The tibial diaphysis is frequently viewed as a simple structure despite exhibiting complex morphological variation. While prior investigations have contextualized variation in tibial morphometry via cross-sectional and whole-bone approaches, variation present in the three-dimensional diaphysis alone is largely unknown. Moreover, specimen-specific geometry is often simplified and scaled in computational and biomechanical frameworks, limiting understanding of how diaphyseal morphology influences mechanical response. Therefore, the objective of this research is to characterize diaphyseal shape variation in human tibiae prior to experimental loading. Laser surface scans and computed tomography data were collected from 60 human tibiae obtained through an experimental trauma dataset. Diaphyseal shape was evaluated in both size-dependent (unscaled; UPC) and size-independent (scaled; SPC) analyses to distinguish size-associated from size-independent traits. In the unscaled analysis, variation was dominated by overall size, whereas size normalization redistributed variance across multiple dimensions of diaphyseal shape while preserving major morphological themes across analyses. Significant sex-associated differences were identified in overall length and diaphyseal circumference in the unscaled analysis and in anterior crest/lateral surface morphology and diaphyseal tapering after size normalization. These results define anatomically interpretable diaphyseal shape traits from pre-impact morphology within a sample with known experimental outcomes, providing an empirical basis for future work linking baseline morphology with biomechanical behavior and applied forensic contexts.
Sexual dimorphism of the human pelvis is well documented, but the extent to which different factors contribute to pelvic variation remains debated. This study assessed whether allometric scaling contributes to pelvic morphology and whether these patterns differ between sexes and populations. 19 metric measurements from 132 coxal bones from the two coeval Documented Human Osteological Collections of Bologna and Sassari (Italy) were used as dimorphic variables. Maximum femoral length and femoral head diameter were collected and their geometric mean was calculated as a proxy for body size. Standardized Major Axis analysis was performed to assess static allometry. Longitudinal measurements follow allometric scaling, indicating that individuals with larger body size tend to have proportionally larger hip dimensions. Some measurements related to coxal bone depth scale with body size only in males, suggesting that factors beyond allometric scaling (e.g., obstetric demands) may contribute to female pelvic morphology. Other variables display divergent trends between populations or sexes. Differences in allometric patterns between Bologna and Sassari may reflect population-specific environmental (peninsula vs. island), lifestyle and genetic factors. Our findings highlight the role of allometry in pelvic sexual dimorphism, with variable degrees of size dependence across traits, suggesting a potentially modular organization of pelvic morphology.
The constitutional duty to consult has become one of the central principles governing Crown–Indigenous relations in Canada. Although constitutional and administrative law scholarship has extensively analyzed the duty’s doctrinal framework, this article asks how Indigenous treaty philosophies can illuminate its jurisprudential purpose as an expression of continuing relationships. This article explores that question by examining how Indigenous relational understandings of treaties illuminate the development of consultation jurisprudence. Through an analysis of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decisions in Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests), 2004, Taku River Tlingit First Nation v. British Columbia (Project Assessment Director), 2004, and Mikisew Cree First Nation v. Canada (Minister of Canadian Heritage), 2005, it argues that, despite arising in markedly different legal contexts, these decisions converge in recognizing that Indigenous relationships with traditional territories persist beyond reserve boundaries and continue to generate reciprocal obligations on the part of the Crown. Read through Indigenous treaty philosophies, consultation emerges as more than a procedural doctrine regulating governmental decision-making. It can also be understood as a contemporary legal expression of the enduring relationships established between Indigenous nations and the Crown. Rather than suggesting that Canadian courts have adopted Indigenous understandings of treaties, the article argues more modestly that Indigenous treaty philosophies reveal an interpretive dimension of consultation jurisprudence that helps illuminate how the duty to consult may be understood more consistently with the constitutional commitment to reconciliation.
As death in the United States is increasingly managed within biomedical institutions, end-of-life doulas (EOLDs) have emerged as non-medical practitioners who support dying people and their families through education, advocacy, companionship, ritual, and vigil care. Drawing on 18 semi-structured interviews with practicing EOLDs across the United States, this qualitative study examines how these doulas conceptualize a good death, navigate emotionally intensive care work, and sustain themselves in a largely unregulated field. These interviews suggest that EOLDs challenge dominant biomedical models of dying by organizing care around client autonomy, relational presence, and personalization of treatment rather than cure, intervention, and control. According to the interviews, central to their practices are death-positive worldviews, emotionally intimate approaches to care, and strong peer networks. For these EOLDs, lower reported burnout and compassion fatigue were linked not only to self-care, but to a broader relational framework in which death is understood as a meaningful life passage rather than a professional defeat.
Accurate sex estimation is a key part of constructing biological profiles in forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology, yet traditional binary approaches often oversimplify human variation. This study evaluates the accuracy, sex ratio outcomes, and utility of four established methods: Albanese’s 2003 non-group-specific pelvic and femoral and 2013 upper-limb metric methods, Albanese et al.’s 2005 sample-specific limb method, and Sutherland and Suchey’s 1991 ventral arc morphoscopic standard. Using a documented sample from the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection (n = 122), the results show that Albanese’s 2003 pelvic and femoral method yielded the highest overall accuracy (95.9%) and a balanced sex ratio, outperforming the upper-limb method (95.1%), which exhibited a male accuracy bias. While articular joints provided more stable estimations than diaphyseal midshafts, visual scoring proved limited, as 19.7% of the documented males exhibited ridges resembling a female ventral arc. Notably, applying a probabilistic “grey zone” (p-values of 0.2–0.8) demonstrated that sex exists on a continuum rather than a strict binary. Ultimately, sex estimation varies by the skeletal elements and criteria utilized. Implementing a probabilistic framework reduces the risk of misclassification, accounts for biological complexity, and provides a more reliable, ethically grounded approach to forensic analysis.
