Detection of firearm imprints on the hands of suspects: effectiveness of PDT reaction.

Pyridyldiphenyl triazine (PDT) and three of its analogues were compared as practical reagents for visualizing unseen impressions left on the hands of a person who has held a firearm. The parent compound, PDT, gave the best results using intensity and clarity as measuring criteria. The effectiveness of the PDT reaction was then studied on 147 volunteers who had held firearms in their hands. Identifiable impressions of the metallic parts of the weapons were developed on the hands of 103 volunteers (70%). Results with females were slightly higher than with males, however, the difference was possibly statistically insignificant, and needs further study. Ferroprint and Ferrotrace, 5 commercial preparations that are based on the PDT reaction, have become a part of the professional equipment of every crime scene technician in Israel.     

The Day the World Changed: A Pomo Primer

This paper begins with a famous comment by Virginia Wolfe about the world changing ??on or about December, 1910?? when, she argued, modernist thought became dominant and changed human relations. My paper suggests that postmodernism begins in the Sixties, offers a definition of postmodernism taken from the French scholar, Jean-Francois Lyotard, and contrasts modernism with postmodernism. It offers an analysis of Disneyland as a postmodern entertainment and concludes with a discussion of whether postmodernism is now passé and has been succeeded by something else??namely post-postmodernism.     

The prognostic value of the PCL-R in relation to the SUD treatment ending

Scientific research about patients with substance use disorders (SUD) treated within the context of forensic compulsory addiction treatment is seldom available. Scientifically supported surveys regarding the treatability of SUD patients are rare. Some authors claim that the Psychopathy-Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) has value for predicting therapeutic success. PCL-R scores rely on extensive interview data and a detailed review of criminal records and social history. The scores reflect 1) the affective and interpersonal psychological traits; and 2) socially deviant conduct. This study was conducted by the forensic professional clinic at the hospital for Psychiatry and Neurology Hildburghausen. We assessed 102 male patients using the PCL-R. This investigation evaluated the Total score of the PCL-R and the score of Factor 1 and Factor 2 in relation to the end of treatment by court order. The results showed significant differences between patients who completed treatment and those who did not. Patients that dropped out of treatment had a higher score in PCL-R. With the use of the PCL-R it is possible to make a quantitative statement about which patients will complete treatment.     

Objective paper structure comparison: Assessing comparison algorithms

More than just being a substrate, paper can also provide evidence for the provenance of documents. An earlier paper described a method to compare paper structure, based on the Fourier power spectra of light transmission images. Good results were obtained by using the 2D correlation of images derived from the power spectra as a similarity score, but the method was very computationally intensive. Different comparison algorithms are evaluated in this paper, using information theoretical criteria. An angular invariant algorithm turned out to be as effective as the original one but 4 orders of magnitude faster, making the use of much larger databases possible.     

Redefining Corporate Social Responsibility in an Era of Globalization and Regulatory Hardening

Globalization and the growth of multinational enterprises (MNEs) have been accompanied by an increasing call for corporations to take responsibility for their environmental and social impacts, and for greater corporate disclosure and transparency with regard to nonfinancial risks (collectively known as corporate social responsibility or CSR). At the same time, governments have increasingly turned to mandatory obligations for formerly voluntary CSR engagement, a trend we call the legalization of CSR. This article analyzes the “hardening” and legalization of CSR, and considers what this process tells us about norms and assumptions regarding the social responsibility of firms in the United States and around the world. Through our analysis of corporate trends, regulations, and case law from the United States, European Union, China, and India, we argue that the process of legalization and redefinition of CSR through a shareholder primacy lens may, troublingly, undermine the very notion of CSR. In the face of these trends, this article concludes with a redefinition of CSR that includes an express commitment to corporations’ social and ethical responsibility to society.