SLAVERY: ANNUAL BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SUPPLEMENT (2011)

The story of Mary Hylas offers a rare opportunity to examine a point of contact between metropolitan reformers and an Afro-Caribbean woman. Archival records related to the obscure case of Hylas v. Newton, heard in 1768, as well as the much more famous case of Somerset v. Stewart, heard in 1772, reveal how metropolitan reformers contended with slavery and marriage during the early years of political abolitionism in the British empire, and particularly how they attempted to contain their reforming rhetoric in order to condone marriage while condemning slavery. The records of Newton plantation, meanwhile, offer a window to the lived experiences of Mary Hylas. Life-long marriage was an unattainable and even undesirable ideal for many Afro-Caribbean women, Mary included.     

SLAVERY: ANNUAL BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SUPPLEMENT (2005)

Based on life stories of ex-slaves from Ethiopia now living in Israel, the present article attempts to uncover complex relationships and conceptions of intimate domination and subjugation. The dramatic passage of masters and slaves from rural Ethiopia to the democratic State of Israel enables their stories to emerge.

Hearing these personal stories became possible when continuous slavery taken for granted in one particular cultural context became alien and unbearable in another. Key images at the basis of Ethiopian slavery constitute an ample reservoir for new interpretations, in which hidden aspects are brought into relief within a new reality. The present article focuses on cows as an organising image through which complex master–slave (Choa–Barya) relations are decoded. It explores the centrality of this image for these exploitative, complex relations, both in Ethiopia and following the move to Israel. The cow figures prominently as the embodiment of a range of concrete and symbolic meanings, particularly in the most intimate details of master–slave power relations and hierarchies.     

What Poole and Wolfe (2009) actually said: a comment on Everson and Faller (2012)

Everson and Faller's (2012) article on the significance of sexualized behavior in child sexual abuse assessments critiques a chapter by Poole and Wolfe (2009), but their objections assumed conclusions and practice implications that were not contained in that chapter. In this comment, I reiterate the value of educating adults about normative sexual and nonsexual behavior that could be misconstrued as symptoms of sexual abuse in some children, review key points from the chapter, and point out that Everson and Faller's critique supports the chapter's take-home messages (i.e., the importance of gathering information from multiple sources and the need to test alternative hypotheses for concerning behavior, consider the overall context of individual cases, and obtain independent verification of evidence).     

What Poole and Wolfe (2009) Actually Said: A Comment on Everson and Faller (2012)

Everson and Faller's (2012) article on the significance of sexualized behavior in child sexual abuse assessments critiques a chapter by Poole and Wolfe (2009), but their objections assumed conclusions and practice implications that were not contained in that chapter. In this comment, I reiterate the value of educating adults about normative sexual and nonsexual behavior that could be misconstrued as symptoms of sexual abuse in some children, review key points from the chapter, and point out that Everson and Faller's critique supports the chapter's take-home messages (i.e., the importance of gathering information from multiple sources and the need to test alternative hypotheses for concerning behavior, consider the overall context of individual cases, and obtain independent verification of evidence).     

Re-Examining Evelyn Hooker: Setting the Record Straight with Comments on Schumm's (2012) Reanalysis

Evelyn Hooker's research comparing the mental health of 30 male homosexuals to 30 male heterosexuals may be the most influential study in the history of social science. The American Psychological Association (APA) claims her work was the major reason it began advocating for acceptance of homosexuality. It led the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 to eliminate homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. And it impacted the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 legalization of sodomy in Lawrence v Texas.

Hooker reportedly believed experts would be unable to distinguish homosexuals from heterosexuals on psychological tests. Re-examination of her work indicates that Hooker's study was neither rigorous nor reliable. Among other problems, homosexual subjects were easily identified on test protocols; her reports of how she obtained her samples were incomplete and contradictory; and her study generated results supportive of obsession/compulsivity in homosexuals.

Thus Hooker's study was seriously flawed. Moreover, because it was marketed by the APA as central in transforming homosexual activity from an illness/crime into acceptable behavior—yet Hooker did not correct those who mischaracterized her work—APA misrepresentations of Hooker over the past 40 years appear to be more in line with ideology than science.     

Comment on Cross, Fine, Jones, and Walsh (2012): we are now on the same page

Role conflict has been an issue in the intervention of child abuse cases since the beginning of the alliance drawn between the legal and mental health professions. In child abuse cases, clearly defined roles will prevent an attack on the process, thereby providing successful interventions to protect children. The child advocacy center concept is one of the best ways to meld the two professional functions into a cohesive approach to those interventions.     

Comment on Cross,Fine, Jones,and Walsh (2012): We Are Now on the Same Page

Role conflict has been an issue in the intervention of child abuse cases since the beginning of the alliance drawn between the legal and mental health professions. In child abuse cases, clearly defined roles will prevent an attack on the process, thereby providing successful interventions to protect children. The child advocacy center concept is one of the best ways to meld the two professional functions into a cohesive approach to those interventions.     

Evolving Learning: The Changing Effect of Internet Access on Political Knowledge and Engagement (1998–2012)

This study addresses the changing role of Internet usage on the political knowledge and participation gap between individuals of low and high socioeconomic status (SES). Analysis of data collected by the Pew Research Center's Biennial Media Consumption Studies (1998–2012) shows that the percentage of the population that accidentally encounters political information online has risen dramatically. Results show that accidental exposure and SES are positively related to political knowledge, and that accidental exposure reduces the SES knowledge gap. Moreover, accidental exposure appears to be mitigating the SES voting gap at an increasing rate over time.