Commercialisation of regenerative human tissue: regulation and reform in Australia and England, Wales and Northern Ireland

The commercialisation of therapeutic products containing regenerative human tissue is regulated by the common law, statute and ethical guidelines in Australia and England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This article examines the regulatory regimes in these jurisdictions and considers whether reform is required to both support scientific research and ensure conformity with modern social views on medical research and the use of human tissue. The authors consider the crucial role of informed consent in striking the balance between the interests of researchers and the interests of the public.     

Citrate Content of Bone as a Measure of Postmortem Interval: An External Validation Study

The postmortem interval (PMI) of skeletal remains is a crucial piece of information that can help establish the time dimension in criminal cases. Unfortunately, the accurate and reliable determination of PMI from bone continues to evade forensic investigators despite concerted efforts over the past decades to develop suitable qualitative and quantitative methods. A relatively new PMI method based on the analysis of citrate content of bone was developed by Schwarcz et al. The main objective of our research was to determine whether this work could be externally validated. Thirty‐one bone samples were obtained from the Forensic Anthropology Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office. Results from analyzing samples with PMI greater than 2 years suggest that the hypothetical relationship between the citrate content of bone and PMI is much weaker than reported. It was also observed that the average absolute error between the PMI value estimated using the equation proposed by Schwarcz et al. and the actual (“true”) PMI of the sample was negative indicating an underestimation in PMI. These findings are identical to those reported by Kanz et al. Despite these results this method may still serve as a technique to sort ancient from more recent skeletal cases, after further, similar validation studies have been conducted.     

Working with Misspecified Regression Models

Objectives

Conventional statistical modeling in criminology assumes proper model specification. Very strong and unrebutted criticisms have existed for decades. Some respond that although the criticisms are correct, there is for observational data no alternative. In this paper, we provide an alternative.

Methods

We draw on work in econometrics and statistics from several decades ago, updated with the most recent thinking to provide a way to properly work with misspecified models.

Results

We show how asymptotically, unbiased regression estimates can be obtained along with valid standard errors. Conventional statistical inference can follow.

Conclusions

If one is prepared to work with explicit approximations of a “true” model, defensible analyses can be obtained. The alternative is working with models about which all of the usual criticisms hold.

     

A step towards improving workflow practices for volume crime investigations: outcomes of a 90-day trial in South Australia

The provision of forensic science services in volume crime investigations works most successfully as a partnership between police agencies and external forensic laboratories as opposed to a client/provider model where unlimited demand ignores finite resources. The principles of Lean Six Sigma have been applied in various laboratories to improve workflow through identification of wasteful work practices. These strategies are aimed at process optimisation through the application of triaging, a concept that has rarely been studied yet referenced strongly in the literature. The South Australia End to End 90-Day Trial: facilitating quicker justice through timely evidence processing, is a collaborative approach between South Australia Police and Forensic Science South Australia. This trial applied evidence-based policing principles, a law enforcement philosophy that uses research undertaken with scientific processes to inform law-enforcement decision-making. The results demonstrate how a review of processes and the removal of non-value adding activities can improve service delivery while not exhausting those ‘finite resources’.     

The multidimensionality of peer pressure in adolescence

A sample of 689 adolescents (grades 7–12) from two Midwestern communities who had been identified by peers as members of one of three major peer groups responded to a self-report survey measuring perceptions of peer pressure in five areas of behavior: involvement with peers, school involvement, family involvement, conformity to peer norms, and misconduct. Perceived pressures toward peer involvement were particularly strong, whereas peer pressures concerning misconduct were relatively ambivalent. Perceived pressures toward misconduct increased across grade levels and pressures to conform to peer norms diminished; grade differences in perceived peer pressures concerning family involvement were community specific. Compared to druggie-toughs, jock-populars perceived stronger peer pressures toward school and family involvement, and less pressure toward (stronger pressure against) misconduct; patterns of perceived pressure among loners were more variable across communities. Results elaborated the process of peer influence in adolescent socialization and identity development.A version of this paper was presented at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development, Toronto, April 1985. The study was supported by a grant to the second author from the Spencer Foundation, Chicago, Illinois.She received her Ph.D. in 1982 from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interests: adolescent peer groups and peer pressure, and implications of various instructional strategies for gifted students.He received his Ph.D. in 1979 from the University of Chicago. His research interests: effects of peer pressure and peer-group affiliation on adolescent self-concept and identity development, and social development in high school.     

Urbanization,Rural Mobility,and New Class Relations in Darjeeling,India

Throughout the developing world, rapid urbanization is leading to new social relations and new conflicts between urban and (formerly) rural populations. This paper examines this process of change through a detailed examination of changing rural–urban relations in the town of Darjeeling, in the Himalayan foothills in Eastern India. In Darjeeling, increased rural mobility, accelerated rural-to-urban migration and the increased participation of rural people in local politics have led to major changes in the town. We demonstrate that the upward trajectory of rural classes who were previously subordinate is leading the more established urban residents to feel threatened, resulting in a redrawing of local political issues along rural–urban lines and a reconfiguration of class consciousness and social relations. The urban middle class, whose opportunities in the town have stagnated or declined, see rural migrants as a source of competition for increasingly scarce resources and blame them for the overall decline in the quality of urban life. They mobilize their (predominantly cultural) capital to reinforce markers of cultural distinction between them and the rural migrants and to delegitimize the political gains they have made. We argue that rural–urban conflict is emerging as the chief source of tension in the town and that this tension is largely grounded in class issues.     

Safeguarding adults and mass marketing fraud – Perspectives from the police,trading standards and the voluntary sector

Despite the growing awareness of mass marketing fraud (MMF) in the financial abuse of vulnerable older people, little empirical research has been undertaken in this area. This paper is one of the first to consider the perspectives of a range of professionals who work with victims of mass marketing fraud and financial crime. MMF is a growing threat in the financial abuse of older people, and is increasingly recognised as a concern for professionals involved in supporting and safeguarding vulnerable older people. This paper considers the themes emerging from a small exploratory qualitative study into the perspectives of professionals working to safeguard those at risk of MMF and considers some of the complexities involved in tackling MMF. This involves consideration of the techniques used to groom and lure victims in plausible looking frauds, and the factors that serve to reinforce their sustained involvement in such activity.