The Effects of Soil Environment on Postmortem Interval: A Macroscopic Analysis

Abstract:  Burial environment, in particular soil moisture, has a significant impact on the type, rate, and extent of bone degradation, which ultimately affects estimations of the postmortem interval (PMI). The purpose of this research is to determine the effects of soil moisture on the color, weight, condition, and texture of bone as it relates to the PMI. Bone changes occurring over two different time intervals (2 and 5 months) were examined using 120 sus scrofa leg bones. During each time interval bones were buried in two soil environments, one of which was drier than the other. The bones in both environments lost weight over time but the net weight loss was greater for bones in the higher moisture environment. There was no change in color, texture, or overall condition, indicating that 150 days is not long enough for such alterations to occur, regardless of the moisture level of the burial environment.     

Reconstructing the Sequence of Events Surrounding Body Disposition Based on Color Staining of Bone*

Abstract: Literature regarding bone color is limited to determining location of primary and secondary dispositions. This research is the first to use bone color to interpret the sequence of events surrounding body disposition. Two scenarios were compared—bones buried and then exposed on the ground surface and bones exposed then buried. Forty juvenile pig humeri with minimal tissue were used in each scenario with an additional 20 controls to determine if decomposing tissue affects bone color. Munsell Color Charts were used to record bone color of surface and 2.5 cm cross‐sections. Results reveal five main surface colors attributed to soil, sun, hemolysis, decomposition, and fungi. Fungi on buried bones suggests prior surface exposure. Cross‐sections of strictly buried bones are identical to buried then exposed bone, stressing the importance of bone surface analysis. Cross‐sectioning may help verify remains have been exposed then buried. Decomposition of excess tissue creates minimal color staining.     

CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES:

Since 1989, federal law requires states to have presumptive child support guidelines and review them using economic data on child-rearing costs at least once every 4 years. This article reviews the child support guidelines models adopted by states, how they relate to estimates of child-rearing expenditures, the extent that states are updating their guidelines, and some of the more controversial guidelines provisions (i.e., adjustments for shared-parenting time, additional dependent children, and low-income nonresidential parents). We find that many states are not updating their core formulas and schedules. As a result, several state guidelines produce support award amounts that are below the costs of raising children.     

A prospective analysis of sexual assault perpetration: risk factors related to perpetrator characteristics

This study prospectively evaluated perpetrator risk factors for sexual assault perpetration, including peer influences, beliefs and attitudes about sexuality, alcohol use, and token resistance. Perpetration of sexual assault was evaluated at three time periods: pretest, 3-month follow-up, and 7-month follow-up. Retrospective and prospective analyses yielded differential predictors of sexually aggressive behavior. However, perpetration of sexual assault at any particular assessment period was a predictor of perpetration during the subsequent follow-up period. Furthermore, several variables that have previously been demonstrated in the literature to be related to the perpetration of sexual assault were not significant in regression analyses, indicating that these variables may be rendered insignificant when accounting for past perpetration in prospective analyses. These findings may have significant potential impact on development of sexual assault prevention programming with men.     

Building skills in qualitative research to inform pro-poor policy: experience from a Bangladeshi NGO

This paper describes the research methodology followed in the ‘Livelihoods of the Extreme Poor Project’, a collaborative research project in Bangladesh between PROSHIKA (a large national NGO) and DFID (the UK government department for international development). The dual purpose of this project was to learn about poor people's livelihoods and train the PROSHIKA research team in the use of qualitative research methods. The research findings were to be fed directly into policy formulation and the planning of new development interventions for the poorest people in Bangladesh. The paper provides an assessment of what the approach used achieved both in terms of building staff capacity and in policy influence, concluding that it has been largely successful in achieving its purpose.     

Path Dependence as an Explanation of the Institutional Stability of the German Parliament

The theory of path dependence identifies sources of institutional stability and change. It emphasises the importance of early, contingent events and increasing returns over time to explain patterns of institutional persistence. Used to describe the evolution of the procedural practices of the German Bundestag, this theory points to the long-term importance of the consensus that developed early in the 1950s among the floor leaders of three dominant parties, which is in stark contrast to the absence of such inter-party consensus in the early years of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. Path dependence identifies factors endogenous to the institution to explain how the institution responds to external shocks, such as the entry of new parties. When the Greens and the PDS entered the Bundestag, the established parties responded by accepting their vigorous exercise of minority rights and they accepted the established practice of managing these rights by inter-party consensus.