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- DNA (2)
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Articles 1 - 20 of 20
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Evaluating A Test For Shedding Propensity Using Tape Lifts From Different Skin Locations, Xiao M. Chen
Evaluating A Test For Shedding Propensity Using Tape Lifts From Different Skin Locations, Xiao M. Chen
Student Theses
The shedding propensity of a person can assist data interpretation in casework when assessing the possibility of passive transfer for DNA analysis. Past studies on shedding propensity evaluated palmar skin (washed and unwashed) deposits. This study compared different skin locations with respect to shedding propensity, and explored the potential of tape-lifts as a skin surface collection method. Eight different skin types and samples were collected with adhesive tape disks from 28 participants over three non-consecutive days; the washed and unwashed fingers from both hands, toe, and arm, neck below ear, and nape. Samples were extracted, quantified, amplified, genotyped, and evaluated …
Reproducibility Of Individual Dna Deposits Detected Through Cellular Fluorescence, Natalee Small-Davidson
Reproducibility Of Individual Dna Deposits Detected Through Cellular Fluorescence, Natalee Small-Davidson
Student Theses
Contact traces are an important part of DNA casework, but the probative value of any identified associations depends on the possibility of passive transfer. There is known individual variation in DNA left behind during contact, this DNA shedding propensity has an effect on whose DNA is detected. This study evaluated this variability using a cell staining approach. Volunteers were asked to deposit a fingerprint on a clean glass slide, then wash their hands and deposit a second fingerprint after a 30-minute wait without touching anything. Three sets of samples were collected over three consecutive weeks. Fingerprints were stained with a …
Detecting Gsr Indicative Particles On Decayed Bones Using A Novel Field Kit, Sven Engling
Detecting Gsr Indicative Particles On Decayed Bones Using A Novel Field Kit, Sven Engling
Student Theses
Decomposed human remains are complex forensic puzzles, escalating in difficulty as the remains’ age obscures evidence, like trauma. Research has shown that scanning electron microscopes with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometers (SEM-EDX) are capable of detecting and identifying gunshot residue (GSR) particles on bones. However, SEM-EDX work is time consuming, expensive, and not accessible to every forensic department. Therefore, a preliminary field test capable of detecting GSR indicative particles, like lead, could save departments money and assist in trauma identification. This study examines the viability of using either the 3M Lead Check Test swabs or a sodium rhodizonate solution as part …
Dna Extraction And Genotyping From Burned Skeletal Remains, Kayla M. Rooney
Dna Extraction And Genotyping From Burned Skeletal Remains, Kayla M. Rooney
Student Theses
In this research, bovine leg bones were burned, both with and without meat intact, in order to determine if it was possible to extract and amplify DNA to obtain profiles. The meat was burned over an open flame and the DNA was extracted using the Qiagen DNeasy Blood & Tissue Mini Kit, quantified with the NanoDrop, and amplified using the Bovine Genotypes Panel 3.1 Kit, and separated using the 3500 Genetic Analyzer. Profiles were analyzed using the Thermo Fisher Cloud Microsatellite Analysis software. The samples burned with the meat intact produced lower quantities of DNA than the bones burned with …
The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Thai Probation Department, Thanaphon Nunphong
The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Thai Probation Department, Thanaphon Nunphong
Student Theses
The COVID-19 pandemic had a crucial impact on the Thai criminal justice system. While it may be true that the Department of Probation has proposed preventive and responsive measures in response to COVID-19, relatively little is known about the practical applications of these measures as well as the impact of COVID-19 on probation personnel, probationers, and parolees. The goal of this study is to explore the policies and practices of Thai probation agencies as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study surveyed probation officers in Thailand (N = 534; 60.6% Female) in March to April 2021, focusing on …
Effects Of Improper Ammunition Storage, Victoria S. Andre
Effects Of Improper Ammunition Storage, Victoria S. Andre
Student Theses
Firearms are commonly used by law enforcement, hunters, and civilians either for protection, sport or criminal activity. Ammunition is used in traditional firearms such as rifles and handguns, and consists of a cartridge case, propellant, a bullet (projectile), and primer. The two types of priming systems within the cartridge that are commonly used today are rimfire and centerfire cartridges. There are several types of malfunctions that can occur with ammunition. Improper ammunition storage is one major factor that plays a role in ammunition failure. One form of improper ammunition storage is where the storage environment being used abruptly changes due …
Dosage Matters: What Is Dosage, Doyoung Kim
Dosage Matters: What Is Dosage, Doyoung Kim
Student Theses
To reduce recidivism, many correctional programs and interventions have been introduced to offenders. Though, the rate of recidivism remains exceedingly high. To improve program outcomes, it is important to match the dosage of a program to risk levels. However, there is not a standardized definition and measurement of program dosage. This thesis extends the study on identifying the definition and measurement of dosage and the effectiveness of the programs by conducting a systematic review of prior research. The results indicate that as a treatment dosage, treatment duration was more frequently used compared to treatment intensity to reduce recidivism rate of …
The Influence Of Demographic Information On Public Attitudes Towards Individuals Who Commit Sexual Offenses, Emily Bogdan
The Influence Of Demographic Information On Public Attitudes Towards Individuals Who Commit Sexual Offenses, Emily Bogdan
Student Theses
Research exploring the factors that shape public attitudes towards individuals who commit sexual offenses is needed to inform policy and reduce stigma that these individuals face as they reenter society. Prior research has explored demographic factors of those who offend and have been victimized, but few have studied how these variables may interact with one another to shape attitudes toward people who commit sexual offenses. The current study explores whether offender gender, victim gender, and victim age shape the public’s attitudes towards these individuals. Participants were presented with a vignette describing the offense and then they were asked to respond …
Cocaine, Cocaethylene And Ethanol In Postmortem Blood Submitted To The New York City Office Of Chief Medical Examiner, Jada T. Alexis
Cocaine, Cocaethylene And Ethanol In Postmortem Blood Submitted To The New York City Office Of Chief Medical Examiner, Jada T. Alexis
Student Theses
Cocaine overdose deaths are on the rise in the United States. This increase may be due to the co-consumption of cocaine with other drugs. When cocaine is ingested in conjunction with alcohol, a specific metabolite called cocaethylene forms. Information regarding cocaethylene, specifically its interpretive value in post-mortem cases, has not been widely studied. Data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City revealed that there were 195 cases in 2017 positive for cocaethylene. These cases were most likely to involve black (42.1%) males (79.5%) in Manhattan (28.2%) aged 50 - 59 (34.4%). Most of the cases …
Evaluating The 2019 New York State Bail Reform On Quality Of Life Offenses In New York City, Nodira Pirmukhamedova
Evaluating The 2019 New York State Bail Reform On Quality Of Life Offenses In New York City, Nodira Pirmukhamedova
Student Theses
Using the NYPD Complaint Data, this study compares the frequency of nine quality of life (QOL) misdemeanor complaints (n = 196,577) in New York City (NYC) before (n = 108,382) and after the 2019 NYS Bail Reform Act (n = 88,195), which eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanor crimes. The results show an overall decrease (18.6%) in nine QOL misdemeanor complaints in NYC after bail reform with a large effect (d = 1.317). The main limitation of this study is that it did not control for the impact of COVID-19 in 2020 on the criminal justice system’s shifting priorities. Another …
Bullet Ricochet Of Polymer Coated Bullets, Stephen Daly
Bullet Ricochet Of Polymer Coated Bullets, Stephen Daly
Student Theses
Polymer coated bullets were designed to limit a shooter’s exposure to lead. However, despite the advantages that these bullets give there are still difficulties which arise in a forensic firearms examination. Unlike in a typical metal coated bullet, individualizing striations will typically not be imparted to a polymer coated bullet making it unable to be linked to a specific firearm. Due to this difficulty any information that can be gained at the scene of the crime could be crucial. Some obtainable information includes the angle of ricochet and the angle of incidence of the discharged bullet as well as traces …
Investigation Of Postmortem Methamphetamine Cases Submitted To The New York City Office Of Chief Medical Examiner, Isaiah Jewell
Investigation Of Postmortem Methamphetamine Cases Submitted To The New York City Office Of Chief Medical Examiner, Isaiah Jewell
Student Theses
Methamphetamine (N-methylamphetamine) is a central nervous system stimulant (CNS) and sympathomimetic drug with a high addiction potential. In the United States, there has been a significant increase in the presence of methamphetamine in recent years, specifically in the Northeastern region of the country. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (NYC-OCME) postmortem methamphetamine casework from 2018 and 2019 was analyzed and revealed that the presence of the drug increased drastically within a span of one year, jumping from 65 cases in 2018 to 99 cases in 2019. Males were overwhelmingly responsible for much of the casework, taking up …
Weather And Crime: New York State, Yuna Kim
Weather And Crime: New York State, Yuna Kim
Student Theses
The present study assesses the degree to which temperature affects the crime rates in all 62 counties in the State of New York. Five different crimes (i.e., robbery, aggravated assault, burglary; larceny, and motor vehicle theft) for the year 2019 were selected from the Division of Criminal Justice Services of New York to be examined. The current study examined whether the rate of these crimes was associated with the changes in weather, with the assumption that higher weathers would lead to higher property and violent crimes, when controlling for the effect of various control variables. The findings suggest that the …
Disinhibition And Persistent Maladaptive Behavior, Angela T. West
Disinhibition And Persistent Maladaptive Behavior, Angela T. West
Student Theses
Objective: There is an urgent need to reduce overpopulation in U.S. prisons, which are inundated with individuals needing substance use treatment. Research on both substance use and antisocial behaviors highlight maladaptive beliefs and behaviors, while also implicating disinhibition as an important factor. Disinhibition is a dynamic trait that can be targeted with therapeutic interventions. The current study explored the relationships between neurocognitive disinhibition, substance use, and recidivism among incarcerated men. The study hypothesized that disinhibition would be associated with history of substance use, history of antisocial behavior, and institutional misconduct, as well as predicting recidivism over and above history of …
Changes In The Black-White Sentencing Gap After United States V. Booker, 2008-17, Shuhao Zhang
Changes In The Black-White Sentencing Gap After United States V. Booker, 2008-17, Shuhao Zhang
Student Theses
The Black-White sentencing gap, as defined by the differences between the average sentences received by Black defendants and those by White defendants, is an under- research area. In the federal court, after United States v. Booker, this gap has decreased from 25 months in 2008-2010 to 0 in 2016-2107. By using Oaxaca decomposition, I find that the differences in criminal history, offense levels, and pretrial detention status between Black and White defendants are the main source of the gap. The unexplained portion of the gap, resulting from judges finding Black defendants more culpable to their offenses and thus imposing harsher …
Quantitative And Qualitative Assessment Of Interrogation Expectations, Shereen R. Lewis
Quantitative And Qualitative Assessment Of Interrogation Expectations, Shereen R. Lewis
Student Theses
Interrogation expectations (IE) is a construct that suggests expectations of custodial interrogations affect suspects’ Miranda waiver decisions while under interrogation. Prior research has examined IE quantitatively but there has been no prior research examining IE qualitatively. This current research conducted both a quantitative and qualitative analysis of IE using a sample of 335 participants from the United States. This research took the form of an online survey using Prolific (www.prolific.co) to recruit participants, Qualtrics (www.qualtrics.com) to record data, and SPSS and Nvivo to analyze quantitative qualitative data. It was hypothesized that substantial individual variation in IE will be found in …
White Racial Identity And Its Impact On Punitive Attitudes Towards Juvenile Offenders, Rossol Gharib
White Racial Identity And Its Impact On Punitive Attitudes Towards Juvenile Offenders, Rossol Gharib
Student Theses
White Racial Identity is a relatively new concept with little to no consensus as to the operationalization of such identity. The first ever White Racial Identity model was developed by Janet E. Helms in 1990. The role of White racial identity has been studied in the context of the racial gap in employment and its influence on racial attitudes, but it has yet to be studied in the context of the juvenile justice system. The criminal justice system is racially imbalanced, with Black males imprisoned 5.5 times more than White males. One of the factors contributing to this imbalance is …
Criterion Validity Of The Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method In A Criminal Justice Sample, Sarah M. Monaghan
Criterion Validity Of The Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method In A Criminal Justice Sample, Sarah M. Monaghan
Student Theses
The purpose of the current study was to determine the clinical utility of the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method (OSU-TBI-ID) in a criminal justice sample, by evaluating the criterion-related validity of this instrument. It was hypothesized that this tool could differentiate between incarcerated individuals with or without a history of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) on measures evaluating important TBI-related sequalae. The sample consisted of 95 incarcerated men detained at a private correctional facility in a Mid-Atlantic state. Measures used in this study to evaluate executive functioning difficulties, psychiatric difficulties, substance use problems, institutional misconduct and recidivism were …
Determination Of Human Shedding Propensity Based On Str Results, Genevieve Trapani
Determination Of Human Shedding Propensity Based On Str Results, Genevieve Trapani
Student Theses
Trace DNA evidence may be discovered at a crime scene after having been deposited by a person of interest via active or passive transfer. Based on previous studies, passive transfer of one’s DNA is influenced by their shedding propensity, or probability of depositing a detectable amount of DNA through touch. Determining the shedding propensity of a person of interest can aid in trace DNA interpretation in forensic casework. This study explored STR profile quality and the presence of a DNA mixture for different skin surface locations, including fingertips before and after handwashing. As expected, unwashed fingers showed a higher prevalence …
Effect Of Age And Sex On The Discrimination Of Monozygotic Twins Using Cg18562578 Dna Methylation In Saliva, Carla Pierre Louis
Effect Of Age And Sex On The Discrimination Of Monozygotic Twins Using Cg18562578 Dna Methylation In Saliva, Carla Pierre Louis
Student Theses
DNA methylation is a type of epigenetic modification that impacts gene expression without disturbing the genetic nucleotide sequence. DNA methylation has the potential to be included in the daily forensic analysis because among other uses, it has the potential to be applied to discrimination of monozygotic (MZ) twins that currently cannot be differentiated via forensic DNA profiling. In previous research, our group showed that DNA methylation at the cg18562578 site in chromosome 3 could be used to discriminate MZ twins. Because studies have shown that DNA methylation measures can be influenced by demographic factors such as sex and age; here, …