Review of the Forensic Applicability of Biostatistical Methods for Inferring Ancestry from Autosomal Genetic Markers

The inference of ancestry has become a part of the services many forensic genetic laboratories provide. Interest in ancestry may be to provide investigative leads or identify the region of origin in cases of unidentified missing persons. There exist many biostatistical methods developed for the study of population structure in the area of population genetics. However, the challenges and questions are slightly different in the context of forensic genetics, where the origin of a specific sample is of interest compared to the understanding of population histories and genealogies. In this paper, the methodologies for modelling population admixture and inferring ancestral populations are reviewed with a focus on their strengths and weaknesses in relation to ancestry inference in the forensic context.

Proposal for Improvements of the Police Manual Regarding Crisis Management

The current manual for crisis management in Korea includes military units and the police as related organizations. However, the duties of police units are very broad, such as traffic control and security maintenance in disaster areas, lifesaving, and the search for missing persons, and the main tasks of such disaster management actions as lifesaving and the search for missing persons are led by fire-fighting units or local governments. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly present the scope of police activities in the event of a disaster. In this study, police manuals in Korea and abroad were investigated to identify problems and implications of the current Korean manual. In addition, through an analysis of common unit tasks that the police should perform in the event of a disaster, domestic crisis management manuals, and overseas cases, additional police unit duties are proposed in detail. As a result, we suggest provisions in the manual that allow the police to immediately intervene in response to disasters.

A GRASP-Based Approach for Planning UAV-Assisted Search and Rescue Missions

Search and Rescue (SAR) missions aim to search and provide first aid to persons in distress or danger. Due to the urgency of these situations, it is important to possess a system able to take fast action and effectively and efficiently utilise the available resources to conduct the mission. In addition, the potential complexity of the search such as the ruggedness of terrain or large size of the search region should be considered. Such issues can be tackled by using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with optical sensors. This can ensure the efficiency in terms of speed, coverage and flexibility required to conduct this type of time-sensitive missions. This paper centres on designing a fast solution approach for planning UAV-assisted SAR missions. The challenge is to cover an area where targets (people in distress after a hurricane or earthquake, lost vessels in sea, missing persons in mountainous area, etc.) can be potentially found with a variable likelihood. The search area is modelled using a scoring map to support the choice of the search sub-areas, where the scores represent the likelihood of finding a target. The goal of this paper is to propose a heuristic approach to automate the search process using scarce heterogeneous resources in the most efficient manner.

Reconstructing the Memory of the Wounded Social Body: A Philosophical-Theological Reflection from the Search for Missing Persons in Mexico

This essay analyzes the phenomenon of clandestine graves of missing persons in Mexico as a social, political, and philosophical problem, where theological clues are established. With the contributions of decolonial thought this reflection seeks to think the absence and, within it, to think the emergence of an alternative world promoted by the just people of history with the resistances they create to live the present with dignity and hope.

The Issues of Unclaimed Properties in Malaysia

Unclaimed property in Malaysia has become one of the more hotly debated issues. So far unclaimed property value estimated to reach billions of ringgit. This is a big number, and, if issues stay no action has taken, it will affect not only the society but also economic and national development. If the efficient property management system had to be set up it will have undoubtedly a positive impact. Therefore, there is a need to take a drastic action to find a comprehensive solution and alternatives for solving this issue. Hence, an effective asset management and an efficient estate planning towards unclaimed property must be practiced to ensure a smooth operation of the property management. Generally, unclaimed property is divided into two main categories. Firstly, the inherited estate from a deceased that is not claimed by the heirs and another one is the property the owner of which cannot be traced or missing, known as Al-Mafqud in Islamic law. In this paper, the researcher has focused on the occurrence of unclaimed property in the context of missing persons. The results of this study are based on data gathered through a grounded theory from few agencies such as the Malaysian Civil and Shariah Courts, Small Estate Distribution Unit in the District Land Office and Amanah Raya Berhad as well as the heirs of missing persons. The information of missing person's heirs collected from Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) and the information clarified as confidential. In general, the result shows that, there are for factors contributed to the issues of unclaimed properties in Malaysia; legislation, social status, behavior and the strength and weaknesses of related agency should be given consideration. This results are expected to be catalyst to further action by the government to solve the issue of unclaimed property in Malaysia and concurrently contribute to enhance the quality of property management based on highest and best use concept

Rights of Families of Disappeared Persons

This book examines how international judicial and non-judicial bodies in Europe address the needs of the families of forcibly disappeared persons. The needs in question are returning the remains of disappeared persons; the right to truth; the acceptance of responsibility by states; and the right to compensation. These have been identified as the four most commonly shared basic and fundamental needs of families in which an adult was disappeared many years previously and is now assumed to be dead, which is representative of the situation of the vast majority of families of disappeared persons in Europe. <br><br>The analysis covers the judgments and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Human Rights Advisory Panel in Kosovo, as well as the activities of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, the Special Process on Missing Persons in the Territory of former Yugoslavia, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the International Commission on Missing Persons. In so doing, the book demonstrates whether, how, and based on what principles these four needs of the families of disappeared persons can constitute a claim based on international human rights law.

Everything Seems So Illogical: Constructing Missingness Between Life and Death in Israel

This paper discusses the case of missing persons in Israel, to show how the category of “missingness” is constructed by the people who have been left behind, and how this may threaten the life-death dichotomy assumption. The field of missing persons in Israel is characterized not only by high uncertainty, but also by the absence of relevant cultural scripts. Based on a narrative ethnography of missingness in Israel, I claim that a new and subversive social category of “missingness” can be constructed following the absence of cultural scripts. The left-behinds fluctuate not only between different assumptions about the missing person’s fate; they also fluctuate between acceptance of the life-death dichotomy, thus yearning for a solution to a temporary in-between state, and blurring this dichotomy, and thus constructing “missingness” as a new stable and subversive ontological category. Under this category, new rites of passage are also negotiated and constructed.