Contemporary challenges to the German vocational training system

The German vocational training system has played a central role in sustaining the competitive strength of German manufacturing. This article provides an analysis of contemporary developments in this system to assess its likely future trajectory. I begin by underscoring the differences and similarities of the German system to alternative arrangements that have emerged in other countries. I then turn to recent trends in Germany that have caused concern among policy‐makers about the continued strength and viability of the vocational training system. I discuss reforms undertaken in the past few years that point to incremental, though possibly transformative, changes in the system designed to reduce costs and increase flexibility through renegotiations on two fronts: between general training standards and firm needs and training practices, and between the in‐plant and school‐based components of training.     

Green economy and carbon markets for conservation and development: a critical view

Green economy aims to use economic rationality and market mechanisms to mute the most ecologically damaging effects of globalized capitalism while reviving economic growth in the global North, fostering development in the South, and decoupling economic growth from environmental decline. An archetypal application of green economy is transnational trade in ecosystem services, including reduced emissions for deforestation and degradation (REDD+). By compensating developing countries for maintaining forests as carbon sinks, this approach is meant to transcend politics and circumvent conflicts over the responsibilities of industrialized and ‘less-developed’ countries that have stymied global climate policy. However, carbon-offset trading is unlikely to result in lower greenhouse gas emissions, much less combined conservation and development gains. The troubled record of payment for environmental services and other schemes or commodification of nature illustrates that living ecosocial systems do not fit the requirements of market contracts. Disputes over proto-REDD+ projects point to the dangers that REDD+ will disadvantage or dispossess rural communities and distract attention from underlying causes of forest and livelihood loss. Two decades of all-but-futile climate negotiations have shown that global warming cannot be managed by means of technocratic expertise nor dealt with separately from the politics of inequality and the paradox of economic growth. The deceptive promise of greening with growth can blind us to these realities. Counter-hegemonic discourses to growth-centered green economy under the headings of buen vivir, mainly in the global South, and degrowth, mainly in the global North, therefore merit attention.     

The Consequences of Knowledge about Elite Deviance

The present study sought to understand the consequences of knowledge about elite deviance. Four hundred and eight participants completed an online questionnaire that measured (1) their level of knowledge about white-collar crime and (2) their perceived seriousness of, and punitiveness toward, it. Results of statistical analyses suggest a positive relationship between knowledge and punitive sentiments toward crimes of the powerful. Conversely, less knowledgeable subjects, comprised disproportionately of men, politically Conservatives, Republicans, and conservative Protestants were often more lenient toward elite offenders, both in terms of perceived seriousness of the offenses and punitiveness toward them, when compared with street crime. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Promoting Postsecondary Education in Low-Income Youth: The Moderating Role of Socio-Behavioral and Academic Skills in the Context of a Major Educational Reform

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Governments around the world are pressed to invest in postsecondary education. However, little research exists to document whether large-scale educational reforms...     

Application of plant DNA markers in forensic botany: genetic comparison of Quercus evidence leaves to crime scene trees using microsatellites

As highly polymorphic DNA markers become increasingly available for a wide range of plant and animal species, there will be increasing opportunities for applications to forensic investigations. To date, however, relatively few studies have reported using DNA profiles of non-human species to place suspects at or near crime scenes. Here we describe an investigation of a double homicide of a female and her near-term fetus. Leaf material taken from a suspect's vehicle was identified to be that of sand live oak, Quercus geminata, the same tree species that occurred near a shallow grave where the victims were found. Quercus-specific DNA microsatellites were used to genotype both dried and fresh material from trees located near the burial site and from the material taken from the suspect's car. Samples from the local population of Q. geminata were also collected and genotyped in order to demonstrate that genetic variation at four microsatellite loci was sufficient to assign leaves to an individual tree with high statistical certainty. The cumulative average probability of identity for these four loci was 2.06x10(-6). DNA was successfully obtained from the dried leaf material although PCR amplification was more difficult than amplification of DNA from fresh leaves. The DNA profiles of the dried leaves from the suspect's car did not match those of the trees near the crime scene. Although this investigation did not provide evidence that could be used against the suspect, it does demonstrate the potential for plant microsatellite markers providing physical evidence that links plant materials to live plants at or near crime scenes.     

A Test of Sex Estimation in Subadults Using the Elevation of the Auricular Surface from Four Samples of Known Age and Sex

Biological sex is foundational to the work of forensic anthropologists and bioarcheologists. The lack of reliable biological sex estimation methods for subadults has, thus, greatly limited forensic and bioarcheological analyses. Auricular surface elevation showed promise as a subadult sex estimation method in previous studies. This study examined two auricular surface elevation evaluation methods on four subadult samples of known age, sex, and ancestry. Samples were scored as “male,” “female,” or “indeterminate” and results were examined with chi‐square analysis. No consistent sex estimation pattern, accuracy, or predictive value was produced between samples. Only one test was significant using Fisher's exact test analysis (FET = 7.501, p < 0.022): the composite approach on the Hamann‐Todd sample. While age, sample size, or developmental factors may play a role in these results, clearly sample variation does as well. This study found auricular surface elevation was not a useful subadult sex estimation method.     

Metric Assessment of the Pubic Bone Using Known and Novel Data Points for Sex Estimation,

Biological sex estimation of skeletal remains is essential in forensic and archaeological analyses. Anthropologists most often use the pelvis, which is the most sexually dimorphic element both morphologically and metrically. While nonmetric pubic bone features have been studied extensively, few metric studies have examined this individual bone for dimorphism. For this study, three observers examined three previously identified and ten novel measurements of the pubic body on a modern sample of isolated pubic bones from the Maricopa County Forensic Science Center (FSC), in Phoenix, Arizona (n = 400). A relationship between pubic body measurements and biological sex was demonstrated, with significant correlations. Discriminant function analyses found that five measurements, four of which were novel, discriminated between males (89%) and females (86%). Observer experience level did not significantly impact the results. These five measurements were reliable and show promise for inclusion in metric methods for assessment of sex.