What is the matter of feminist criticism?

This paper is situated in the context of feminist debates around nature, culture, the body and essentialism, and focuses specifically on matter and materiality. In part, it is a response to recent developments in the natural sciences which suggest that strictly social constructionist and/or epistemological approaches to matter may be inadequate to the task of analysis and critique. It begins by considering some of the specific conditions under which the sex/gender model emerged, and its implications, before addressing the work of three contemporary theorists who are engaged with differing conceptions of matter, ontology and substance. I suggest that, while not necessarily providing ‘solutions’, these projects raise the kinds of questions that promise torevivify the flesh and blood of feminist critique.     

Expressing Uncertainty in Dental Age Estimation: A Comparison between Two Methods of Calculating the “Average” Standard Deviation

The expression of uncertainty is defined by the standard deviation and is usually expressed in multiples of the standard deviation (±1sd, ±2sd, and ±3sd). The objective was to use weighting of the sd calculation by the number or count of subjects for each tooth development stage. A comparison shows the difference between the range of uncertainty using the unweighted sd and the weighted sd. The range of uncertainty related to Dental Age Estimation is statistically significantly greater (p < 0.001) for the weighted sd compared to the unweighted sd. It is concluded that the number of subjects for each Tooth Development Stage in the Reference Data set should be included in the calculation for a single Dental Age Estimation using the Simple Average Method when presenting the uncertainty associated with the point estimate of the “mean” for Dental Age Estimation of a single subject of unknown age.     

A Japanese computer-assisted facial identification system successfully identifies non-Japanese faces

The method developed by Yoshino et al. in [Forensic Sci. Int. 109 (2000) 225 and Jpn. J. Sci. Tech. Iden. 5 (2000) 9] and already being applied in Japan utilizes a three-dimensional (3D) physiognomic rangefinder combined with a computer-assisted superimposition system. Facial outlines can be compared between two-dimensional (2D) surveillance images and data extracted from 3D images obtained from the rangefinder. Also, the loci of potentially concordant features can be compared and differences measured. The method is largely objective and gives statistics for false positive/false negative findings. This recently developed method by Yoshino et al. is currently being introduced to the Japanese courts. To enable courts outside Japan to assess the admissibility of this new method, studies of non-Japanese faces have been undertaken and shown to produce similar low error rates. The present authors, therefore, consider the Yoshino method to be applicable in a non-Japanese context. As part of this study a comparison of morphological features between two ethnic groups has been undertaken using 3D measurements for the first time and will serve as the foundation for an anthropological database in the future.     

Tissue distribution of ethosuximide and clobazam in a seizure related fatality

The case of a six-year-old male who died in a hospital while receiving several anticonvulsant drugs is described. Phenytoin, desmethyldiazepam, clobazam (an experimental 1,5 benzodiazepine), and desmethylclobazam were quantitated in serum, liver, and brain tissue by high performance liquid chromatography. Ethosuximide was quantitated by gas chromatography. To our knowledge, this is one of few reports describing tissue concentrations of ethosuximide collected at autopsy and the first report of clobazam/desmethylclobazam tissue distribution in man.     

National Support For Regional Review: Federal Compliance and The Future of Intergovernmental Coordination

In 1969, OMB issued Circular A-95 to broaden the "confidentialexchange" between applicants and federal agencies, to providestate and local clearinghouses an opportunity to review federalassistance applications. Because President Reagan recently signedExecutive Order 12372 revoking A-95 and making states responsiblefor procedures governing regional coordination of federal programs,this is a useful time to analyze and evaluate the A-95 experience.Any review process somehow must solve the three critical, overlappingproblems which plagued A-95 from the outset: unpredictable andinsufficient funding, vague review criteria, and poor federalcompliance. This article focuses on federal noncompliance: theextent of agency violations, structural and political reasonsfor noncompliance, and the success of efforts to modify andimprove the system. The study draws on a 1981 survey of RegionV areawide clearinghouses and the author's experience as a 1980–1981NASPAA Faculty Fellow with the Chicago Federal Regional Council.     

Hybrid Warfare,International Negotiation,and an Experiment in “Remote Convening”

The authors are leading a multinational effort to understand the effects of “hybrid” warfare on international commercial negotiation. The start-up process is itself essentially a negotiation, among about forty individual practitioners and scholars with very diverse backgrounds, over whether and how they will work together. In a pandemic, a key risk is that the necessary cooperation and trust will be harder to build, particularly among professionals who are dealing with security-sensitive issues and who have never met each other. This article discusses the current necessity of replacing the in-person model for eliciting such cooperation which the authors had developed previously for large collaborative projects, and describes a “remote convening” replacement process.     

Dental Age Estimation: Pattern Recognition of Root Canal Widths of Mandibular Molars. A Novel Mandibular Maturity Marker at the 18‐Year Threshold

The final stage of third molar development is used to assign a subject to above the 18‐year threshold. Some subjects exhibiting this final stage are less than 18 years. Radiographs from 1000 females and 1000 males age 16.00–25.99 years were examined. Each half‐year age band comprised 50 females and 50 males. Three categories of root canal widths (RCW) of the LL6, LL7, and LL8 [FDI 36, 37, and 38] were defined. Reproducibility was achieved by re‐assessing the same subjects 12 months apart. For females, the minimum value for RCW‐A was 16.33 years, RCW‐B 17.23 years, and RCW‐C 18.45 years. For males, the minimum values were RCW‐A 17.16 years, RCW‐B 18.29 years, and RCW‐C 18.16 years. The presence of RCW‐C in a female, and the presence of RCW‐B or RCW‐C in a male is compelling evidence that the subject is above the 18‐year threshold.