The Material Culture of Suicidal Fantasies

Sex-related differences in methods of and reasons for suicide in Turkey between 1990 and 2010

OBJECTIVE

To analyse suicides occurring in Turkey between 1990 and 2010 according to sex, age, reason and method.

METHODS

Data concerning suicides occurring in Turkey between 1990 and 2010 were obtained from annual records published by the Turkish Statistical Institute. Data were analysed according to sex, age, reason for suicide and suicide method.

RESULTS

The crude suicide rate was 2.42 per 100 000 population in 1990 and 4.02 per 100 000 population in 2010. The highest number of suicides was seen in those aged 15-24 years. In this age group, the number of suicides in females was significantly higher than in males. The most common suicide method in Turkey was hanging. Men used firearms more frequently than women. All the reasons for suicide occurred in a higher number of males than females; however, the difference between males and females was more significant for economic problems, relationship problems and educational failure. The leading reason for suicide in females was relationship problems.

CONCLUSION

Detecting population subgroups with a high suicide risk and obtaining regional demographic data are of great importance for future studies on suicide prevention.

Technological selection: A missing link

Vaesen's description of uniquely human tool-related cognitive abilities rings true but would be enhanced by an account of how those abilities would have evolved. I suggest that a process of technological selection operated on the cognitive architecture of ancestral hominids because they, unlike other tool-using species, depended on tools for their survival.

Technology Traps Who Is Responsible?

Technologies can have harmful effects on users’ psychological health, on society, and on the environment. “Technology traps” arise when users and societies become stuck with technologies and the harmful consequences produced by these technologies. In this paper, the authors describe five technology traps: incompetence, self-miscontrol, misbehavior, techno-centrism, and environmental degradation. The authors then examine the share of ethical responsibility for these traps among end-users, businesses, and government.

The adaptive value of tool-aided defense against wild animal attacks

Throughout history humans have faced the persistent threat of attacks by wild animals, and how humans respond to this problem can make the difference between survival and death. In theory, the use of tools to fend off animal attacks would be more effective than resisting bare-handed, yet evidence for the advantage of tool-aided defense is scarce and equivocal. Two studies of news accounts of wild animal attacks against humans were conducted to test the hypothesis that tool-aided defense is indeed associated with reductions in injuries and deaths. Results of both Study 1 (N=172) and Study 2 (N=370) supported the hypothesis. The observed survival advantage of tool-aided defense for modern humans suggests that this tactic also would have worked for human ancestors who lived more closely to dangerous wild animals.