Death following crude oil aspiration

This is a report on three deaths following oil aspiration by workers in petrol tankers. Lung aspiration was demonstrated by the presence of a yellowish-brown material in the alveolar spaces, which was difficult to identify by optic microscopy. Volatile hydrocarbons from petroleum were identified in lung samples by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.     

The use of scanning electron microscopy in the examination of seminal stains

Samples of human seminal stains on fabrics, paper and wood were observed with a scanning electron microscope (S.E.M). It seems a reliable, rapid and simple technique for the routine examination of seminal stains.     

Youth in post-communist Hungary

Peter Agócs is co-author with Sándor Agócs of a series of studies on the fate and fortune of various social segments of post-communist Hungary.     

Examining Ethnic Identity and Self-Esteem Among Biracial and Monoracial Adolescents

The psychological well-being and ethnic identity of biracial adolescents are largely underrepresented topics in current scholarly literature, despite the growing population of biracial and multiracial individuals in the United States. This study examined self-esteem, ethnic identity, and the relationship between these constructs among biracial and monoracial adolescents (n = 3282). Using analysis of covariance, significant differences emerged between biracial and monoracial adolescents on both a measure of self-esteem and a measure of ethnic identity. Specifically, biracial adolescents showed significantly higher levels of self-esteem than their Asian counterparts, but significantly lower self-esteem than Black adolescents. Furthermore, biracial adolescents scored significantly higher than Whites on a measure of ethnic identity, but scored lower than their Black, Asian, and Latino peers on the same measure. Finally, correlational analyses revealed a significant and positive relationship between ethnic identity and self-esteem for all groups.     

Media in the Western Balkans: who controls the past controls the future

ABSTRACT

The contribution assesses the role of the media in respect to democratization and EU accession in the countries of the Western Balkans (WB) and the development of press freedom over the long run. The author closely analyses the legislative framework and its implementation in practice and focuses in particular on the economic and political pressure on the media in the region. The article offers three arguments to explain the bad shape of media freedom in the Balkans: structural factors (state advertisements as the main source of income, economic tycoons close to incumbents as media owners), proximate or external factors (the deteriorating level of media freedom in some EU countries and the whole WB region, with an accent on stability rather than democracy) and political-societal dynamics (defamation and libel as means to punish journalists, verbal and physical assaults on journalists). The media in the WB region do not serve as the watchdog of democracy but are instead used as a means to reinforce illiberal regimes.