White trash: Eugenics as social ideology

She is coeditor of Judge, Lawyer, Victim, Thief: Women, Gender Roles, and Criminal Justice;author of, published by Northeastern University Press, White Trash: The Eugenic Family Studies, 1877–1919,from which this article is adapted with permission; and author also of Partial Justice: Women in State Prisons, 1800–1935.     

Beware of the possibility of fingerprinting techniques transferring DNA

Fingerprinting brushes have the potential to collect and transfer DNA during powdering. Squirrel-hair fingerprint brushes exposed to specific sets of saliva stains and brushes used in routine casework were tested for their ability to collect and transfer DNA containing material using standard DNA extraction procedures and AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus amplification and typing procedures. The tests found that the risk of transferring DNA during powdering and having a detrimental impact on the analysis increases if the examiner powders over either biological stains (such as blood or saliva) or very fresh prints and uses more sensitive PCR amplification and typing procedures. We advocate caution when powdering prints from which DNA may also be collected and provide options for consideration to limit the risk of transferred DNA contamination while fingerprinting.     

Developmental factors related to deviant sexual preferences in child molesters

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between developmental factors and deviant sexual preferences in child molesters. In total, 146 adult males having committed a sexual offence against a child were included in the study. Three types of factors were investigated: negative experiences during childhood, behavior problems during adolescence, and sexual criminal activity in adulthood. Negative experiences and behavior problems were assessed through a semistructured interview. The sexual criminal activity was determined using police records. Sexual preferences towards children were assessed using phallometric assessment. Hierarchical regression analyses suggested the presence of two developmental pathways. The psychosocial deficits pathway is related to a sexual interest for nonviolent sexual stimuli involving children. The sexualization pathway is associated with a sexual interest for violent sexual stimuli involving children. These two pathways are discussed in light of previous empirical findings related to the development of deviant sexual preferences in child molesters.     

Correlates of Ideal Body Size Among Black and White Adolescents

Cultural differences have been found in body image perceptions among Black and White adolescents, however little is known about the factors associated with perceptions of an ideal body size (IBS). This study examined differences in correlates of IBS among 265 Black (116 girls and 62 boys) and White (63 girls and 24 boys) adolescents. IBS for White girls and boys was related to perceptions of how their parents wanted them to look, while IBS for Black girls was related to perception of how peers look and would like to look. IBS for Black boys was significantly related to perceptions of their current size, how peers would like to look, how parents think they look, and depressive symptoms. Findings suggest cultural differences in the factors related to body image perceptions and have implications for educational programs promoting healthy body image development among Black and White adolescents.Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas Medical Center. Received PhD in Counseling Psychology from University of Missouri-Kansas City. Research interests include environmental and cultural correlates of obesity, obesity prevention, nicotine and tobacco addiction, and health promotion interventions.Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota. Received medical degree from Christian Medical College, Punjab, India, and Master of Public Health from University of Kansas School of Medicine. Research interests include diet and physical activity behaviors, role of the environment in obesity and obesity prevention, especially among children and adolescents.Research Associate, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas Medical Center. Completing PhD in clinical psychology from University of Kansas and Master of Public Health from University of Kansas School of Medicine. Research interests include obesity prevention, smoking cessation, and positive psychology.Assistant Professor and Director, MPH Program, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas Medical Center. Received MPH from Boston University and PhD in epidemiology from the University of California/San Diego State University. Research interests include behavioral epidemiology of tobacco use among adolescents and ethnic minorities.Professor of Medicine and School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Associate Director, Midwest Center for Health Services and Policy Research, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Director, Section of Health Promotion Research, Department of Medicine, University of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago. Received PhD in clinical psychology from Long Island University. Research interests include obesity prevention, binge eating, and cultural differences in eating behavior.Medical Epidemiologist, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Received MD and MPH from Tongji Medical University, Wuhan, China and PhD from University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. Research interests include the etiology, epidemiology, and prevention ofobesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes.Research Instructor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas Medical Center. Received MBBS from Allama Iqbal Medical College, Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan and MPH from University of Kansas Medical Center. Research interests include smoking cessation, database design, implementation, data management and analysis, and use of information technology in health care settings.Professor Department of Medicine and Office of Clinical Research, University of Minnesota School of Medicine. Received MD/MPH from Tulane University and MS from Harvard School of Public Health. Research interests include disparities in healthcare; smoking cessation among underserved populations, specifically African Americans; diet, nutrition, obesity, and physical activity.     

Terrorized economies

In this paper we estimate the macroeconomic consequences of terrorism using panel data for 147 countries for the period 1968–2002. The results reveal that the potential gains to a country from reducing terrorism are quite large, although the specific estimates depend on a country's population, base level of output, and investment. We present estimates of the impact of terrorism on GDP, GDP growth, investment, consumer spending, and tourism. These estimates of the marginal impact of terrorism provide a threshold against which a country's expenditures on anti-terrorism can be weighed.     

The Effect of IMF Programs on Women’s Economic and Political Rights

Though much research has been devoted to the socioeconomic and political consequences of International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs for recipient countries, little is known about the impacts of these programs on the level of respect for women’s rights. We postulate that IMF-induced policy reforms of privatization and public spending cuts, and the growing political repression and instability following the implementation of IMF programs, undermine the government’s ability and willingness to protect women’s economic and political rights. To substantiate the theoretical claims, we combine data on women’s political and economic rights with data on IMF programs for the years 1981–2004. Our findings suggest that IMF involvement is likely to deteriorate the level of respect for women’s economic rights while having no discernible effect on women’s political rights. The results further indicate that the effect of these programs is not conditioned by political regime type and economic wealth of recipient countries. One major policy implication of our findings is that the IMF should start to recognize that the conditions attached to lending programs might be implemented at the expense of women’s economic rights and that more explicit protections of women’s rights need to be included in program negotiations.     

Collecting touch DNA from glass surfaces using different sampling solutions and volumes: Immediate and storage effects on genetic STR analysis

Touch DNA has become increasingly important evidence in todays' forensic casework. However, due to its invisible nature and typically minute amounts of DNA, the collection of biological material from touched objects remains a particular challenge that underscores the importance of the best collection methods for maximum recovery efficiency. So far, swabs moistened with water are often utilized in forensic crime scene investigations for touch DNA sampling, even though an aqueous solution provokes osmosis, endangering the cell's integrity. The aim of the research presented here was to systematically determine whether DNA recovery from touched glass items can be significantly increased by varying swabbing solutions and volumes compared with water-moistened swabs and dry swabbing. A second objective was to investigate the possible effects of storage of swab solutions prior to genetic analysis on DNA yield and profile quality when stored for 3 and 12 months, as is often the case with crime scene samples. Overall, the results indicate that adapting volumes of the sampling solutions had no significant effect on DNA yield, while the detergent-based solutions performed better than water and dry removal, with the SDS reagent yielding statistically significant results. Further, stored samples showed an increase in degradation indices for all solutions tested, but no deterioration in DNA content and profile quality, allowing for unrestricted processing of touch DNA samples stored for at least 12 months. One further finding was a strong intraindividual change in DNA amounts observed over the 23 deposition days which may be related to the donor's menstrual cycle.