Morphoscopic trait expressions used to identify Southwest Hispanics

Hispanics represent the largest and fastest growing minority in the United States. It is increasingly important to understand the skeletal morphology and regional variation within this diverse group. This research focuses on the eight cranial morphoscopic traits of Southwest Hispanics from Birkby et al. (J Forensic Sci 2008;53(1):29-33) and 18 additional traits. Frequency distributions assessed the prevalence of trait expressions in Southwest Hispanic, African-American, and European-American samples. Forward stepwise discriminant function analysis indicated the best traits for differentiating these three groups. Six of the Birkby et al.'s traits are prevalent in the Southwest Hispanic sample and the best traits to distinguish the three groups are as follows: incisor shoveling, anterior malar projection, nasal sill, oval window visualization, enamel extensions, anterior nasal spine, nasal aperture width, and alveolar prognathism. This research demonstrates the efficacy of morphoscopic traits in ancestry determinations and the utility of the aforementioned traits in discriminating Southwest Hispanics, African Americans, and European Americans.     

Reform and the politics of hybridization in mature health care states

This article examines the cases of three health care states -- two of which (Britain and the Netherlands) have undergone major policy reform and one of which (Canada) has experienced only marginal adjustments. The British and Dutch reforms have variously altered the balance of power, the mix of instruments of control, and the organizing principles. As a result, mature systems representing the ideal-typical health care state categories of national health systems and social insurance (Britain and the Netherlands, respectively) were transformed into distinctive national hybrids. These processes have involved a politics of redesign that differs from the politics of earlier phases of establishment and retrenchment. In particular, the redesign phase is marked by the activity of institutional entrepreneurs who exploit specific opportunities afforded by public programs to combine public and private resources in innovative organizational arrangements. Canada stands as a counterpoint: no window of opportunity for major change occurred, and the bilateral monopoly created by its prototypical single-payer model provided few footholds for entrepreneurial activity. The increased significance of institutional entrepreneurs gives greater urgency to one of the central projects of health policy: the design of accountability frameworks to allow for an assessment of performance against objectives.     

Patient narrative: an ‘on-switch’ for evaluating best interests

This article examines how the wishes, feelings, values and beliefs of adults lacking capacity can be evaluated and the extent to which they are given effect in best interests decision-making. One way of fulfilling the clinician’s legal responsibilities to take a patient’s preferences into account is to explicitly link these to the notion of narrative. Narratives provide a compelling grounding and give weight to views and values that may have been informally and consistently expressed in the past. An evaluation of recent case law suggests that the trajectory of a person’s life, their character and personality, and the perspectives of those with whom the patient has valued relationships are given increasing judicial recognition. Attending to the narrative of the patient could lead to a more sophisticated judgement of best interests than an objective ‘balance sheet’ approach would allow and enable greater alignment with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.     

GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE: ADVANCING THE HIGHLY MOBILE STUDENT POPULATION TOWARD HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION

Varied curricula among public school districts within the same state often result in localized core courses and high school graduation requirements. This inconsistency makes it difficult for highly mobile students–who make frequent non‐promotional school transfers during the school year–to obtain full or partial credit for successfully completed coursework, hindering progress toward graduation and increasing dropout rates. While student mobility permeates all communities, it is particularly devastating to some of the most vulnerable children in our society, including homeless children, foster youth, children from low‐income and single‐parent households, migrant students, youth in juvenile correctional facilities, and children of military families. Current federal legislation addresses only some of these groups, leaving many students underserved by the education system. This Note advocates for states to adopt legislation that specifically requires a standardized credit‐recognition system, allowing schools to award full and partial credit for coursework completed elsewhere within the state. Specifically, it addresses the importance of keeping highly mobile students in their schools of origin, when it is in their best interest. It further focuses on the need for state and local policies to require school districts to award and accept full and partial credit for coursework completed in another in‐state school district.     

Designing and Using Simulations in the International Relations Classroom

The value of simulations in the classroom is well established, and there are numerous publications that feature specific role-play exercises that can readily be introduced into the classroom. Frequently, however, instructors would like to design their own simulations to fit their specific learning objectives for a class, but don’t know where to start. This article lays out a series of structural and design questions for instructors to consider in order to craft their own simulations. We recognize that there is no singularly “best” way to design simulations, so this article focuses on the key components of simulations and explores different possibilities for each of these components depending on the desired goals of the instructor. We begin with the basics of class size, topic selection, learning objectives, length, and timing. Next, we discuss the design parameters—including the nature of student interaction, desired output, background information, role-specific instructions, and a timeline for the phases of the simulation. We move on to considerations about the actual running of the simulation, and wrap up with reflections on debriefing, grading, and assessment. By stepping through the design questions that are summarized in the Appendix, any instructor, experienced or new to role-playing, can develop a custom simulation to help meet the learning objectives for their courses.     

theorizing ‘African’ female genital cutting and ‘Western’ body modifications: a critique of the continuum and analogue approaches

Making links between different embodied cultural practices has become increasingly common within the feminist literature on multiculturalism and cultural difference as a means to counter racism and cultural essentialism. The cross-cultural comparison most commonly made in this context is that between ‘African’ practices of female genital cutting (FGC) and ‘western’ body modifications. In this article, I analyse some of the ways in which FGC and other body-altering procedures (such as cosmetic surgery, intersex operations and 19th century American clitoridectomies) are compared within this feminist literature. I identify two main strategies of linking such practices, which I have termed the ‘continuum’ and ‘analogue’ approaches. The continuum approach is employed to imagine FGC alongside other body-altering procedures within a single ‘continuum’, ‘spectrum’ or ‘range’ of cross-cultural body modifications. The analogue approach is used to set up FGC and other body-altering practices as analogous through highlighting cross-cultural similarities, but does not explicitly conceive of them as forming a single continuum. Two key critiques of the continuum and analogue approaches are presented. First, because these models privilege gender and sexuality, they tend to efface the operation of other axes of embodied differentiation, namely race, cultural difference and nation. As such, the continuum and analogue approaches often reproduce problematic relationships between race and gender while failing to address the implicit and problematic role which race, cultural difference and nation continue to play in such models. This erasure of these axes, I contend, is linked to the construction of a ‘western’ empathetic gaze, which is my second key critique. The desire on the part of theorists working in the West to establish cross-cultural ‘empathy’ through models that stress similarity and solidarity conceals the continuing operation of geo-political relations of power and privilege.     

Domestic Violence in Hispanics in the Southeastern United States: A Survey and Needs Analysis

Violence is a significant health issue for Latinas in the United States (US), with 54.9% reporting violent victimization. However, little is known about battering among Hispanic women in the southeast. The southeastern corridor, a rural area in search of cheap labor, is a magnet for undocumented agricultural workers. The purpose of this study was to describe domestic violence in Hispanic/Latino women in the southeastern US, including type and frequency of violence experienced, barriers to obtaining treatment, and services needed by women who have been abused. Hispanic women completed questionnaires developed from information from focus groups. Results indicate that domestic violence is a major health problem for women in the southeast, and document previous findings as well as offer new insights about Hispanic women who have experienced domestic violence. Implications are discussed in terms of the need for community partnerships and interventions, as well as routine screening and crisis intervention.