CHILDREN RESISTING POSTSEPARATION CONTACT WITH A PARENT: CONCEPTS, CONTROVERSIES, AND CONUNDRUMS

This article provides an overview of the key concepts, themes, issues, and possible mental health and legal interventions related to children's postseparation resistance to having contact with one parent. We maintain that the too often strongly gendered polemic on alienation and abuse is polarizing and needs to be replaced with a more nuanced and balanced discussion that recognizes the complexity of the issues so that the needs of children and families can be better met. This article reviews the historical development of the concept of alienation; discusses the causes, dynamics, and differentiation of various types of parent child contact problems; and summarizes the literature on the impact of alienation on children. These are complex cases. A significant portion of the cases in which alienation is alleged are not in fact alienation cases; for those where alienation is present, interventions will vary depending on the degree of the alienation. More severe alienation cases are unlikely to be responsive to therapeutic or psycho-educational interventions in the absence of either a temporary interruption of contact between the child and the alienating parent or a more permanent custody reversal. We conclude with a summary of recommendations for practice and policy, including the need for early identification and intervention to prevent the development of severe cases, interdisciplinary collaboration and further development and research of interventions.     

Evaluation of Stature Estimation from the Database for Forensic Anthropology*†

Abstract: Trotter and Gleser’s ( 1 - 3 ) stature equations, conventionally used to estimate stature, are not appropriate to use in the modern forensic context. In this study, stature is assessed with a modern (birth years after 1944) American sample (N = 242) derived from the National Institute of Justice Database for Forensic Anthropology in the United States and the Forensic Anthropology Databank. New stature formulae have been calculated using forensic stature (FSTAT) and a combined dataset of forensic, cadaver, and measured statures referred to as Any Stature (ASTAT). The new FSTAT‐based equations had an improved accuracy in Blacks with little improvement over Ousley’s ( 4 ) equations for Whites. ASTAT‐based equations performed equal to those of FSTAT equations and may be more appropriate, because they reflect both the variation in reported statures and in cadaver statures. It is essential to use not only equations based on forensic statures, but also equations based on modern samples.     

Investigations Into Age‐related Changes in the Human Mandible,

While changes in mandibular shape over time are not widely recognized by skeletal biologists, mandibular remodeling and associated changes in gross morphology may result from a number of causes related to mechanical stress such as antemortem tooth loss, changes in bite force, or alterations of masticatory performance. This study investigated the relationship between age‐related changes and antemortem tooth loss in adult humans via dry bone measurements. This study examined 10 standard mandibular measurements as well as individual antemortem tooth loss scores using the Eichner Index from a total of 319 female and male individuals with ages ranging from 16 to 99 years. Results indicate that few mandibular measurements exhibited age‐related changes, and most were affected by antemortem tooth loss.     

Producing Leisured Laborers: Developing Higher Education Courses for the Digital Creative Industries

This article attempts to detail the range of assumptions and challenges in designing an undergraduate university degree in digital creative industries. Leaders in digital industries, who bemoan the general skills shortage and lack of “industry-ready” graduates, have identified the need for post-secondary education in this area. But in developing these new courses, how do we reconcile the traditional reflective, critical modes of academic practice with the fast and dynamic pace of the dot.com industries? How can slower-paced higher education and lifelong learning be meaningful to the current and future generations of digital natives who thrive on “just-in-time” knowledge? These important issues are analyzed and built upon to showcase the unique qualities and opportunities associated with tertiary education in this area. Overall, the article develops these high-level considerations practically by applying them to a pioneering undergraduate course in Australia that was launched in 2014.     

Which Dictators Produce Quality of Government?

This study deals with the effects of authoritarian regimes on state capacity or the quality of government (QoG): do some types of dictatorship (military, monarchy, and civilian) perform better than others? More importantly, which are the mechanisms through which different authoritarian rulers produce better government? The article argues theoretically, first, that single-party regimes are more responsive to citizens’ demands than other types of authoritarian rule because they have a structured mechanism to channel citizens’ “voices” (the single party). As a consequence, they will provide QoG following societal demands, which are low in low-income countries and high in high-income ones. Second, the effect of the other relevant authoritarian types—monarchies and military regimes—is exclusively conditional on rulers’ self-interests. We predict that with short-sighted rulers, monarchies and military regimes will tend to under-provide QoG. In contrast, when monarchs and military rulers have long-term horizons, these types of authoritarian regimes will have a positive effect on QoG. Employing a sample of over 70 authoritarian countries from 1983 to 2003, we find empirical support for these interactive effects. In single-party autocracies, the higher (lower) the average income, the higher (the lower) the QoG; while albeit weaker support than the first finding, in monarchies in particular, the longer (shorter) the government’s time horizon, the higher (the lower) the QoG.     

Trace Evidence Potential in Postmortem Skin Microbiomes: From Death Scene to Morgue

Microbes can be used effectively as trace evidence, at least in research settings. However, it is unknown whether skin microbiomes change prior to autopsy and, if so, whether these changes interfere with linking objects to decedents. The current study included microbiomes from 16 scenes of death in the City and County of Honolulu and tested whether objects at the scenes can be linked to individual decedents. Postmortem skin microbiomes were stable during repeated sampling up to 60 h postmortem and were similar to microbiomes of an antemortem population. Objects could be traced to decedents approximately 75% of the time, with smoking pipes and medical devices being especially accurate (100% match), house and car keys being poor (0%), and other objects like phones intermediate (~80%). These results show that microbes from objects at death scenes can be matched to individual decedents, opening up a new method of establishing associations and identifications.     

Sector Well-Being Differences Among UK Police Custody Staff

The research explores a new model of staff well-being across UK police custodial services (public and private). These services are unique for the fact that police sergeant custody officers are supported by detention officers who can be publicly or privately contracted, with the latter providing a heterogeneous mix never previously researched. The model informs a survey approach conducted across four English police forces. Drawing on a diverse literature which compares health and criminal justice professions, this study explores the possibility that private sector detention officers will report lower levels of emotional exhaustion and workplace stress and higher levels of personal accomplishment than their public sector counterparts. Multilevel analyses, supplemented by ANOVA and t tests, detected statistically significant differences for private sector detention officers regarding higher levels of emotional exhaustion and lower levels of personal accomplishment and workplace stress (with the stress result the only one in the predicted direction). However, results should be interpreted as sample specific linked to privately contracted detention officer disquiet with their then employer (since replaced). That said, the results provide a good exploration of the model’s utility together with important lessons for model and survey development in the future.