Terminology Used to Describe Human Variation in Forensic Anthropology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marin Pilloud ◽  
Cassie Skipper ◽  
SaMoura Horsley ◽  
Alba Craig ◽  
Krista Latham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forensic Anthropology ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Forensic Sciences ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Human Variation ◽  
Systemic Racism ◽  
Ancestry Estimation ◽  
Anthropological Research ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
The U.S

To understand the implications of the forensic anthropological practice of “ancestry” estimation, we explore terminology that has been employed in forensic anthropological research. The goal is to evaluate how such terms can often circulate within social contexts as a result, which may center forensic anthropologists as constituting “race” itself through analysis and categorization. This research evaluates terminology used in anthropological articles of the Journal of Forensic Sciences between 1972 and 2020 (n = 314). Terminology was placed into two categories: classifiers and descriptors. Classifiers were standardized into one of five options: “race,” “ancestry,” “population,” “ethnic,” or “other.” Descriptors included terms used to describe individuals within these classificatory systems. We also compared these terms to those in the NamUs database and the U.S. census. Our results found that the terms “ancestry” and “race” are often conflated and “ancestry” largely supplanted “race” in the 1990s without a similar change in research approach. The NamUs and census terminology are not the same as that used in forensic anthropological research; illustrating a disconnect in the terms used to identify the missing, unidentified, and in social contexts with those used in anthropological research. We provide histories of all of these terms and conclude with suggestions for how to use terminology in the future. It is important for forensic anthropologists to be cognizant of the terms they use in medicolegal contexts, publications, and in public and/or professional spaces. The continued use of misrepresentative and improper language further marginalizes groups and perpetuates oppression rooted in systemic racism.

Generics in society

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-532
Author(s):  
Susan A. Gelman
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Anthropological Research ◽  
Generic Language ◽  
Contemporary Work ◽  
Positive Functions ◽  
Context Free

ABSTRACTThis article examines two interrelated issues: (i) how considering generics within their social contexts of use contributes to theories of generics, and (ii) how contemporary work on generics provides promising directions for the study of language as an aspect of social life. Examining the function of generics in meaningful interactions stands in contrast to standard treatments, which consider generics as isolated, context-free propositions. Additionally, recent psychological approaches suggest new questions that can enrich sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological research. These include, for example, when and why generics serve not just negative functions (such as stereotyping) but also positive functions (such as meaning-making), how generics gain their power from what is unstated as opposed to stated, and how generic language distorts academic writing. Ultimately, the study of language in society has the potential to enrich the study of generics beyond what has been learned from their study in linguistics, philosophy, and psychology. (Generics, concepts, categories, stereotyping, induction)*

Article II Treaties and Signaling Theory

2020 ◽  
pp. 123-142
Author(s):  
Curtis A. Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Signaling Theory ◽  
International Agreement ◽  
Freedom Of Choice ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
The U.S

This chapter focuses on the treaty-making process set forth in Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which requires that presidents obtain the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate. Some scholars contend that, under modern law and practice, presidents can choose to conclude any international agreement by obtaining either ex ante authorization or ex post approval from a majority of Congress rather than obtaining the supermajority “advice and consent” of the Senate. If presidents in fact have this freedom of choice, there appears to be a puzzle: Why do they ever choose to use the Article II treaty process, which is more politically difficult than the executive agreement processes? To be sure, the use of the Article II process has been in decline, but the process is still used for some agreements, including in situations in which the process seems to make it more difficult for presidents to obtain approval of agreements that they support. A common answer to this puzzle is based on signaling theory: Using the Article II process, it is said, allows the president or the country to signal valuable information to potential treaty partners. This chapter argues that the signaling explanation is questionable and suggests that domestic legal and political factors better explain the continued use of the Article II process.

Supply Chains under Security Threat

2020 ◽  
pp. 20-43
Author(s):  
Miguel Gastón Cedillo-Campos ◽  
A. Bueno-Solano ◽  
R. G. González-Ramírez ◽  
E. Jiménez-Sánchez ◽  
G. Pérez-Salas
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
Supply Chain Networks ◽  
Local Risk ◽  
Security Standards ◽  
The U.S

Contemporary prosperity depends on effective and secure supply chain networks that support economic competitiveness. Disruptions in global supply chains would have critical consequences on economies. The lack of technical studies and quantitative data concerning security that affects supply chain operations in Latin America, motivated to develop an exploratory study. Considering the complexity of the question studied, this paper details a set of case studies that explore, from a qualitative research approach, to what extent fulfilling security international standards now necessary to access mature markets such as the U.S and Canada allows export companies located in emerging countries as Mexico to face effectively the different types and levels of local risk. These results should help both academics and practitioners to more readily understand, first, the key logistics components now taken into account when improving security in export-oriented supply chains is required, and second, decision-makers' perspectives regarding supply chain security standards (SCSS) available on the market. A discussion of results is exposed and finally, discussion and future research are presented.

An Intergenerational Divide

2021 ◽  
pp. 256-276
Author(s):  
Lisa Lau
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Culture ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Chinese Americans ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Psychological Theories ◽  
The Family ◽  
The World ◽  
Communist Revolution ◽  
The U.S

This chapter explores factors that influence the current divisiveness in sociopolitical discourse and rhetoric in the Chinese American community and, in particular, the family unit. The findings contribute to understanding the origins of ideological differences that reflect the polarization facing the U.S. at large. The author integrates her experience and knowledge of the community and draws on a range of literature on Chinese culture, sociolinguistics, and psychological theories to identify three themes that influence the world views and modes of communication of many first-generation Chinese Americans: an authoritarian orientation, a polarized psychology, and a national origin orientation. Utilizing an autobiographical research approach that combines phenomenology and autoethnography, the author captures the trauma of her parents growing up during the Chinese Communist Revolution to bring awareness to disruptive events that shape cognitive processes that underlie the three themes and contribute to the current discordance in intergenerational discourse.

Amerikamun: Consuming America and Ambivalence toward the U.S. Presence in Postwar Okinawa

2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-61
Author(s):  
Chris Ames
Keyword(s):  
Daily Life ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Shopping Mall ◽  
Postwar Period ◽  
American Power ◽  
Multiple Generations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Luncheon Meat ◽  
Battle Of Okinawa ◽  
The U.S

After the U.S. victory in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, devastated Okinawans lived off of U.S. military rations, including unfamiliar foods such as pork luncheon meat and corned beef hash. Okinawans incorporated these and other U.S.-made goods into daily life as “Amerikamun,” literally meaning “American products,” but loaded with postwar Okinawan perceptions of America, its military, and the social contexts of the goods themselves. Connotations have shifted over the postwar period, at times suggesting Okinawan appropriation of American power through consumption of “luxurious” (jōtō) U.S. goods, but throughout the postwar period reminding Okinawans of American domination during the occupation and the unwelcome aspects of continuous U.S. military basing. “American Village,” which is a hybrid, American-style shopping mall and resort, is a concretization of this ambivalence, as multiple generations of Okinawans now have the opportunity to inscribe and reinscribe the meaning of Amerikamun on their landscape.

Ancestral Diversity in Skeletal Collections: Perspectives on African American Body Donation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allysha Winburn ◽  
Antaya Jennings ◽  
Dawnie Steadman ◽  
Elizabeth DiGangi
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Census Bureau ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Anthropological Research ◽  
Research Facilities ◽  
Body Donation ◽  
The U.S

African Americans comprise approximately 13% of the U.S. population, 26% of missing persons, and 51% of homicide victims (Kochanek et al. 2019; National Crime Information Center [NCIC] 2018; U.S. Census Bureau 2010). However, African American remains are underrepresented in the documented skeletal samples resulting from body donations to U.S. taphonomic research facilities. If forensic anthropologists are to rise to the challenge of identifying remains from this segment of the U.S. population, and if heritable differences among human populations are to be distinguished from the embodied differences acquired by marginalized individuals, a deeper understanding of African American skeletal biology is essential. This understanding is contingent on Black donors participating in whole-body donation to anthropological research facilities—participation that may be undermined by a legacy of mistrust between Black communities and the traditionally White-dominated scientific and medical establishments. This review paper synthesizes data from medical research on cadaver and organ donation, as well as anthropological literature on structural violence, embodiment, and the collection and curation of human remains, to present multiple perspectives on increasing African American body donation to anthropological research. We focus on historical, structural, and cultural factors potentially contributing to Black donor reluctance, providing a perspective often lacking in discussions of skeletal curation. We aim to generate debate and discussion within the field of forensic anthropology and among community stakeholders about how skeletal research can better serve Black communities.

scholarly journals Czysto ludzka sprawa? Archeologiczne przywracanie pamięci o trudnej przeszłości przez tropienie naturo-kulturowych przemian cmentarzy wojennych

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 189-229
Author(s):  
Anna Zalewska ◽  
Dorota Cyngot ◽  
Jacek Czarnecki ◽  
Grzegorz Kiarszys
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Great War ◽  
Cultural Transformations ◽  
Material Condition ◽  
Archaeological Methods ◽  
Natural Factors ◽  
Anthropological Research ◽  
The Great War ◽  
Future Condition

In this article the outcomes of historical, archaeological, spatial and anthropological research concerning material remnants of the war cemeteries left by the Great War in Central Poland, in the area of Rawka and Bzura are presented. On the example of one of the four communes (Nowa Sucha) subjected to research under the project Archaeological Revival of Memory of the Great War (ARM), the processes of creation, transformation, decay, destruction and re-making present the resting places of the soldiers fallen between December 1914 and July 1915 are shown. In the first part, we sketch the output atmosphere that accompanied the primary context in which war cemeteries were established and place the war cemeteries in the network of social, formal and legal determinants. In the second part, we frame the historical and social contexts in which the resting places of the fallen soldiers of the German and Russian armies were massively created. Than, we show the difficulties associated with locating particular war cemeteries and signal strengths and obstacles in correlating results of archival research and use of remote sensing and archaeological methods in order to restore the memory of war cemeteries and establish their current and future condition as material warnings. Also we stress the looping of cultural and natural factors both in the process of protecting and destroying material condition of war cemeteries. Finally, on the example of one of the cemeteries we show how slow and arduous but at the same time promising can be the process of transformation from a forgotten/plowed cemetery into a place of/in memory, and as an agent struggling with the continuous nature-cultural transformations.

scholarly journals The Scientific Profiles of Documented Collections via Publication Data: Past, Present, and Future Directions in Forensic Anthropology

2022 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-56
Author(s):  
Francisca Alves-Cardoso ◽  
Vanessa Campanacho
Keyword(s):  
Forensic Anthropology ◽  
The United States ◽  
Individual Identification ◽  
Estimation Methods ◽  
Forensic Sciences ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
To Come ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
Result Analysis ◽  
The University

Human osteological documented collections (DCs), also referred to as “identified collections”, are a valuable resource in biological and forensic anthropology, as they offer the possibility for hypothesis-driven research on sex and age-at-death estimation methods, human variability, and other morphometric-based parameters of individual identification. Consequently, they feature in many publications addressing the forensic sciences. The paper aims to explore the scientific profiles of DCs via publication using bibliometric data. The Dimensions databases were used to select the DC-related keywords in the title and abstracts of the publications. The search result analysis and extraction were conducted using VOSviewer. A total of 376 articles were found, published between 1969 and 2021 (November). The number of publications has increased over the years, specifically after 2011. The results show that most of the publications are associated with countries such as the United States and Portugal (the latter highlights the University of Coimbra), that the research tends to focus on human biological profiling (e.g., age, sex assessments), and that the journals with the highest numbers of publications were related to forensic sciences. This analysis shows a positive correlation between DC publications and the growth of forensic anthropology in recent years, with a slight shift towards the leading institutions that publish DC-based research. Hence, we can anticipate a change in the institutional leading profiles in the years to come.

““Pure”” Maple Syrup?

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-71
Author(s):  
matthew holmes
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Farming Practices ◽  
Maple Syrup ◽  
Organic Movement ◽  
History Of ◽  
Regulatory Bodies ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
The U.S

This article examines the organic maple syrup industry in Canada, providing personal anecdote, a brief history of maple production and the underlying practice and philosophy of the organic movement as it applies to maple products. Often thought as inherently organic, modern, industrial maple syrup production includes a number of ways in which concerns may be raised for environment, sustainable farming practices or human health. Through interviews and research, the article presents some possible responses organic practices can make to such concerns, while also questioning whether organic maple production is everything it claims to be. The troubling and continued use of paraformaldehyde by the maple industry, though outlawed in both the U.S. and Canada, is raised, as are the accountability and inspection standards of regulatory bodies, both in conventional and organic maple production. The article concludes with the efforts at sustainability and diversity as practiced by an organic maple farm in New Brunswick and offers the author's personal views on the subject of sustainability and the merits of traditional methods of maple production.

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