Short Tandem Repeat-based Identification of Individuals and Parents

Estimation of short tandem repeat (STR) multilocus genotype frequencies for the identification of individuals and estimation of allele frequencies for parentage assignment both depend on (a) testing a lot of loci, (b) high levels of polymorphism at each locus tested, and (c) independence among alleles. Independence is critical, because the estimation of multilocus genotype and gamete frequencies is based on multiplying individual allele frequencies to produce a composite frequency estimate. Independence among alleles at a locus is known as Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, whereas allelic independence between loci is known as linkage equilibrium. The frequency at which individual identification may be declared is a matter of opinion, as there is no scientific way to specify certainty based on frequency estimates. Similarly absolute assignment of parentage is impossible in theory; in practice it is more difficult than individual identification, because only half as much information is available (gamete vs genotype frequency) and because mutation may confound parentage analysis

Propaganda: How Germany Convinced the Masses

During the 1930s and 1940s, the National Socialist German Worker’s Party launched a full-scale propaganda campaign in conjunction with their military and political efforts as a means to subdue, indoctrinate, and control the masses of Germany and the European countryside. It is through this utilization of propaganda that Nazi Germany created a political machine that pumped out propagandistic messages frequently enough to sublimate the atrocities of the Holocaust into acceptable responses to the perceived Jewish problem. This usage of propaganda led to a united German identity, founded in a response full of hatred towards the Jewish people. This look into the power of propaganda sheds appropriate light on the psychological impact of repeated information, especially in times of economic stress and war

Power and consent: Relation to self-reported sexual assault and acquaintance rape

College students think about and act differently with regards to power and consent in their relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate how those attitudes and behaviors may relate to sexual assault and acquaintance rape. Power was examined at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and socio-cultural levels. In addition, two perspectives on power were studied: power as dominating others and power as a sense of personal empowerment or control. A scale to measure this distinction was created. Three theories on the relation among power, consent, and sexual assault/rape were examined: (1) consent may moderate a relation between power and sexual assault/rape, (2) power and consent may exert individual effects on sexual assault/rape, and (3) power alone may have the most significant effects on sexual assault/rape. Generally, it was expected that participants who thought of power mainly as dominating others would be less concerned about consent in their relationships and more likely to report that they had or would sexually assault or rape. Two hundred seventy-six students (101 males, 175 females) provided information about their attitudes and behaviors involving power and consent, as well as information about sexual assault and rape proclivities and frequencies of self-reported sexual assault and rape perpetration and victimization. Results suggested that individual perspectives on power (the interpersonal level) may have the most relevance to sexual assault/rape behaviors. Participants whose thoughts and feelings about power were strongly oriented toward dominance but not toward personal empowerment were more likely to report having engaged in sexual assault/rape perpetration. Contrary to what was expected, consent did not appear to be related to either power or sexual assault/rape. Several theories for the lack of significance relating to consent and other forms of power are discussed. Findings suggest that more research should be done on the distinction between power as dominance and power as personal empowerment, particularly as this distinction pertains to sexual assault, acquaintance rape, and other forms of interpersonal violence

Anatomy of a Community-Level Fiscal Impact Model: FIT-4-NH.

Abstract: This paper describes the development of a fiscal impact tool for New Hampshire communities (HT -4-NH). FIT -4-NH belongs to a family of computergenerated fiscal impact assessment models designed to estimate the impacts to local government revenues and expenditures that result from economic changes. In the past, work in this area has centered on the completion of countylevel models for the midwestern states. FIT-4-NH is unique in that it was designed for rural community-level use in the northern New England region of the country

Testing the relations of gelotophobia with humour as a coping strategy, self-ascribed loneliness, reflectivity, attractiveness, self-acceptance, and life expectations

Gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) was studied in a sample of N = 1,322 Danish adolescents aged 11 to 16. When using a measure of coping humour in three different respects (using humour (1) to overcome uncertainty and stress, (2) in relation to aggression and sexuality, and (3) to get cheered up), it was indicated that the fear of being laughed at existed independently from the use of humour as a coping strategy. It is suggested that interventions targeting the positive use of laughter and humour may have a potential for increasing the well-being of adolescents with high levels of the fear of being laughed at. In single item ratings higher levels of gelotophobia were associated with greater self-ascribed loneliness, lower perceived attractiveness, lower self-acceptance, and rather negative life expectancies. Findings are discussed in the light of current literature and with respect to potential implications for the school life of adolescents

Aligning values in applied professional practice: a case study of children’s services qualifying programmes in a Scottish university

This comparative study, conducted in a Scottish university, seeks to explore the role of professional values in children’s services qualifying courses in community education, social work and teacher education. Data from students and lecturers were analysed using thematic analysis. Participants recognised the importance of professional values as a central tenet of the courses, and most felt able to identify where these were addressed in teaching and learning opportunities. Key themes included tensions between professional and personal values; dilemmas of values in practice; and scope for enhancement of alignment between university values, professional learning and praxis.<br/

"Making it Remarkable":Teaching Professional Youth Work Values in a UK Higher Education Institution

This paper reports on the findings of a study exploring the role of values in professional qualifying courses taught at a Scottish University. The study aimed to enhance understanding of the way in which these courses draw on values-based pedagogy to incorporate professional values laid out in formal standards by external professional bodies. The paper reports on the findings relating specifically to values teaching on a professionally qualifying youth work programme, drawing on contributions uploaded to an online survey by students and lecturers engaged with the programme. It explores the themes to emerge from the survey data, including the centrality of values in practice and teaching; how these align with students’ personal values and are shaped by wider societal influences; lecturers’ pedagogical approaches; and the importance of supervised placements and dialogue between students, their supervisors, and lecturers in building their understanding and helping them to navigate the complexities of enacting values-based practice. The study concludes that youth worker education programmes, in which professional values are thoroughly embedded, offer the potential to deliver a transformative educative experience to students, and to potentially disrupt the reductionist values systems that have permeated the neo-liberal university.</p

Becoming parents by adoption: a systematic review

BackgroundTransition to parenthood (TP) for biological parents has been extensively explored in research, shaping healthcare service provision from pre-conception, birth and beyond. Adoptive parents are in a unique position. Despite growing number of studies on this issue there remains a demonstrable evidence gap about the experiences of adoptive parents. There is an urgent need to bring existing work in this area of TP together and synthesize the key messages for research and practice. AimsTo identify and summarise papers concerning the experiences of adoptive parents, becoming parents for the first time, in order to inform future research and clinical practice. Methods A systematic review searched CINAHL, MEDLINE and PsycINFO. FindingsThe search identified 21 papers and 7 areas of interest.ConclusionSimilarities exist between new biological and new adoptive parents however new adoptive parents face unique experiences and challenges as a result of becoming parents through adoption, not biology

Source, character and weathering style of building stone in Culzean Castle & Country Park, Ayrshire

This report describes an assessment of the source, character and weathering style of the building stone that has been used in Culzean Castle and other historic structures that lie within Culzean Castle & Country Park (CCCP), in Ayrshire. The assessment was conducted by the Building Stones team of the British Geological Survey (BGS) on behalf of National Trust for Scotland (NTS). The project was funded by Historic Scotland, and the work has been conducted under the Memorandum of Agreement (2011-2016) between Historic Scotland and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC; as represented by BGS). The main building stone in CCCP structures is sandstone sourced locally from the Swanshaw Sandstone Formation. Descriptions of the quarries that are thought to have supplied the stone, and a brief assessment of the potential for obtaining new supplies of the same stone from these and other quarries, are presented in section 2 of this report. The results of a brief review of historical records of local quarrying activity and building history in CCCP are tabulated in an appendix and presented in section 3 as a ‘timeline’. The geological character of Swanshaw sandstone is described in section 4, and the main causes of weathering in sandstone are reviewed briefly in section 5. The character of weathering in the stonework of CCCP buildings, and some of the factors that are likely to be causing accelerated stone decay, are described in section 6. Recommendations for ‘best practice’ procedure in the long-term repair and maintenance of stonework in CCCP are presented in section 7. Key conclusions are summarised in section 8