The Material Culture of US Elections

Abstract

The abiding motif of election campaigns in the USA is not the spot ad, nor the candidate debate, nor even the campaign Web site, but instead remains the campaign button. It should be consigned to history by fast paced development of campaigns into modern technologies, but there are still hundreds of designs produced quadrennially for national campaigns, and many more for races at all levels. Even if the life of the campaign button is coming to a close, it has been a long run, from the brass buttons of 1789, to the tiny framed daguerreotypes of the mid-19th century, through the celluloid buttons of the 1890s, to the chip implanted versions of today.

But the campaign button is just the most ubiquitous example of the material culture of the US election. It has been modified by changes in artisan skills, industrial production, bulk availability, the changes in inexpensive materials and manufactures, and cost effectiveness and profitability. Over the same period of time many other artefacts have been used by entrepreneurs and campaigns to bring the candidates and their public together at the same time as making a profit-either financial or political. This article discusses the role of entrepreneurship, changing industrial technology, and the emergence of newly cost-effective materials, as contexts for the creation of the wealth of campaign ephemera that has adapted to change and maintained its place in the campaign for over 200 years.     

A quantitative differentiation method for plastic bags by wide angle X-ray diffraction for tracing the source of illegal drugs

Thirty-three shopping bags, commonly encountered in the packaging of drug doses, were characterized by wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Using this single technique, without sample preparation, nearly all the considered samples could be differentiated, achieving a discriminating power of 0.992. The rather large degree of variability existing in grocery bags, even though they are mass produced, was shown, confirming that these items can be useful in tracing the source of illicit drug doses.     

论图书资料对大学生自主学习的影响

一个学生在学校课桌旁度过十几年宝贵光阴之后,应当学到的最重要的东西,就是怎样读书.而在接受教育的过程中,仅仅依靠老师在课堂传授知识,势必局限学生的学科视野,甚至导致学生的个性发展受到抑制.解决这个问题的最好的方式应该是让学生利用图书资料进行自主学习.     

全国县(市)公安局长、政委首次任职培训模式探讨

近年来随着形势的发展,公安教育培训工作出现了一些新情况、新问题。本文从怎样保证培训内容的时代性和前瞻性,提高培训的灵活性和实效性,构建科学的评价机制等方面对全国县(市)公安局长、政委首次任职培训工作进行了探讨。     

司法案事件中的文件鉴定

文件鉴定是一项复杂而细致的工作,在认定犯罪事实及犯罪嫌疑人方面起着越来越重要的作用。鉴定过程中应认真提取检材,收集充分的样本材料,以便作出正确的鉴定结论。     

The estimation of the time of death by non-protein nitrogen (NPN) in cadaveric materials. Report 3: Multiple regression analysis of NPN values in human cadaveric materials

The non-protein nitrogen (NPN) values in brain, lung, liver, and kidney in 79 autopsy cases were determined according to the Micro-Kjeldahl Nessler method. Multiple regression analysis of the data was performed with every possible combination of the time of death and the NPN values in the tissues.The brain NPN showed the best correlation with the postmortem time (r = 0.673), whereas the other correlations were less satisfactory (lung r = 0.422, liver r = 0.397, and kidney r = 0.379, respectively). However, multiple combinations of each tissue NPN value proved to give better correlation coefficients and smaller errors of the estimated time of death.The practical significance of the tissue NPN as a postmortem biochemical indicator of the time of death and the multiple regression analysis of such indicators were extensively discussed in this report.     

侦讯相关特征及其教材编写

侦讯概念的界定,应该抓住其区别特征。在结合现行侦讯教材中有关讯问主体、讯问对象、讯问目的与任务等问题,批判性地探索了侦讯的实质性定义。由此论及侦讯对策中的策略手段、用证原则,以及教材编写中的相关问题。从现有教材的问题中,找到廓清侦讯理论迷雾的聚焦点,指出了探索侦讯活动及其教学活动规律、编写侦讯教材的实践途径。     

《本草图经》中4种“本经外类”药的基原考证

《本草图经》记载了100种“本经外类”药,这些药物为地方有疗效的习用品。通过解读文字描述与药图所描绘的植物特征信息,对4种“本经外类”药的基原进行考证。“戎州百两金”可能来源于紫金牛科植物硃砂根Ardisia crenata Simsxue;“福州独脚仙”可能来源于伞形科植物南美天胡荽Hydrocotyle vulgaris L.;“施州半天回”可能来源于小檗科植物南方山荷叶Diphylleia sinensis H. L. Li;“滁州棠毬子”可能来源于蔷薇科植物野山楂Crataegus cuneata Sieb. et Zucc.。     

A fresh scientific look at transfer and persistence: From a materials science and tribology perspective

Knowledge of the mechanisms governing transfer, persistence, and recovery of trace evidence, together with background prevalence in the population of interest, and other task relevant information, is key for the forensic interpretation and reconstruction of what happened at the activity level. Up to now, this informational “toolkit” has largely been developed through empirical forensic studies on specific trace materials such as glass, textile fibers, and soil. Combined with the identified systemic siloing between disciplines, while valuable, such research tends to be very material-dependent, introducing specific parameters and interpretations that may have actually impeded the recognition of underlying foundational factors applicable to most material types. In Australia, there has been a renewed interest in developing a discipline-independent framework for the interpretation and/or reconstruction of trace evidence to interpret specific circumstances in casework. In this paper, we present a discipline agnostic “way of thinking” that has been anchored in foundational science underpinning the trace evidence discipline. Physical and mechanical material properties such as material geometry and surface topography, strength, stiffness, and hardness collectively influence contact interactions through underlying friction, wear, and lubrication cause and effect mechanisms. We discuss how these fundamental factors and parameters stemming from materials science and tribology may be adopted and adapted by forensic practitioners and researchers to contribute to a better understanding of transfer, persistence, and recovery mechanisms irrespective of evidence discipline and material type. Examples are provided to demonstrate the practical significance to real-life casework and academic research.     

论法理学教材编写理念的更新

中国法理学教材的编写经历过一个曲折的发展历程。目前教材编写理念已逐渐开始从学科建构向人才培养转变。人才培养角度教材编写理念应发生如下转变：从传授知识到启发思考的转变、从知识记忆到能力获得的转变、从被动灌输到主动探索的转变、从求同思维向求异思维的转变。要完成这些转变就应当按法理学问题而不是按法理学知识来组织教材编写,以此激发学生问题意识,引导学生对问题的思考,从而使学生形成法理学思维的习惯。