Identification of group affinity from cross-sectional contours of the human midfacial skeleton using digital morphometrics and 3D laser scanning technology

Identifying group affinity from human crania is a long-standing problem in forensic and physical anthropology. Many craniofacial differences used in forensic skeletal identification are difficult to quantify, although certain measurements of the midfacial skeleton have shown high predictive value for group classifications. This study presents a new method for analyzing midfacial shape variation between different geographic groups. Three-dimensional laser scan models of 90 crania from three populations were used to obtain cross-sectional midfacial contours defined by three standard craniometric landmarks. Elliptic Fourier transforms of the contours were used to extract Fourier coefficients for statistical analysis. After cross-validation, discriminant functions based on the Fourier coefficients provided an average of 86% correct classifications for crania from the three groups. The high rate of accuracy of this method indicates its usefulness for identifying group affinities among human skeletal remains and demonstrates the advantages of digital 3D model-based analysis in forensic research.     

The evolution of informed consent

Informed consent and the changes in what is expected over the 21st century provide an instructive case study of the mutual influence on one another of medical law and medical ethics. Over the years we have moved from a doctor-centred standard to a patient-centred standard and from a one-size-fits-all patient-centred standard to a more individual requirement that engages with the needs of a particular patient It is unreasonable to expect those changes to be reflected in anything less than an extended conversation in which the health care professional gives out some version of what a reasonable patient would expect to hear from an informed health care professional and then responds to the patient's questions as informatively and helpfully as he or she can. It is therefore convenient to refer to spontaneous and responsive disclosure as a very concrete implementation of the health care professional-patient partnership that is contemporary health care and at the heart of health care ethics.     

Autonomy: A study of social exchange in a carceral setting

Marshaling ethnographic data from a county jail, this study introduces “autonomy”—a novel concept and measurement of the degree to which an actor's exchange initiations are regulated by other exchange relations. This study rearticulates mutual dependence arguments about the social order of penological living in terms of social exchange theory and offers several innovations: 1) the structural forms of exchange relations in a penal housing unit stratify “carceral autonomy” across members of a social order; 2) diminished carceral autonomy contributes to the buildup of “exchange frustration”—the mixture of discontent and sadness experienced when goals cannot be achieved due the structure of an exchange network; 3) deprivations, inefficacies, and imported cultural standards contribute to what is exchanged and with whom in a penological setting; 4) caretaking in penological housing units is as much about maintaining social order through a form of generalized exchange as it is about network members helping each other; and 5) the emotional landscape of penological living can be mapped, in part, by examining the distribution of carceral autonomy and exchange frustration.     

Space,Kinship Networks and Youth Transition in Provincial Russia: Negotiating Urban–Rural and Inter-Regional Migration

This article addresses orientations towards place and opportunities for rural–urban and inter-regional migration amongst graduates of vocational colleges in Ul'yanovsk Oblast'. Given the inaccessibility of the housing market and decline in the provision of student and workplace accommodation, kinship networks have become the principal means to negotiate any form of migration. However, while in some cases such networks provide ‘bridges’ to opportunities elsewhere, a general lack of networks, alongside the ‘bonding’ effects of kinship networks at the local level, acts as a significant constraint on young peoples' prospects for geographical, and social, mobility.     

论东北亚区域制度化合作的外部干预与内部制约

区域制度化合作的程度反映区域一体化的水平,同时也反映了各国经济、社会、政治诸多层面的合作状况和合作远景。后冷战时代,国际格局的变化为区域性制度化合作创造了发展的空间。国际组织和制度、跨国公司等一些新兴行为体的作用越来越大,这些行为体对于区域制度化合作发挥了先行的效用。同时,东北亚区域制度化合作存在来自外部与内部的干预,区域制度化合作本身制度遵守与网络形成等方面的障碍。但和平与发展的时代特征将为这一地区制度化合作前景提供契机。     

票据伪造的民事法律后果

票据伪造的民事法律后果，是一个比较复杂的问题。它涉及到票据效力、票据权利的效力问题，也涉及到因对票据伪造效力的法律评价，以及所引起的民事权利、义务和责任问题，同时，还涉及到善意当事人之间的利益衡平问题。本文主要讨论票据行为伪造的民事法律后果，涉及有关票据权利与义务的问题和付款人付款行为和真实签章人的票据义务履行的法律后果问题。