A systems approach to forensic science applied in the military domain

Forensic science is undertaken in support of law enforcement investigations, criminal justice prosecutions, intelligence, and military objectives. There are different forensic operating models to meet these various objectives and no unified approach to forensic science has been described. There are common challenges in the military domain, which impacts the delivery of forensic science, including: different terminology between organizations, complex operating environments, operating siloes, inward-looking military structures, quality management, and resource constraints. One solution to these challenges is to apply modern organizational theory to military-focused forensic science. Organizational theory is the study of organizations in a structural sense, including objectives, people, structure and management. The modern organizational theory systems approach describes how organizations should be viewed as systems within larger systems. In the work presented in this paper, a systems approach has been applied, for the first time, to military forensic exploitation to address the common issues faced by military organizations. The advantages of applying a systems approach to military forensic exploitation are that it is applicable across forensic science organizations, it is flexible and scalable to meet the changing external environment, and it articulates the redundancies in the system to help address system failures.     

Religious Faith and Transformational Processes in Marriage

Leading scholars of marital processes strongly recommend supplementing the current focus on marital conflict to include research on transformative processes. This qualitative study examines the connection between religion and the transformative processes of commitment and coping in marriage. The sample for this study includes 184 married couples (N = 368 individuals), making it far larger than most in‐depth, qualitative interview‐based studies. Participants included Christians, Jews, and Muslims with an over sampling of minorities and immigrant families living in all eight regions of the United States. For several decades studies have shown a largely positive correlation between (a) religiosity and marital commitment and (b) religiosity and (generally) positive coping, but with little explanation regarding how and why. Findings of this study indicate that there are specific religious beliefs and practices related to how these couples approach their marriages—including several that relate to the two transformative processes of commitment and coping.     

HIV Testing in the Nation's Opioid Treatment Programs, 2005–2011: The Role of State Regulations

ObjectiveTo identify the extent to which clients in a national sample of opioid treatment programs (OTPs) received HIV testing in 2005 and 2011; to examine relationships between state laws for informed consent and pretest counseling and rates of HIV testing among OTP clients.Data SourceData were collected from a nationally representative sample of OTPs in 2005 (n = 171) and 2011 (n = 200).Study DesignRandom-effects logit and interval regression analyses were used to examine changes in HIV testing rates and the relationship of state laws to HIV testing among OTPs.Data CollectionData on OTP provision of HIV testing were collected in phone surveys from OTP managers; data also were collected on state laws for HIV testing.Principal FindingsThe percentage of OTPs offering HIV testing decreased significantly from 93 percent in 2005 to 64 percent in 2011. Similarly, the percentage of clients tested decreased from an average of 41 percent in 2005 to 17 percent in 2011. OTPs located in states whose laws do not require pretest counseling and that use opt-out consent were more likely to provide HIV testing and to test higher percentages of clients.ConclusionsThe results show the need to increase HIV testing among OTP clients; the results also underscore the beneficial possibilities of dropping pretest counseling as a requirement for HIV testing and of using the opt-out approach to informed consent for testing.     

OR Department: Challenging New Study Made of Traditional O.R. Practices

The ability of nurses to adopt and successfully use EMR is expected to have a significant impact on achieving benefits such as reduction in healthcare costs and improvement in healthcare quality. A review of the current research literature reveals issues and concerns relating to the adoption and use of EMR by nurses in hospital environments. This article presents a literature review of such issues and concerns, and suggests a framework for enhancing the adoption and use of EMR by nurses and hospitals.