The Use of Forensic Tests to Distinguish Blowfly Artifacts from Human Blood,Semen, and Saliva

This study investigated whether routinely used forensic tests can distinguish 3‐day‐old or 2‐week‐old fly artifacts, produced after feeding on human blood, semen, or saliva, from the biological fluid. Hemastix^®, Hemident^?, and Hemascein^? were unable to distinguish blood from artifacts. Hemastix^® returned false positives from negative controls. ABAcard^® Hematrace^® and Hexagon OBTI could distinguish blood from 3‐day‐old artifacts, but not 2‐week‐old artifacts. Phadebas^® and SALIgAE^® were unable to distinguish saliva from artifacts. RSID^?‐Saliva was able to distinguish saliva from 3‐day‐old artifacts, but not 2‐week‐old artifacts. Semen tests Seminal Acid Phosphatase, RSID^?‐Semen, and ABAcard^® p30 were all able to distinguish semen from 3‐day‐old artifacts, but not 2‐week‐old artifacts. The tests investigated cannot be relied upon to distinguish artifacts from biological fluids. However, if an artifact is identified by its morphology, a positive result may indicate which biological fluid the fly consumed, and this knowledge may prove useful for investigators searching for DNA.     

Partisan politics and stock market performance: The effect of expected government partisanship on stock returns in the 2002 German federal election

Rational partisan theory suggests that firms perform better under right- than left-leaning governments. In the pre-election time, investors should anticipate these effects of government partisanship. This is the first study to investigate such anticipated partisan effects in Germany. Applying conditional volatility models we analyze the impact of expected government partisanship on stock market performance in the 2002 German federal election. Our results show that small-firm stock returns were positively (negatively) linked to the probability of a right- (left-) leaning coalition winning the election. Moreover, we find that volatility increased as the electoral prospects of right-leaning parties improved, while greater electoral uncertainty had a volatility-reducing effect.     

Was It Worth It? The Territorial Reform in the Canton of Glarus

This paper examines the financial impact of the 2011 reform of the local governments and jurisdictions in the canton of Glarus. After a popular vote 70 public entities were reorganized to form three large uniformed communes. Previous research showed that amalgamations do not automatically lead to savings in public expenditures and economies of scale. We empirically apply the synthetic control method and show that the territorial reform realized some savings in public expenditure. However, the effect of the reorganization of tasks and responsibilities between the canton and the communes was more influential. The reform must be understood as a horizontal and vertical venture that encompasses both the communes and the canton, much more far‐reaching than a pure local territorial reform.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Keyu and Others</Emphasis> (2015): Derridean Hauntology and Lacanian-Žižekian Psychoanalysis in Between the Lines

This article will explore Derridean hauntology in relation to the UK Supreme Court case of Keyu & Others, as well as through the lens of Lacanian-?i?ekian psychoanalysis. In particular, this article will argue that there are two main groups of spectres, or ghosts, which loom over the case. The first are the spectres of Marxism and class struggle, which form the overarching framework of the case. The second are the spectres of the victims of the Batang Kali killings in 1948 at the hands of a Scots Guard patrol. Here, Lacanian-?i?ekian psychoanalysis can shed light on the tension between democracies and undemocratic measures, which co-exist side by side and indeed are mutually constitutive. In addition, Lacanian-?i?ekian psychoanalysis can provide a way to further understand the need for the victims’ and their relatives’ voices to finally be heard and acknowledged by the Symbolic Order (the big Other). Lacanian-?i?ekian psychoanalysis can further offer a useful interpretive framework through which to understand the traumatic impact of the killings of the Batang Kali rubber plantation workers on their relatives (the appellants of the case), and how it can potentially be mitigated through articulation and integration into the Symbolic. In so doing, this article will expose and bring to light the spectres and ghosts, as well as the obscene underside, that are latent in cases of historical human rights violations, whether those are related to insurgencies in the days of the decline of the British Empire or otherwise. This is important in terms of giving a voice, as well as acknowledging that voice, of the victims and survivors of such human rights violations, which is often silenced or ignored, as well as exposing and acknowledging the obscene supplement that characterizes, for example, democracies and their workings.     

Suicidal shot in the mouth with a rubber shot shell

The purpose of weapons designed for self-defence and their ammunition is to allow effective defence without causing serious injury provided that the recommended minimum firing distance is observed. However, close-range and contact shots to vulnerable body regions may cause severe or even fatal injuries. The authors report on a suicide who fired a fatal shot in his mouth with a weapon for self-defence. The weapon used was a double-barrelled SAPL break-action gun, mod. GC 54, from which a Mini Gomm-Cogne, cal. 12/50 rubber shot shell was fired. The wound findings and ballistic characteristics of the weapon are presented and discussed.     

Backspatter on the firearm and hand in experimental close-range gunshots to the head

The deposition of backspatter on the firearm or person shooting can greatly assist the reconstruction of shooting incidents. Backspatter was investigated in experimental transverse gunshots (9-mm Luger) to the heads of calves (n = 9) from shooting distances of 0 to 10 cm. The firearms were examined with a magnifying glass; the surgical gloves and the right sleeve worn by the person shooting were examined with a stereomicroscope. On the firearms, backspatter of blood was found in five of the nine cases, and one or both gloves showed bloodspatter deposits in six and the right sleeves in four cases. Most droplets were 1 to 3 mm and circular or elongated. In addition, a fine spray of tiny blood deposits was present on the firearm and textiles in four cases. The distribution of the droplets on the firearms varied: the areas included regions shielded by prominent parts, and the droplets were predominantly located on the extensor side of the fingers and the radial aspect of the hands and sleeves. Backspatter of tiny bone fragments was recovered from the firearm and sleeve in only one case, but tissue (bone, fat, muscle, skin) was present on the ground in front of the entrance wound in seven cases. A careful investigation, including appropriate lightning and magnification, is necessary for reliable statements concerning the absence of backspatter or the extent of backspatter present.     

Contact shot from infantry weapons with a flash-suppressor

The number of reports on contact shots from firearms with a flash suppressor attached to the muzzle is small. On the basis of a case report (suicidal shot to the forehead with a Kalschnikow AKMS 47 assault rifle) the morphological peculiarities (characteristics soot pattern, relatively small powder cavity and only minor skin tears in the presence of a bony support) are presented and the conclusions to be drawn from the findings regarding the flash-suppressor, the shot distance, the angle of the shot and the way of holding the weapon are discussed.