Gendered endeavours: women and the reshaping of business culture

Traditional approaches to business history have assumed masculine norms. As such, women have either been ignored or treated as marginal. Though women's and gendered history have changed the face and interpretations of most branches of historical research, business historians reacted slowly. The recent refocusing of the business ‘malestream’ is still in its infancy, but its potential to make profitable contributions is far reaching. To date American historians have done much of the refocusing, but Europeans are now involved in incorporating female endeavours. In examining the reshaping of male business cultures this article considers both the deconstruction of the ‘master’ narrative and the alternatives offered by gendered business histories     

Women In or Out of American Economic History?

This viewpoint discusses the absence of women from the economic history of the USA. During the past 25 years American economic historians have been so concerned with conceptual and methodological arguments within the discipline that they have failed to examine the female factor. Though many practitioners might consider that women have had little input into marketplace activities in the past, their attitudes stem from conventional ways of examining both issues and data. A more balanced and realistic approach to writing American economic history will entail seeing women as an integral part of past economic change. To do this will involve asking different questions of the past ‐ both of new and existing sources. American economic history could greatly benefit from looking at changes in both history and economics.     

Invited Commentary: National Safe Place: Meeting the Immediate Needs of Runaway and Homeless Youth

An estimated 1.6 million youth run away from home each year. While on the run, these youth are vulnerable to exploitation, victimization, increased dangers and perpetration of criminal behavior. Runaway and homeless youth are far more likely to engage in substance use and delinquent behavior, drop out of school and suffer from sexually transmitted diseases and mental illness at greater rates than the norm. Timely and direct intervention in runaway and throwaway cases is imperative to protect youth from the high risks of living on the streets. National Safe Place is an outreach and prevention program that is uniquely designed to provide immediate safety and access to services for any youth in need. In partnership with over 360 youth serving agencies and over 10,000 businesses and community organizations across the United States, the Safe Place program educates youth about alternatives to running away and homelessness and provides easily accessible links to service providers. Ongoing data collection indicates that National Safe Place has been successful in reaching endangered youth at risk of abuse, neglect or serious family problems but that expanded program models remain needed. The challenges and successes of current programming and the future of National Safe Place program expansion are discussed.     

Modeling Forensic DNA Database Performance*

Abstract: Over the past decade or more, DNA databases have been a focal point of development for the forensic field. Using this approach, forensic and law enforcement agencies have aided millions of investigations, many of which would remain unsolved but for the intelligence links provided from DNA database comparison. However, despite their widespread use and increasingly broad legislative and operational reach, there has been limited overarching performance modeling or reflection on drivers of operational or financial efficiency. This study derives an inferential model for DNA database performance using data from major national DNA database programs. Parameters that optimize desirable database outputs (matches) are isolated and discussed, as is an approach for maximizing financial efficiency and minimizing ethical impact. This research takes important steps toward identifying measures of performance for forensic DNA database operations.     

A family with unusual Kell genotypes

A family in which kKp^a, kKp^b, KKp^b and K^o are segregating confirms the depressing effect of Kp^a on the products of other Kell genes in cis. The significance of such unusual Kell genotypes in forensic testing is discussed.     

ADHD and criminality: A primer on the genetic, neurobiological, evolutionary, and treatment literature for criminologists

Objective

This state of the art review of 102 studies is a primer on ADHD and its major comorbidities for criminologists unfamiliar with the genetic, neurobiological, and evolutionary literatures.

Materials and methods

Neurological, genetic, medical, and criminal justice data bases were keyword searched for articles on ADHD and/or articles using ADHD as a major independent variable.

Results

ADHD is a disorder that is closely connected to externalizing behaviors, conduct problems, and criminal behavior across the life course.

Conclusions

To date, ADHD research has been carried out primarily by biomedical researchers and de-emphasized by criminologists whose training is overwhelmingly in the social sciences. The special expertise of criminologists in uncovering environmental correlates of antisocial behavior can benefit biomedical researchers who in turn can assist criminologists in uncovering the individual-level correlates of antisocial behavior.     

Police Cooperation across the Irish Border: Familiarity Breeding Contempt for Transparency and Accountability

This article critically examines the practice, methods, and regulation of cross‐border police cooperation between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Despite legal and political divisions, police cooperation has survived and flourished in recent years especially among police officers on the ground. By comparison, the development of transparent regulatory and accountability structures and processes has been disappointing. While there have been domestic initiatives at the intergovernmental and legislative levels, these have tended to emphasize the centrality of direct engagement between the police chiefs and senior civil servants at the expense of formal transparent procedures. EU instruments have been marginalized as the police forces and their administrations prefer informal networks and force‐to‐force agreements which, it is argued, shield cross‐border police cooperation from standards of transparency, oversight, and accountability which are essential to its legitimacy. They also highlight the limitations of the current EU legislative approach to cross‐border police cooperation.