Y-chromosome STR system, Y-PLEX 12, for forensic casework: development and validation

The Y-PLEX 12 system, developed for use in human identification, enables simultaneous amplification of eleven polymorphic short tandem repeat (STR) loci, namely DYS392, DYS390, DYS385 a/b, DYS393, DYS389I, DYS391, DYS389II, DYS 19, DYS439 and DYS438, residing on the Y chromosome and Amelogenin. Amelogenin provides results for gender identification and serves as internal control for PCR. The validation studies were performed according to the DNA Advisory Board's (DAB) Quality Assurance Standards. The minimal sensitivity of the Y-PLEX 12 system was 0.1 ng of male DNA. The mean stutter values ranged between 3.76-15.72%. A full male profile was observed in mixture samples containing 0.5 ng of male DNA and up to 400 ng of female DNA. Amelogenin did not adversely affect the amplification of Y-STRs in mixture samples containing male and female DNA. The primers for the Y-STR loci present in Y-PLEX 12 are specific for human DNA and some higher primates. None of the primate samples tested provided a complete profile at all 11 Y-STR loci amplified with the Y-PLEX 12 system. Y-PLEX 12 is a sensitive, valid, reliable, and robust multiplex system for forensic analysis, and it can be used in human forensic and male lineage identification cases.     

Implementing health care reform in Israel: organizational response to perceived incentives

Devising new incentives was a main element of health care reform in Israel, which created a regulated market that embodies many principles of managed competition. This study examined sick fund directors' perceptions of the new incentives and their strategic responses to these incentives, enabling the testing of how managed competition works in practice. The methodology used was a multiple case study of Israel's four sick funds. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with 160 senior officials, analysis of national health insurance legislation, and analysis of published and unpublished archival documents, newspaper articles, public statements of senior managers, and other published data on the sick funds' behavior. The study revealed discrepancies between planned and perceived incentives and highlighted the effect of the latter on strategy formulation. Analysis of sick fund strategies showed that their responses to managed competition incentives deviated from theoretical expectations, compromising some of the objectives of the reform. The study also shows that contextual features account for the specific model of managed competition that was implemented and for the specific strategies employed by the sick funds. The study concludes by highlighting the need to build a process that will enable policy makers to consider local contextual factors when planning and implementing reform, involving health care providers in designing incentives, continuously monitoring processes and outcomes in the reformed system, and allowing for flexibility in policy making.     

The Role of Woman's Explanations for Refusal on Men's Ability to Discriminate Unwanted Sexual Behavior in a Date Rape Scenario

This study examined the impact of types of women's verbal refusals, and the timing of her refusal, on men's discrimination of when a female wants her partner to stop making sexual advances. Male students were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 conditions (Explanations × Intimacy Levels). Before listening to an audiotape of a date rape, participants were told they would be listening to an interaction between a man and a woman who had just returned from a date. They were instructed to indicate when the woman wanted the man to stop making sexual advances by pressing a switch that synchronously stopped a timer (yielding the measure of latency). In the vignette, the woman provided an explanation for not engaging in sexual intercourse on the date either during kissing or when the man attempted to touch her breasts. She offered one of three reasons for refusing his sexual advances; fear of pregnancy, waiting until marriage, too early in the relationship. Results revealed an interaction in which participants in the too early in the relationship explanation at the level of breast contact condition displayed significantly longer latencies than individuals in the other groups. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Alcohol Consumption and Females’ Recognition in Response to Date Rape Risk: The Role of Sex-Related Alcohol Expectancies

This study examined the pharmacological and psychological effects of alcohol on women’s recognition of and response to dating sexual aggression. Female participants completed measures of prior sexual victimization experiences, sex related alcohol expectancies, general alcohol expectancies, and drinking habits. Using a 2 (alcohol) × 2 (expectancy) balanced placebo research design, women were exposed to an audiotape date rape vignette and asked to press a button when the man’s sexual advances had gone to far. Upon pressing the button, the tape was stopped and participants were instructed to imagine themselves in the same situation and generate a response describing what they would say and/or do at that point. Results indicated that although alcohol and expectancy were not related to risk perception, individuals who consumed alcohol displayed significantly less resistant role play refusals. A significant interaction between expectancy set and pre-existing sex-related alcohol expectancies was observed indicating participants believing alcohol affects sexual behavior generated less resistant refusal responses when they expected to receive alcohol. Moreover, for those who expected to receive alcohol, stronger pre-existing sex-related alcohol expectancies predicted less resistant refusal responses over above the effects of blood alcohol level and general alcohol expectancies. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

History, Race, and Prediction: Comments on Harcourt's Against Prediction

This article reviews Bernard Harcourt's Against Prediction: Profiling, Policing, and Punishing in an Actuarial Age (2007). It places the rise of actuarialism in criminal law in the United States in the context of trends in other areas of law, as well as in penology. It further suggests that this move toward actuarial thinking cannot in fact be separated from race; that prediction has always involved racial profiling, and that it is no accident that it does so .     

School Leaders’ Experiences on Dealing with Students Exposed to Domestic Violence

School leaders’ experiences and perceptions of students’ domestic violence experiences and trauma-informed school interventions have been overlooked. This semi-structured qualitative study aimed to investigate three areas regarding school leaders’ perceptions regarding domestic violence-exposed students: 1) the experiences of school leaders in dealing with these students; 2) the barriers and strengths associated with managing these students; and 3) school leaders’ recommendations for overcoming any barriers related to this issue in schools. Interviews conducted with 15 school leaders were analysed using thematic analysis. School leaders were found to be instrumental in influencing school culture and support systems surrounding students’ exposure to domestic violence. However, school leaders provided mixed reports regarding the adequacy of resources for domestic violence-exposed students. Recommendations suggested by school leaders included more domestic violence specific training for school staff and training delivery methods that were more sensitive for staff who have personal experiences with domestic violence. School leaders expressed great concerns for teachers, particularly less experienced teachers, regarding their knowledge and skills to assist students who disclose family violence.

     

Communitarian Bioethics: Three Case Studies

In recent years, communitarianism has turned bioethics away from an overwhelming emphasis on liberal individualism. Growing emphasis on the common good has created no few dilemmas for medical practitioners used to weighing the interests of their patients above all else. Three cases exemplify the conflict between community and individual interests. The first is the Israel Patient Rights Act (IPRA), a first of its kind statute that allows hospital ethics committees to impose lifesaving treatment on competent patients who refuse medical care. The second case investigates the medical treatment of wounded soldiers and suggests that community based obligations may, in some circumstances, allow physicians to give priority to treating compatriots over non-compatriots. The last case discusses force feeding political detainees. While many physicians are resolved to preserve a hunger striker’s right to refuse food, many state governments are equally resolved to feed them. Hunger striking sets the stage for a classic battle between respect for autonomy and concerns about the public welfare that communitarian principles can help resolve.