Being Superwoman: Low Income Mothers Surviving Problem Drinking and Intimate Partner Violence

We elucidate ways mothers think about behavior change related to heavy drinking and violent relationships. A purposive sample of 32 women, predominantly black and low income, were identified as engaging in both problem drinking on the AUDIT and experiencing severe partner violence on the Conflict Tactic Scale. Narratives from audiotaped Motivational Interviewing sessions conducted in an urban emergency department were transcribed, inductively coded and examined through the lens of feminist standpoint theory. Our analysis suggests motherhood is a powerful motivator for positive change, but multiple barriers combine to prevent self-protection and modification of adverse behaviors among this vulnerable population. Interventions to help low-income mothers dealing with relationship violence and substance abuse should also address the structural violence and substantive barriers these mothers face. Further work should examine the power of personal narratives related to being a good mother on women’s ability to improve life circumstances for themselves and their children.     

Integrating biodiversity: a longitudinal and cross-sectoral analysis of Swiss politics

Policy Sciences - The effective conservation and promotion of biodiversity requires its integration into a wide range of sectoral policies. For this to happen, the issue must receive attention...     

`The Capabilities Approach', `The Imaginary Domain', and `Asymmetrical Reciprocity': Feminist Perspectives on Equality and Justice

In this article the author revisits the question of how feminist theory/theories could address questions regarding universalism, sameness, difference, and the quest for justice. She reconsiders the quest for justice and equality for women and the (im) possibilities of a feminist perspective on justice and a feminist `community'. The three feminist theorists that she discusses are Martha Nussbaum, Drucilla Cornell, and Iris Marion Young. Nussbaum is closer to a liberal defense of universal values – Cornell and Young stand critical of liberalism and focus on sublimity, dignity, and asymmetrical reciprocity. The author supports the perspective of the latter two theorists and applies these perspectives to aspects of South African equality jurisprudence. She also considers critically the extent to which the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa breaks with liberal universalism and sameness. To the end she supports a notion of` slowing down' in order to protect women's freedom and dignity, to approach each other with wonder and respect. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Consistency of adolescents' self-report of sexual behavior in a longitudinal study

This study examines three issues relevant to adolescent self-reported sexual behavior: the extent to which adolescents rescind reports of sexual intercourse, changes in reporting of lifetime sexual intercourse, and changes in reported age at first sexual intercourse. Data come from a three-year longitudinal study of health-compromising behaviors among a cohort a 758 rural adolescents. Students completed a self-administered questionnaire on health behaviors annually in eighth, ninth, and tenth grades. Findings show that 88.8% of students in eighth grade and 94.3% in ninth grade who reported having had sexual intercourse gave the same answer in a subsequent year. Approximately 15% of students reported fewer numbers of lifetime sexual intercourse experiences in tenth grade than they did in ninth grade. Age at first sexual intercourse was reported inconsistently by 67% of the students. Inconsistency rates differed by racial-gender groups, question sensitivity, and prior sexual experience.Received Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Research interests include adolescent health and early adolescent development.Received Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Research interests include personality, stress, and coping.Received Ph.D. from University of Chicago. Research interests include adolescent delinquency and substance use.Received Dr. P.H. from Johns Hopkins University. Research interests include rural adolescents and international health issues.Received Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Research interests include adolescent sexuality and contraceptive decision making.     

The profitability of bonded labour: The gem‐cutting industry in rural South India

The system of debt bondage in the gem‐cutting industry of South India is considered. Evidence is examined from intensive field work in villages in Tamilnadu, and one large village in particular, which has been a major centre in the synthetic gem‐cutting industry for 70 years. It is argued, against various authors, that here bonded labour is not a pre‐capitalist relation of production. Rather, it is part of a dynamic, capitalist small‐scale industry that is rapidly expanding into global markets. Moreover, since 1990 a dramatic change is noted in part of the industry: the introduction of semiautomatic machinery, with which a new product (the American diamond) is made. This has led, inter alia, to the displacement of women workers. The profits earned by employers, the nature of relations between employers and workers, and especially the use of kinship ideology, and the relevant inter‐connections are explored.     

Security, Equality, and the Clash of Ideas: Sweden's Evolving Anti-Trafficking Policy

Seeking to explain the emergence of anti-trafficking initiatives, scholars have explored two sets of ideas??national security and gender equality??thought to shape policy. In this study, we examine whether such ideational influence accounts for Sweden's evolving anti-trafficking policy over the past decade. As powerful domestic ideas about gender inequality informed the adoption of an abolitionist prostitution policy in the 1990s, one would expect similar ideas to influence domestic responses to the related issue of cross-border trafficking. However, our case study shows that the policy area of trafficking has largely followed a different ideational path. Gendered ideas, periodically nested in a human rights discourse, have been salient in the public debate on trafficking in human beings, especially during the campaign to boycott the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, they have exerted substantially less influence on Swedish legislative initiatives to combat trafficking, with security concerns still holding sway.     

Coronary thrombus and peracute myocardial infarction visualized by unenhanced postmortem MRI prior to autopsy

Sudden cardiac deaths are common within the community. They also constitute a substantial part of daily pathologic and forensic case work. However, macroscopic myocardial findings indicating acute ischemia are often absent. Then, diagnosis is based on coronary status in combination with indirect signs of acute cardiac failure. We present a case of sudden cardiac death where diagnosis was based on cardiac postmortem magnetic resonance imaging (pmMRI) findings already prior to autopsy: the heart's anterior basal ventricular septum showed hypointensities in T2-weighted images that raised suspicion of peracute ischemia. The lumen of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) exhibited a lack of otherwise discernible postmortem sedimentation of cellular blood components. Instead of a sharp border between serum and erythrocytes a homogeneous signal was seen within the narrowed lumen of the beginning LAD over a length of 1cm. Based on this, a thrombotic occlusion was assumed. Subsequent autopsy confirmed peracute septal myocardial ischemia secondary to a thrombotic occlusion of the LAD as concluded from the pmMRI.     

Assessing Danger: What Judges Need To Know

Every day, judges are faced with decisions regarding intimate partner violence (IPV) victims' requests for protection orders, custody arrangements, and visitation schedules. To make informed decisions, judges must understand victims' risk for future violence. This mixed method study explores the extent to which protection order petitions (n=169) communicate victims' current danger and future risk of violence. Methods included interviews coupled with an archival review of court petitions. Findings suggest judges are inadequately prepared to render decisions to improve victim safety in the absence of standardized risk assessments. The Danger Assessment provides an evidence-based solution to routinize intake interviews with victims petitioning the court.