Resolving latent conflict: What happens when latent print examiners enter the cage?

Latent print examination traditionally follows the ACE-V process, in which latent prints are first analyzed to determine whether they are suitable for comparison, and then compared to an exemplar and evaluated for similarities and differences. Despite standard operating procedures and quality controls designed, in part, to mitigate differences between examiners, latent print processing and review are inherently subjective. The ACE-V process addresses subjectivity, and the possibility of error, in the verification stage in which a second examiner repeats the analysis, comparison, and evaluation steps in a given case. Other procedures outside the ACE-V framework, such as consultation and conflict resolution, provide further opportunity to understand how differences between latent print examiners emerge. Despite the growing body of research on latent print examination, questions have emerged about how these procedures work in practice. This study reviews case processing data for two years of casework at the Houston Forensic Science Center (HFSC). We describe these data as cases proceed through each step of the ACE-V process, with a particular focus on verification, consultation, and conflict resolution. We discuss trends in these processes regarding modal types of disagreements, modal outcomes, and roles of the examiners involved. Results reveal implications for improving the practice of latent print examination

Valoración socio-cultural de los servicios ecosistémicos como acción estratégica de educación ambiental, en la comunidad La Reina, municipio de San Ramón, departamento de Matagalpa, durante el Segundo Semestre del año 2016

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como tema “Valoración socio-cultural de los servicios ecosistémicos como acción estratégica de educación ambiental, en el departamento de Matagalpa, durante el segundo semestre del año 2016” y el Subtema “Valoración socio-cultural de los servicios ecosistémicos como acción estratégica de educación ambiental, en la comunidad La Reina, municipio de San Ramón, departamento de Matagalpa, durante el segundo semestre del año 2016”, con el propósito de valorar aspectos socioculturales de los servicios ecosistémicos como estrategia de educación ambiental. En este estudio se logró identificar qué servicios ecosistémicos se presentaban en la comunidad La Reina y cuáles eran reconocidos como relevantes por la población, lo cual permitió analizar los factores socio-culturales que influyen en los servicios ecosistémicos, a través de un análisis teórico; la aplicación de instrumentos como encuesta, entrevista y grupo focal a los actores sociales. Los resultados destacan que los cuatros servicios ecosistémicos son de gran relevancia para los pobladores de la comunidad La Reina, ya que si faltará uno de ellos sería imposible subsistir. Finalmente se elaboró acciones estratégicas de educación ambiental como parte de alternativas viables en la conservación del medio ambiente. Es posible además concluir que la valoración socio-cultural de los servicios ecosistémicos es de gran importancia para reconocer el valor de los servicios que los ecosistemas prestan para el beneficio de las personas y cómo esos valores se integran en la toma de decisiones para su conservación o uso sostenible. Palabras claves: valoración socio-cultural, servicios ecosistémicos, educación ambienta

Making the Most Out of Collaboration: Partnerships & Grant Applications for Long-Term Preservation

This presentation discusses the collaboration between Tarleton Library and Stephenville Public Library for a grant to digitize two early newspapers previously only available on microfilm, and collaborative partnership models for digital preservation of materials and grant applications

"I like the way the skin looks": Player perspectives on aesthetic appeal and self-representation with video game "Skins"

Microtransactions are the purchasing of in-game items in video games, often using real money. Through microtransactions, game players can obtain a type of cosmetic called 'skins' that change the physical appearance of playable characters. Considering the default 'skin' in many games is that of a white male, there are various psychosocial and economic costs that may be extended to players of color when attempting to select skins for their avatars. To examine how players of different racial and ethnic backgrounds interact with 'skins,' and the additional costs associated with them, we conducted a survey asking participants about their spending patterns with 'skins' and reasons for choosing certain 'skins' over others. The most common response from participants when asked why they select their skins was 'because I like the way the skin looks.' As this statement is broad, we delve into other results from our survey and previous studies by other scholars to analyze what this response may be able to tell us about players who selected this as their answer

The yeast protein kinase Mps1p is required for assembly of the integral spindle pole body component Spc42p

Saccharomyces cerevisiae MPS1 encodes an essential protein kinase that has roles in spindle pole body (SPB) duplication and the spindle checkpoint. Previously characterized MPS1 mutants fail in both functions, leading to aberrant DNA segregation with lethal consequences. Here, we report the identification of a unique conditional allele, mps1–8, that is defective in SPB duplication but not the spindle checkpoint. The mutations in mps1-8 are in the noncatalytic region of MPS1, and analysis of the mutant protein indicates that Mps1-8p has wild-type kinase activity in vitro. A screen for dosage suppressors of the mps1-8 conditional growth phenotype identified the gene encoding the integral SPB component SPC42. Additional analysis revealed that mps1-8 exhibits synthetic growth defects when combined with certain mutant alleles of SPC42. An epitope-tagged version of Mps1p (Mps1p-myc) localizes to SPBs and kinetochores by immunofluorescence microscopy and immuno-EM analysis. This is consistent with the physical interaction we detect between Mps1p and Spc42p by coimmunoprecipitation. Spc42p is a substrate for Mps1p phosphorylation in vitro, and Spc42p phosphorylation is dependent on Mps1p in vivo. Finally, Spc42p assembly is abnormal in a mps1-1 mutant strain. We conclude that Mps1p regulates assembly of the integral SPB component Spc42p during SPB duplication

Fuera de lugar: Undocumented Students, Dislocation, and the Search for Belonging

This article presents findings from a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) study on the experiences of six undocumented college students at a community college in the Midwest United States. We focused on two main research questions: What are some of the key developmental experiences of undocumented youth? What is the impact of these experiences on the students’ identity and sense of belonging in educational spaces, especially as they transition to college? The findings illustrate the experiences of the six participant coresearchers (PCRs) as they navigated the messy, fragile, and shifting nature of belonging. A common thread in their narratives was the recurrence across their young lives of moments of dislocation (or “being-out-of-place”) associated with their undocumented status. These moments of dislocation barred these undocumented students from fully inhabiting both educational and noneducational spaces; in addition, they affected their ability to develop a sense of belonging as they transitioned to the college environment. Dislocation entails a degree of vulnerability and liminality that is not necessarily encompassed in current models of student development theory, nor considered in institutional support structures created with majority-population students in mind. We argue that institutional agents require sensitivity to the multiple types of dislocation that undocumented youth may experience within and beyond educational settings

LA CONTRATACIÓN POR ADHESIÓN, ESPECIAL REFERENCIA A LA CONTRATACIÓN ELECTRÓNICA.

El impacto del Internet ha abrazado en gran medida la vida de las personas, trajo consigo amplias ventajas para la gestión comercial, sobre todo en las relaciones contractuales. Los contratos electrónicos son aquellos donde no existe un contacto físico entre las partes para su perfección, sino que ocurre a través de la web y en ocasiones la entrada al sitio supone la vinculación automática, como es usual con los contratos “browse y click”. Una característica actual de los mismos está dada en su puesta en práctica a través de la contratación por adhesión. De este modo deben preverse los mecanismos, principios y condiciones generales que garanticen que no existan cláusulas abusivas que vulneren la posición jurídica del aceptante, más aún cuando lo que se adquiere venga de un servicio público, donde el predisponente tiene un lugar superior y posee amplias prerrogativas. Cuba no está alejada de esta realidad, es por ello que al hacer una interpretación extensiva de la reciente Ley de protección de datos personales, el Decreto ley 304 de la contratación, ofrece cierto respaldo, aunque la necesidad de pronunciamiento existe. La contratación electrónica es un hecho que cada vez más aumenta en masa y continuará en auge

Modelling of a dynamic multiphase flash: the positive flash. Application to the calculation of ternary diagrams

A general and polyvalent model for the dynamic simulation of a vapor, liquid, liquid-liquid, vapor-liquid or vapor-liquid-liquid stage is proposed. This model is based on the -method introduced as a minimization problem by Han & Rangaiah (1998) for steady-state simulation. They suggested modifying the mole fraction summation such that the same set of governing equations becomes valid for all phase regions. Thanks to judicious additional switch equations, the -formulation is extended to dynamic simulation and the minimization problem is transformed into a set of differential algebraic equations (DAE). Validation of the model consists in testing its capacity to overcome phase number changes and to be able to solve several problems with the same set of equations: calculation of heterogeneous residue curves, azeotropic points and distillation boundaries in ternary diagrams