“Come on Now, I Want to See Blood!”

Abstract

Violent initiation rites directed at new members or potential members of an organization are not recent phenomena and not exclusive to joining street gangs or crews. This chapter will explore the origins of violent initiation through history and how contemporary rites used to “welcome” new members in youth gangs mirror other entries into exclusively male enclaves. These rituals include controlled, choreographed patterns of violent behavior, including participants vs. voyeurs and number of blows directed at the initiate before the rite is considered to be completed. In additional to taking a historical perspective, recognized predictive risk factors for gang recruitment are listed, including those identified by Hill et al. (1999) in their Seattle study of juvenile delinquency and how it leads down the slippery slope to gang affiliation.

Mixing Liquids: Polymeric Solutions

“…[10] . One frequently used approach is that of Hansen [11] ; whereas, in the original approach essentially only the dispersion forces were considered, Hansen divided the cohesive energy δ 2 into three parts, namely δ δ δ δ where the subscripts d, p, and H refer to the contributions due to dispersion forces, polar forces, and hydrogen bonding, respectively. As might be expected, the above-described method -often denoted as the Hildebrand solubility parameter approach -is not suitable for use outside its original area, which is nonpolar, non-hydrogen-bonding solvents.…”

“…Whilst there is some theoretical basis [11,12] for this factor, it was mainly introduced to match the experimental data. One can also "compose" in this way a solvent mixture with desired properties.…”

Concepts of Risk in Nanomedicine Research

“…Steffen Hansen et al, among others, argue, for example, that the current regulatory review paradigm centered on toxicity does not take into account the unique kinds of activity associated with nanotherapeutics and diagnostics that might cause an immune or other response in the body. 46 How should a chemical molecule that self-assembles into a machine-like entity or a drug delivery vehicle be categorized, much less evaluated?…”

ΤΟΣΣ' ΕΔΑΗΝ: The Poetics of Knowledge in Oppian's Halieutica

“…This discourse of the qau' ma or marvel draws upon the Hellenistic traditions of paradoxography, a genre which also raises questions about information and credibility, the authority of the narrator and the role of the reader in the reception of a text. 83 Here Oppian offers a paradigm of incredulity which cautions against disbelief; the reader or pupil is discouraged from acting like the naive laymen against whom the poet must marshal his weapons of truth, and is drawn into a relationship of implicit pedagogical trust in the narrator. This image of terrestrial scepticism is mirrored by the unnamed observer in Book 5 who, gazing at the dying whale, expresses his undisguised horror at the sea and its monsters.…”