Epiphyseal Union of the Cervical Vertebral Centra: Its Relationship to Skeletal Age and Maturation of Thoracic Vertebral Centra

Epiphyseal union stages for cervical vertebral centra (ring epiphyses) were documented for 55 individuals (females and males, ages 14–27 years) from the Terry Collection, using the Albert and Maples method 1, to examine both its relationship to age at death and to thoracic data collected from the same individuals using the same method. Results showed a moderate correlation between cervical ring union and age (r = 0.63, p = 0.000), and a fairly low correlation between cervical and thoracic ring union (r = 0.41, p = 0.002). Paired samples t‐tests yielded a statistically significant difference between cervical and thoracic union mean values (p = 0.01). Union progressed earlier in cervical vertebrae and in females. Results indicated fairly substantial variation in both sexes. Findings may serve as a basic guideline for estimating a general age range at death for unknown skeletal remains and to corroborate findings from other skeletal age indicators.     

Estimating the speed of vehicles: the influence of stereotypes

Abstract

Davies and Patel (2005, Legal and Criminological Psychology, 10, 45–62) demonstrated that stereotypes associated with particular types of car influenced judgements of culpability in a road accident report. This study explores whether stereotypes influence judgements of the speed of different vehicles. In Experiment 1, participants observed films of a BMW 3 Series and VW Polo being driven at 20, 40 and 60 mph. Accuracy of speed estimates was high and no effect of stereotyping was observed. This finding was replicated in Experiment 2 when the stereotype of a ‘typical’ BMW or Polo driver was instantiated prior to viewing the films and despite participants predicting that the speed of the BMW would be substantially higher than the Polo. In Experiment 3, speed estimates were made unexpectedly a day after viewing the films. In accordance with the stereotype, the BMW was now judged as being driven significantly faster than the Polo at the same actual speed. Consistent with findings from person perception, these results suggest that when unambiguous countervailing information is present, stereotypical influences are minimised or overwhelmed, but much stronger effects occur when access to critical information is impaired or ambiguous. The implications of these findings for witness estimates of vehicle speed are discussed.     

Natural population movement and marriage restrictions and hindrances in Styria in the 17th to 19th centuries

To marry has never been an egalitarian option or everybody's wish. There have always been calculations or considerations, structural or individual hindrances and even societal restrictions for individuals to get married despite wishing to do so. Without any doubt and apart from the debate on determination or love and free choice in former times, to marry has always been a societal event, a mutual relationship between personal wishes and societal environmental expectations.

And apart from all the debates on paradoxes in modernization processes, it is clear that in pre-modern times societal marriage restrictions were widespread.

It is very unlikely that people should have been forbidden to marry because they should not have sexual contacts, just for morality reasons. The keys have been considerations and calculations on reproductivity, economic and social resources, social and human capital. This paper deals with aggregated vital data from four parishes in Styria, Austria, covering the outgoing 17th century until the end of the 19th century, in order to detect hints of marriage restrictions.

The paper proves the well-known variety of marriage systems in pre-industrial and pre-modern times. It supports the idea that the presence of marriage restrictions hindered population growth, but the absence of such restrictions did not automatically foster more societal transparency and developmental chances in a modern sense, as mortality and inequality were very strong factors in pre-modern agrarian societies. In the end, the question of marriage restrictions was apparently posed and answered by privileged groups.     

Tracking individuals and households: longitudinal features of Danseong household register data

Household registers, which were compiled every three years and contained a variety of demographic information, are invaluable sources with which to investigate family and demographic behaviors of historical populations in Korea, especially during the period of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Linking three sets of household registers that covered the area of Danseong from 1780 to 1786, in this study we examine longitudinal features of Korean household registers. We assess the degree of attrition over six years at both individual and household level, and identify social and demographic characteristics associated with attrition. Our investigation shows a considerable degree of attrition of individuals and households over six years which is significantly associated with the social status of individuals and the household heads. We supplement the analysis of exits with the analysis of new entrances, which shows that in each year of register a substantial number of individuals, comparable to the size of individuals and households lost, were newly added. Those who newly entered the registers are very similar in their characteristics to those who exited the registers. We discuss the implications of our findings for studies that rely on Korean household registers to examine family and demographic behaviors of historical populations in Korea and East Asia.     

Prison Populations as Political Constructs: the Case of Finland,Holland and Sweden

Countries such as Finland, Holland and Sweden have witnessed similar economic and social developments and have been affected by similar crime trends. However, over the past 50 years, the daily prison populations in these three Northern European countries have developed very differently. An attempt is made here to discuss these diverse developments in the light of a perspective that treats daily prison populations as political constructs.1 ¹I am grateful to my translator, David Shannon, and two anonymous referees for their helpful comments.      

Development of a 24-plex Y chromosomal STR loci typing system

Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) loci can play important roles in forensic casework and paternity testing. In our paper, 24-plex Y-STR typing system, which includes 3 loci (DYS635 and DYS385a/b) existed in current widely available commercial kits and 21 additional loci (DYS531, DYS630, DYS622, DYS552, DYS510, DYS449, DYS459a/b, DYS446, DYS443, DYS587, DYS527a/b, DYS460, Y-GATA-A10, DYS520, DYS557, DYS522, DYS481, DYS570, DYS444) was established with 5-dye fluorescence labeling. 200 unrelated Chinese Han males were successfully genotyped with the system and 198 haplotypes were observed. The gene diversity of each locus ranged from 0.55 (DYS531) to 0.96 (DYS385a/b), the haplotype of diversity was 0.9998 for these 24 Y-STR loci. The established 24-plex Y-STR typing system is proved to be stable and efficient in forensic DNA typing.     

日韩两国居家养老服务比较及启示

随着人口年龄结构不断趋于老龄化,老年人成为社会服务的高需求人群,养老已经逐渐成为人们普遍关注的社会问题。选择何种养老模式是目前老年人面临的一个重要问题。在诸多养老模式中,依托社区的居家养老服务是能够满足老年人多样化需求,最符合现代的养老理念。文章通过日韩两国在选择养老模式方面所采取的措施,分析日韩两国发展居家养老服务的社会背景和相关内容,并通过分析,为促进中国居家养老服务事业提供启示。     

郑州市流动人口管理对策研究

文章立足于郑州市流动人口服务管理工作的实践,从治理的视角探讨流动人口的影响因素,并阐述了存在信息采集不完善、人口流动集中化、及就业困难等相关问题,然后分析了问题存在的原因及解决对策,为今后开展相关研究提供了很好的范例。     

利用鞋底痕迹长减系数法推断身高的实验研究

针对利用鞋底痕迹长减系数法推断遗留人身高在实际工作中存在的弊端,通过对常见鞋种随机取样,进行认真的实验研究,得出了不同鞋种更为准确的系数,突破了过去笼统的四种鞋子幅度比较大的选取系数造成推断误差较大的做法,为足迹教学内容的不断更新完善和实际部门利用此公式推断作案人身高提供了较好的参考系数。     

第三磨牙萌出情况调查研究

目的为满足应用牙齿萌出时间推测年龄的需要。方法采用帕尔曼牙位标志法记录,对1582名16-23岁学生进行调查。结果随着年龄的增加,4枚第三磨牙均末萌出的呈递减状态,而4枚均萌出的则呈递增状态。萌出1枚的为10.11%,萌出2枚的为13.27%,萌出3枚的为7.96%,萌出4枚为18.90%,4枚均未萌出的为49.75%。结论本组调查数据填补了有关资料的不足,为法医学推测年龄提供参考资料。