O abraço do medo: violência e identidade na obra de Lygia Bojunga

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Exploring Online Sexually Explicit Material: What is the Relationship to Sexual Coercion?

With the popularity of the Internet, it is easy to access sexually explicit material. Past research has demonstrated that exposure to sexually explicit material in traditional formats (i.e. magazines and videos) may have an influence on male attitudes and behaviors towards females, but these effects appear to be minimal and dissipate over the long term. Though the body of literature examining Internet sexually explicit material is smaller, researchers have found little to no effects on attitudes or aggressive behaviors immediately after exposure. However, research regarding exposure to online sexually explicit material has not included forensically relevant variables. Previous research has suggested that undergraduate males who report engaging in sexually coercive or aggressive behaviors differ in terms of personality, attitudinal, and behavioral variables from individuals who do not report this type of behavior. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the same personality and attitudinal variables that have been studied in previous research, but to extend this research by including behavioral variables related to the viewing of online sexually explicit material. Male undergraduate students were provided with a link to take an online survey examining personality (empathy, sensation-seeking, and psychopathy), attitudinal (rape myth belief, acceptance of interpersonal violence, and hostility towards women) and behavioral (online sexual compulsivity and online behaviors with regard to sexual material) variables. The relationship between these variables and sexually coercive behavior was examined. Results indicate there is a significant relationship between some scales related to empathy and viewing sexually explicit or degrading material. Further results indicated that individuals who identified as having engaged in sexually aggressive behavior endorsed more items related to online sexually compulsive behaviors. Exploratory analyses revealed that the amount, as opposed to the type, of sexually explicit material viewed appears to be more related to adverse outcomes.

A NEW “PAROTRAP” ADAPTED FROM THE MAC TRAP FOR CAPTURING LIVE PARAKEETS IN THE FIELD

The Rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri [Scopdi]) has been reported (Roberts, 1974; Bashir, 1978; Beg, 1978; and DeGrazio, 1978) as a serious bird pest of maize, sunflower, rape seeds, and fruit crops, particularly citrus, mangoes, and guavas, in Pakistan. Estimated annual losses to maize grown for seed alone amount to about 97,000 tons, worth about Pak. Rs. 150 million or US $15 million (Roberts, 1978). Paradoxically, this handsome bright green parakeet is highly esteemed in the pet trade; and limited numbers are also marketed locally and sometimes exported to neighboring countries, particularly the Arab Gulf Emirates, as caged pets. Traditional control methods aimed at scaring or chasing birds from the crops, usually with noise-making devices, are costly; furthermore, they have largely been unsuccessful and time consuming because they require human patrolling before and after normal working hours. They provide at best only temporary relief. The aim of this study was to develop a new decoy trap based on the Modified Australian Crow Trap (MAC), which we propose to call the PAROTRAP, and to evaluate its effectiveness and potential in capturing live parakeets in the field as a possible solution to the parakeet problem, as well as promoting the economic exploitation of trapped parakeets for the pet trade. The study was undertaken during March and June 1979 as a part of the UNDP/FAO Project No. PAK/71/554, assisting Pakistan Vertebrate Pest Control Centre in developing and improving control techniques to prevent or reduce bird damage to important crops. Our earlier trials showed that parakeets could be induced to enter a conventionally designed MAC trap, and that after some time they learned how to escape from it. Therefore, a series of minor modifications were introduced and field tested.

Narrativas de violências praticadas por parceiros íntimos contra mulheres

Foi realizada uma pesquisa com mulheres de 15 a 49 anos moradoras de uma área de vulnerabilidade social da capital brasileira para conhecer os discursos femininos sobre suas vivências de violências praticadas por parceiros íntimos. Foi utilizada uma abordagem qualitativa e técnica do Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo. Durante entrevistas realizadas em seus domicílios no período de fevereiro a julho de 2007, 195 mulheres narraram, episódios de violências sofridas ao longo da vida. As entrevistas geraram 32 Discursos do Sujeito Coletivo que foram construídos a partir de 395 expressões-chaves agrupadas em sete blocos temáticos: i) Engenharia das VPI (N = 114; 58,5%); ii) Histórias de estupro de vulneráveis (N = 77; 39,5%); iii) Violências silenciosas ou silenciadas (N = 43; 22%); iv) Anos potenciais de vida sofrida (N = 43; 22%); v) Um novo tempo, apesar dos pesares (N = 39; 20%); vi) E por falar em violências (N = 35; 18%); vii) A violência é uma linguagem (N = 34; 17,4%). Três discursos do bloco de maior prevalência, intitulado "A engenharia das VPI", são apresentados integralmente neste trabalho. As narrativas das violências reveladas mostram a intensidade da vulnerabilidade e das agressões sofridas pelas mulheres e a existência de múltiplas dinâmicas violentas nos relacionamentos íntimo-afetivos.

Bioaccumulation Of Microcystins In Lettuce

The contamination of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) by water-borne crude extracts of the cyanobacterium microcystin-producing Microcystis aeruginosa (Kutzing) Kutzing was investigated. The aim of the study was to determine whether bioaccumulation of microcystins occurs in lettuce foliar tissue when sprayed with solutions containing microcystins at concentrations observed in aquatic systems (0.62 to 12.5 mu g center dot L-1). Microcystins were found in lettuce foliar tissues (8.31 to 177.8 mu g per Kg of fresh weight) at all concentrations of crude extracts. Spraying with water containing microcystins and cyanobacteria may contaminate lettuce at levels higher than the daily intake of microcystins recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), underscoring the need to monitor such food exposure pathways by public authorities.

Hydatidiform mole resulting from sexual violence

Abstract Background Hydatidiform mole (HM) is characterized by abnormal proliferation of human trophoblast with producers functioning tissues of human chorionic gonadotropin. It can evolve with ovarian cysts tecaluteínicos, hypertension of pregnancy or hyperthyroidism. The incidence of HM is variable and its etiology poorly known, associated with nutritional factors, environmental, age, parity, history of HM, oral contraceptives, smoking, consanguinity or defects in germ cells. There is no reference in literature on HM resulting from sexual violence, objective of this report. Method Description of two cases of HM among 1146 patients with pregnancy resulting from sexual violence treated at Hospital Pérola Byington, São Paulo, from July 1994 to August 2011. Results The cases affected young, white, unmarried, low educated and low parity women. Sexual violence was perpetrated by known offenders unrelated to the victims, under death threat. Ultrasound and CT of the pelvis showed bulky uterus compatible with HM without myometrial invasion. One case was associated with theca lutein cysts. The two cases were diagnosed in the second trimester of pregnancy and evolved with hyperthyroidism. There was no hypertension, disease recurrence, metastasis or sexually transmitted infection. Conclusion The incidence of HM was 1:573 pregnancies resulting from rape, within the range estimated for Latin American countries. Trophoblastic material can be preserved to identify the violence perpetrator, considering only the paternal HM chromosomes. History of sexual violence should be investigated in cases of HM in the first half of adolescence and women in a vulnerable condition.

Police Interviews with Victims and Suspects of Violent and Sexual Crimes : Interviewee's experiences and interview outcomes

The police interview is one of the most important investigative tools that law enforcement has close at hand, and police interview methods have changed during the twentieth century. A good police interview is conducted in the frame of the law, is governed by the interview goal, and is influenced by facilitating factors that may affect the elicited report. The present doctoral dissertation focuses on police interviews in cases of very serious crimes of violence and sexual offences. Results reveal crime victims’ and perpetrators’ experiences of being interviewed and police officers’ attitudes towards conducting interviews related to traumatizing crimes. Study 1 revealed that when police officers interviewed murderers and sexual offenders, the interviewees perceived attitudes characterized by either dominance or humanity. Police interviews marked by dominance and suspects’ responses of anxiety were mainly associated with a higher proportion of denials, whereas an approach marked by humanity, and responses of being respected were significantly associated with admissions. In line with Study 1, the victims of rape and aggravated assault in Study 2 also revealed the experience of two police interview styles, where an interviewing style marked by dominance and responses of anxiety was significantly associated with crime victims’ omissions of information. Moreover, a humanitarian interviewing style, and crime victims’ feelings of being respected and co-operative, was significantly related to crime victims providing all information from painful events. Special squad police officers’ attitudes towards interviewing crime victims, in Study 3, also showed a humanitarian approach and two dominant approaches, one affective and the other refusing. The attitude towards interviewing suspects of crimes in focus revealed humanitarian and dominant interviewing attitudes, and an approach marked by kindness. The present thesis shows that, during their entire career, an overwhelming majority of the special squad police officers have experienced stressful events during patrol as well as investigative duty. Results show that symptoms from stressful event exposures and coping mechanisms are associated with negative attitudes towards interviewing suspects and supportive attitudes towards crime victim interviews. Thus, experiences from stressful exposures may automatically activate ego-defensive functions that automatically generate dominant attitudes. Moreover, it is important to offer police officers who have been exposed to stressful events the opportunity to work through their experiences, for example, through debriefing procedures. After debriefings, police officers are better prepared to meet crime victims and suspects and, through conscious closed-loop processes, to conduct police interviews without awaking ego-defensive functions.

Phytoremediation of mercury by terrestrial plants

Mercury (Hg) pollution is a global environmental problem. Numerous Hg-contaminated sites exist in the world and new techniques for remediation are urgently needed. Phytoremediation, use of plants to remove pollutants from the environment or to render them harmless, is considered as an environment-friendly method to remediate contaminated soil in-situ and has been applied for some other heavy metals. Whether this approach is suitable for remediation of Hg-contaminated soil is, however, an open question. The aim of this thesis was to study the fate of Hg in terrestrial plants (particularly the high biomass producing willow, Salix spp.) and thus to clarify the potential use of plants to remediate Hg-contaminated soils. Plants used for phytoremediation of Hg must tolerate Hg. A large variation (up to 30-fold difference) was detected among the six investigated clones of willow in their sensitivity to Hg as reflected in their empirical toxicity threshold (TT95b), the maximum unit toxicity (UTmax) and EC50 levels. This gives us a possibility to select Hg-tolerant willow clones to successfully grow in Hgcontaminated soils for phytoremediation. Release of Hg into air by plants is a concern when using phytoremediation in practice. No evidence was found in this study that Hg was released to the air via shoots of willow, garden pea (Pisum sativum L. cv Faenomen), spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv Dragon), sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L. cv Monohill), oil-seed rape (Brassica napus L. cv Paroll) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.). Thus, we conclude that the Hg burden to the atmosphere via phytoremediation is not increased. Phytoremediation processes are based on the ability of plant roots to accumulate Hg and to translocate it to the shoots. Willow roots were shown to be able to efficiently accumulate Hg in hydroponics, however, no variation in the ability to accumulate was found among the eight willow clones using CVAAS to analyze Hg content in plants. The majority of the Hg accumulated remained in the roots and only 0.5-0.6% of the Hg accumulation was translocated to the shoots. Similar results were found for the five common cultivated plant species mentioned above. Moreover, the accumulation of Hg in willow was higher when being cultivated in methyl-Hg solution than in inorganic Hg solution, whereas the translocation of Hg to the shoots did not differ. The low bioavailability of Hg in contaminated soil is a restricting factor for the phytoextraction of Hg. A selected tolerant willow clone was used to study whether iodide addition could increase the plant-accumulation of Hg from contaminated soil. Both pot tests and field trials were carried out. Potassium iodide (KI) addition was found to mobilize Hg in contaminated soil and thus increase the bioavailability of Hg in soils. Addition of KI (0.2–1 mM) increased the Hg concentrations up to about 5, 3 and 8 times in the leaves, branches and roots, respectively. However, too high concentrations of KI were toxic to plants. As the majority of the Hg accumulated in the roots, it might be unrealistic to use willow for phytoextraction of Hg in practice, even though iodide could enhance the phytoextraction efficiency. In order to study the effect of willow on various soil fractions of Hg-contaminated soil, a 5-step sequential soil extraction method was used. Both the largest Hg-contaminated fractions, i.e. the Hg bound to residual organic matter (53%) and sulphides (43%), and the residual fraction (2.5%), were found to remain stable during cultivations of willow. The exchangeable Hg (0.1%) and the Hg bound to humic and fulvic acids (1.1%) decreased in the rhizospheric soil, whereas the plant accumulation of Hg increased with the cultivation time. The sum of the decrease of the two Hg fractions in soils was approximately equal to the amount of the Hg accumulated in plants. Consequently, plants may be suitable for phytostabilization of aged Hg-contaminated soil, in which root systems trap the bioavailable Hg and reduce the leakage of Hg from contaminated soils.

"Who Fears Death" di Nnedi Okorafor, una proposta di traduzione

This dissertaton deals with the translation of selected chapters from Nnedi Okorafor’s novel Who Fears Death. The novel, set in a post-apocalyptic Africa ravaged by inter-ethnic violence, narrates the tale of Onyesonwu, an Ewu, a half-breed born of rape, facing the rejection of her community. Growing up Onyesonwu realizes that the color of her skin is not the only thing that sets her apart from the other inhabitants of Jwahir, as she starts to manifest magical powers, and during an unintentional visit to the spirit realms she finds out that her biological father, a very powerful sorcerer, wants to kill her. At this point the only option left to her is to learn the secret arts of magic under the guidance of Aro, the sorcerer, and then embark on a journey to put and end to the menace posed by her biological father, stop the massacres between the Okeke and Nuru people, and rewrite history. This work is structured in five chapters. The first presents a brief retelling of the author’s life and works. The second chapter constitutes the theoretical frame according to which the novel will be described, and illustrates an analysis on the function of sci-fi literature. The third chapter introduces the novel itself, dealing with its setting and cultural peculiarities, the literary genre to which it belongs, and analysing the themes deemed most relevant, among which the racial and gender issues. The fourth chapter consists of the translation of some chapters from the novel Who Fears Death, and the fifth of a comment on the translation, presenting both a textual analysis, and notes on the choices deemed most interesting or challenging in a translation process perspective.

Extremely Violent Societies: Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century World

In this groundbreaking book Christian Gerlach traces the social roots of the extraordinary processes of human destruction involved in mass violence throughout the twentieth century. He argues that terms such as 'genocide' and 'ethnic cleansing' are too narrow to explain the diverse motives and interests that cause violence to spread in varying forms and intensities. From killings and expulsions to enforced hunger, collective rape, strategic bombing, forced labour and imprisonment he explores what happened before, during, and after periods of widespread bloodshed in countries such as Armenia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nazi-occupied Greece and in anti-guerilla wars worldwide in order to highlight the crucial role of socio-economic pressures in the generation of group conflicts. By focussing on why so many different people participated in or supported mass violence, and why different groups were victimized, he offers us a new way of understanding one of the most disturbing phenomena of our times.

Study Abroad Increases Risk for Sexual Assault in Female Undergraduates: A Preliminary Report

Since 2007, more than 250,000 American students have studied abroad annually for a semester or more. While there are obvious benefits associated with study abroad programs, personal risks (including interpersonal victimization such as sexual and physical assault) occurring during the experience have been anecdotally reported but not systematically assessed. This study is the first to investigate the possibility of increased risk for sexual assault in female undergraduates while abroad. Two hundred eighteen female undergraduates completed a modified version of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES: Koss et al., 2007) about their sexual experiences abroad and on campus. Findings indicate increased risk for sexual assault while abroad relative to on-campus rates, particularly in non-English speaking countries. Study abroad programs should consider educating students about increased risk and develop response protocols when sexual assaults happen while abroad.

Predictors of Attitudes toward Lesbians and Transgender Women in Relationships on a College Campus

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the attitudes which perpetuate intolerance toward LGBT individuals, and to recognize, in particular, the unique attitudes transpeople face as a minority in the nation and even in the LGBT community. This research contributes to the bodies of research concerning the interrelatedness of intrinsic religiosity, political conservatism, sexism, the rape myth, lack of effective legal protection, and the intolerance of gender non-conformists. I have identified distinctions between attitudes on the part of both women and men, as well as toward different gender non-conformists. I have also taken research as a whole further by assessing the predictors of attitudes toward specific members of the LGBT community in public relationships. The implications of these findings are potentially as far reaching as to have an impact on policies effecting healthcare, education, anti-discrimination and employer rights legislation, on both local and national levels.

Attitudes and Social Factors as Predictors of Male Perpetration of Sexual Assault

Previous research has demonstrated a significant association between sexual assault perpetration and hooking up, male peer support for woman abuse, alcohol consumption, and rape myth acceptance (Burt, 1980; Flack, Daubman, Caron, Asadorian, D’Aureli, Gigliotti & Stine, 2007; Schwartz & DeKeseredy, 1997). In the present study, we tested these relationships on the collegiate level by asking male students to indicate levels of male peer support for woman abuse (MPS), acceptance of rape myths (RMA), alcohol consumption, and history of hooking up and sexual assault perpetration during their undergraduate experience. Participants in this study were 200 male Bucknell students (sophomores - seniors) who completed an online survey concerning these issues. The overall prevalence rate for some type of sexual assault perpetration was 10.5%. Specific prevalence rates for non-invasive contact, completed rape, and attempted rape were 5.5%, 2.0%, and 5.0%, respectively. Sexual assault perpetration was positively correlated with MPS and alcohol consumption but not with RMA. Sexual assault was perpetrated most frequently during acquaintance hook ups. These findings demonstrate direct, significant relationships between sexual assault perpetration, alcohol abuse, different types of hooking up, and rape-supportive attitudes, and an association between perpetration and MPS that requires further elaboration.

Hooking Up, Alcohol Consumption, and Sexual Assault: Differentially Risky Behaviors

Previous research has demonstrated a significant association between sexual assault and alcohol consumption and between unwanted sexual experiences and hooking up (Flack, Daubman, et. al., 2007). In the present study, we tested these relationships more directly by asking sexual assault victims to indicate the primary reason(s) that their assault took place and the type of hook-up, if any, in which they occurred. Participants were 373 female undergraduate students who completed an online survey that included measures of sexual assault, alcohol intoxication, and hooking up. The overall prevalence rate for any type of sexual assault was 44.24% (Koss et al., 2007). Specific prevalence rates for noninvasive contact, rape, and attempted rape were 39.68%, 22.25%, and 22.52%, respectively. Within all types of sexual assault, the most prevalent type of hook-up was with acquaintances, and the most common reason given across all seven types of assault was incapacitation due to intoxication. These findings replicate previous research on assault and alcohol consumption, and demonstrate for the first time direct relationshipsbetween assault victimization and hooking up. The results underscore the need to investigate further the construct of hooking up, especially as a context for sexual assault.

Locational and Temporal Risk Associated With Campus Sexual Assault

The present study investigates the rates of victimization of sexual assault reported by undergraduates at Bucknell University. Specifically, the study aimed to determine where and when sexual assault took place, in order to pinpoint both temporal risks and locational risks associated with certain events on campus. Results of the survey were analyzed for victimization rates across class year, time of year, where victimization took place, as well as where victims and perpetrators met. Data for the study was gathered by means of anonymous survey, sent out to 1752 randomly selected undergraduates via email. Participants filled out the survey which asked if they had ever been sexually assaulted or committed a sexual assault during their past year studying at Bucknell. The results of the survey indicated that dormitories, fraternity houses, and off-campus student houses displayed significantly higher rates of victimization than other locations. In addition, increased risk of unwanted sexual contact in the fall semester was shown to be statistically significant. Moreover, results of the current study support that parties were statistically significant locations for meeting perpetrators of sexual assault. The results suggest that it may be beneficial to direct special attention towards campus sexual assault, specifically to certain locations, times of the year, and campus activities.