Controlled electrostatic methodology for imaging indentations in documents

The electrostatic process for imaging indentations on documents using the ESDA device is investigated under controlled experimental settings. An in-house modified commercial xerographic developer housing is used to control the uniformity and volume of toner deposition, allowing for reproducible image development. Along with this novel development tool, an electrostatic voltmeter and fixed environmental conditions facilitate an optimization process. Sample documents are preconditioned in a humidity cabinet with microprocessor control, and the significant benefit of humidification above 70% RH on image quality is verified. Improving on the subjective methods of previous studies, image quality analysis is carried out in an objective and reproducible manner using the PIAS-II. For the seven commercial paper types tested, the optimum ESDA operating point is found to be at an electric potential near -400V at the Mylar surface; however, for most paper types, the optimum operating regime is found to be quite broad, spanning relatively small electric potentials between -200 and -550V. At -400V, the film right above an indented area generally carries a voltage which is 30-50V less negative than the non-indented background. In contrast with Seward's findings [G.H. Seward, Model for electrostatic imaging of forensic evidence via discharge through Mylar-paper path, J. Appl. Phys. 83 (3) (1998) 1450-1456; G.H. Seward, Practical implications of the charge transport model for electrostatic detection apparatus (ESDA), J. Forensic Sci. 44 (4) (1999) 832-836], a period of charge decay before image development is not required when operating in this optimal regime. A brief investigation of the role played by paper-to-paper friction during the indentation process is conducted using our optimized development method.     

Importance of absolute humidity in the operation of the electrostatic detection apparatus

Data are presented which demonstrate that absolute humidity, not relative humidity, is of primary importance in the development of latent pressure patterns using the Electrostatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA). The data show the importance of document humidification for the optimal development of latent pressure patterns using the ESDA.     

ORO. The Physical Developer replacement?

In the process of fingerprint development Physical Developer has been largely the method of choice on porous surfaces after coming into contact with wet environments. It is only recently that a new technique has been identified which could replace this standard technique. This study aims to build on previous research and expand knowledge regarding the technique. The study built on previous research and compared Physical Developer to Oil Red O, testing both on four paper types, while being placed in three different water types and an accelerant for various amounts of time. Marks were placed with both heavily ‘loaded’ sebaceous fingers and ‘normal’ un-washed fingers. Results show that Oil Red O consistently produced clearer more detailed marks from the ‘loaded’ fingers, but neither technique proved to work better on the ‘normal’ marks. Neither technique developed any prints from the accelerant.     

Dynamics of latent fingerprints: The effect of physical factors on quality of ninhydrin developed prints — A preliminary study

The conditions under which latent fingerprints are deposited affect the process of development that can be used to effectively recover these marks. The conditions which can play a part include environmental conditions, the type of surface on which latents are deposited, the ability of the donor to deposit fingerprints, contact time, force of contact with the object etc. Very little previous work is available in the scientific literature addressing these conditions and therefore, an attempt has been made in this present study to assess the effect of some of these criteria and their effect on the ability of ninhydrin to develop the marks. Latent fingerprints from good and bad donors were obtained on paper with variable pressure under controlled conditions. Laboratory prepared 1% ninhydrin solution was used to visualise the prints.     

Investigations into factors affecting the cascade developer used in ESDA--a review

The Electrostatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA) is a technique most commonly used for the visualisation of indented impressions on questioned documents. This work investigates some of the variables which are known to affect the results of ESDA and some variables which have, as yet, not been addressed. The investigation of variables included: examining the effects of different levels of indentation on different qualities of paper, chronological aging of cascade developer and the effects of repeated use of cascade developer on both the quality of results and the glass beads themselves, the effects of storage of cascade developer in a humidified environment and finally the effects of variation on the image development time. Results indicate that chronological aging of cascade developer does not have a negative effect on the quality of results and a 200 g portion of cascade developer will give good quality results for up to 30 traces before the quality will begin to deteriorate. Humidification of the cascade developer appears to have no advantages over storage in a normal environment and, in fact, the toner is lost sooner with humidification. The surface of the glass beads are affected through repeated use of cascade developer and appear to become visually smoother which may lead to a loss of attraction between them and the toner particles.     

The police education qualification framework: a professional agenda or building professionals?

ABSTRACT

Given the growing complexity in British policing, the College of Policing are implementing a Police Education Qualification Framework through a professionalization agenda. This aims to standardise entry to the police and allow serving officers to gain accreditation for their previous training and experience. Part of this process involves the development of a national police curriculum for higher education institutions to deliver to new recruits. Different definitions of what constitutes professionalism can impact on officers’ interpretations of this concept and how they subsequently engage with the proposed reforms. This paper, which is based on in depth qualitative interviews with serving officers who have undertaken an academic qualification in policing, suggests that the relationship between police education and the development of professionalism is complex. Officers need to be trusted and encouraged to use their learning in a way that develops their own personal sense of professionalism. However, this paper will argue that current perceptions amongst officers are sceptical of the wider agenda and brings into question the development of a standardised curriculum which may ultimately be viewed as further governance over officer behaviour.     

创设利益制度是社会和谐的法治基础——和谐社会利益关系问题的法学思考

利益矛盾和冲突不仅是社会转型期国家的显著特征,同时,也是形成不受以往制度约束的和谐环境的重要前提。本文以分析和谐社会利益制度的法律根源作为出发点,在此基础上从利益博弈的机理层面上探寻利益制度形成的逻辑起点和实体条件,以及政府如何在利益群体博弈过程中作出创新性的实验安排,进而为在我国社会转型过程中,形成社会和谐与经济发展的基础性力量,以及进一步提高政府执政合法性的问题提供必要的实践依据和理论支持。     

Maintenance of the ENFSI proficiency test program on identification of GSR by SEM/EDX (GSR2003)

Within the framework of the ENFSI Expert Working Group "Firearms," every second year, a proficiency test on the detection and identification of GSR by SEM/EDX is carried out. This proficiency test is a development and extension of the previous proficiency test GSR2001. The test material was again designed by the organization panel and manufactured by an external company for SEM accessories. This time the participating laboratories were requested to determine the total number of PbSbBa containing particles on a test sample following their own laboratory specific methods of automated GSR particle search and detection by SEM/EDX. One synthetic particle sample (SPS) with artificial GSR particles was dispatched to all participants. This paper summarizes the results of the study and assesses the overall performance of the participating laboratories. Furthermore an extended statistical evaluation and a comparison with previous studies was carried out.     

基础教育新课程实施的影响因素分析——重庆北碚实验区的个案调查

分析课程实施的影响因素对推动课程改革的发展来说十分重要.本文对重庆北碚实验区的两所学校进行了个案调查,从新课程本身的特征、宏观社会以及学校内部三个层面出发,分析了影响新课程改革的若干主要因素.就新课程的特征而言,尽管教师认为这次改革十分必要,但改革规模宏大,而且新课程实用性欠佳.从学校所处的宏观脉络来看,新课程改革的决策参与机制、教师发展与资源支持仍需改进.为促进新课程的实施状况,学校还应该进一步发挥校长的课程领导职能,改善学校组织结构,同时发展合作的教师文化.     

An aggregate-level examination of the caseload pressure hypothesis

The idea that guilty pleas may be encouraged by time-conscious attorneys to process court caseloads expediently implies that some defendants may be influenced to forego their constitutional right to trial. If true, these defendants may be denied an adequate determination of legal guilt. Building on previous research, this paper presents a more thorough aggregate level test of the caseload pressure hypothesis than has previously been offered. Controlling for variation in structural and procedural characteristics across 101 Illinois circuit courts, this study supports the idea that felony caseload pressures significantly covary with felony guilty plea rates. Also, this relationship was stable between 1973 and 1984.     

Influence and the Referee Process

This study examines the influence the referee process has on the development of economic thought. It examines the practices, principles, theories, and methodology involved in the referee process and the development of economic thought. It finds that the complaints against it are difficult, if not impossible, to measure. It identifies a central problem with the referee process, the use of citations to measure both influence and quality. It concludes with a proposal for a different and broader citation index and a call to change the dependence of many decisions on the use of citations.Version 1 of paper given at the Erfurt Conference on Academic Publishing, December 12, 2003     

青少年亲子冲突研究的现状与展望

亲子冲突是儿童社会化过程中的一种常见现象,研究表明亲子冲突的发生受诸如参与者的个性特征、家庭结构、人际关系模式、社会文化等因素的影响。在对国内外亲子冲突研究现状及其理论进行较为全面分析的基础上,对研究中存在的问题进行简要评价,并就其未来的研究走向作出预测与展望,希望对亲子冲突的进一步研究有所助益。     

“The ‘New’ Malaysian Criminal Procedure: Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2006”

This paper explores the reform process surrounding the recent changes to the Malaysian Code of Criminal Procedure concerning statements made to police officers, discovery, body searches, rights to legal advice and detention. The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2006 was the first major piece of legislation to reform the criminal process in Malaysia for 20 years and represented an attempt not only to deal with specific problems relating to police practice and the pre-trial process, but also to single out Malaysia as a progressive state within Asia committed to the Rule of Law. The problem which this paper seeks to address, however, is that while many of the reforms appear to be a welcome attempt to protect suspects in police custody from abuse (a startling contrast to the recent legislative measures introduced in the UK as part of the “war on terror”), to better regulate police investigations and to improve the overall quality of justice administered pre-trial, a doubt lingers as to the direction of that reform and of the values guiding the criminal process. It will be argued that, without clear cultural markers, implementation of the new measures is likely to be piecemeal and previous cultural practices will continue to undermine even the best of legislative intentions.     

Success Factors for Transferring Technology to Spin-off Applications: the Case of The Technology Property Rights Concession Program in Korea

This paper is a study of 127 firms participating in Korea's Technology Property Rights Concession Program, a program designed to stimulate technology transfer related to spin-off applications of public technology. The purpose is to identify the determinants of transfer success. The findings indicate that successful firms were motivated by the ability to access a core technology free of charge and to solve technical problems currently encountered in technology development. Second, the targeted technology was highly reliable. Third, interest in commercial success of the transfer was very high among the researchers involved in the transfer process and these researchers had a high degree of prior understanding about industrial problems on the part of participating firms. Relatedly, there was a very high satisfaction with the communication that existed between lab researchers and their industrial partners in the transfer process. Fourth, lab contributions to the transfer process were very high in the pre-commercial and commercial stages of technology development.     

Improving the technological readiness of time of Flight-Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry for enhancing fingermark recovery - towards operational deployment

The processes routinely used by police forces to visualise fingermarks in casework may not provide sufficient ridge pattern quality to aid an investigation. Time of Flight-Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) has been proposed as a technique to enhance fingermark recovery. The technique is currently designated a Category C process in the Fingermark Visualisation Manual (FVM) as it shows potential for effective fingermark visualisation but has not yet been fully evaluated. Here the sensitivity of ToF-SIMS on three common exhibit-type surfaces - paper, polyethylene and stainless-steel was compared to standard processes. An adapted Home Office grading scale was used to evaluate the efficacy of fingerprint development by ToF-SIMS and to provide a framework for comparison with standard processes. ToF-SIMS was shown to visualise more fingerprints than the respective standard process, for all surfaces tested. In addition, ToF-SIMS was applied after the standard processes and successfully enhanced the fingerprint detail, even when the standard process failed to visualise ridge detail. This demonstrates the benefit for incorporating it into current operational fingermark development workflows. Multivariate analysis (MVA), using simsMVA, was additionally explored as a method to simplify the data analysis and image generation process.     

The Perceived Seriousness of Crime in the Middle East

This paper builds on previous work in examining the seriousness of criminal acts. The research was conducted to determine the seriousness of several criminal acts in the Middle East with the goal to determine whether certain characteristics of the respondents would be associated with different perceptions as to the seriousness of different types of crimes. The findings of this study differ significantly from previous research in finding Moral Crimes to be perceived as extremely serious, in fact, about as serious as violent acts. However, the rank order of violent, property and white collar crimes, when the moral crimes are eliminated, are consistently with previous research. Similar to previous research, no difference was found in the overall ranking of crimes by any of the subgroups analyzed. It was found that religiosity (Islamic Fundamentalism) was the best predictor of a respondent's overall perception as to the seriousness of crime.     

Enhancement of an insufficient dye-formation in the ninhydrin reaction by a suitable post treatment process

A study of the reaction between ninhydrin and alanine has been carried out taking into account that, adhered on the surface of a dry porous medium such as paper, a quasi-heterogeneous reaction has to take place. Instead of amino acids released from human sweat glands, aqueous solutions of alanine were taken to deliver a given amount of amino acid to the sample. The dye density, obtained after using a standard development process, could noticeably be increased by setting a drop of water on the dye dot, thus indicating that not all the alanine had been used for dye formation during the usually applied process. The incomplete reaction can be explained by the problem of bringing the reactants into contact with each other when both are in the solid phase in the porous surrounding. The temporary presence of water allows a reorientation of the insoluble reactants. With fingerprints an increase in both the rate of development and the final dye density could be obtained when the sample was post treated after the developing process with the blank solvent, thus also the background coloration could be decreased. The ideas presented in this paper may form the basis for a modification of developing processes with ninhydrin in order to increase the proportion of amino acids present (in the sample) used in dye formation without data loss.     

The Humanization of Consular Law: The Impact of Advisory Opinion No. 16 (1999) of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on International Case-law and Practice

This paper first introduces the process of the humanizationof international law and then analyses one specific aspect ofthis development: the humanization of consular law, with specialreference to the Advisory Opinion No. 16 (1999) of the Inter-AmericanCourt of Human Rights. The paper focuses on three specific points:(1) Consular Law beyond the purely inter-State outlook; (2)the right to information on consular assistance in the frameworkof the guarantees of the due process of law and (3) the humanizationof Consular Law in contemporary international practice.     

Requirements Engineering Technology Transfer: An Experience Report

This paper is an experience report on an initiative to incorporate requirements engineering practices into the development process of two large corporations. The project was framed by a government program to foster collaboration between academia, industry, and government agencies. Its expected result—proposals for cooperative work—is in itself a major challenge, since it was not decided from the beginning what aspect of requirements engineering would be covered by the proposals.We describe the cooperation process followed by the project partners, three universities, and two companies, the difficulties found therein, and compare our experience with other reports on the issue of adoption of requirements engineering into the mainstream practice.     

Quality of Laypersons' Assessment of Forensically Relevant Stimuli,

The current study examined the potential for cognitive bias in lay examiners' comparisons of footwear impressions within the technical review process while addressing limitations of previous research. Prior research has found inconsistent results regarding the extent to which cognitive bias may influence forensic comparisons, often asking non-experts to review forensic stimuli above their competency level. Furthermore, past research has largely ignored the potential for cognitive bias during the technical review process. In collaboration with the Miami-Dade Police Department's Forensic Services Bureau, we examined the effects of previous examiners' level of experience and prior knowledge of the previous examiner's decision on the technical review stage of footwear impression stimuli. Before lay examiners were presented with pairs of known match and nonmatch footwear impressions, they were either told that an expert or a novice had previously examined them and determined them to be either a match, nonmatch, or inconclusive (plus a no-information condition). Participants then evaluated each pair of footwear impressions to make their own determinations of match, nonmatch, or inconclusive. Results support the technical review process for all decision types, as known nonmatch stimuli were generally more difficult for lay examiners to assess than known match stimuli. Knowledge of a prior examiner's decision and status was observed only when the prior decision was inconclusive, suggesting the need for inclusion of inconclusive decisions in future research examining cognitive bias in forensic examination.