Advantage of ForensiX Swabs in Retrieving and Preserving Biological Fluids

This study compares two novel swabs (forensiX) with a standard cotton swab (EUROTUBE) for the collection of saliva stains on glass slide for STR analysis. ForensiX collection tubes are a standard cotton swab in an “active drying” tube, where swab sample is soon dried by its innovative tube surface of the wall. The other is forensiX Nylon Flocked Swab. The study is two phases: The first “phase” assesses swab types regarding to retrieve ability of saliva. The second “phase” compares the drying ability of each swab to assess how crime samples would fare when left in storage. The main result showed that “active drying” is effective to store swabbed sample. The forensiX swabs generally are effective for higher (twofold to fourfold) DNA yield compared to delta lab swab (around 750 pg and 250 pg from 0.5 μL of saliva), respectively. These findings demonstrate the importance of drying performance in the preservation of DNA and swab selection.     

Classification of Pelvic Ring Fractures in Skeletonized Human Remains

Pelvic ring fractures are associated with high rates of mortality and thus can provide key information about circumstances surrounding death. These injuries can be particularly informative in skeletonized remains, yet difficult to diagnose and interpret. This study adapted a clinical system of classifying pelvic ring fractures according to their resultant degree of pelvic stability for application to gross human skeletal remains. The modified Tile criteria were applied to the skeletal remains of 22 individuals from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México that displayed evidence of pelvic injury. Because these categories are tied directly to clinical assessments concerning the severity and treatment of injuries, this approach can aid in the identification of manner and cause of death, as well as interpretations of possible mechanisms of injury, such as those typical in car-to-pedestrian and motor vehicle accidents.     

Introducing Computed Tomography Standards for Age Estimation of Modern Australian Subadults Using Postnatal Ossification Timings of Select Cranial and Cervical Sites,

Contemporary, population‐specific ossification timings of the cranium are lacking in current literature due to challenges in obtaining large repositories of documented subadult material, forcing Australian practitioners to rely on North American, arguably antiquated reference standards for age estimation. This study assessed the temporal pattern of ossification of the cranium and provides recalibrated probabilistic information for age estimation of modern Australian children. Fusion status of the occipital and frontal bones, atlas, and axis was scored using a modified two‐ to four‐tier system from cranial/cervical DICOM datasets of 585 children aged birth to 10 years. Transition analysis was applied to elucidate maximum‐likelihood estimates between consecutive fusion stages, in conjunction with Bayesian statistics to calculate credible intervals for age estimation. Results demonstrate significant sex differences in skeletal maturation (p < 0.05) and earlier timings in comparison with major literary sources, underscoring the requisite of updated standards for age estimation of modern individuals.     

‘Hotspot policing’: a comparative analysis of sanctioned acts of policing versus media representations of policing in a stigmatized community in Trinidad

The ‘Partial State of Emergency’ implemented in Trinidad and Tobago in August 2011, as well as media broadcasts on the crime situation, has brought to the forefront the high degree of interface between police officers and civilians within the identified ‘hotspot communities’. The assumed realities of these individuals were communicated in such a manner which led to the stereotyping of citizens as marginalized victims and police officers as ‘disrespectful bullies’. The media broadcasts reflected the act of policing as unitary, as opposed to encompassing a wide range of roles for interaction with civilians. These broadcasts revealed a high degree of violent physical displays by police officers, which were perceived as irrational, and in some instances inhumane. Despite community policing initiatives, there seem to be continued instances of problematic relations between police officers and civilians from ‘hotspot communities’. The research examined the sanctioned responses of police officer governing interaction with civilians from one of these communities. It highlighted the extent to which these endorsed reactions are contextually portrayed in media footage. The study described the determinants governing police use of force as evidenced in the media with the aim of providing a direction for redress during interaction.     

Gender Disparity in Civic Engagement among Former Offenders in the U.S. Population

The study examines gender disparities in civic engagement: volunteering, religious affiliation, and other group membership (such as social clubs, recreational groups, trade unions, commercial groups, professional organizations, or groups concerned with children like the PTA or boy scouts) as reflected in the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) - Waves 1 and 2 datasets collected in years 2001–2002 and 2004–2005. This comparison was conducted with special focus on female former offenders. After controlling for socio-demographic and mental health variables, adjusted odds ratios indicated that female former offenders were at increased likelihood to be civically disengaged than their male counterparts. Policy implications of study findings involving females offenders are discussed.     

Justice for All? Factors Affecting Perceptions of Environmental and Ecological Injustice

Moving beyond the typical focus on individual injustices, we examine individual-level and contextual factors affecting perceptions of justice with regard to the environment. Specifically, we examine decision-making procedures pertaining to environmental resource use and harms across groups of people; the distribution of environmental harms; and the direct treatment of the natural environment (i.e., procedural environmental justice, distributive environmental injustice, and ecological injustice, respectively). To test our hypotheses, we use data from a survey administered to a cohort of first-year college students at a southeastern university. Results demonstrate that environmental identity and perceptions of the extent to which the university context encourages sustainability consistently enhance perceptions of all three types of justice. Other factors differentially affect each type of justice. We discuss the importance of the patterns that emerge for environmental and sustainability education and speculate on the implications of moving from thinking about (in)justice related to the environment as an individual issue to one of the collectivity.