Particularizing the Universal: Dave Eggers Writes Human Rights

This article examines the ways in which two literary texts by the American author Dave Eggers, his novel You Shall Know Our Velocity (2002) EGGERS, Dave. (2002) You Shall Know Our Velocity (San Francisco, CA: McSweeney's). [Google Scholar] and his short story “Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly,” interrogate the abstract humanism that underlies universalist rights and explore the reasons for their ineptitude at effecting their promise of universalism when faced with the particularity of individual cultures. Thematically, Eggers's stories test the limits of promoting rights on the basis of an innate shared humanity by exposing how such a basis easily slides into other universalist practices such as those of neocolonialism and neoimperialism. At the character level, these narratives consider the possibilities for meaningful cross-cultural relationships within the context of these discourses, revealing the ease with which they in turn can slip into hierarchical relations that reaffirm existing divisions. In doing so, they also engage and challenge the conclusions of cosmopolitan thinkers such as Kwame Anthony Appiah or Jürgen Habermas who have influentially proposed cross-cultural dialogues as a means of overcoming the tension between universalism and particularity. Interestingly, then, even as interdisciplinary research on literature and human rights has begun to etch out the coalescence of the two, Eggers provides an important example of how literary texts can also critique human rights discourses and can explore questions pertaining to their global reach.     

Nine-locus Y-chromosome STR profiling of Caucasian and Xhosa populations from Cape Town, South Africa

Y-chromosome STR markers are not widely used in forensic case work in South Africa. To begin assessing the forensic value of these markers in South Africa, samples were collected from 100 English-speaking Caucasian males and 99 Xhosa males, living in the Cape Town metropolitan area. Allele and haplotype frequencies were determined for nine Y-chromosome STR loci (DYS19, DYS389-I, DYS389-II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, and the duplicated locus DYS385). Unique haplotypes were obtained for 47 Xhosa males and 66 Caucasians.     

Moderate Caucuses in a Polarised US Congress

Despite putting themselves in a thorny relationship with heavy-handed party leaders, some US legislators continue to join moderate coalitions. To understand why, this article derives seven explicit hypotheses concerning electoral, institutional, and strategic dimensions and tests them on two moderate coalitions from the 107th to the 110th Congress (2001–8): the Republican Main Street Partnership and the New Democrat Coalition, along with the Senate's ‘Gang of 14’ during the 109th Congress (2005–6). The article finds that, as expected, a member's ideology and previous affiliation strongly predict who joins these caucuses. What is surprising from the findings is that the constituencies' partisanship does not always predict the legislators' decision to be a moderate caucus member. There is little evidence that more electorally vulnerable members join these caucuses; on the contrary, when it does matter, members from competitive districts appear to stay away from moderate coalitions. Therefore, the findings call into question the prevailing ‘constituency-based’ understanding of moderate coalition membership in a polarised Congress and call for a new examination of electoral connection between moderate members and moderate caucuses.     

Estimating the local economic impacts of HOPE VI

This study identifies and measures the demonstrable changes to local political economies that can be reasonably attributed to HOPE VI redevelopments. It examines the extent to which the developments have contributed to increases in surrounding property values, decreases in serious crimes, additional regional economic activity, and changes in local tax revenues. It weighs these benefits against the public costs associated with the program.

Despite the expenses associated with HOPE VI, the redevelopments generate significant net social welfare benefits. In most cases, the collective tenant and neighborhood benefits exceed the net public costs of redevelopment. In addition, the redevelopments spark additional regional economic activity and contribute to an increase in the local tax base. HOPE VI's effects are far from uniform, however, and depend on the location of the redeveloped property, the characteristics of project funding, the strength of the local real estate market, and the presence of other development pressures.     

Virtual forensic anthropology: Novel applications of anthropometry and technology in a child death case

Full-body 3D virtual reconstructions were generated using 3D technology and anthropometry following the death of a young girl, allegedly from severe malnutrition as a result of abuse and neglect. Close range laser scanning, in conjunction with full colour digital texture photography, was used to document the child's condition shortly after death in order to demonstrate the number and pattern of injuries and to be able to demonstrate her condition forensically. Full-body digital reconstructions were undertaken to illustrate the extent of the malnutrition by comparing the processed post mortem scans with reconstructed images at normal weight for height and age. This is the first known instance of such an investigative tool.     

Quality assurance testing of an explosives trace analysis laboratory--further improvements

The Forensic Explosives Laboratory (FEL) operates within the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) which is part of the UK Government Ministry of Defence (MOD). The FEL provides support and advice to the Home Office and UK police forces on matters relating to the criminal misuse of explosives. During 1989 the FEL established a weekly quality assurance testing regime in its explosives trace analysis laboratory. The purpose of the regime is to prevent the accumulation of explosives traces within the laboratory at levels that could, if other precautions failed, result in the contamination of samples and controls. Designated areas within the laboratory are swabbed using cotton wool swabs moistened with ethanol water mixture, in equal amounts. The swabs are then extracted, cleaned up and analyzed using Gas Chromatographs with Thermal Energy Analyzer detectors. This paper follows on from a previous published paper describing the regime and summarizing subsequent results from approximately 6 years of tests. Lessons learned and improvements made over the period are also discussed. Monitoring samples taken from surfaces within the trace laboratories and trace vehicle examination bay have, with few exceptions, revealed only low levels of contamination, predominantly of RDX. Analysis of the control swabs, processed alongside the monitoring swabs, has demonstrated that in this environment the risk of forensic sample contamination, assuming all the relevant anti-contamination procedures have been followed, is so small that it is considered to be negligible. The monitoring regime has also been valuable in assessing the process of continuous improvement, allowing sources of contamination transfer into the trace areas to be identified and eliminated.     

Bad moon on the rise? Lunar cycles and incidents of crime

Popular cultures in Western societies have long espoused the notion that phases of the moon influence human behavior. In particular, there is a common belief the full moon increases incidents of aberrant, deviant, and criminal behavior. Using police, astronomical, and weather data from a major southwestern American city, this study assessed whether lunar cycles related with rates of reported crime. The findings fail to support popular lore, which has suggested that lunar phase influenced the volume of crime reported to the police. Future research directions examining qualitative rather than quantitative aspects of this problem may yield further inform the understanding of whether lunar cycles appreciably influence demands for policing services.     

The Impact of Anti-Assimilationist Beliefs on Attitudes toward Immigration

I outline different beliefs about assimilation, and show that these beliefs can influence attitudes toward immigration. Using data from a new national sample survey in Japan, I test whether and how beliefs about assimilation influence attitudes toward immigration. The results show two important conclusions. First, there is a large anti-immigrant sentiment in Japan. Second, after controlling for other known determinants of attitudes toward immigration, I find that those who are in favor of immigrant assimilation support higher levels of immigration, more immigrant equal rights, and have more accurate views about immigrant crime in Japan. This suggests that those favoring assimilation are not necessarily xenophobic in all cultures.