North-South Climate Change Negotiations: A Sequential Game with Asymmetric Information

This article determines the conditions under which theSouthern countries should act together, or separately, whilenegotiating with the North about climate change policy andabout the conditions for future Southern engagement. The papermodels the international negotiations with complete and withasymmetric information in a dynamic framework. Results showthat, depending on their characteristics, the differentplayers can obtain benefits delaying the moment of theagreement.     

-Classical investment

1979-2004, and studies the relationship between FDI and domestic investment in light of the actual economic development of Guang-dong Province. The empirical study concludes that FDI produces a significant crowding out effect on     

When Public Protection Becomes Punishment? The UK Use of Civil Measures to Contain the Sex Offender

In keeping with many countries the UK has moved the problem of sexual offending up the political agenda. On the criminal justice side sentences have been increased and supervision periods extended. On the civil side a raft of new measures have been put in place to regulate the behaviour of sex offenders in the interest of community safety and child protection; this paper examines these measures and, in particular takes the sex offender ‘register’ as a case study to show how political imperatives have been brought to bear with little reference to the research or professional views of practitioners in this area. It is contended that under these political pressures, what starts life as a preventive, regulatory measure can easily become a more punitive measure in its own right; as such it may be liable to challenge by those subject to it for failing to fulfil its primary purpose and for straying across a line between the civil and criminal aspects of intervention.     

Enhanced kinship analysis and STR-based DNA typing for human identification in mass fatality incidents: the Swissair flight 111 disaster

A bioinformatic tool was developed to assist with the victim identification initiative that followed the Swissair Flight 111 disaster. Making use of short tandem repeat (STR) DNA typing data generated with AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus (PP) and AmpFlSTR COfiler(CO) kits, the software systematically compared each available STR genotype with every other genotype. The matching algorithm was based on the search for: (i) direct matches to genotypes derived from personal effects; and (ii) potential kinship associations between victims and next-of-kin, as measured by allele sharing at individual loci. The software greatly assisted parentage analysis by enabling kinship evaluation in situations where complete parentage trios were unavailable and, in some situations, with distantly related relatives. Exclusion of fortuitous kinship associations (FKA) was made possible through the recovery at the disaster site of at least one remains for every sought-after victim, and was incorporated into the kinship software. The data from the 13 combined STR loci produced 6 and 23 times fewer FKAs when compared with PP alone and AmpFlSTR Profiler (PR) alone, respectively. Identification leads or confirmations of identification were obtained for 218 victims for which DNA reference samples (personal effects and kin) had been submitted. Confirmation of an inferred kinship association was sought through frequency and likelihood calculations, as well as corroborative data from other identification modalities. The use of a simple, yet powerful, automated genotype comparison approach and the use of megaplexes with high power of discrimination (PD) values extended considerably the identification capabilities in the case of the Swissair disaster. The DNA typing identification modality proved to be a valuable component of the large arsenal of identification tools deployed in the aftermath of this disaster.     

Systematic analysis of stutter percentages and allele peak height and peak area ratios at heterozygous STR loci for forensic casework and database samples

To assist the interpretation of STR DNA typing results from forensic casework samples containing mixtures, the range of heterozygous allele peak height and peak area ratios (HR) and stutter percentages (stutter %) for the loci comprised in the AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus (PP) kit were assessed on 468 database and 275 casework single source samples. Stutter % medians were similar for database and casework samples, ranging from 2% to 7%. The upper limit of the stutter value range was 16%, calculated as median +3 SD, although lower locus-specific values could be used. HR medians were 93 +/- 6.5% for database samples, 88 +/- 12% for casework samples. For casework samples, the maximum signal imbalance noted was 52%, calculated as median -3 SD. No significant difference was observed between peak height and peak area calculated values. This study shows the importance of selecting the proper reference database for the establishment of HR threshold values.     

Flies eggs: a new method for the estimation of short-term post-mortem interval?

Three modeling methods were used to estimate the time for laying of Lucilia sericata eggs (Diptera, Calliphoridae) after measurements of hatching times at several constant temperatures. These models were tested first under controlled conditions with 19 profiles of fluctuating temperatures, and on the other hand under field conditions on mice. All three models were allowed to determine the time of laying within a period of about 2h, and consequently this determines the time of death, as this species lays immediately after death under favorable conditions. Rearing of eggs sampled on a corpse may therefore contribute to the determination of a short post-mortem interval (PMI).     

STR DNA typing: increased sensitivity and efficient sample consumption using reduced PCR reaction volumes

Improvements in detection limits/sensitivity and lower sample consumption are potential benefits of reducing PCR reaction volumes used in forensic DNA typing of crime scene samples. This premise was studied first with experimental mixtures and a nine-loci megaplex, which demonstrated stochiometric amplification and accurate detection. Next, adjudicated casework samples were subjected to amplification under 15 different template DNA to PCR reaction volume ratios. Reduction of PCR reaction volume and DNA down to 10 microL and 0.500 ng, respectively, produced identical profiles with the same signal intensity and heterozygous allele peak height ratio (HR). Reduction to 5 microL and 0.063 ng yielded HR values that were slightly affected in one to three STR loci. PCR reaction volume reduction can enhance detection and sensitivity while reducing the consumption of irreplaceable crime scene samples.     

Arabia in perspective

British and Soviet Colonial Systems. By Kathleen Stahl. Faber and Faber. Pp. 114. 1951. 12s. 6d.

Mountains of Tartary. By Eric Shipton. Hodder and Stoughton. Pp. 222, 29 photographs. 20s.

Soviets in Central Asia. By W. P. and Zelda Coates. Lawrence and Wishart. 1951. 288 pp., illustrated. 25s.

Reminiscences of a Japanese Diplomat. Vol. I.—Plots, Assassinations, the Sword. Vol. 2.—Pearl Harbour, Lisbon, Tokyo. By M. Morishima. (Japanese text.)

India and the Indian Ocean. An essay on the influence of sea‐power on Indian History. By K. M. Panikkar. George Allen and Unwin. 1951 (first published 1945). 8s. 6d.

The Middle East: A Political and Economic Survey—1950. Royal Institute of International Affairs. Pp. xvi+496. Index. 3 maps. 8/3/4>” × 5/3/4>”. 35s.

Beyond Euphrates. By Freya Stark. London: John Murray. 1951. 8/3/4>×5/1/2>”. Pp. 341. Illustrations and sketch‐map. 25s.

From Town and Tribe. By C. G. Campbell. Ernest Benn. Pp. 217. 10s. 6d.

Arabian Adventurer. The story of Hajji Williamson. By Stanton Hope. London: Robert Hale. 1951. 333 pp., 23 illustrations. 16s.

Éléments de Bio‐bibliographie de la Litterature Arabe. By Joseph Assad Dagher. Imprimerie Saint‐Sauveur, Saida. Pp. 354. No date. 22s.

Middle Kingdom Art in Ancient Egypt. 56 pp., 83 photos. 1950. 6s.

New Kingdom Art in Ancient Egypt. 98 pp., 174 photos. 1951. 15s. By Cyril Aldred. Alec Tiranti, Ltd.

A Sword for Hire. By Peter Lington. 248 pp. W. H. Allen. 9s. 6d.