Children Born of Wartime Rape: Rights and Representations

The ongoing conflict in Darfur has once again served to highlight the threat of sexual violence that women face during times of war. Yet, although sexual violence in wartime has existed probably for as long as war itself, it is only in more recent times that its recognition as a crime under international humanitarian law has taken place. Moreover, although it is recognized that women may conceive as a result of such wartime rape, largely missing from the international rights framework, and from the discourse that surrounds it, is a consideration of the children – or ‘war babies’ – who are born as a result. This article places the focus upon ‘war babies’ by considering the reasons for their current marginalization as a category in international discourse. In addition to examining such marginalization within existing theoretical analyses, this article also analyses the potential for their incorporation within the wider rights framework: first, in terms of international legal practice and; second, in terms of the actions of civil society. The final section concludes.     

Phallus or Penis: Commentary on Cornelia St. John's Paper

The Lacanian concept of the masculine and feminine as symbolic positions, which may or may not correspond to anatomy, is clinically useful in the case of Mr. M. This discussion suggests that these concerns can be addressed by the feminist Lacanian theorists (Ragland, 1995), who discuss language within the landscape of primary repression as well as secondary repression. The analyst here illustrates the insufficiency of listening or speaking from only a preoedipal/maternal or an oedipal/paternal position; both are needed. In this discussion, the factors of sexual difference, psychosexual identification, gender definitions, and object choice are described in their different relations to one another when in preoedipal land (the Law of Language) versus the oedipal territory (Law of the father/culture). In summary, it could be said that stuttering or the inability to speak one's name is an incomplete weaning–there is no “I” who speaks from a secure symbolic indentification.     

Geometric sample size determination in Bayesian analysis

The problem of sample size determination in the context of Bayesian analysis is considered. For the familiar and practically important parameter of a geometric distribution with a beta prior, three different Bayesian approaches based on the highest posterior density intervals are discussed. A computer program handles all computational complexities and is available upon request.     

Robust estimation of AR coefficients under simultaneously influencing outliers and missing values

A family of robust estimators for coefficients of Gaussian AR(p) time series under simultaneously influencing distortions of two types: outliers and missing values, is proposed. The estimators are based on special properties of the Cauchy probability distribution; consistency and the asymptotic normality of these estimators are proven. An approximate solution of the problem of minimization of the asymptotic variance within the proposed family of estimators is found. Performance of the proposed estimators is illustrated for simulated time series and for real data sets.     

Confidence Intervals for Linear Combinations of Poisson Means

Parametric confidence intervals are given for linear combinations of the means of independent Poisson variables and for their continuous versions. The performance of the intervals is assessed using simulation. A real data set is used to compare the proposed intervals with known ones. The proposed intervals are shown to be superior to known ones and comparable to exact intervals.     

Geo-sampling in developing nations

RTI International created a geospatial grid-based sampling methodology that: achieved a probability-based household sample and unbiased estimates; was comparable across countries; used simple frame data available from the in-country census; and was efficient with minimal training to local field staff. The methodology used 1 km² LandScan world population data, which was further subdivided to smaller grid cells ranging from 50 to 150 m². To guide fieldwork, georeferenced maps were generated and viewed without an Internet connection using a third-party app and the tablet’s internal global positioning systems receiver. The field staff’s location was displayed in real time as a blue dot enabling field staff to determine household inclusivity. This methodology was successfully implemented for household surveys Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The design is transferable, adaptable, scalable, and can be used anywhere in the world.     

Sharing beyond Slacktivism: the effect of socially observable prosocial media sharing on subsequent offline helping behavior

New forms of youth social and political participation have been termed ‘Slacktivism’ – low-cost online forms of social engagement that decrease subsequent offline participation. Previous experimental work has provided support for a ‘Slacktivism effect,’ but it is unclear if this theoretical model applies to youth media sharing on social networking sites. This study uses a novel sharing simulation paradigm to test the effect of publicly vs. anonymously sharing a social cause video on subsequent willingness to engage in offline helping behavior. Results show that publicly (as compared to anonymously) sharing a selected video on one’s own Facebook wall led to a greater willingness to volunteer for an issue-related cause. Participants’ existing use of social media for engagement in social issues/causes moderated the effect, such that only participants low in use of social media for social engagement were susceptible to the sharing manipulation. Implications for reconceptualizing media sharing as a unique form of online participation beyond ‘Slacktivism’ are discussed.     

Prevalence and correlates of elder mistreatment in Singapore

The current study attempts to identify the prevalence rate of and risk factors associated with elder mistreatment in Singapore, a multi-ethnic nation in South-East Asia. Information on elder mistreatment was collected from 400 non-randomly selected cognitively intact older adults in a residential area of Singapore. Items on mistreatment were adopted from the Hwalek-Sengstock Elder Abuse Screening Test and the Vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale. Standardized scales on activities of daily living, loneliness, and items on violence between family members were administered. The prevalence rate of mistreatment was 8.3%. A family environment characterized by psychological and physical abuse between family members and a social environment characterized by loneliness increased the vulnerability of older adults to mistreatment. Older adults who were mistreated reported more depression symptoms than those who were not.