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).     

Slow Change at the Top: ‘Old Hands’ and ‘Accidental Executives’ in New South Wales Local Government

Scholars and practitioners alike have recognised that an increased role for women leaders in Australian local government would strengthen the sector, yet little research to date has examined the career paths of non‐elected officials. This article combines the gender in organisations literature with career theory to examine the career paths of 16 general managers (GMs) in New South Wales. We found that half the participants had linear career paths based entirely within local government and half had boundaryless careers originating outside the sector. This second cohort consisted overwhelmingly of women. Nevertheless, a high incidence of happenstance characterised both career types. Several participants saw themselves pitted against a gendered (i.e. male) group of ‘old hands’ who were resistant to change being driven by ‘accidental executives’, a high proportion of whom were women. The findings have implications for a sector attempting to attract and retain skilled staff, particularly women.     

Understanding Perceptions of Racism in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: The Roles of System and Group Justification

The present study examined perceptions of racism in events that occurred during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina among a community sample of New Orleans area residents. Drawing on system justification theory, we examined system justification motives (i.e., meritocracy beliefs) and group justification motives (i.e., group identity) as predictors of perceptions of racism among African Americans and European Americans. Compared to African Americans, European Americans perceived much lower levels of racism in Katrina-related events. Furthermore, meritocracy beliefs were negatively related to perceptions of racism among both African Americans and European Americans. However, private regard (a component of group identity) was positively related to perceptions of racism among African Americans, but negatively related to perceptions of racism among European Americans. The results suggest that both system and group justification motives independently predict perceptions of racism in an important real-world event. Furthermore, system and group justification motives appear to operate in opposition for African Americans, but in tandem for European Americans.     

Reviews

Rita Felski, The Gender of Modernity (Harvard University Press) Cambridge, MA, 1995.

Katie Holmes, Spaces in Her Day: Australian Women's Diaries 1920s‐1930s (Allen & Unwin) St Leonards, NSW, 1995.

Ros Pesman, Duty Free: Australian Women Abroad (Oxford University Press) Melbourne, 1996.

Frances Porter and Charlotte Macdonald (eds), ’My Hand Will Write What My Heart Dictates’ (Auckland University Press with Bridget Williams Books) Auckland, 1996.

Lucy Bland, Banishing the Beast: English Feminism & Sexual Morality 1885–1914 (Penguin) Harmondsworth, 1995.

Margaret Thornton, Dissonance and Distrust: Women in the Legal Profession (Oxford University Press) Melbourne, 1996.

Diane Bell and Renate Klein (eds), Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed (Spinifex Press) North Melbourne, 1996.

Rye Senjen and Jane Guthrey, The Internet for Women (Spinifex Press) North Melbourne, 1996.     

Limits to EU technocratic regulation?

Abstract. This article has three main objectives. Firstly, it seeks to re–formulate the debate on technocracy in the European Union by drawing upon the concept of the EU regulatory state as developed by Majone (1996). Secondly, it illustrates the limits and tensions of a once politicised technocratic policy–making process by tracing the formulation of media ownership regulation. Although media ownership policy has been presented by the European Commission as a typical regulatory policy, it has followed a more politicised path than previous EU regulatory policies. This implies that media ownership policy does not follow the model of technocratic regulation presented by Majone in his characterisation of the EU regulatory state. Thirdly, the paper contributes to the debate on EU regulation by suggesting a new typology of regulatory policies in the EU. In the conclusion, it is argued that politicisation (which includes inefficiency and prolonged conflict) may be the price that the EU is forced to pay in its progress toward a more democratic polity.     

Toward maintaining canine training aid integrity: Visualizing contamination and testing storage materials for a non-hazardous canine training aid

Contamination of canine training aids is a pervasive issue that may lead to incorrect canine discrimination of target odors. It is therefore important to properly store training materials to maintain their integrity and efficiency. First, this study demonstrated the potential for contamination using GloGerm™ as a proxy for odor/particulate transfer. Then, eight types of containers were evaluated to determine (1) the ability to prevent odor permeation and (2) the likelihood of maintaining the ab/adsorbed odor. Lastly, a longitudinal study evaluated how the permeation of the target odor changed over time. Analysis occurred using a direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometer (DART-MS) to detect triacetone triperoxide (TATP) from the non-hazardous canine training aid known as the polymer odor capture-and-release (POCR) system. Results showed that Mylar and Opsak bags were most effective for short-term storage, maintaining low levels of ab/adsorption. Over time, the amount of TATP permeating through the primary containers and collecting in a secondary container (i.e., outer packaging) increased at 1 week and decreased thereafter (up to 4 months). The amount of TATP collecting in the primary containers, however, increased up to 1 month and decreased thereafter.     

Investigation into "normal" background DNA on adult necks: implications for DNA profiling of manual strangulation victims

Others have investigated the role that DNA profiling could play as a method for identifying the perpetrator of manual strangulation. These studies have demonstrated that it is possible to collect offender DNA from the skin surface of a victim following physical contact. It is not known whether nonself biological material is normally present on the skin surface due to adventitious transfer occurring during innocent everyday interactions. To test the hypothesis that detectable amounts of nonself DNA are normally present on the skin surface of healthy adult individuals due to the adventitious transfer of DNA occurring during normal day-to-day social interactions, we designed an experiment in three phases. Phase 1 was used to deduce which DNA collection, extraction, and amplification methods were suited to investigating this question. During phase 2, the neck surface of 24 healthy adult volunteers was swabbed. DNA was extracted using the QIAamp DNA mini kit and amplified using the SGM Plus PCR amplification kit, using 28 PCR cycles. The work carried out during phase 3 involved a simulated assault to investigate primary and secondary transfer of DNA during physical contact. It was found that 23% of neck areas swabbed during phase 2 of this investigation showed nondonor alleles in the resulting DNA profile, with 5% of areas showing six or more nondonor alleles. The results of phase 3 showed that primary, secondary, and zero transfer of victim and/or offender DNA could be observed after physical contact and that alleles from an unknown source could still be detected in this more controlled experiment. The data presented in this paper demonstrate that DNA profiles generated after swabbing the skin surface of healthy adults can include components of an unknown source, present due to adventitious transfer. These components, if present in large quantities, have the potential to interfere with DNA profile interpretation of swabs taken for the investigation of physical assault by DNA profiling.     

Court compliance as a predictor of postadjudication recidivism for domestic violence offenders

This study evaluated pre- and postadjudication behavior of 220 male defendants convicted of a domestic violence-related offense using court records and police department data. Our goal was the identification of possible predictors for continued criminal behavior that could pose a risk of further harm to victims. Factors identified as significant predictors of defendant recidivism were having two or more court reports of noncompliance with domestic violence treatment, two or more warrants issued by the court for noncompliance, and two or more reports to law enforcement of new criminal activity involving the defendant. Law enforcement reports were the strongest predictor of recidivism, with an odds ratio of 7.7 and confidence interval of 3.0-19.7. These results illustrate the importance of monitoring multiple dimensions of defendant behavior while under court supervision and of communicating information on noncompliance with victims and advocates to assist in safety planning efforts.