Importance of electromyography and the electrophysiological severity scale in forensic reports

Forensic reports on traumatic peripheral nerve injuries include dysfunction degrees of extremities, which are arranged according to the Turkish Penalty Code. The aim of this study is to discuss the role and importance of electromyography while preparing forensic reports in the cases of traumatic peripheral nerve injuries and the usefulness of scoring systems. A modified global scale, recommended by Mondelli et al., was used to assess the electrophysiological impairment of each peripheral nerve. Forensic reports of 106 patients, reported between 2002 and 2004, were evaluated. Thirty-four percent of the cases were reported as "total loss of function," 41.5% were reported as "functional disability," and there were no dysfunctions in the other cases in forensic reports that were prepared based on Council of Social Insurance Regulations of Health Processes and Guide prepared by the Council of Forensic Medicine and profession associations of forensic medicine. When we rearranged these forensic reports based on the electrophysiological severity scale (ESS), it was clearly found that all of the score 2 cases and 86.7% of the score 3 cases corresponded to "functional disability" and 91.4% of the score 4 cases correspond to "total loss of function." We found a significant correlation between the ESS and functional evaluation in peripheral nerve injury cases. Evaluation of functional disabilities in peripheral nerve injuries with the ESS represents a standardized and objective method used for forensic reports.     

Looking for ‘the International’ beyond the West

As international attention focuses on the rebuilding of Afghanistan, this paper looks critically at the evolution and meaning of the core concepts underpinning aims and strategies for recovery: the key role of institutional development and capacity building in establishing good governance based on collaboration between state, civil society and market; the empirical consensus, over many decades, for best practice in development; the acknowledgement that recovery of war-torn societies is a development challenge. It is shown that, despite this understanding, operational practice continues to contradict the principles and lessons learned from proven experience. The financial and administrative culture of the international institutions, lack of political will, donor conditionality and recipients' contrary agendas are seen to contribute to this failure. The paper concludes by examining the implications of this analysis for the recovery of Afghanistan.     

Energy security and Russia’s gas strategy: The symbiotic relationship between the state and firms

The way how Russia ignores the EU’s quest for liberalization and sustains a control over markets and supplies is directly related to her use of gas as leverage. Russia’s strategy affects many European and non-European countries during all stages: demand, supply and transit. It is not, however, possible to generalize a common statement that the EU’s position is based on a policy of market liberalization while Russia pursues an opposing strategy of increased state control. Russian energy strategy leads markets in Europe; sets tone for energy supplies at homeland and abroad, benefiting from a variety of means. This article shows how a symbiotic relationship between the Russian state and Russian energy companies emerge from a structure in which trade, markets and international politics have been embedded within the state interests and firm behavior. It identifies the economic and geopolitical trends with regard to recent developments of Russia’s strategy.     

Savagery in democracy's empire

This article examines the rise of various representations of postcolonial states to highlight how thinking and practice that arose and prevailed during the Cold War still persists in the present ostensibly post-cold war era. After initially outlining the historical construction of the social sciences, it is shown how the annexation of the social sciences evolved in the early post-World War II and cold-war era as an adjunct of the world hegemonic pretensions of the USA. A critique is then developed of various representations of post-colonial states that arose in the making of the 'Third World' during the cold-war annexation of the social sciences. Yet such practices still persist in the present, as evidenced by more contemporary representations of post-colonial states commonly revolving around elements of deficiency or failure, eg 'quasi-states', 'weak states', 'failed states' or 'rogue states'. A more historicised consideration of post-colonial statehood, that recasts conceptions of state-civil society antagonisms in terms of an appreciation of political economy and critical security concerns, offers an alternative to these representations of 'failed states'. By historicising various representations of 'failed states' it becomes possible to open up critical ways of thinking about the political economy of security and to consider alternative futures in world order.     

An analysis of parent-female adolescent relationships in female adolescent suicides

This study analyzed Turkish female adolescent-family relations, which is believed to be one of the significant factors in female adolescents' suicide attempts, from a multidimensional perspective. The Parent-Adolescent Relationship Inventory, a multidimensional evaluation tool based on the behavioral family-system approach was used as a research tool. The inventory consists of the concepts and techniques of behavioral theory, family system theory, and cognitive theory in parent-adolescent' problems and conflicts. Based on these theories, the parent-adolescent relations inventory (PARQ), involves three main dimensions: problem solving and communication skills, cognitive/internalized beliefs, and functions and structures in family systems. There are two forms of the inventory, the adolescent form and the parent form. Only the adolescent form of PARQ, including 284 items, was used in this research. The inventory also consists of 16 subscales. It was adapted into Turkish by Eryüksel (1996). The subjects of the study were 52 female adolescents who had attempted suicide and were taken to the Emergency Department of The Faculty of Medicine in Cukurova University, and 52 normal female adolescents from two different secondary schools at the southern province in Turkey. The age range of the clinical and normal groups were 14-18 (x = 16). The results of the study revealed that the general stress level of female adolescents who attempted suicide is higher than those of normal groups. The examination of family structures of these female adolescents made it clear that mothers were the mediator between fathers and adolescents. It was also observed that both mothers and fathers shared many somatic concerns.     

Stalin's Demands: Constructions of the "Soviet Other" in Turkey's Foreign Policy, 1919–1945

Standard accounts on Turkey's foreign policy identify Molotov's communication of 1945 (better known as "Stalin's demands") as the catalyst behind Turkey's post-WWII decision to strain its relations with the USSR and turn to the United States (US) for defense support. The aim here is to complement these accounts which have stressed the military and ideological threat posed by the USSR as the catalyst behind Turkey's foreign policy change, by offering an analysis that explores the conditions of possibility for such change. The aim here is not to question the seriousness of the risks involved in failing to stand firm against the USSR in the immediate post-WWII period. Nor is it to dispute the appropriateness of Turkey's search for "Western" allies at a time when its economic, political and military vulnerabilities were acknowledged by friend and foe alike. The following mediates through accounts that stress the military threat and those that emphasize the ideological threat and presents an analysis that looks into the production of representations of the USSR as a "threat" to Turkey and the context which allowed for the production of such representations of the USSR.