Growth of Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) Maggots in a Morgue Cooler*

Abstract: In estimating the postmortem interval (PMI) using maggots obtained during autopsy, the forensic entomologist makes decisions regarding the effects of low‐temperature storage of the body on the insects. In this case report, a corpse was found in an abandoned house in the residential area of Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Malaysia. The maggots were found to be alive inside the mouth of the deceased although the corpse had been in the morgue cooler for 12 days. The maggots were reared and identified as Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius). The emerged adult flies were kept as a stock colony, and the duration of development under the indoor fluctuating temperature regime was studied. The total duration of developmental process of this species was 9.5 ± 0.5 days, and the PMI estimated was 3.2 ± 0.6 days. This case report demonstrates the survival of Ch. megacephala maggots for 12 days and their growth inside the morgue cooler.     

Discharge in bankruptcy: a comparative analysis of law and practice between Malaysia,Singapore and the United Kingdom (UK) – What can we learn?

In common law jurisdictions such as Malaysia, United Kingdom and Singapore, bankruptcy law is the legal mechanism in situations where individuals fall into bankruptcy. In the UK, automatic discharge was introduced fifteen years ago. Yet, no equivalent concept of automatic discharge has been introduced in Singapore, while in Malaysia, although a new provision allowing for an automatic discharge of bankrupt was proposed in the new Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2016, it has yet to come into force upon official announcement by the Malaysian authorities. This paper examines and compares the laws and practices of discharge of bankrupts in Malaysia, the UK and Singapore.     

When Law and Practice Collide: the Implementation of the Plea-Bargaining Process in Malaysia

The amendment of the Malaysian Criminal Procedure Code in 2010 formalised the plea-bargaining process and introduced two new sections, 172C and 172D. The new procedures are intended to reduce the backlog of cases in the criminal courts and as a swift alternative to a full criminal trial. However, the law in action does not appear to be in line with the law in the statute book because currently the actors involved in the process are avoiding the use of the new procedural law. Instead, those actors are following the old informal practice of plea-bargaining to achieve their personal goals which may be inconsistent with the organisational goals of the judiciary and prosecution. This paper adopts a qualitative methodology, in which the primary data is obtained from semi-structured interviews with twenty respondents comprising the stakeholders in the criminal justice system.

     

Contactless Visualization of Latent Fingerprints on Nonporous Curved Surfaces of Circular Cross Section—A Statistical Evaluation on the Materials as Plane Mirror

A new contactless technique for latent fingerprint visualization on nonporous curved surfaces of circular cross section was introduced by Low et al. (1). The technique utilizes a plane mirror to convey the light rays toward the inspected surfaces for latent fingerprint visualization. This research activity came up as an extension of the previous study which utilized an aluminum plate as the plane mirror to illuminate the inspected surfaces. Dulling spray was used to increase the diffuse component of the reflective aluminum plate. However, the amount of dulling spray will affect the uniformity of the illumination on the inspected curved surfaces. In this study, a study on the new materials for the plane mirror was carried out. Coated aluminum, opal, and ground glass diffusers were selected as the new materials. The performance of the new materials was compared to the aluminum based on the quality of the captured images on various nonporous cylindrical surfaces. A statistical approach known as randomized complete block design was used to design the experiment. The quality of the captured images was obtained using Spectral Image Validation and Verification. Two‐way analysis of variance and Fisher's least significant difference test were used to analyze the quality of the images. From the results of the statistical analysis, coated aluminum has the best performance compared to aluminum, opal, and ground glass diffusers.     

On the structure of business incubators: de-coupling issues and the mis-alignment of managerial incentives

Business incubators are structurally complex and have resisted any major change to their internal structure, replicating throughout the world in large numbers, and delivering value through numerous models. A question, thus arises, what specific structural properties of incubators facilitate the organizational form’s replication and performance in a range of institutional contexts? In order to shed light on this question, an exploratory-inductive approach is adopted; and, utilizing the tools of organization theory, the internal environment of the business incubator is de-coded. This draws attention to attributes of the hybrid incubator-form’s internal structural properties that have not been discussed in the past, including de-coupling issues and the mis-alignment of managerial incentives with the actual role of incubating. These properties, rather than impacting incubators’ status, award incubators with ceremonial value and help their managements avoid close inspections of performance. This in turn, it is proposed, has allowed for their rapid replication in a variety of socio- cultural, economic and institutional contexts.     

Iran's Tortuous Path Toward “Islamic Liberalism”

This article provides an overview of the intellectual and sociopolitical roots of Iran's tortuous path toward Islamic liberalism and reform. It analyzes the shift in the ideological orientation of a major faction within the political elite from a radical to a relatively moderate and liberal interpretation of Islam. The authors trace the roots of this ideological shift to a series of political developments since the triumph of the Islamic revolution in 1979, including various failures of the revolutionary regime to fulfill its populist and egalitarian promises; a considerable erosion in the legitimacy of the ruling clerics; the successful (though largely silent) resistance of the youth and women against the culturally restrictive policies of the Islamic Republic; the rise of a distinctly anti-fundamentalist, liberal-reformist interpretation of Islam by a number of Iranian theologians and religious intellectuals; and the precipitous decline in the popularity of revolutionary ideas in the 1990s. In spite of the increasing appeal of liberal-democratic ideas of individual freedom, pluralism, and political tolerance in the new reform movement and the overwhelming endorsement of these ideas in four recent national elections, including two presidential polls, the authors argue that the movement has had but a limited and, for the most part symbolic, influence on Iran's objective, and still repressive, political conditions.     

Participation of CSOs/NGOs in Bangladeshi climate change policy formulation: co-operation or co-optation?

The Bangladesh government formulated the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategies and Action Plans (BCCSAP) in 2008 through a participatory process involving several CSOs/NGOs and others. This article discusses the participation of CSOs/NGOs in climate change policy-making, focusing on mapping their level of participation in policy-making. It demonstrates that state laws allow CSOs/NGOs to implement several projects voluntarily, but largely prohibit their participation in political decision-making processes. The state invites a few CSOs/NGOs as a condition to receive aid, but displays arbitrary and co-opting attitudes towards CSOs/NGOs that rarely ensure joint decisions in creating policy.     

The use of technology in the transformation of business dispute resolution

The use of technology in dispute resolution mechanism can be viewed from two perspectives: first, as an aid in the conventional dispute resolution system, and second, as an online dispute resolution mechanism via the Internet. Online dispute resolution (ODR) is transforming the way disputes are being resolved, in particular, in business to consumer (B2C) transactions. ODR offers a more successful means of resolving e-commerce disputes. In fact, there is a new move by the Malaysian judiciary to transform its court system. Previously, the judiciary has been very conventional in its administration of justice, and the system is said to be slow and outdated. The court system in Malaysia has been frequently criticised because of its dilatoriness in resolving disputes, resulting in a large backlog of cases. To overcome these problems, the judiciary has introduced a new system called the e-court. New methods including as e-filing, electronic case management, queue management, and court recording and transcribing form the complete e-court mechanism.