What's Wrong with Torture?

Whats and whys with neonatal CT.

What and why? As health care professionals, we must address both of these questions in scientific inquiry as well as in clinical practice. Most times, facts (the “what”) are relatively easy to come by. The reasons (the “why”) behind these events are usually more difficult to discover and understand. Let us look at the example of head computed tomography (CT) in a group of neonates. There are 2 ...

Rapid Survey of Wasting and Stunting in Children: Whats New, Whats Old and Whats the Buzz?

Nationwide Rapid Survey on Children (RSoC), conducted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and UNICEF in 2013-14 showed a marked improvement in the status of the child malnutrition over the third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) that was conducted in 2005-06. Despite some impressive gains in the anthropometric indicators of malnutrition, the absolute levels remain high, and of c...

Some whats, whys and worries of geoengineering

In this paper I discuss the nature of geoengineering, some of its attractions, and some reasons for concern. I claim that there is confusion in the use of the term ‘geoengineering’ that is related to larger concerns about the language in which responses to climate change are discussed. I conclude that despite some reasonable grounds for suspicion, research in areas that involve carbon dioxide r...

Contributory torture.

Sir, Contributory torture occurs when the behavior of the offender influences the behavior of the interrogator or, in a broader sense, anyone disciplining the offender. The word contributory is used because if the offender acts up, he/she is part of the reason for the type of punishment he/she receives. For example, if two people are arrested and one follows the directions of the officer and th...

Surviving torture.