Correcting the Count: Improving Vital Statistics Data Regarding Deaths Related to Obesity

Obesity can involve any organ system and compromise the overall health of an individual, including premature death. Despite the increased risk of death associated with being obese, obesity itself is infrequently indicated on the death certificate. We performed an audit of our records to identify how often “obesity” was listed on the death certificate to determine how our practices affected national mortality data collection regarding obesity‐related mortality. During the span of nearly 25 years, 0.2% of deaths were attributed to or contributed by obesity. Over the course of 5 years, 96% of selected natural deaths were likely underreported as being associated with obesity. We present an algorithm for certifiers to use to determine whether obesity should be listed on the death certificate and guidelines for certifying cases in which this is appropriate. Use of this algorithm will improve vital statistics concerning the role of obesity in causing or contributing to death.     

Development of a Validity Scale for the Dissociative Experience Scale-Revised: Atypicality,Structure, and Inconsistency

Psychological Injury and Law - The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), the most commonly used scale for assessing dissociation across settings, lacks a validity scale. In this study, six methods...     

Web-Based Accountability in the Nonprofit Sector: A Closer Look at Arts,Culture, and Humanities Organizations

ABSTRACT

Web-based accountability continues to be an important consideration for nonprofit organizations. This research examines the impact of certain variables on web-based accountability in the arts, culture, and humanities sector. A content analysis of eighty nonprofit organizations was performed and multiple statistical analyses were used. Findings indicated that regulatory measures, including the prosecution and a detection index, are the most significant variables for determining web-based accountability for this group of nonprofit organizations.     

Population data for four population groups from the United States for the eleven Y-chromosome STR loci recommended by SWGDAM

POPULATIONS: Caucasian ( n =1243), African American ( n =1605), Hispanic ( n =454), and Native American ( n =104).     

Law and Family Formation Among LGBQ‐Parent Families

This article addresses how the law affects family formation among families with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) parents in the United States. Our discussion draws on a socio‐legal approach to law that focuses not only on the law on the books (what we refer to as “legal barriers”) but also on issues like how the law is practiced, how people experience the law in everyday life, and how the law serves as an interpretive framework through which people understand themselves and their families (what we refer to as “social barriers”). In our review, we highlight how attorneys can play a role in valuing and advancing rights for LGBQ‐parent families and LGBTQ prospective parents.     

Analyzing How Local Governments Establish Service Priorities

Resource limitations and increasing citizen expectations are causing decisionmakers to reexamine existing approaches to establishing priorities in the funding of governmental services. Using local governments as a contextual example, this article investigates the decision making processes used by Texas cities The research seeks to understand the role different budgetary frameworks, i.e., incremental, performance and community values, play in resource allocation. Factors such as the budget sequence, the participants and the reference sources are considered to better understand local budget deliberations. This research indicates that a mixed or hybrid framework (any combination of the incremental, performance and community values approaches) dominates decision making in Texas cities. That is, most cities attempt to incorporate the politicalness of incrementalism, the results orientation of the performance framework, and the utility maximization desired under the community values framework. Results from this research indicate that Texas cities are moving away from a single framework orientation as a rule and are incorporating more rational and participative aspects into their budget process. This refutes common wisdom on this topic and suggests a more complicated approach to decision making that emphasizes the injection of more objective performance-related data, as well as the subjective perceptions of non-traditionally dominant participant groups.     

The Value of Outsourcing Selected Cases in a Medical Examiner Population: A 10‐Year Experience

Due to increasing caseloads and inadequate staffing, the burden on Coroner/Medical Examiner Offices to comply with recommended autopsy limits for forensic pathologists (FPs) has been difficult. Since 2006, pathologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have performed select autopsies for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Each case was reviewed by a state FP and scene investigator to determine appropriateness for referral. All referred cases received full postmortem examination including microscopic examination and collection of toxicological samples, and toxicology was ordered by the referring FP as appropriate. The final cause and manner of death were determined by the referring state FP after review of all findings. A majority of the 421 cases were ruled accidental deaths (233), most due to drug toxicity. Of the 178 natural deaths, 118 were attributed to cardiovascular disease. Outsourcing select forensic cases can be educational and an effective tool to manage workflow without compromising quality.