Inter-species variation in bone mineral behavior upon heating

The characterization of inter-species variation in bone mineral (b-HAP) is of relevance to forensic science and archaeology, but has not previously been widely explored. Results of an investigation into unheated bone mineral and behavior of bone upon heating for 12 animal species (including human) demonstrate that b-HAP characteristics, quantitatively measured using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, exhibit significant inter-species variation. Human bone was found to be significantly different to all other species in terms of b-HAP lattice parameter values from unheated and heated bone and in terms of recrystallization behavior of b-HAP upon heating bone to 600°C. The amounts of b-HAP thermal decomposition products were also significantly different for human bone heated to 1400°C compared to those obtained for most other species. Therefore, there is potential for the development of an XRD-based method of species identification, particularly one that distinguishes human from non-human bone.     

Neonaticides in Hamburg, Germany, from 1998 to 2008

In the analyzed period from 1998 to 2008, the autopsies performed at the Hamburg Institute of Legal Medicine included 13 cases in which an investigation for neonaticide had been initiated by the public prosecutor. The killed neonates showed a nearly equal distribution between both sexes. The most common method of neonaticide was suffocation. Most of the perpetrators were young, unmarried primipara with an average educational background. Almost all of them were suffering under psychological stress and had negated their pregnancy. In most cases, birth and neonaticide happened alone in their flat, and there was no medical attendance in any case. In the cases brought to court the women were charged with manslaughter (Section 212 German Criminal Code) and those found guilty were always granted a mitigated sentence pursuant to Section 213 Criminal Code.     

The reservation wages of Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries

There exists a lot of research on the reservation wages of the unemployed as a determinant of unemployment duration. Little is known about the reservation wages of those who are not in the labor force but might be potential labor force returnees, such as Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) beneficiaries. The main objective of this article is to assess what can be learned from the subjective reservation wages of DI beneficiaries. Using the New Beneficiary Data System (NBDS), the article assesses the magnitudes of reservation wages compared to the last wage earned and the benefit amount, as well as the determinants of reservation wages in a regression framework. The NBDS is unique in that it provides the reservation wages and the work history of DI beneficiaries before and after joining the DI rolls. The article has several noteworthy results and policy implications: *Data show that a significant portion of beneficiaries report being likely to accept a job if offered one. Based on the NBDS, 13 percent of DI beneficiaries who did not work since joining the rolls in 1981-1982 reported in 1991 that they would be willing to work if offered a job and provided their reservation wages. *DI beneficiaries do not appear to price themselves out of the labor market. Half of them would want a wage that is 80 percent or less of the last wage earned before receiving DI. It is estimated that approximately 7 percent of long-term DI beneficiaries may potentially return-to-work if they search for jobs and have a wage offer distribution with a mean at 80 percent of their last wage. *The nonlabor income in addition to the benefit is positively and significantly associated with the reservation wage, while the benefit amount per se is not. However, this result needs to be treated with caution given that nonlabor income is endogenous to the model. *Heterogeneity exists between persons still under the DI program and those that have moved to the Old-Age program. The subsamples of persons who have shifted to the Old-Age program and those who are still under the DI program have median reservation wage to the last wage ratios of 0.69 and 0.93, respectively. A significantly lower reservation wage for persons who have moved to the Old-Age program was also found in a regression framework. This heterogeneity between the two groups may result in part from the different program characteristics both groups face, for instance, in terms of benefit termination and Medicare eligibility rules. *Subjective reservation wage data can be useful to study populations that are out of the labor force. This article is innovative in that it focuses on a group of persons who are typically considered as being out of the labor force, and therefore are not asked reservation wages in general household surveys such as the Current Population Survey. It would be of great interest to collect more reservation wage data for DI beneficiaries in a longitudinal data set to expand this analysis, for instance, to assess conclusively the effects of changing program characteristics on reservation wages and return-to-work outcomes as beneficiaries transition to the Old-Age program or as new return-to-work programs are put in place.     

Chilling ISPs… when private regulators act without adequate public framework…

Self-regulation has found its adepts very early, but more academics are beginning to question its appropriateness and calling for a “hybrid regulation” as cyberspace becomes more and more an essential means of communication in everyday life. Yet, today the private sector has never been so strong within cyberspace and the chances to see the flowering of what U.S. lawyers know as public forums keep on diminishing. The success of filtering measures, the implementation is which is most of the time opaque, confirms this trend. More generally, the desire to see private powers confined in the digital environment is far from being granted. This is certainly due in part to the relative obsolescence of legal concepts that are inapt to frame the behavior of intermediaries, which do play the role of regulators. This paper thus seeks to determine and analyse the legal framework within which intermediaries act in cyberspace.     

Islamization in Malaysia: processes and dynamics

Over the past three decades Malaysian society has undergone radical change and transformation. On one level this has been brought about by the country's rapid economic transformation, but equally significant has been the deepening Islamization of the country. From banking to law, from dress to education policy, almost no sector of Malaysian society has escaped the growing influence of Islam upon the socioeconomic and political make-up of the country. The prevalent explanation for this dynamic has been the political competition between the United Malay National Organization and the Islamic opposition party, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, since the early 1980s. Such explanations, however, clearly marginalize the role of other societal factors and dynamics. Consequently, this article contends Islamization in Malaysia has created a series of processes that have produced results which are self-reinforcing. Ironically, the strategy for diverting the extremes of Islamic revival by co-option has actually produced a far more dynamic penetration of state and society by conservative Muslims who have become a powerful constituency supportive of the further religious coloration of government bureaucracies and programmes.     

Lesbian and Gay Immigrants' Post-Migration Experiences: An Integrative Literature Review

This integrative literature review synthesizes recent empirical knowledge about lesbian and gay immigrants' post-migration experiences. Twenty-four studies with various designs are included. The literature shows that those immigrants encounter some opportunities but also many challenges on economical, social and identity levels, thus soliciting coping strategies. Results are synthesized under five topics: the delicate situation in which they find themselves for revealing their lesbian or gay sexual orientation; the racist and homophobic discrimination they can experience; their renegotiation of socioeconomic status; the identity and affiliation challenges they have to overcome; and the hardships that can impact their health.     

Artificial Intelligence,Forward‐Looking Governance and the Future of Security

Over the last years, AI applications have come to play a role in many security‐related fields. In this paper, we show that scholars who want to study AI’s link to power and security should widen their perspective to include conceptual approaches from science and technology studies (STS). This way, scholars can pay attention to critical dynamics, processes, practices, and non‐traditional actors in AI politics and governance. We introduce two STS‐inspired concepts – the micro‐politics of design and development and co‐production – and show how the study of AI and security could benefit from them. In the final section, we turn to the study of AI in the context of Switzerland to underscore what aspects the two previously introduced concepts help to highlight that remain invisible for traditional approaches.     

Higher Fines—Fewer Traffic Offences? A Multi-Site Observational Study

Assess the impact of a 100-per cent increase of fines on compliance with speed-limits (50 km/h) and parking regulations in urban areas. Norm violations were measured through standardized observations in all five major cities in Switzerland before and after fines had been raised by 100 % or more at two pre- and two post-intervention periods. The speed of 20,000 cars was measured, and 10,000 parked cars were controlled. Levels of police controls remained stable over the entire period, but enforcement activity varied considerably across cities. Violations of parking regulations decreased by 32 %. Speed-limit violations remained unaffected in the longer run by higher fines. When cities without relevant enforcement activity were excluded, a reduction by 17 % was observed. No causal inferences can be drawn given the absence of a control area. However, the data suggest that higher fines deter traffic violations, provided enforcement activity remains at relevant levels.