an organized crime?

Transnational environmental crime is a global problem encompassing not only criminal violations of the law, but harms against the environment and the people reliant upon it as a natural resource. Grounded in the green criminological theory of eco-global criminology, this paper explores the transnational environmental crime of the illegal timber trade in the Russian Far East unpicking the threats to ecological well-being and the global nature and impacts of this crime. In researching transnational environmental crime, it is crucial to uncover the distinct local and regional variations of the forces at play; for this paper that means analyzing the role of organized crime and corruption in Russia’s timber black market. This information was obtained by using the current literature and interviews with Russian and international experts in order to uncover the role of these actors in the harvesting, smuggling and selling of timber. From this exploration, a structure of the illegal timber trade in this region is proposed including at which points along the black market chain organized crime and/or corruption are involved. Additionally, from an eco-global criminological foundation this paper analyzes the consequences to Russia’s people, its environment and the global community if the illegal timber trade is to continue in its current state.     

Democracy in South Asia: Getting beyond the Structure–Agency Dichotomy

With reference to South Asia, we argue that recourse to the conventional structuralist and transition accounts of democratisation sustains an unhelpful dichotomy. Those approaches tend towards either determinism or agent-driven contingency. In contrast, an alternative approach that recognises the relevance of both structure and agency is proposed. In certain circumstances, human agency opens up the possibility of the relatively rapid transformation of structures. In particular, there are periods of political openness when structures are malleable, and individuals, or individuals acting collectively, are able to reshape structures. Decolonisation both constituted a moment of transition and opened up the possibility of structural change in the context of enhanced elite agency. For the purposes of comparison, the discussion covers the three cases of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Particular attention is drawn to political parties and the structure of ethnic diversity as leading explanatory variables.     

The aftermath of child sexual abuse of African American and white American women: The victim's experience

Several aspects of the victim's personal experience in the aftermath of child sexual abuse are described. Subject recruitment involved a multi-stage stratified probability sample of 126 African American and 122 White women, ages 18 to 36 years in Los Angeles County, matched on education, marital status, and the presence of children. Few ethnic differences were related to the initial response and short-term effects of the victim's experiences. Lasting effects of sexual abuse included sexual problems for women of both ethnic groups, but avoidance of men resembling the perpetrator was identified among African American women. Ethnicity may be a contributing factor to other adjustment related problems that African American women encounter in addition to their child sexual victimization. The implications of these findings and issues in the assessment of the aftermath are discussed.     

The Conceptual Compatibility Between Green Criminology and Human Security: A Proposed Interdisciplinary Framework for Examinations into Green Victimisation

The overriding aim of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework that can be used to systematically examine the victimisation from environmental or green crime. By analysing the conceptual and pragmatic compatibilities between two distinctive academic fields of green criminology and human security (HS) and by discussing the impacts of timber trafficking on HS, it is argued that it would be logical, achievable and fruitful to employ a broad HS perspective to advance the understanding of the mechanism of green victimisation with a focus on human victims.     

The methodological struggles of racial profiling research: a causal question that automobile stop data has yet to answer

Automobile stop research finds that citizen race influences officer decision-making. Researchers, however, report methodological issues inhibiting them from drawing causal inferences about the existence of racial profiling. The purpose of this study is to deconstruct this field of inquiry through a causal lens to inform the next generation of scholarship. Through an analysis of automobile stop data, temporal ordering issues are exposed. Relating to association, most studies find that racial minorities are more likely to be searched, however, spuriousness issues continue to plague racial profiling studies as researchers rarely estimate departmental, passenger, vehicle, and temporal variables. To confront these issues, researchers are encouraged to engage in primary data collection and explore recent statistical innovations in their analytical strategies.