Back to the factory: the continuing salience of industrial workplace history

ABSTRACT

Factories remain significant sites of employment, crucial to capitalism. In the twentieth century, scholars registered achievements in documenting their history, but since the late 1980s, and for a generation, the field lost impetus within labour history although insights continued to accumulate through work in adjacent disciplines. The factory has not featured on the agenda of ‘transnational’ and ‘global’ labour history, but we suggest that it can and should contribute to that broader global project, reinvigorating labour history, not least by contributing a dimension close to workers’ everyday experience.     

An alternative reading of religion and authoritarianism: the new logic between religion and state in the AKP’s New Turkey

ABSTRACT

Since roughly 2011, the Turkish state and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have been going through a process of mutual transformation. Some of the historical apprehensions, biases and frustrations exhibited by Turkey as a middle power have been absorbed by the relatively reformist AKP. Conversely, the AKP and its undisputed leader Erdo?an have seen their socio-political fears, power based conflicts and ethno-religious desires become dominant in all areas, including religion. As a consequence of this bilateral transformation, Turkey has become both an inclusionary and a hegemonic-authoritarian state, and at the same time a weak one. Within this new identity and structure of the state, Sunni Islam has become one of the regime’s key focal points, with a new logic. This article seeks to explain the transformation of the relations between the AKP’s Turkish state, religion and religious groups, by scrutinising Karrie Koesel’s logic of state-religion interaction in authoritarian regimes.     

Duration of the fire and degree of charring of a burned cadaver]

A 37-year-old woman was found dead severely charred in the bedroom of her house. The autopsy revealed as cause of death a strangulation of the neck. On the basis of the decomposition of the body the experts were asked for a statement on the duration of burning. There seems to be only little medicolegal experience on the duration of burning to a defined state of decomposition. Based on observations during cremations published in the literature and experimental burnings a burning time of approximately 20 minutes (after temperatures of more than 700 degrees C had been reached) is supposed to be sufficient to produce the present state of the body.     

Heroin dependence as a rare cause of symmetrical globus pallidus necrosis

Long-term survival after carbon monoxide intoxication has been accepted for a long time as pathognomonic for elective cerebral tissue damage, especially in cases of isolated symmetrical necrosis of the globus pallidus. The results of old bilateral necrosis in the globus pallidus are described in a case of an acute heroin death after long-term drug abuse. The evaluation of such cerebral changes is discussed as they have to be interpreted as hypoxic or oligemic tissue damage. The different causes of symmetrical necrosis of the globus pallidus that are relevant for legal medicine are compiled and discussed.     

Crime prevention and commercial Burglary: A time series analysis

The impact of crime prevention on commercial burglary in a section of Portland, Oregon is assessed. Using time series analysis, and a control area for comparison, some of the problems of previous crime prevention research are addressed. The results of the study discussed show that not only was there a significant reduction in commercial burglary, but the effect persisted. Several rival hypotheses which could explain this reduction are rejected and suggestions for future research are offered.     

A multilevel comparison of child abusers with nonabusers

An integrative, ecological model developed by Belsky (1980) implies that to understand child abuse researchers must examine factors at four levels: the individual, the family, the environment, and the culture. This study compared abusive and nonabusive parents at three of these four levels. At the individual level, abusers were found to have lower self-esteem than controls. Also, male abusers were likely to be relatively impulsive and hostile. At the level of the family, abusers described their children as more troublesome than control parents, but they did not perceive them as developmentally delayed. At the level of the environment, abusers identified more intense life stressors than nonabusers. Results of this investigation supported Belsky's argument that child abuse involved multiple factors and levels.     

Morphologic identification of mummified tissue traces

Post mortem tissue samples from various human organs (skin, muscle, liver, kidney, brain) were stored at room temperature for a period of one year. During this time the samples were regularly histologically tested. Without any pretreatment of the samples a histological preparation and identification was no longer possible after only a few hours. By the use of a rehydration solution consisting of absolute ethanol (30 ml), aqua dest. (50 ml) and 0.2 M phosphate buffer pH 7.0 (20 ml) a reconstitution and identification was again possible. Further immunhistochemical examinations were also unaffected by the solution. The use of microwave stimulation allowed a reduction of the rehydration process from 24 hours to only 4 hours.     

Reconstruction of root morphology in skeletonized remains with postmortem dental loss.

A reversible technique is presented in which the root morphology of missing teeth in skeletonized human remains can be reconstructed for the purpose of radiographic comparison and postmortem identification. In this technique, which is based upon pilot studies with skeletonized mandibles of archival remains, the alveolar socket walls are sealed with a coat of cyanoacrylate cement and injected with a mixture of vinyl polysiloxane and barium sulfate. Radiographs are produced with the radiopaque mixture in place, which highlights the antemortem morphology of the roots. Subsequently, the impression material is removed, resulting in no gross alteration of the evidence. The radiographs made with this technique, as well as the impressions, can be stored for later use at a trial or pending the discovery of antemortem dental evidence.     

Case report of pathologic and criminal self injury]

A case of morbid self-violence (Münchhausen Syndrome) leading to death and a case of criminal self-violence (cutaneous emphysema) are reported. The issue of such cases is discussed with regard to the consequences concerning judicial procedure of punishment and insurance.