Evaluation of a Freezer Mill for Bone Pulverization prior to DNA Extraction: An Improved Workflow for STR Analysis

Traditional methods for bone pulverization typically generate heat, risking stability of DNA sample. SPEX? has developed cryogenic grinders which introduce liquid nitrogen to cool the sample and aid in the grinding process. In this study, the Freezer Mill 6970 EFM was used with two DNA extraction methods and routine downstream STR analysis procedures. DNA from as little as 0.1 g of bone powder was used to develop full STR profiles after freezer mill pulverization, and the method was reproducible. Further, no contamination was detected upon cleaning/reuse of the sample vials. There were no significant differences in DNA yield, STR alleles detected, or peak heights using the freezer mill as compared to traditional grinding, and successful DNA profiles were achieved from as low as 0.1 g of bone powder with this method. Overall, this work indicates that this cryogenic mill method may be used as a viable alternative to traditional tissue grinders.     

“Half In, Half Out:” Gang Families, Gang Affiliation, and Gang Misconduct

Recently developed inmate behavior frameworks have expanded the discussion from deprivation/importation models to a life-course perspective. DeLisi and associates (International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 55;1186–1207, 2011) presented the life-course importation model of inmate behavior based on a sample of state incarcerated offenders; however, their analyses were unable to distinguish indirect and direct effects of delinquent career and distal family background factors. The current study builds on the life-course importation model of inmate behavior by using path analysis to understand the direct and indirect effects of distal pre-incarceration indictors on gang-related inmate misconduct for 2,520 incarcerated youthful offenders. The findings lend support to the life-course importation model as the familial gang indicator was associated directly with individual gang affiliation, gang affiliation was associated directly with gang-related misconduct, and familial gang associations was associated indirectly with gang-related misconduct.     

Consensus Among Public Managers as Strategy for Standardization of Performance Indicators

ABSTRACT

The usefulness of performance indicators increases when organizations compare their data. However, most discussions have failed to emphasize two lines of action that could improve the relevance of such comparisons: a) agreement among service managers on the indicators to be used in the evaluation; b) homogenization of the indicators to be used by organizations, and of the process used to calculate them. In this context, this paper proposes a methodology based on the participation of and consensus among managers, which helps to standardize the construction and presentation of performance indicators. The aim of this proposal is to improve the comparative evaluation of organizations. Finally, in order to test the proposal, a practical application is carried out on the local culture departments of nine large municipalities in southern Spain.     

Determinants of Financial Transparency in Government

ABSTRACT

The search for enhanced transparency and accountability in government organizations has inspired studies to identify the key factors that facilitate greater disclosure of public financial information. With the advantages provided by the meta-analysis technique, applied to a sample of studies, we identify the most significant factors and incentives underlying the decisions adopted by public managers on policy strategies regarding information transparency and public responsibility. Our study shows the variables analyzed to be positively associated with the disclosure of public financial information, but also that this depends on the context in which the research is carried out. The most influential variables were the moderator variables of the administrative culture and of the measurement unit for the variables.     

Foreign and Defence Policy on Australia's Political Agenda, 1962–2012

This paper explores the content of the Australian foreign and defence policy agenda over the past 50 years, finding evidence of both continuity and change. Australian political leaders have generally committed to cooperation with international institutions, wealth creation through engagement with Asian economies in particular, and security through the American alliance. In this period, changes in foreign policy approach either concerned marginal issues or were driven significantly by exogenous factors: by changes in the international environment or by global events that propelled a reconsideration of Australian foreign and defence policy interests. However, periods of policy change and significant public attention in – particular around the Vietnam and Iraq wars – illustrate the continued relevance of political choices and agency. Both conflicts and debates around them ushered in changing foreign and defence policy considerations, and both raised fundamental questions about Australian security and independence in the context of the American alliance.     

Reformas electorales y coherencia ideológica de los partidos políticos en Colombia, 1986-2013

This article sets out changes which the Colombian party system experienced throughout the last two decades. It focuses on the topics, ideology and party divisions present in a representative sample of the last four legislatures’ congress members. This study is based on factorial and discriminate analyses, making use of the Latin American Parliamentarian Elites database. This article holds that the 2003 political reform had a positive effect on Colombian parties’ and social movements’ ideological coherence within Congress. Electoral reforms are also discussed in the light of these findings.     

How best to open up local democracy? A randomised experiment to encourage contested elections and greater representativeness in English parish councils

Interventions aimed at increasing the supply and representativeness of elected officials range from facilitative to the formally authorised. This paper reports on a field experiment aimed at testing the effect of facilitative approaches at the local level based on a collaboration between parish councils and the research team. We randomly allocated 818 parish council clerks across five counties in Southern England, either to receive information and the opportunity for member training for recruitment, or not to receive this contact. We investigated the effect of this intervention on political recruitment. Despite evidence of an effect on use of social media, our results suggest that there are significant institutional and structural barriers to participation in local politics that cannot easily be overcome using facilitative measures.