Prevalence of mixed DNA profiles in fingernail swabs from autoptic cases

Physical contact between two or more persons can give rise to the transfer of DNA from one person to another and biological material can accumulate under the fingernail hyponichium. The purpose of this study is to value the normal levels of foreign DNA profiles under the fingernail of individuals deceased of a non-violent death, in order to define the usefulness of this approach in the recovery of a suspect's DNA profile. No foreign DNA was found in the majority of the cases.     

A Fatal Mediastinitis Due to a Neck Trauma from an Undeclared Assault

History of neck trauma should be promptly investigated in patients with severe infections of the chest as mediastinitis. We present a forensic case of a death due to a mediastinitis in a patient with an undetected fracture of the superior horn of the thyroid cartilage that was exclusively revealed at autopsy examination. Histological analyses of the neck tissues showed signs of pharyngeal mucosal microperforation caused by the fracture and surrounded by an inflammatory reaction. The fracture was caused by a not declared manual strangulation attempt, happened several days before medical evaluations. We share our experience to emphasize the importance of revealing the etiologies of fatal infections of the mediastinum both for clinical and forensic purposes.     

On liberty and crime: Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill

The author considers some of the works produced by Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill, who from different perspectives discuss notions such as transgression, deviance and crime. It is argued that the analysis of power crime may immensely benefit from an excavation into economics, for its concern about the creation and acquisition of wealth, the legitimacy of certain conducts as opposed to others, and ultimately the circumstances in which competition and enterprise may cause human and social harm.     

The Firm Subtleties of a Philosopher in 'Everlasting Doubt': Remembering Norberto Bobbio

This is the first paper in a new series which focuses on European scholars whose work, because of language issues, may not be widely known within the English-speaking world.     

Community elder-care in Tasmania: examining whether caregivers believe they "make-a-difference" in an urban and rural island

Adult caregivers (n = 184;Mage = 43.9 years old) working at a non-profit, eldercare program at five geographically diverse sites located in the self-contained, island state of Tasmania, Australia, completed a set of self-report measures. Results across the five sites indicated that respondents experienced a relatively strong sense of self-efficacy toward making a difference in their local community. However, there were significant differences (controlling for social desirability) when comparing caregivers from rural northern (n = 45) with urban southern (n = 139) communities, with rural caregivers claiming stronger sense of common mission with others, reciprocal responsibility to help others, and caregiver satisfaction, plus lower disharmony with other members and caregiver stress in helping the elderly than urban caregivers. Implications suggest that community self-efficacy may be high among eldercare staff, but their sense of community and caregiving perceptions may reflect geographic differences, especially in Tasmania.     

Structural social support: impact on adult substance use and recovery attempts

This study examined the structural social support of 132 men residing in a network of self-run, substance abuse recovery homes. The impact of different types of social relationships on individuals' substance use patterns and recovery attempts was investigated. Results suggest that varying relationship types (i.e., parents, significant other, friends, children, coworkers) have significantly different influences on use and recovery. Additionally, each type of relationship had differential impacts on use versus recovery. Children were the sole relationship type that affected both substance use and recovery attempts in a positive nature, suggesting that children may have a beneficial impact on reducing.     

Economic costs of Oxford House inpatient treatment and incarceration: a preliminary report

The Oxford House model for substance abuse recovery has potential economic advantages associated with the low cost of opening up and maintaining the settings. In the present study, annual program costs per person were estimated for Oxford House based on federal loan information and data collected from Oxford House Inc. In addition, annual treatment and incarceration costs were approximated based on participant data prior to Oxford House residence in conjunction with normative costs for these settings. Societal costs associated with the Oxford House program were relatively low, whereas estimated costs associated with inpatient and incarceration history were high. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

The influence of policy on the differential expansion of male and female self-run recovery settings

The present study used archival data to examine the differential growth among self-governed substance abuse recovery homes for men (N = 443) and women (N = 125). The number of these homes increased dramatically across the U.S. from 1988-1999 when state loan funds were made available to states and technical assistance was utilized by organizations developing the houses. State loan programs and the utilization of technical assistance, however, had the strongest impact on the expansion of women's houses compared to men's houses. The implications of these findings in relation to the scarcity of recovery options for women are discussed.     

Inclusive digital finance: the industry of equity crowdfunding

The Journal of Technology Transfer - Nowadays equity crowdfunding plays an important role in the entrepreneurial finance markets. To better understand the functioning of the industry, it is...