Field recovery and analysis of horse skeletal remains.

In response to a request from an insurance company investigating a claim relative to the death of four race and show horses, allegedly as a result of deliberate starvation, physical anthropologists of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Department of Geography and Anthropology undertook the recovery and analysis of skeletal remains said to be those of the animals. The objectives were to determine the number and kinds of animals represented, their ages, and sexes, and, through morphometric evaluation of bone density at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, whether there was evidence of nutritional osteodystrophy. The skeletons were the remains of four horses. In comparisons of data derived from these skeletons with breeding records for the horses described in the insurance claim, it was established that the skeletons were those of mares, as were the insured animals, and that the relative ages of the four approximated those of the insured horses. The skeletal samples submitted for morphometric evaluation showed no evidence of nutritional osteodystrophy and, thus, provided no support for the contention that death had resulted from starvation. In one horse, the superior aspect of the right ascending ramus of the lower jaw below the coronoid process revealed a gunshot wound; the other skeletons showed no evidence of trauma.     

Harnessing technology: The workers' stake

Innovation has both potential benefits and possible destructive effects when viewed by the worker. This article presents some of the thinking of the AFL/CIO concerning this issue. Several methods to ease the human cost of industrial innovation are discussed. Early warning systems, income maintenance, transfers and relocation are suggested as helpful. The point is made that the best way to stimulate innovation is to make sure the economy of the nation is at full employment, with strong consumer demand and high utilization of national resources. A discussion is presented about the shift in technology caused by the expansion of the multinational corporations. This technology shift has a significant impact on our economy and should be understood better and possibly controlled. Another major point of the paper deals with safety and safety regulations as they relate to innovation and to the worker.     

Redistricting, Candidate Entry, and the Politics of Nineteenth-Century U.S. House Elections

The effects of redistricting on candidate entry patterns in contemporary House races has received growing attention in the scholarly literature, yet virtually no consideration has been given to this question in the context of historical elections. This is unfortunate as the wider variation in congressional redistricting during the nineteenth century gives us increased leverage in terms of understanding strategic candidate behavior. Utilizing a new dataset of candidate quality for nineteenth-century House races, we examine whether candidates with prior electoral experience are more likely to run in districts that are altered during the redistricting process, and provide an account of how differences in the prevalence of redistricting may affect strategic entry decisions of politicians. Our results suggest that entry decisions and electoral outcomes are affected by redistricting in this era. Moreover, our analysis provides an opportunity to use history to test contemporary theories of congressional elections in a broader context .     

Surface Modification for the Collection and Identification of Fingerprints and Colorimetric Detection of Urea Nitrate

Glass surfaces were modified with a combination of dyes and reagents to allow for the potential simultaneous recording of a detailed fingerprint and the detection of the explosive urea nitrate (UN), as a proof of principle of surface modification for simultaneous linking of identity to manipulation of explosives. By coating microscope slides with 9,10‐diphenylanthracene (DPA), p‐dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (p‐DMAB) and p‐dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde (p‐DMAC), a colorimetric change was observed in the presence of UN, while revealing a fingerprint with enough resolution to isolate at least 10 minutiae. This is the first step in creating point‐of‐care devices capable of detecting low concentrations of explosives and drug metabolites and connecting them to a fingerprint.     

Crime Clearance and Temporal Variation in Police Investigative Workload: Evidence from National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) Data

Objectives

Police workload’s relationship with crime clearance has been studied widely. In the challenging environment now facing police, even small and possibly temporary changes in investigative workload could harm clearance. However existing workload-clearance research either used only a yearly average that obscures temporal variability in caseload, or explored proxy rather than direct measures of workload’s short-term variation. Our improved workload measures capture caseload’s daily changes as crimes are reported, cleared, or remain uncleared but reach the end of active investigation. We examine relationships between clearance and both long- and short-term variability in workload.

Methods

Using NIBRS and LEMAS data, we calculated between-agency (typical or long-term) and time-varying, within-agency (daily fluctuating or short-term) workload measures. We used these and other agency/jurisdiction- and incident-level variables in multi-level survival analysis of clearance by arrest for serious violent incidents from 2007 NIBRS.

Results

Both workload measures were significantly and negatively related to the clearance hazard rate; higher long- and short-term workloads are associated with reduced chance of a case being cleared. The estimated relationship between longterm workload and clearance became progressively stronger (more negative) as the crime incident’s legal seriousness decreased. However, estimates indicated greater sensitivity of the clearance hazard to short-term workload fluctuations for more serious crimes, though the workload-clearance relationship remained negative for all crime types.

Conclusion

Crime clearance should be considered by police agency planners when addressing workload through staffing decisions. Refinement of our workload measures will require additional information, and should be considered in future agency- and incident-level data collection.

     

Ridge Width Correlations between Inked Prints and Powdered Latent Fingerprints

A methodology to estimate the time of latent fingerprint deposition would be of great value to law enforcement and courts. It has been observed that ridge topography changes as latent prints age, including the widths of ridges that could be measured as a function of time. Crime suspects are commonly identified using fingerprint databases that contain reference inked tenprints (flat and rolled impressions). These can be of interest in aging studies as they provide baseline information relating to the original (nonaged) ridges’ widths. In practice, the age of latent fingerprints could be estimated following a comparison process between the evidentiary aged print and the corresponding reference inked print. The present article explores possible correlations between inked and fresh latent fingerprints deposited on different substrates and visualized with TiO₂. The results indicate that the ridge width of flat inked prints is most similar to fresh latent fingerprints_, and these should be used as the comparison standard for future aging studies.     

The Relationship between Homelessness and Behavior Problems among Youth in North Texas: a Brief Report

This study sought to examine the relationship between homelessness and behavior problems among a community-based sample of youth in North Texas. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional, probability sample of households and a targeted sample of homeless families in Dallas, Texas, with children older than 5 years old (N?=?5232). Parents were asked to report five behavior problems on behalf of their children including arrest or trouble with police, academic problems, behavior problems at school, suspension, and suicide attempts. Logistic and negative binomial regression procedures were used to examine the relationship between homelessness and behavior problems. Youth exposed to homelessness were 36% (OR?=?1.63; 95% CI 1.00–1.85) more likely to exhibit any kind of behavior problems than youth who had never experienced homelessness. Homeless youth had 5.51 times the odds of arrest (95% CI 2.60–11.68), 1.74 times the odds of academic problems (95% CI 1.24–2.43), and more than 3 times the odds of suicide attempts (95% CI 1.46, 7.61) than youth who had never been homeless. Homelessness was associated with higher rates of problem behavior, including arrests, academic problems, and suicide attempts. Because homeless youth are commonly enrolled in school and present at health care clinics and emergency departments, clinics and schools may aid in the identification of homeless youth, as well as referral to care. In this way, clinicians may help reduce the burden of behavioral problems that disproportionately affect homeless youth.