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This article explores a particular pattern of wartime violence, the relative absence of sexual violence on the part of many armed groups. This neglected fact has important policy implications: If some groups do not engage in sexual violence, then rape is not inevitable in war as is sometimes claimed, and there are stronger grounds for holding responsible those groups that do engage in sexual violence. After developing a theoretical framework for understanding the observed variation in wartime sexual violence, the article analyzes the puzzling absence of sexual violence on the part of the secessionist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam of Sri Lanka.

Los procesos sociales de la guerra civil: la transformación de redes sociales en tiempos de guerra Elisabeth Jean Wood análisis político nº 68, Bogotá, enero-abril, 2010: págs. 101-124 * Este artículo es una revisión del articulo "The Social Processes of Civil War: The Wartime Transformation of Social Networks", traducida y re-publicada, con autorizacion, del Annual Review of Political Science, Volume 11, ©2008 by Annual Reviews www.annualreviews.org. Se agradece a María Paula Saffon la lectura y comentarios sobre la traducción.

Sexual violence during war varies in extent and takes distinct forms. In some conflicts, sexual violence is widespread, yet in other conflicts—including some cases of ethnic conflict—it is quite limited. In some conflicts, sexual violence takes the form of sexual slavery; in others, torture in detention. I document this variation, particularly its absence in some conflicts and on the part of some groups. In the conclusion, I explore the relationship between strategic choices on the part of armed group leadership, the norms of combatants, dynamics within small units, and the effectiveness of military discipline.

Drawing on 26 months of field research in El Salvador during the civil war, I analyze some ethical challenges that confront field researchers working in conflict zones. After briefly summarizing the purpose and general methodology of my research, I discuss in detail the research procedures I followed to implement the "do no harm" ethic of empirical research. I first analyze the particular conditions of the Salvadoran civil war during the period of research. I then discuss the procedures meant to ensure that my interviews with people took place with their fully informed consent-what I understood that to mean and how I implemented it. I then turn to the procedures whereby the anonymity of those interviewed and the confidentiality of the data gathered were ensured to the extent possible. Throughout I discuss particular ethical dilemmas that I confronted, including issues of self-presentation and mistaken identity, the emotional challenges of field work in highly polarized settings (which if not well understood may lead to lapse in judgment), and my evolving questions concerning the researcher role and its limitations. I also discuss the dilemmas that arise in the dissemination of research findings and the repatriation of data.Keywords Ethics in research . Civil war . Political violence . Qualitative research methods . Field research Field research in conflict zones is challenging for both methodological and ethical reasons. In conflict zones, the usual imperatives of empirical research (to gather and analyze accurate data to address a relevant theoretical question) are intensified by the absence of unbiased data from sources such as newspapers, the partisan nature of much data compiled by organizations operating in the conflict zone, the difficulty of establishing what a representative sample would be and carrying out a study of that sample, and the obvious logistical challenges. Similarly, the ethical imperative of research ("do no harm") is intensified in conflict zones by political polarization, the presence of armed actors, the precarious security of most residents, the general unpredictability of events, and the traumatization through violence of combatants and civilians alike.

In this paper, the taxonomy of the dinoflagellates found in Australian waters is given, and the species concept as applied to the group is discussed. It is suggested that the Linnaean species concept cannot be strictly applied to a group which has, as a whole, no known sexual process and of which the vast majority of forms has not been cultivated. The seasonal variation and fluctuations of dinoflagellates in Australian waters are considered. It is found that, as usual, the greatest number of species occurs in warmer waters. Dinoflagellates are regarded as excellent indicators of water masses, and in one example, i.e. west of Tasmania, subtropical dinoflagellates led to the postulation of a subtropical current flowing east from Cape Leeuwin to King I. This has recently been confirmed by the finding of warm-water turtles on the west coast of Tasmania. Dinoflagellates are not as important as diatoms or tropical blue-green algae in productivity, except on rare occasions, but do serve as food for certain groups, e.g. salps, tintinnids, etc. Some are halophytic, some holozoic, and some facultative. No single factor or set of factors can be adduced to explain dinoflagellate maxima. There is some evidence of a rhythm, which may be tidal, in Goniaulas digitale and also in G. catenella.

SummaryApart from Drawers of Water (DOW I) published in 1972, there have been only a handful of published studies on domestic water use and environmental health in East Africa, based on direct observations or other reliable research methods. The objective of this study was to carry out a repeat analysis of domestic water use and environmental health in East Africa based on DOW I. The study was conducted in the same sites as DOW I. Field assistants spent at least 1 day in each household observing and conducting semi-structured interviews. They measured the amount of water collected, recorded the amount of water used in the home, and noted household socio-demographic characteristics, prevalence of diarrhoea, state and use of latrines, sources of water and conditions of use. We surveyed 1015 households in 33 sites in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya in 1997. From 1967to 1997, the prevalence of diarrhoea, in the week preceding the survey, increased from 6% to 18% in Kenya and from 16% to 21% in Uganda; it declined slightly in Tanzania (11-8%). Determinants of diarrhoea morbidity included poor hygiene (unsafe disposal of faeces and wastewater), education level of household head, obtaining water from surface sources or wells and per capita water used for cleaning. Hygiene practices are an important complement to improved water and sanitation in reducing diarrhoea morbidity.

Scholars increasingly document different forms of conflict-related sexual violence, their distinct causes, and their sharply varying deployment by armed organizations. In this paper, I first summarize recent research on this variation, emphasizing findings that contradict or complicate popular beliefs. I then discuss distinct interpretations of the claim that such violence is part of a continuum of violence between peace and war. After analyzing recent research on the internal dynamics of armed organizations, I suggest that widespread rape often occurs as a practice rather than as a strategy. Finally, I advance some principles to guide policy in light of recent research.