Maximizing the Potential for DNA Technology

NCVC is hosting a webinar November 18th at 1pm ET: Maximizing the Potential for DNA Technology. “The goals of this webinar are to expose participants to the “big picture” of how forensic DNA came to be the potent crime-fighting tool that it is today, and for participants to learn about today’s most extensive and innovative applications of forensic DNA in the United States and abroad. The speaker will highlight the importance of DNA databasing for identifying offenders and solving and preventing crimes and will present intriguing cases and innovative techniques using forensic DNA.”

Weekly Wrap-Up @ the Sustainability Blog

I’m in Philadelphia and then heading on to Maine this weekend for a DV course we’re teaching up there next week, so things are (and will continue to be) light over at the sustainability site. However, there are a couple things from this week you might find interesting:

• A succession planning webinar, for those of you in (or striving to be in) leadership positions. It’s a critical piece of the work that doesn’t get discussed as much as it should.
• A post about difficult conversations over at the Harvard Business site. It seems like we started talking a lot about ethical communication at the IAFN Assembly in Dallas last year, and the idea has continued to really stick with me. I love that the focus of the post referenced here is about being ambushed by angry confrontation, since it’s a situation most of us don’t handle as gracefully as we’d like.
• The press release regarding the Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act, introduced by Senators Franken, Grassley, Feinstein and Hatch.

It’s a beautiful, sunny day here in Philly, and while I’ll spend most of the day over at the ASC meeting (we’re doing an interesting panel as one of the closing sessions), I have been assured that there will be good Cuban food and a mojito waiting for me at the end of the day. Hope such rewards are in store for you, as well. Have a great weekend!

Addressing DV in the Workplace: EAP/Employer Partnerships

UPDATE: SORRY, EVERYONE, BUT REGISTRATION FOR THIS ONE IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE SEE THE COMMENT FOR INFO ON HOW TO ACCESS MATERIALS.

The Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence is hosting a webinar November 12th from 2-3 pm ET, Addressing Domestic Violence in the Workplace: Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Employer Partnerships. “A recent survey of CEOs found that most believe domestic violence to be a serious issue, yet 71% did not believe it is a problem in their company. The reality is that approximately 21% of fulltime working adults report being a victim of domestic violence…

Articles of Note: November Edition

Time once again for a run down of some of the new and noteworthy articles in the current literature. All of these are from the October/November issues. As always, please keep in mind this in no way a comprehensive list; simply items that have caught my attention from a selection of peer-reviewed journals. Links lead to PubMed abstracts; from there you can choose what’s worth a.) paying for; b.) a pilgrimage to your nearest medical library;  or c.) downloading via the full-text access you possibly have at your disposal. To be honest, it was kind of a light month; not nearly so much grabbed me in my rounds of the recent stuff.

Trafficking: New Offerings from the Week that Was

Over the past week there have been several new offerings related to human trafficking:

Phil Borges has an interview on his blog with Rachel Lloyd, founder of GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services). “Rachel told me that historically law enforcement in our country has punished the victims of the sex industry—the vulnerable and exploited adolescent girls that are coerced and trafficked into the trade.  She said that labeling and jailing them as ‘teen prostitutes’ instead of what they are–exploited and trafficked children– while ignoring the 30 to 40 year old men that sell and buy these girls has been a crime in itself.”

Listen to the 8+ minute audio file here.

Elder Abuse in Indian Country

OVC is hosting a web forum November 4th from 2-3pm ET: Serving Elder Abuse Victims in Indian Country. You can submit questions in advance and then return to the site on the 4th for some real-time discussion. If you can’t make it, all the answers will be archived and available for review at a later date.

Predicting Lethal IPV

Thanks to everyone who sent me the head’s up on this one–I love when readers forward events to me (hint). The Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School is sponsoring a webinar November 12th, from 3-5pm ET: Can You Predict lethal Intimate Partner Violence? Participation is free of charge; you can register for the session here.

An FHO Extra: 10 Free iPhone Apps for Forensic Clinicians

Many of us have made the leap to the iPhone, and while the vast majority of apps on my phone are for non-work related activities (i.e. finding food and satisfying my news addiction), there are some good ones out there that can benefit the forensic clinician (although I have yet to find a single one that is specific to forensic clinicians, so I guess there’s a project for another day). Below are 10 iPhone apps that are both free and (potentially) helpful. If there are others you like, do me a favor and leave a comment, since this is certainly not the definitive list of what’s out there…

New Sustainability Bulletins

I’m taking a couple much needed days off, so it’s going to be a short week here. But before I shut down the computer, I just wanted to alert you to what’s happening over at the Sustainability site. We have just released two new publications from the project in our Sustainability 101 series (some of you received them in hard copy in ATL): Creating a Business Plan for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners and Fostering Collaboration Between SANE Program Coordinators and Medical Directors.

Assault in Nursing

Medscape’s One Question Blog posted a new question the other day: have you, as a nurse, been assaulted and/or threatened by a family member either physically or mentally? If so, please share your experiences. How did you handle the situation immediately? Lock the workplace? How did those in charge in your setting handle your situation?

Physicians & Executions

ReachMD has a roundtable discussion on physicians and executions, facilitated by Dr. Atul Gawande. He is joined by Deborah Denno, professor of law at Fordham University; Dr. Robert Truog, professor of medical ethics, anesthesiology, and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; and Dr. David Waisel, associate professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, in a conversation about lethal injection, the current protocol, possible alternatives, and the role of health care professionals in putting convicted criminals to death.

As with all ReachMD programs, they’re free of charge, but require site registration to access.

Human Trafficking

UPDATE: The Family Justice Center Alliance is hosting a webinar on human trafficking Thursday, November 5th, from 9-10am, Pacific. Participation is free, but registration is required. Kay Buck from CAST will be the featured speaker.

You can view content from previous FJCA webinars here.

Reflections on the Assembly

I know this is an education blog, and I don’t usually do a lot of reflecting here, but this week was a strange and wonderful one, so I hope you’ll give me a bit of latitude. First off, I was sick this week, so some of you I never got a chance to see. I barely remember Thursday, and I literally left the hotel once in the 5 days I was in ATL. Be that as it was, some pretty tremendous work was accomplished at the Assembly, and we were privy to one of the all-time great recreational events ever sponsored by the organization.

Intimidation of Domestic Violence Victims

Battered Women’s Justice Project will be presenting a 3-part webinar series on intimidation of DV victims. Participation is free, but registration is required in advance. The presenters will be Attorney Rhonda Martinson of BWJP and Jeff Greipp, Attorney Advisor with AEquitas.

Adolescent Witnesses to Family Violence

I know I said I’d be posting on IAFN, but right now, all of my time here has been spent outside of sessions (staffing the NSVRC booth and in meetings). So I promise I will try to have some reports (other than that the turnout is amazing) soon. In the meantime, please note that JWI’s National Alliance to End Domestic Abuse is sponsoring a teleconference November 5th on adolescent witnesses to family violence.