India as a Regional Power: Identifying the Impact of Roles and Foreign Policy Orientation on the South Asian Security Order

Abstract

The Regional Powers and Security Framework provides a systematic method to assess how the relative strength and behavior of regional powers influence regional security orders. This article applies the framework to India as a South Asian regional power. The analysis indicates that although the region is unipolar; India's impact is limited because of its failure to play leadership and custodianship roles. It does serve as a protector of the region from external threats, doing so through a unilateral, status quo, and reactive orientation. Application of this framework points to a lack of a hegemonic security order in South Asia, in spite of India's self-view as the region's natural hegemon. For India to be hegemonic, it would have to play these roles in a comprehensive manner.     

Violence in our society

Violent interactions between parent and child, and between spouses, occur at a high rate in the United States. In response to this situation, several federal agencies are involved in various research projects whose goal is a better understanding of the roots of violence. Among these agencies are the Division of Injury Epidemiology and Control (Centers for Disease Control), the Office of Minority Health (Department of Health and Human Services), and the Antisocial and Violent Behavior Branch (National Institute of Mental Health).     

Humans Are Animals,Too: Critical Commonalities and Differences Between Human and Wildlife Forensic Genetics

Wildlife forensics has recently been recognized among the wide variety of forensic science disciplines. This review compares human and wildlife DNA forensics, which use the same genetic tools, but often for far different purposes. Human forensic genetics almost invariably attempts to identify individual perpetrators involved in a given crime. Wildlife forensics often determines whether a crime has occurred. In addition to techniques familiar in human laboratories, like individual matching with STRs, wildlife analysts may be asked to determine the taxonomic identity, geographic source, or sex of evidence items, or the familial relationships or minimum number of individuals among a group of samples. This review highlights the common questions, legal framework, databases, and similar validation requirements to foster understanding between disciplines. Based on this understanding, human and wildlife DNA practitioners may work together and learn from each other in order to elevate the discipline of forensic genetics.     

Validation of the AMPFlSTR SGM plus system for use in forensic casework

The AMPFlSTR((R)) SGM Plus system is a commercially available STR multiplex produced by Applied Biosystems, a division of Perkin Elmer, Foster City, California, USA that supersedes SGM. The multiplex contains the six SGM loci, amelogenin and four additional loci. These additional loci are D3S1358, D19S433, D16S539 and D2S1338. Consequently, the match probability is significantly improved (conservatively quoted as 1 in 10(9) for reporting a full profile match). The system was subjected to validation. For example, ageing and degradation studies demonstrated semen stains to be the most stable evidence type, whereas buccal scrapes were the least stable. An apparent rise in the sensitivity increases the chance of obtaining successful results from the more difficult samples submitted for analysis. Two of the new loci (D3S1358 and D19S433) are low molecular weight (between 100 and 150 base pairs); this improved the success rates of the degraded samples where high molecular weight loci may drop out. Of 26 non-primates tested, four gave results that appeared as single peaks and were unlikely to cause interpretation problems. None of the 19 micro-organisms tested gave discernible results. Extensive casework and simulated casework studies demonstrated that SGM and SGM plus results were comparable. There was one example of a null allele (primer binding site mutation) recorded at the HUMFIBRA locus (in both systems). However, a concordance study of 1000 samples using both SGM and SGM plus did not demonstrate any differences in typing.     

A Longitudinal Exploration of the Effect of Official Processing and Sanctioning on the Academic and Criminal Careers of College Students

This study examines the effect of official processing and sanctioning on the academic and criminal careers of a sample of college students from a large university in a southeastern college town. Using a series of OLS and logistic regression models, the results indicated that offense frequency and severity are risk factors for dropping out/or being dismissed from college, whereas membership in a sorority or fraternity is a protective factor. Additional analyses demonstrated that the severity of punishment as well as the type of punishment (e.g., judicial affairs punishment, criminal justice system punishment) also had a significant effect on future offending. Study limitations and policy implications are also discussed.     

Rape trauma syndrome

This article analyzes recent case law on the admissibility of rape trauma syndrome evidence. Because many rulings on the admissibility of this evidence have been based on judicial assumptions about human behavior, rather than on scientific evidence, we next describe psychological research relevant to concerns raised about its scientific reliability, helpfulness, and prejudicial impact. Following this review, we evaluate both the expert testimony provided and the judicial decisions in recent cases in light of current research. Finally, we provide suggestions for future psychological research that could 1 inform discussions of the admissiblity of rape trauma syndrome evidence.