Water resources data and information exchange in transboundary water treaties

Despite international calls for data and information sharing in transboundary waters and basin-specific evidence of its importance to cooperative management, no systematic research has been undertaken to answer questions of where, how frequently, and which water resources data and information are exchanged. This paper examines all available transboundary water agreements signed between 1900 and 2007 to determine the degree to which water resources data and information is exchanged in the world??s regions, how the level of exchange has developed over time, and the different ways in which data and information sharing has been codified in practice. In doing so, we reveal important trends regarding the mechanisms, types, and frequencies of water resources data and information sharing??as well as differences across temporal and spatial scales, by treaty type and function, and regime type. The results indicate that data and information exchange as already practiced is more nuanced and, in some senses, widespread than may commonly be recognized. Further, the results reveal key linkages between democracy and data and information exchange and provide a basis to test analogous linkages related to data sharing and other variables in transboundary water settings.     

Enhancing the assessment of verbal aggression through observational methodology

The assessment of verbal aggression in adolescent and young adult dating relationships has largely relied on self-report methodology. We investigated whether information on verbal aggression derived from an observational assessment would enhance the prediction of romantic relationship satisfaction and dissolution in a sample of young adult dating relationships (N = 113). Observationally assessed verbal aggression was moderately associated with self-reported verbal aggression. Consistent with previous findings, neither self-reported nor observationally assessed verbal aggression was associated with relationship dissolution. Observationally assessed verbal aggression and self-reported verbal aggression each uniquely accounted for a substantial amount of variability in romantic relationship satisfaction. The findings of this study provide additional support for conducting multimethod assessments of verbal aggression and incorporating observational methodology in the study of aggression in young adult dating relationships.     

Preliminary evaluation of the childhood experiences of violence questionnaire short form

Despite advances in child maltreatment research, accurate measurement of exposure remains a key issue. In this study, we evaluated a short form (CEVQ-SF) of the Childhood Experiences of Violence Questionnaire (CEVQ) in a sample of adolescents involved with child protection services in an urban city in Ontario, Canada. Focusing on the two most readily defined maltreatment types, physical and sexual abuse, we evaluated the short form's comparability with the full version of the CEVQ. Both versions had good internal consistency and moderate-to-good 2-week test-retest reliability. The criterion validity of the two CEVQ versions in comparison with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire was satisfactory. Construct validity for both versions was demonstrated: physically and sexually abused youth had higher odds of reporting clinical traumatic symptoms compared with either type alone. The CEVQ-SF is as reliable and valid as its full version. Implications for its use in large population-based surveys are discussed.     

New Formulas to Estimate Age at Death in Maya Populations Using Histomorphological Changes in the Fourth Human Rib*

Abstract: This study develops new histomorphological algorithms for Maya populations’ human ribs and tests the applicability of published algorithms. Thin sections from the fourth rib of 36 individuals of known age were analyzed under polarized light microscopy. Osteon population density (OPD, the concentration of intact and fragmented osteons per mm²), cortical area (CA), and osteon size (OS) were recorded. Seven algorithms were calculated, using all combinations of variables, and compared to the performance of published formulas. The OPD‐based formulas deviate from the known age 8.7 years on average, while those from OS and CA deviate between 10.7 and 12.8 years. In comparison, our OPD‐based algorithms perform better than the one by Stout and Paine and much better than Cho et al. In conclusion, algorithms should be developed using OPD for different ethnic groups; although Stout and Paine’s can be used for Maya and maybe Mesoamerican individuals.     

Trends in Officer‐involved Firearm Deaths in Oklahoma from 2000 to 2015

The purpose of this study was to collect data and disseminate trends in officer‐involved firearm deaths in Oklahoma from 2000 to 2015. The Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) database was searched for civilian decedents with gunshot wounds inflicted by law enforcement officers and officer decedents with gunshot wounds inflicted by civilians. Five decedents were law enforcement officers, while 274 decedents were civilians. The number of civilian decedents throughout the study followed a quadratic trend. Civilian decedents were most commonly males (95%) between the ages of 20 and 39 (64%), had one or two gunshot wounds (46%), and had an increasing number of gunshot wounds over time. Postmortem toxicology testing most commonly detected ethanol, methamphetamine, cocaine, and PCP. Efforts toward increased tracking by various agencies and more scientific studies like this are needed to facilitate future analysis of trends in officer‐involved firearm deaths.     

Policing Race,Gender, and Sex: A Review of Law Enforcement Policies

Growing attention to the unique ways in which women of color’s bodies are racially profiled and policed has prompted questions concerning gender-specific impacts of law enforcement practices. Arrest statistics, patterns of enforcement, and high-profile cases of police violence against Black women and other women of color suggest that gaps in policy and implementation will disproportionately affect women of color. In the current research, the policies of 36 police departments across the country were examined to ascertain the degree to which they address profiling, police sexual misconduct, and other gendered experiences of policing. The findings reveal considerable divergence in attention to regulating police behavior in the context of interactions with women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, exposing important gaps in police policies, and highlight a need for further research and action specifically focused on intersectional factors at play in the context of policing women’s bodies.     

Difficult Partners: Indo‐Australian Relations at the Height of the Cold War, 1949–1964

This article aims to make a long overdue re‐examination of Indo‐Australian relations in the early Cold War years. By drawing on available secondary sources, it reassesses the existing literature on Australian engagement with Asia. In so doing, it seeks to understand the reasons why the Menzies government found it so difficult to forge a close partnership with India. Canberra's rather frosty relations with New Delhi during the Menzies‐Nehru years had little to do with Menzies' alleged condescension towards the Asians or his personal antipathy towards Nehru. Rather, it had to do with the two leaders' different readings of Cold War politics as well as their responses to the structural changes taking place at the international level following the end of the Second World War.     

From unknown to known: Identification of the remains at the mausoleum of fosse Ardeatine

During the Second World War, on 24th March 1944, 335 Italians were massacred near Rome by the occupying forces of Nazi Germany. Four months later forensic examination led to the identification of 323 out of 335 victims. After approximately 60?years, the identification of the remaining unidentified twelve victims began with anthropological and genetic analysis carried out by a team of Italian forensic experts. Anthropological analysis was performed in field in order to confirm the sex of each victim and verify the presence of only one individual in each grave for a correct sampling. Selected bone fragments for each individual were then collected and transferred to the laboratory for genetic analysis. Although the anthropological ante mortem information was limited, morphological and metrical data was collected for a possible future identification of the victims. Subsequently, the typing of autosomal loci, Y-STR and mtDNA D-loop region of all bone and available reference samples was conducted. LR and cumulative LRs obtained from autosomal STR and Y-STR results confirmed the alleged relationship between three victims and their relatives with values over 10⁴ (one sample) and 10⁶ (two samples). Therefore, the genetic analysis offered the families the possibility of replacing the number of the grave with the name of the victim.     

Are we interested? a trend analysis of sex offender internet registries

Traditional research on community awareness and use of sex offender registries relies upon random digit dialing and other survey instruments. While important sources of data, these sources have limitations and attempts to improve on these measures are bound to funding limitations impeding the collection of larger samples. Analyzing internet search query data associated with interest in sex offender registries from 2006–2016, we explore regional and temporal trends associated with interest in sex offender registries. Results substantiate prior research using mail and telephone surveys, and that of other similar methodologies, showing that interest in sex offender registries display low to moderate interest, which are relatively stable overtime and declining in interest.