Party affiliation and support for capital punishment: An assessment of lawmakers from Canada and the United States

This article assesses the attitudes supporting capital punishment among lawmakers from two democratic countries — Canada and the United States. Accordingly, data were collected from three different populations responsible for legislating law either permitting or prohibiting the use of capital punishment in their respective jurisdictions — the Canadian House of Commons and the Michigan and Ohio state legislatures. These data were used to assess two general hypotheses: (1) Conservative parties will report higher levels of support for capital punishment; and, (2) Individual members from liberal political parties will report lower levels of support for capital punishment when compared to members of more conservative parties. The research findings supported both hypotheses.     

The effect of tape type,taping method and tape storage temperature on the retrieval rate of fibres from various surfaces: An example of data generation and analysis to facilitate trace evidence recovery validation and optimisation

This paper aspires to assist those tasked with data generation and analysis for the purpose of the validation and/or optimisation of trace evidence recovery. It does so via a detailed report of the authors’ approach to this problem in the context of target fibre retrieval using self-adhesive tapes.Textile fibres can provide valuable evidence at both source and activity levels. This ability stems from their near ubiquity in the man-made environment, their potential for high levels of discrimination (especially when found in combination) and their reproducible transfer and persistence behaviours. To realise this value for the criminal justice system, it is vital that police forces and forensic providers are collectively able to search for, recover and analyse fibres found at crime scenes and correctly evaluate their evidential value.ISO accreditation provides quality assurance for such activities. The work reported in this paper was part of a study to validate crime scene fibre retrieval processes for the purposes of ISO17020 accreditation. However, it is hoped that it will be of assistance to those wishing to validate and/or optimise forensic fibre recovery whether at the crime scene or in the laboratory. Further, the methods described may be of value to those who need to validate and/or optimise the recovery of other types of trace evidence.This paper outlines a series of experiments that investigated the effect of four factors on the rate at which target fibres could be recovered from surfaces by tape lifting. The factors were tape type (with two levels, namely: J-LAR and Crystal Tabs), tape storage temperature (three levels: −5 °C, room temperature [19 ± 1 °C] and 35 °C), taping method (two levels: zonal and one-to-one) and surface (12 levels: each being a surface type commonly encountered at crime scenes). This resulted in 144 unique experimental conditions. For each of these, five repeat fibre recovery rate determinations were carried out, generating 720 data points. All surfaces were clean and dry prior to target fibres being transferred and recovered. In all cases, the tapes were applied to the surfaces at 19 ± 1 °C.These experiments showed that the surfaces can be divided into three stable clusters based on the median and interquartile range of the fibre retrieval rate achieved from each of them. Also, they showed that, in terms of the proportion of the target fibres retrieved, typically and setting aside interaction effects:

• •Crystal Tabs outperformed J-LAR;
• •rolls of tape stored at −5 °C and 35 °C outperformed those stored at room temperature;
• •one-to-one taping outperformed zonal taping.

However, notably, a good degree of between-condition overlap was also apparent in the data. To understand this, a four-way factorial ANOVA model was built which revealed significant and substantive effects for all four main effects and for 10 of the 11 interactions. Importantly, the four-way interaction term was amongst those found to be significant. The interplay between the effects of the four factors was analysed by means of simple effects tests and pairwise contrasts. Tables and interactive parallel coordinate plots have been created. Using these it can easily be seen which of any given pair of levels of each of the four factors resulted in the higher fibre retrieval rate under any one of the unique conditions of the study, and the effect size and statistical significance of this observation.Qualitative evaluations of the effect of tape storage temperatures on tape pliability and its propensity to tear in use were also made.     

An assessment of the accuracy of discriminant function equations for sex determination of the femur and tibia from a South African population

The purpose of this study is to test the accuracy of seven discriminant function equations that have been derived by Steyn and Is?an for sex determination using measurements of the femur and tibia of South Africans of European descent (SAED). While the validity of some of the discriminant functions has been assessed by the authors who derived them, no previous independent study has been carried out to assess the accuracy of these equations. These equations have not been tested on skeletons located outside of the Gauteng province. A suite of measurements were taken on 272 femora and 256 tibiae obtained from four South African skeletal collections. The validity of each of the previously published equations for the femur was confirmed. However, two functions of the tibia showed low accuracy rates, most likely due to difficulties in recording the distal epiphyseal breadth measurement, and thus were found to be poor assessors of sex.     

Unidentified dead bodies: identification by means of an information-pool from dental data. Practical suggestions for a reformation of the collection and assessment of data of the masticatory system and their documentation (author's transl)]

The masticatory system has often proved very useful for the identification of unkown bodies. The technique of excising the mandible and the maxilla is explained. The evaluation and the preparation of models are described. For registration of the findings a new form has been developed. It is based on the old form "KP 16" as well as on the PA status.     

"Dr. Death" and the case for an ethical ban on psychiatric and psychological predictions of dangerousness in capital sentencing proceedings

Psychiatric and psychological predictions of dangerousness are used in a number of American jurisdictions to convince a judge or jury that a convicted murderer should be sentenced to death. Empirical research has demonstrated, however, that psychiatric and psychological predictions of dangerousness generally are inaccurate. This Article describes the current use of such predictions in capital sentencing hearings and examines their status under existing professional codes of ethics. It argues that the rendering of these predictions by psychiatrists and psychologists is contrary to the scientific and healing traditions of their professions and urges psychiatrists and psychologists to adopt an ethical ban on predictions of dangerousness in the capital sentencing context.     

徽州田野调查的个案分析——从“杀猪封山”看习惯的存留与效力

在中国传统的乡土社会里,法律渊源呈现出多元化的特征,除朝廷律令之外,传统习惯曾经是调整人们日常生活和民事行为的重要渊源。近几十年来,随着社会结构和社会性质的根本性转变,中国社会的法律与秩序也发生了深刻的变革。传统习惯在当代中国农村是否还存在?习惯是否与现代国家制定法相冲突?其在农村法治建设中的地位和作用怎样?这些问题都应引起我们法学研究的重视。通过对徽州农村民事习惯调查中的个案分析发现,在当今徽州农村仍然存留着大量的传统习惯,有些习惯甚至发挥着重要的法律效力。在当代中国农村的法治建设中,我们应当承认和重视发挥习惯的法律效力,探究那些“被冷落的真实”,为农村法治建设的发展寻找传统的动力。     

农民工养老保险参保行为及其影响因素分析——基于江苏五市(县)的调查数据

本研究基于江苏五市(县)调查数据,反映了农民工养老保险参保状况与模式,并对影响农民工参保的个体特征、外出打工原因、收入、流动性、制度、留城意愿六个方面的因素给出了解释.调查结果表明,当前农民工养老保险参保率低的问题主要是由制度障碍造成的,包括缴费年限太长、养老关系接续转移困难;个体特征中的性别和年龄影响比较显著,文化程度的影响相对较低;城市之间的流动性对参保行为的显著影响,说明养老关系接续转移存在的困难和农民工对养老保险制度的信任度不高.在进城之前,农民工的个体特征已基本成型,流动性强也是客观事实,因此,要提高农民工养老保险的参保率,须从破除制度障碍入手.     

论互联网平台反垄断的宏观定位——基于政治、政策和法律的分析

反垄断法的定位取决于其独特的价值、目标和功能。反垄断法自始即具有重大的政治经济使命,可以成为有着宏大价值目标和强大经济调整功能的"超级法"。互联网产业在资本、技术和商业模式上的独特性,使平台易于触角广泛和无序扩张,具有反垄断的高关联度。互联网平台反垄断首先要在宏观价值上拓展思路和提高站位,又要积极寻求恰当的法律和经济的技术性路径。我国互联网平台反垄断不能轻言和盲从当今美欧的表面趋势,不汲汲于引领潮流和贡献经验,趋势之下可能掩盖着不同的利益诉求,而要一切服从和服务于我国数字经济的实质性发展利益,既要及时、积极和到位,又要适时、适度和谦抑,并始终以促进我国互联网产业创新发展和提升国际竞争力为目标。互联网平台反垄断应当坚持法治进路,构建相应的规则体系,并确保客观、中立和理性,防止非理性和情绪化。     

围绕“公正与效率”主题 落实司法为民的要求为全面建设小康社会提供有力的司法保障——访大法官、最高人民法院副院长曹建明

为做好今后一个时期的工作,最高人民法院提出了“围绕一个主题、明确一个要求、瞄准两个目标、突出三个重点、做好三件大事、落实十项要求”的指导思想和工作布局,对人民法院的职能任务和司法工作规律作出了新的全面概括,从指导思想和工作实践上实现了人民法院工作的与时俱进。为进一步了解人民法院为全面建设小康社会提供司法保障的具体工作部署,日前,本刊记者采访了一级大法官、最高人民法院常务副院长曹建明。     

Policy recontextualisation: the proposed introduction of a multiple-choice test for the entry-level assessment of the legal knowledge of prospective solicitors in England and Wales,and the potential effect on university-level legal education

Much of the substantive content of undergraduate law programmes in England and Wales is framed by the requirements of the legal regulators. There are now proposals for changes to the entry-level assessment of the legal knowledge of prospective solicitors, which include the use of a standardised multiple-choice test (MCT). It is anticipated that for most law students this would be taken alongside or immediately after their undergraduate studies. This paper uses discourse analysis to explore the positioning of the regulators in the consultation documents for this proposal, and undertakes a review of the literature on the use of MCTs in legal education. By using theoretical concepts derived from the work of Basil Bernstein, most notably the recontextualising rule, and classification, it explores the potential effects of this change in policy on university-level legal education.     

Cadmium-free quantum dots in aqueous solution: Potential for fingermark detection,synthesis and an application to the detection of fingermarks in blood on non-porous surfaces

The use of quantum dots (QDs) in the area of fingermark detection is currently receiving a lot of attention in the forensic literature. Most of the research efforts have been devoted to cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots often applied as powders to the surfaces of interests.Both the use of cadmium and the nano size of these particles raise important issues in terms of health and safety. This paper proposes to replace CdTe QDs by zinc sulphide QDs doped with copper (ZnS:Cu) to address these issues. Zinc sulphide–copper doped QDs were successfully synthesized, characterized in terms of size and optical properties and optimized to be applied for the detection of impressions left in blood, where CdTe QDs proved to be efficient. Effectiveness of detection was assessed in comparison with CdTe QDs and Acid Yellow 7 (AY7, an effective blood reagent), using two series of depletive blood fingermarks from four donors prepared on four non-porous substrates, i.e. glass, transparent polypropylene, black polyethylene and aluminium foil. The marks were cut in half and processed separately with both reagents, leading to two comparison series (ZnS:Cu vs. CdTe, and ZnS:Cu vs. AY7). ZnS:Cu proved to be better than AY7 and at least as efficient as CdTe on most substrates. Consequently, copper-doped ZnS QDs constitute a valid substitute for cadmium-based QDs to detect blood marks on non-porous substrates and offer a safer alternative for routine use.     

How to Prepare for the Hurricane Season and Avoid Being Underinsured for Business Interruption Coverage,and a Special Section on “What to Do If You Have Loss of Income from the BP Oil Spill”

Most chief financial officers (CFOs) and risk managers have an understanding of their property and liability insurance needs and are comfortable purchasing coverage that protects their companies from a loss due to an insured peril. However, it has been our experience that their comfort level declines dramatically when it comes to business interruption coverage and limits. The uncertainty surrounding business interruption coverage, extensions of coverage, and respective limits of that coverage consistently results in many organizations finding themselves underinsured and short of cash when faced with a major loss. How can you, the CFO or risk manager, avoid that day of reckoning when your company cannot afford the economic consequences of an underinsured loss? Plus, what to do if you have a business income loss from the Gulf Oil Spill.