No, It Has Nothing to Do with CSI : Using Public Relations to Promote New Forensic Programs

Directors of new forensic programs are commonly faced with the challenge of building program support within communities that have little, if any, prior knowledge of competitive forensics. The diversity of forensic events, organizations, and awards can make message development and program promotion a daunting task. The organizing schemata of a public relations campaign and an understanding of college and community media needs can be powerful tools for a new program director. This report provides forensic directors with specific strategies and tactics for implementing a public relations campaign to build program support

Helping Out the Newbies : A Call for Broader-Based Professional Development in Forensics

Many Directors of Forensics follow a clear path from student competitor to graduate coaching assistant before holding a professional position. Often this traditional route rep-resents the full training a future DOF may receive. While this experience is invaluable, as a primary means of education it does not account for those starting programs without such a background, or those taking on a director position at an institution with a significantly different emphasis or philosophy than encountered in their training. This paper posits that a focus on training & mentoring is needed at the national level in order to facilitate a broader approach to professional development of forensic professionals

Weight watching in burrows: variation in body condition in pygmy bluetongue lizards

Author version made available in accordance with the publisher's policyThe pygmy bluetongue lizard, Tiliqua adelaidensis, is an endangered scincid lizard which occurs in remnants of natural grasslands in the mid-north of South Australia. We assessed the factors affecting body condition of male and female lizards, using body size residuals as an index, over five sampling years. We included sex, phenotypic (patterned or plain morphs), temporal (sampling year and activity period within year), and climatic factors in our analyses. The results indicated that sampling year and activity period within the year were the two most important factors influencing variation in body condition of both male and female lizards over the period of the study. There were similar trends when we considered females separately in each of three stages of their reproductive cycle (pre-partum, gravid, post-partum). None of the analyses showed any significant effect of phenotype on body condition. Winter-spring rainfall was positively correlated with body condition of females in the pre-partum period, but showed no significant effect on mean body condition of any other grouping of adult lizards, nor a consistent direction of correlation among the different subsets of adult lizards that we considered. The substantial annual variations in the body condition of lizards, although of uncertain cause, provide important information for conservation managers who monitor persisting populations of this endangered species

Medical use of cannabis in Switzerland: analysis of approved exceptional licences

In recent years, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) granted exceptional licenses for the medical use of cannabinoids, typically for 6 months with possible extensions. A systematic review of cannabinoids for medical use commissioned by the FOPH supports the use of cannabinoids for the treatment of chronic pain and spasticity. However, little is known about the patients treated with cannabinoids. We aimed to study medical uses of cannabinoids as part of the FOPH's programme of exceptional licenses.; We examined all requests for medical use of cannabinoids sent to FOPH in 2013 and 2014. A standardised data sheet was developed to extract data from the files of approved requests. We extracted the duration of the licence, the year it was granted, and the payer of the therapy. At the level of the patient we collected the date of birth, sex, region of residence, diagnosis and the indication. Ethical approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of the Canton of Bern.; We analysed 1193 patients licenced for cannabinoid treatment in 2013 or 2014. During 2013, 542 patients were treated under the exceptional licencing programme (332 requesting physicians) compared with 825 in 2014 (446 physicians). Over half of patients (685; 57%) were women. The mean age was 57 years (standard deviation 15.0), chronic pain (49%) and spasticity (40%) were the most common symptoms, and co-medication was reported for 39% of patients. Seventy-eight different diagnoses were recorded, including multiple sclerosis (257 patients, 22%), soft tissue disorders (119, 10%), dorsalgia (97, 8.1%), spinal muscular atrophy (65, 5.5%) and paraplegia/tetraplegia (62, 5.2%). Licence extensions were granted to 143 patients (26.4%) in 2013 and 324 patients (39.3%) in 2014. There were substantial regional variations of the rates of patients treated with cannabinoids. On average, eight patients per 100 000 residents received an exceptional licence. Most patients (1083, 91%) paid out of pocket.; Exceptional licences for medical use of cannabinoids have increased substantially in Switzerland, with the programme including patients with a wide range of conditions

Interactions between pygmy bluetongue lizards and co-existing species

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA on 14 June 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03721426.2015.1051644. This author version will be under embargo for a period of 12 months from the date of publicationThis paper describes observations of interactions between endangered pygmy bluetongue lizards (Tiliqua adelaidensis) and other species that co-occur in their native grassland habitat in the mid-north region of South Australia. The lizard lives in spider burrows, and rarely moves away from the burrow entrance. We viewed over 16,000 h of video recording of occupied pygmy bluetongue lizard burrows, taken over five 10 day periods throughout one complete lizard activity season, and documented all cases in which these endangered lizards interacted with co-existing species. We found that these interactions were infrequent. We observed potential competition over burrow resources with lycosid spiders (Lycosa spp), centipedes, and a house mouse, and potential competition over invertebrate prey with a predatory wasp. We also observed unsuccessful predation attempts on lizards in burrows by ravens and brown snakes. We suggest that conservation management might have proceeded effectively without this information, but that it provides useful background information for informed decision making

Variation in size and condition of neonate pygmy bluetongue lizards, Tiliqua adelaidensis

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA on 9 June 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03721426.2015.1045312. This item is under embargo for a period of 12 months from the date of publicationPhenotypic variation among offspring of individual animals is an important life-history trait. In viviparous lizards, it could result from genetic variation of individuals and also differences in environments experienced by mothers during gestation. We investigated variation in phenotype and survival of neonate pygmy bluetongue lizards, Tiliqua adelaidensis, over three sampling years. We explored changes in body condition, using body size residuals as an index, and body size (snout-vent length (SVL) and mass) of neonates. For litters that were captured with their mothers, we hypothesised that body condition and size of offspring are influenced by the condition and size of their mothers, presence of mothers in the burrow and litter size. We found that there were significant variations in body condition and mass of neonates among years. There was no significant relationship between neonate body condition, mass and SVL and post-partum body condition of their mothers. Results revealed that females with higher SVL produced larger litters. None of the analyses showed any effect of mother’s presence on neonate body condition, SVL or mass. Neither was there any effect of observed litter size on these parameters. Our findings have important conservation implications for this endangered species, given that the aim of conservation managers is to encourage conditions that promote optimum body condition and fitness in offspring in order to maximise their survival in fragmented habitats

Dynamics of a temperate grassland reptile community in the mid-north of South Australia

Published version of the paper reproduced here with permission from the Royal Society of South Australia.Temperate native grasslands are listed as a critically endangered ecological community in South Australia, yet very little is known about the associated faunal communities. This study aims to provide information on the temporal dynamics of a native grassland reptile community in the mid-north of South Australia. During the study we made 335 reptile captures in pitfall traps, of 248 different individuals, from 13 species, representing five families. These data were used to investigate seasonal trends in trapping rate, age demographics and movement of individuals from marked recaptures. The results of the study provide baseline information on species assemblages that might be used in the recovery and management of the remaining fragments of temperate native grasslands and the endangered pygmy bluetongue lizard that relies on those fragments for its persistence.This research was supported by funds from the Australian Research Council