Forensic isoscapes based on intra-individual temporal variation of δ18O and 206Pb/207Pb in human teeth

Isotopic signatures used in the georeferencing of human remains are largely fixed by spatially distinct geologic and environmental processes. However, location-dependent temporal changes in these isotope ratios should also be considered when determining an individual’s provenance and/or trajectory. Distributions of the relevant isotopes can be impacted by predictable external factors such as climate change, delocalisation of food and water sources and changes in sources and uses of metals. Using Multi-Collector Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) analyses of ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb in tooth enamel and dentin from a population of 21 ± 1-year-old individuals born circa 1984 and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) of δ¹⁸O in their enamel, we examined the expected influence of some of these factors. The resulting adjustments to the geographic distribution of isotope ratios (isoscapes) found in tooth enamel and dentin may contain additional useful information for forensic identification, but the shifts in values can also impact the uncertainty and usefulness of identifications if they are not taken into account.

KEY POINTS

• Isoscapes of ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb and δ¹⁸O used for geolocation are not static.
• Within a few years, the enamel and dentin of a person may exhibit measurable differences in ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb even without changing locations.
• Changes in climatic patterns tied to rising temperatures are more significant than the direct effect of increasing temperature on δ¹⁸O fixed in tooth bioapatite.
• Third molar (M3) enamel mineralisation includes material incorporated from before formal amelogenesis takes place.

     

Transnational governance of cybersecurity: policy challenges and global inequalities in cyber capacity building

Abstract

Connectivity infrastructure is constantly expanding, increasing internet access across countries, regions and socio-political contexts. Given the fast-changing geography of the internet, there is a growing demand to strengthen cyber capacity beyond national frameworks, in order to develop a transnationally coherent and coordinated governance approach to cybersecurity. In this context, cyber capacity building initiatives are increasingly central in international debates, with the ambition to support countries in the Global South in fostering their cybersecurity strategy from technical and policy perspectives. This article discusses the key factors explaining states’ efforts to enhance their cyber capacity. Based on a cross-national quantitative research approach, the findings contradict international relations (IR)-derived approaches to cybersecurity, which assume that countries develop their cyber capacity according to external security threats, domestic politics or norms. In line with existing research on the role that science plays in policymaking processes more broadly, our results suggest instead that a country’s science and technical knowledge is the most robust explanation for that state’s cyber capacity level. These findings emphasise the need for policymakers to support countries in the Global South in developing their cyber capacity beyond national security paradigms by strengthening education and technical skills in contexts lacking in this resource.     

Last Insurer Standing: Accounting for Policyholder Settlements in an “All Sums” World

Abstract

In 2016, New York became the latest state to interpret insurance policies with prior insurance or non-cumulation of liability clauses as permitting a policyholder to recover damages under “all sums” for long-tail liabilities, including environmental liabilities. But two major questions were left unanswered in New York, as in many other states, when a policyholder seeks all sums recovery from a non-settled insurer after the policyholder settles with other insurers: first, how to account for a policyholder’s prior settlements—through set-off, contribution, or both. Second, how to calculate any set-off or contribution—should it be pro tanto, pro rata, or something else. This article examines the arguments on both sides of these issues and looks ahead to how courts may resolve these questions going forward.     

War Museums in Postwar Lebanon: Memory,Violence, and Performance

Abstract

This article examines three museums that address Lebanon’s history of conflict: the newly opened Beit Beirut on the capital’s former Green Line, the Hezbollah-run Mleeta Resistance Tourist Landmark in south Lebanon, and Umam Documentation and Research’s online archive “Memory at Work.” Each testing the parameters of what the term museum can mean in Lebanon today, these cases highlight the still-contested nature of war narratives. While many Lebanese youth express desire for a shared national history of the civil war, the affective complexities of recuperated memorial sites and the inconsistent involvement of the state suggest that the possibility of publicly staging such a history is far from secure.     

Policy Formulation in Australian Government: Vertical and Horizontal Axes

Studies of the policy process in Australia have focused on particular institutions or decisions rather than on its overarching properties. One such property is the vertical and horizontal ‘axes’ of policy‐making. The former comprises hierarchical relationships whereas the latter comprise relationships of bargaining, negotiation and persuasion. Vertical axes enable governments to take and enforce technically rational decisions in pursuit of consistent goals whereas horizontal axes permit governments to make broadly‐based decisions that have group assent and electoral support. Vertical axes have strengthened in recent years and have brought increased technical rationality and consistency. This has come at a cost of limiting of the scope of political debate and a loss of electoral support for government though.     

The Mechanisms of Policy Diffusion

Local policy adoptions provide an excellent opportunity to test among potential mechanisms of policy diffusion. By examining three types of antismoking policy choices by the 675 largest U.S. cities between 1975 and 2000, we uncover robust patterns of policy diffusion, yielding three key findings. First, we distinguish among and find evidence for four mechanisms of policy diffusion: learning from earlier adopters, economic competition among proximate cities, imitation of larger cities, and coercion by state governments. Second, we find a temporal component to these effects, with imitation being a more short‐lived diffusion process than the others. Third, we show that these mechanisms are conditional, with larger cities being better able to learn from others, less fearful of economic spillovers, and less likely to rely on imitation.     

Short-Term Prospective Effects of Homophobic Victimization on the Mental Health of Heterosexual Adolescents

Many heterosexual youth report homophobic victimization but there is little longitudinal research to examine its mental health consequences for them. In a 7-month study across an academic school year among 572 heterosexual high school students (55 % females), we tested the short-term effects of homophobic victimization on anxiety and depressive symptoms with attention to gender differences. Homophobic victimization at the beginning of the school year predicted higher levels of concurrent anxiety over and above levels attributable to general victimization. Further, when controlling for initial anxiety and general victimization, homophobic victimization at the beginning of the school year predicted increased anxiety at the end of the school year for males, but not for females. Homophobic victimization across time points was more strongly associated for males than females, and this accounted for why initial homophobic victimization predicted increased anxiety for males but not females (i.e., it was indicative of mediated moderation). In contrast, homophobic victimization at the beginning of the school year did not predict concurrent depressive symptoms over and above general victimization. Similarly, although it predicted increased depressive symptoms at the end of the school year for males but not for females, the effect was weaker than for anxiety. These findings underscore that the effects of homophobic victimization are not temporary, particularly as they pertain to anxiety, and underscore the need to consider the nature of the victimization that youth experience, including for heterosexual youth.     

International political economy: a tale of two heterodoxies

International political economy (IPE) originated in the early 1970s. For almost 20 years it has been dominated by separate, largely non-communicating schools, one centred on scholarly institutions in Britain, the other associated with the US journal, International Organization (IO) . In terms of the evolving norms of both economics and political science, both schools are surprisingly heterodox. Rather than developing strong systematic data collections and systematic theory, the IO school has been characterised by a shifting set of conceptual and metatheoretical debates. The British school, which has tended to take a deliberately critical position, has been characterised by an ever-widening set of concerns topical concerns fuelled by a desire to include more and more voices in the study of IPE. These outcomes are explicable only by tracing the specific historical developments of the two schools.     

Emerging US public affairs practice: the 2000+ PA model

Many larger US corporations are re‐assessing their participation in the public policy process and their entire approach to managing public affairs. This paper will attempt to synthesise much of what is happening to US corporate public affairs. It describes the forces driving the changes and addresses the ways corporations are responding to these forces. Finally, the paper offers an argument of the ‘New Public Affairs’ 2000 and beyond model as it will likely be practised in the USA, and perhaps elsewhere, at least early into this decade. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications     

Staff Selection in the Australian Public Service: A History of Social Closure

This paper argues that recruitment and promotion within the Australian Public Service (APS) have historically exemplified the practice of 'social closure'. Three periods of AP'S staff selection that correspond to what Halligan and Power identify as the bureaucratist/technicist, administrationist and political management models of executive branch regime are identified. Social closure in each instance was based on educational credentials or lack thereof. These practices have been justified in terms of various 'ideologies of promotion'. Such ideologies tend to reflect the ideal or material interests of social groups rather than the skill requirements of administrative work. The current form of social closure based on economics degrees illustrates this phenomenon. Accordingly, greater recognition of the value of non-economics degrees is required.