罪犯角色认知的误区及对策

角色认知是一个人社会化的重要内容,罪犯在改造中,存在着角色认知的误区,导致角色行为与现实脱节,不能正确认知自己所扮演的社会角色,产生角色冲突,导致角色失败。因此,在改造中,强化罪犯的角色认知意识,是转化罪犯的前提条件。     

利用牙齿长度的增长量推断死亡年龄

牙齿由于形成条件的特殊性和颚骨的保护作用 ,因而具有很好的防腐性和抗降解性。因此 ,可以利用牙齿长度来推断青、幼年人的死亡年龄。即通过重复测量 10 0颗牙齿 ,利用数理统计的方法 ,推导出牙齿长度与年龄的回归方程。然后 ,将现场提取的孤立牙齿的长度值与种类代入该方程 ,便可推算出死亡年龄。     

Reliability of the Walker Cranial Nonmetric Method and Implications for Sex Estimation

The cranial trait scoring method presented in Buikstra and Ubelaker (Standards for data collection from human skeletal remains. Fayetteville, AR: Arkansas Archeological Survey Research Series No. 44, 1994) and Walker (Am J Phys Anthropol, 136, 2008 and 39) is the most common nonmetric cranial sex estimation method utilized by physical and forensic anthropologists. As such, the reliability and accuracy of the method is vital to ensure its validity in forensic applications. In this study, inter‐ and intra‐observer error rates for the Walker scoring method were calculated using a sample of U.S. White and Black individuals (n = 135). Cohen's weighted kappas, intraclass correlation coefficients, and percentage agreements indicate good agreement between trials and observers for all traits except the mental eminence. Slight disagreement in scoring, however, was found to impact sex classifications, leading to lower accuracy rates than those published by Walker. Furthermore, experience does appear to impact trait scoring and sex classification. The use of revised population‐specific equations that avoid the mental eminence is highly recommended to minimize the potential for misclassifications.     

The National Incident-Based Reporting System: Research and Policy Applications

The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) offers a new source ofdata for measuring crime. Though far from national in coverage, NIBRS datacan address research and policy questions outside the scope of the UniformCrime Reports and the National Crime Victimization Survey. Comparisons ofthe three sources of crime data are presented, with particular emphasis onwhat can be learned from incident-based police data that cannot be learnedfrom other sources. Like all data on crime, the NIBRS is subject to variousproblems with validity and measurement error. Two general categories of suchproblems are discussed: those evident in the design of the NIBRS and thoselinked to more general issues in the organizational production of data.     

Veldt fires in South Africa: Implications on osteometry and the biological profile

Standard operating procedures for forensic anthropological analyses dictate that thermally altered remains should not be measured, hindering the creation of a biological profile. Few studies have addressed estimating biological parameters from burned remains, with the greatest focus of this research area being on cremated remains. However, veldt fires are more common than cremation in the South African forensic context. The aim of this study was to explore the degree of structural changes observed in domestic pig (Sus scrofa) bones associated with thermal destruction and the potential impact on the estimation of a biological profile using standard osteometric methods. A total of 96 pig femora were divided equally into two categories: fresh and dry. Within each category, equal samples were exposed to different durations of burning, namely, 5, 10, and 20 min. Ten standard femoral anthropological measurements were collected before and after burning. Technical error of measurement and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to assess changes in the femoral dimensions before and after burning. Most measurements were significantly different after burning, with the fresh bones decreasing in size by up to 7.8% and the dry bones decreasing in size by up to 4.0%. The magnitude of post-burning measurement changes for both burn conditions was similar to, or smaller than has previously been reported for observer measurement errors of commonly used variables investigated for standard osteometric studies. Veldt fires are less intense than cremation, thus causing less shrinkage.     

Defendant and juror race in a necessity case: An ultimate attribution error

This study investigated whether Black and White mock jurors would commit the ultimate attribution error (i.e., over-rely on dispositional explanations to understand the negative actions of out-group members) in a necessity defense case. Participants (N = 97) read a fictional looting case, in which the race of the defendant varied. Mock jurors were expected to show out-group severity through more guilty verdicts and blame attributions. Mock juror and defendant race were not significantly related to verdicts, but for the Black defendant, White mock jurors attributed more control to him, and believed he was likely to reoffend more so than did Black mock jurors. This study adds to the literature on the mechanism by which racial bias interferes with juror decisions.     

The Examination of Commercial Printing Defects to Assess Common Origin,Batch Variation,and Error Rate*

Abstract: The examination of printing defects, or imperfections, found on printed or copied documents has been recognized as a generally accepted approach for linking questioned documents to a common source. This research paper will highlight the results from two mutually exclusive studies. The first involved the examination and characterization of printing defects found in a controlled production run of 500,000 envelopes bearing text and images. It was concluded that printing defects are random occurrences and that morphological differences can be used to identify variations within the same production batch. The second part incorporated a blind study to assess the error rate of associating randomly selected envelopes from different retail locations to a known source. The examination was based on the comparison of printing defects in the security patterns found in some envelopes. The results demonstrated that it is possible to associate envelopes to a common origin with a 0% error rate.     

Medical negligence in drug associated deaths

According to epidemiological studies adverse drug events are one of the most frequently encountered complications during medical treatment, a leading cause of hospitalisation and frequent cause of death. However, medical malpractice claims due to medication errors seem to be relatively rare. Based on a retrospective multicentre study on medical malpractice cases with lethal outcome (n = 4450), drug related cases (n = 575) were further evaluated. In 50% of cases a causal connection between drug therapy and death could be ruled out already after autopsy. In 232 cases a causal connection between drug therapy and death could be approved (drug allergies, relative overdose, wrong application, mix-up of drugs and sepsis after injection abscess). However, within the legal context only in 70 cases a medication error was approved which was in 42 cases causal for death, in 28 not. Administration of contraindicated drugs, incorrect application and relative overdose in renal insufficiency are the prevalent mistakes. Concerning the frequency of ADE in epidemiological studies medication errors are underreported in all data sources on medical malpractice; this seems to be due to the fact that even doctors and attending physicians rarely recognize an ADE; furthermore approving the connection between drug effect and death is extremely difficult for the expert witness.     

现场勘查失误与冤案研究

作为侦查活动的起点和基础,现场勘查失误不但会使现场上的痕迹、物证被遗漏、灭失,导致犯罪信息的获取匮乏,还可能将无关的痕迹、物品引入侦查工作,以致干扰、影响整个案件事实的认定,诱发冤案。因此,从侦查阶段现场勘查入手,提高勘查人员从现场挖掘有效犯罪信息的能力,同时提升对勘查中无关、虚假信息甄别、排除的水平,是降低现场勘查失误率,遏制冤案的重要一环。     

Contrasting simulated and empirical experiments in crime prevention

This paper argues that simulated experiments of crime prevention interventions are an important class of research methods that compare favorably with empirical experiments. It draws on Popper’s demarcation between science and non-science (Conjectures and refutations: the growth of scientific knowledge. Routledge, London, 1992) and Epstein’s principle of generative explanation (Generative social science: studies in agent-based computational modeling. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2006) to show how simulated experiments can falsify theory. The paper compares simulated and empirical experiments and shows that simulations have strengths that empirical methods lack, but they also have important relative weaknesses. We identify three threats to internal validity and two forms of external validity peculiar to simulated experiments. The paper also looks at the problem of validating simulations with crime data and suggests that simulations need to mimic the error production processes involved in the creation of empirical data. It concludes by listing ways simulations can be used to improve empirical experiments and discussing the differing operating assumption of empirical and simulation experimentalists.