Cluster hanging suicides in the young in South Australia

Retrospective review of hanging suicides in individuals aged ≤ 17 years was undertaken at Forensic Science South Australia, Australia, over two 5-year periods: 1995-1999 and 2005-2009. Seven cases of hanging suicides were identified from 1995 to 1999, with a further 14 cases from 2005 to 2009, an increase of 100% (p < 0.001). Hanging accounted for 33.3% of all suicides in this age group (7/21) from 1995 to 1999, compared with 93.3% of the total number of suicides (14/15) in the second 5-year period. In contrast, Australian national data from 1998 and 2008 showed a 30% decrease in hanging suicides in the young, from one case/100,000 population in 1998 to 0.7 in 2008. Cluster suicides occur in the young and are often initiated by direct communication. As it is possible that Internet-based social sites may facilitate this phenomenon, investigations should include an evaluation of the victim's Internet access given the potential risk of similar actions by peers.     

THE EMERGING FORENSIC ROLE FOR WORK PRODUCT REVIEW AND CASE ANALYSIS IN CHILD ACCESS AND PARENTING PLAN DISPUTES

An emerging forensic service is that of conducting a work product review of a court‐appointed child custody evaluator's evaluation and report. If the reviewer determines there are serious deficiencies in the work product, then the reviewer will provide consultation to the retaining attorney and expert testimony. The reviewer usually is in a hybrid role of consulting/advising the retaining attorney, testifying, and educating the court. Ethical issues in providing forensic services and rebuttal testimony as a reviewer are discussed. Both reviewers and evaluators have a duty to be objective and balanced in their analyses of data and issues. Both types of experts should strive to be helpful to the court and try to serve the best interests of children. Ethical nuances involving review work are discussed. Evaluator and reviewer share the same dataset. Evaluators need to take care to keep a high quality case record with legible interview notes. Reviewers provide a monitoring function for the court or a function of forensic quality control so the court will not be misled by expert testimony of evaluators that is based on flawed data collection and/or analysis. A list of questions is presented for reviewers to use in scrutinizing the quality of the custody evaluation. A list of questions is presented for examining the quality of the reviewer's own work product. The importance of a case analysis and use of conceptual frameworks by evaluators and reviewers is discussed.     

Small is Beautiful: The Counterterrorism Option in Afghanistan

Strategy is matching means and ends. If the ends desired in Afghanistan are about al Qaeda, the counterterrorism option is the best fit in terms of means. It is sustainable, always crucial in prolonged conflict, as it limits the expenditure of U.S. blood and treasure. This article fills a gap in the existing strategy debate by detailing what a counterterrorism option would be in terms of force structure and operations.     

The New Ghana

Mr. Dennis Austin, of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies,London University, gave the address that follows at a jointmeeting of the Royal African Society and the Royal Common-wealthSociety on November 5, 1959. Mr. David Williams, editor of "WestAfrica‘, ’, took the chair.     

The role of shame, anger, and affect regulation in men's perpetration of psychological abuse in dating relationships

This study determines the relationships between shame, anger, and men's perpetration of psychological abuse in dating relationships. The authors hypothesize the connection between shame proneness and men's use of psychological abuse with a dating partner, with anger's mediating in this relationship. In addition, the authors hypothesize that affect regulation would moderate the relationship between anger and men's use of psychological abuse. Results indicate that shame proneness and use of psychological abuse are significantly related and that anger mediates the relationship. However, affect regulation does not moderate the effects of anger on men's use of psychological abuse. These findings are consistent with theoretical conceptualizations of shame and have implications for intervention and treatment programs for perpetrators of psychological abuse in dating relationships.     

The effects of various intermediate targets on dispersion of shotgun patterns.

Intermediate targets cause dispersion of a shot pattern by a ricochet effect. Thus, the intermediate target must have sufficient thickness or tensile strength to slow down the initial group of shot striking the target. Aluminum and steel screen, ordinary window glass, thin cardboard and thin cowhide did not manifest these qualities under the conditions of these experiments.     

Age ranges of epiphyseal fusion in the distal tibia and fibula of contemporary males and females

The range of variation in epiphyseal fusion in North American populations has not been sufficiently established. This significant oversight can lead to exclusion of persons of interest in a forensic investigation. This study evaluates epiphyseal fusion of the distal tibia and fibula in 570 European-, African-, and Mexican-American children and young adults. Radiographs of 270 females aged 9 to 17 and 300 males aged 11 to 20 were analyzed to assess the range of variation of epiphyseal fusion at each age. Results indicate that complete fusion in females occurs as early as 12 years in the distal tibia and fibula. All females demonstrated complete fusion by 16 years with no significant differences between ancestral groups. Complete fusion in males occurs as early as 14 years in both epiphyses. All males demonstrated complete fusion by 19 years. Significant differences in the earliest age of complete fusion showed that African- and Mexican-American males demonstrate complete fusion as early as 14 years in both epiphyses while European-American males do not express complete fusion until 16 years.     

Hydraulic Fracturing in North Carolina: How It Came to Be,and What It Means for Our State

This article details the process of legalizing hydraulic fracturing in North Carolina, which began with a request by the North Carolina Congress for a study of implementation strategies and geologic concerns from the state's environmental agencies. Steadily afterwards several pieces of legislation were introduced to create a regulatory scheme to encompass the issuing of drilling permits, regulating operations, and protecting surrounding groundwater. This article illustrates the legislative history, highlighting key components. Lastly, two recent studies regarding groundwater safety around hydraulic fracturing sites are explored in order to gain a brief understanding of the scientific consensus of the process.