Fatalities Due to Indigenous and Exotic Species in Florida

Florida's climate is suitable for many potentially hazardous animals, including both indigenous and exotic species, which are frequently kept as in zoos or as pets. This has resulted in many unforeseen fatal encounters between animals and the ever expanding human population. While the literature and knowledge pool for more common types of deaths referred to medical examiner/coroner's offices is abundant, the appreciation of wildlife and exotic pet‐related deaths is far less widespread. We report seven animal attack‐related deaths that occurred in Florida. The inflicted injuries included blunt and sharp force injuries, asphyxia, drowning, and envenomation. The underlying cause of death, however, was always a result of the human/animal interaction and in many cases related to human error and failure to appreciate the potentially dangerous behavior of nondomesticated species. These cases illustrate the varied circumstances and pathophysiologies associated with deaths due to indigenous and exotic species and the importance of the multidisciplinary approach in the medicolegal investigation of these cases.     

Essential medicolegal death investigation services: standardization of a survey instrument based on the Essential Public Health Services

The National Academy of Sciences recommends that states assess the performance of medicolegal death investigation agencies. To aid in performance assessment, we adapted an instrument based on the CDC's 10 Essential Public Health Services by translating the terminology to that of essential medicolegal death investigation services. This produced a survey that could be used to standardize reporting practices and services of agencies. To validate the instrument, a stratified random sample of 12 death investigation chiefs in 12 states was interviewed. This sample represented both medical examiner and coroner jurisdictions within the varying medicolegal structures. A cognitive testing process elicited how well participants could respond to and interpret the survey questions. The response was favorable in that the respondents agreed that given specific revisions toward question clarification, the instrument would be a useful and relevant tool for assessing system performance.     

Developmental validation of RSID™-Semen: a lateral flow immunochromatographic strip test for the forensic detection of human semen

Abstract: Tests for the identification of semen commonly involve the microscopic visualization of spermatozoa or assays for the presence of seminal markers such as acid phosphatase (AP) or prostate‐specific antigen (PSA). Here, we describe the rapid stain identification kit for the identification of semen (RSID?‐Semen), a lateral flow immunochromatographic strip test that uses two antihuman semenogelin monoclonal antibodies to detect the presence of semenogelin. The RSID?‐Semen strip is specific for human semen, detecting <2.5 nL of semen, and does not cross‐react with other human or nonhuman tissues tested. RSID?‐Semen is more sensitive with certain forensic evidence samples containing mixtures of vaginal secretions and semen than either of the commercially available PSA‐based forensic semen detection tests or tests that measure AP activity that were tested in parallel. The RSID?‐Semen kit also allows sampling a fraction of a questioned stain while retaining the majority of the sample for further processing through short tandem repeat analysis.     

The Narmada River Project: Toward a feminist model of women in development

A number of competing models of women in development have been vying for the allegiance of feminist scholars concerned with gender equity in the Third World. This article compares the merits of the liberal integration model, the marginalization model, the capitalist exploitation model, and the socialist feminist model in assessing the probable consequences of a mega-development project for women. Using the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River in India as a case study, the essay contrasts the outcomes projected by each model in order to explore the play of gender in Third World societies and in development policies. In addition, applying these competing models to an on-going development project illuminates limitations in each model which must be overcome if the goal of a feminist model of women in development is to minimize the harm done to women by development and to empower women of the Third World.     

Rapid screening of selected organic explosives by high performance liquid chromatography using reversed-phase monolithic columns

This study presents the rapid screening of various high grade explosives by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with monolithic stationary phases. Two gradient methods were developed, the first for quantitative analysis of eleven explosives: HMX; RDX; Tetryl; TNT; 2,3-DNT; 2,6-DNT; 3,4-DNT; 2-NT; 3-NT; 4-NT; and PETN in under 14 min. The second method separated seven explosives in under two min and is suitable for rapid screening to determine the presence of specific and/or class of explosive. The rapid screening methods were successfully applied to soils spiked with known amounts of target explosives. This technology showed excellent potential for forensic explosives detection and analysis.     

Negotiating group decisions

Conclusion The research on negotiations, coalition formation, and group decision making suggests numerous ways to improve the quality of group decisions ranging from selection and training of group members, development of norms to maximize the amount of relevant information considered by the group, and the selection of an approach to integrate that information. In thinking about managing the process, it is useful to consider what may be done at the time a task force or team is formed, what needs to be done prior to decision making, and what may be done to integrate information and preferences to make high quality decisions. Table 5 organizes the ideas discussed in this article by stages.An interesting question is how overtly a group leader or member may act in managing this process. Groups themselves do not seem to engage in much deliberate planning. They often jump into their tasks only to back off and plan when they find themselves hopelessly frustrated, such as in the MIS task force in our example. Most groups do not have the luxury of team-building training—learning techniques to reach high quality group decisions in a simulated environment. So, it is often up to individual group members to direct the group to use processes that will produce high quality decisions. Jeanne M. Brett is the DeWitt W. Buchanan, Jr. Professor of Dispute Resolution and Organizations at the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, III, 60208.     

Latent Print Proficiency Testing: An Examination of Test Respondents,Test-Taking Procedures,and Test Characteristics

Proficiency testing is a key component of quality assurance programs within crime laboratories and can help improve laboratory practices. However, current proficiency testing procedures contain significant limitations and can be misinterpreted by examiners and court personnel (Garrett & Mitchell, 2018). To evaluate some of these limitations, we surveyed latent print examiners (n = 198) after they completed a Collaborative Testing Services, Inc. proficiency test. Additionally, we evaluated test performance and used a quality metric algorithm to evaluate the quality of test prints. Results do not suggest that respondents are dissimilar to the broader examiner population, although they may engage in different behaviors when completing tests versus casework. Findings show that proficiency testing contains prints of high quality and is perceived as both relatively easy and representative of casework. The test discriminated between inexperienced and experienced respondents, and verification procedures were largely ineffective in reducing errors. Objective quality metrics may provide a path forward to improving proficiency testing in a measurable manner.     

Testing Application of Geographical Information Systems,Forensic Geomorphology and Electrical Resistivity Tomography to Investigate Clandestine Grave Sites in Colombia,South America

Colombian forensic investigators required assistance locating clandestine burials of missing persons related to human right atrocities from 14 years ago. Geoscientific search methods were trialled, including a predictive spatial statistical model, using various input and database information, to select the most likely grave locations in difficult mountainous terrain. Groundwork using forensic geomorphology, near-surface geophysics (ERT) and subsequent probing identified suspect burial positions. One site was in mountainous terrain and the other in former school grounds, both difficult to access and in poor weather conditions. In the mountainous area, a negative resistivity anomaly area was identified and intrusively investigated, found to be a buried rock. In school grounds, after MESP and intelligence were used to identify a burial site, surface depressions were identified, and ERT datasets collected over the highest priority depression; intrusive investigations discovered a hand-dug pit containing animal bones. This approach is suggested for Latin American searches.