Inferring ethnicity using 15 autosomal STR loci—Comparisons among populations of similar and distinctly different physical traits

The forensic utility of short tandem repeat (STR) polymorphisms for ethnic inference (EI) has recently received limited attention from the research community. The large volume of population specific STR data available from public literature affords us the opportunity to assess the reliability of EIs based on STR profiles, and present significant results. We applied a binary Bayesian approach using 15 autosomal STR loci from computer-simulated and real STR profiles of Han Chinese, Japanese, Korean, American Caucasian, and a South Asian Indian aboriginal tribal group called Lodha. A correct classification rate of ≥90% was achieved via simulation for each East Asian group (Han Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) when paired with the American Caucasian or the tribal Indian group. Similar result was obtained between the Caucasian and the Indian group, while the correct classification rates among the three East Asian groups were much lower (70%). Results based on real profiles closely matched those achieved via simulation, establishing the credibility of our classifier performance metrics. This study shows that binary Bayesian classifier performed best for ethnic groups with distinctly different physical traits. This observation might be due to accidental differences caused by bottlenecks, genetic drift, etc. However, it could also be taken as an indication that STRs, commonly referred to as “junk” DNA, may have an effect on phenotype, a possibility that warrants further research.     

Premilitary adult sexual assault victimization and perpetration in a Navy recruit sample

Female (n = 5,226) and male (n = 5,969) U.S. Navy recruits completed a survey assessing their premilitary histories of adult sexual assault (SA), defined as attempted or completed rape since the age of 14. The survey was completed under anonymous or identified conditions. Overall, 39% of women reported premilitary SA victimization and 13% of men admitted premilitary SA perpetration. As predicted, rates were significantly higher in the anonymous than in the identified condition. For the sample of women as a whole, marital status, ethnicity, and family income were associated with SA victimization; for men, only marital status was associated with SA perpetration. Compared to previous college samples, Navy recruits were more likely to have previous SA experience. Given the negative consequences associated with SA victimization and perpetration, the present study reinforces the desirability of developing additional treatment, education, and prevention programs to reduce the occurrence of SA among military recruits.     

National museums,national myths: constructing socialist Yugoslavism for Croatia and Croats

This article concerns two national museums in Croatia during the socialist period, the Museum of the Revolution of the Peoples of Croatia and the Historical Museum of Croatia. Both state-developed institutions were intimately tied to the process of nationalization as they helped articulate the place of the Croatian nation within the ideology of supranational Yugoslavism founded on the ideas of socialist patriotism, brotherhood and unity, self-management, national assertion, and South Slavic culture and community. This paper therefore traces the development and collapse of Yugoslavism in Croatia’s national narrative by analyzing how these museums adapted the mythology of socialist Yugoslavism for a particularly Croatian context. Specifically, this paper investigates the ways in which these museums operated in an often ambiguous national-supranational discourse in order to reinforce the historical precedents of Croatia as part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. I argue that these museums were envisioned by party elites and museum curators alike as essential to the project of building socialist Yugoslavism by adapting and altering Croatia’s previous national pantheon of heroes, places, objects, and events to fit into a larger and distinctly supranational Yugoslav framework.     

Public Sector Corporate Governance Disclosures: An Examination of Annual Reporting Practices in Queensland

In the public sector, corporate governance is an expression that is yet to be explicitly defined. This paper examines the existing public sector literature in order to derive a set of broad principles of corporate governance in the public sector. These principles are then applied through a content analysis of corporate governance disclosures in a group of government‐owned corporations, state government departments, local governments and statutory bodies. The results indicate the set of principles derived is generally applicable to various forms of public entities. However, due to a lack of an established public sector corporate governance framework, the disclosure of corporate governance is piecemeal. Government‐owned corporations achieved better disclosure practices in most principles than other public sector bodies. The paper aims to stimulate debate on public sector corporate governance and provides a basis for a more extensive survey on corporate governance disclosures.     

The media’s coverage of mass public shootings in America: fifty years of newsworthiness

This study uses a media distortion analysis to examine the New York Times coverage of mass public shooting incidents occurring in the United States from 1966 to 2016. A comparison between media coverage and actual incidents is used to identify the characteristics influencing the newsworthiness of mass public shootings. This work expands the breadth and depth of media and mass public shooting research, strengthening the validity of previous findings, and identifying new characteristics influencing newsworthiness. Findings indicate significant predictors of newsworthiness include higher casualties and injuries, as well as perpetrators that are young, Middle Eastern, and ideologically motivated. School shootings are more likely to receive any coverage, and all non-workplace shootings receive salient levels of coverage. An incident is also more likely to receive any coverage if a combination of weapons is used. These findings have important implications for public knowledge and perceptions of mass public shootings.