The effect of electron beam irradiation on forensic evidence. 1. Latent print recovery on porous and non-porous surfaces

The recent use of the postal system as a means of delivering anthrax spores via several contaminated envelopes has led to the selective irradiation of mail. These as yet unsolved attacks and the U.S. Postal Service's decision to irradiate certain types of mail has led to some unexpected complications. The high doses of radiation required to destroy biological agents like anthrax are sufficient to induce damage to other materials present in the envelope. There have been reports of damage to many different items that have been subjected to irradiation, including paper, precious gems, plastic, computer discs, and electronics. However, few studies have examined the effect of such treatments on items of forensic interest. In this paper, the authors focused on the impact of the irradiation process on the ability to visualize latent prints. This experiment involved using several donors, substrates (both porous and non-porous), and visualization reagents. The results indicate that the irradiation process can have a detrimental effect on the success of certain visualization reagents.     

An auditor's best friend? Standing committees on public accounts

Abstract: This article looks at public accounts committees (PACS) in Canadian legislatures and their relationship with legislative auditors. In most jurisdictions, there is a close relationship between the two, as PACS base their agenda on auditors' reports and interact significantly with auditors. The chief role of the committees is to provide a unique and important public forum for the further exploration of issues identified by auditors. Their effectiveness is thus not necessarily in their written reports as much as it is in their hearings and examinations of witnesses. While some committees are clearly stronger than others, for a variety of reasons, they are all potentially powerful. It is up to legislatures, governments, legislative auditors, and committees themselves to make use of PACS unique capabilities Sommaire: Le présent article se penche sur les comités des comptes publics (CCP) dans les législatures canadiennes et leurs relations avec les vérificateurs législatifs. Dans la plupart des juridictions des provinces et territoires, il existe une relation étroite entre les deux, étant donné que les CCP fondent leur agenda sur les rapports des vérificateurs et sont en dialogue constant avec ces derniers. Le rôle principal de ces comités consiste à foumir un forum public, unique et important, dans le but d'étudier plus à fond les questions identifiées par les vérificateurs. Leur efficacité ne découle donc pas néessairement des rapports écrits, mais plutôt de leurs audiences et de l'interrogatoire des témoins. Alors que certains comités sont clairement plus forts que d'autres pour toutes sortes de raisons, ils ont tous le potentiel d'être puissants. C'est aux législatures, gouvemements, vérificateurs législatifs et aux comités eux‐mêmes qu'il revient de faire usage des capacités uniques des CCP.     

Progress Toward the Determination of Correct Classification Rates in Fire Debris Analysis,,

Principal components analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA) were used to develop a multistep classification procedure for determining the presence of ignitable liquid residue in fire debris and assigning any ignitable liquid residue present into the classes defined under the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E 1618‐10 standard method. A multistep classification procedure was tested by cross‐validation based on model data sets comprised of the time‐averaged mass spectra (also referred to as total ion spectra) of commercial ignitable liquids and pyrolysis products from common building materials and household furnishings (referred to simply as substrates). Fire debris samples from laboratory‐scale and field test burns were also used to test the model. The optimal model's true‐positive rate was 81.3% for cross‐validation samples and 70.9% for fire debris samples. The false‐positive rate was 9.9% for cross‐validation samples and 8.9% for fire debris samples.     

Sex Trafficking and Moral Harm: Politicised Understandings and Depictions of the Trafficked Experience

This paper explores notions of harm in sex work discourse, highlighting the extent to which essentialist ideas of ‘good’ versus ‘bad’ sex have pervaded trafficking policy. In a comparative examination of Australian Parliamentary Inquiries and United States congressional hearings leading to the establishment of anti-trafficking policy, we identify the stories that have influenced legislators, and established a narrative of trafficking heavily dependent upon assumptions of the inherent harm of sex work. This narrative constructs a hierarchy of victimisation, which denies alternative discourses of why women migrate for sex work. We argue that it is not sexual commerce that is harmful, but pathological, systemic inequalities and entrenched disadvantage that are harmful. A narrow narrative of trafficking fails to adequately depict this complexity of the trafficked experience.     

A New Measure of Red Tape: Introducing the Three-Item Red Tape (TIRT) Scale

ABSTRACT

Much empirical red tape research utilizes the General Red Tape (GRT) scale, which asks respondents to rate the level of red tape on a scale of 0 to 10 (Rainey, Pandey, and Bozeman 1995 Rainey, H. G., S. K. Pandey, and B. Bozeman. 1995. “Research Note: Public and Private Managers’ Perceptions of Red Tape.” Public Administration Review 55(6): 567–574.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Because “popular usage of the term ‘red tape’ requires no precision” (Bozeman and Feeney 2011 Bozeman, B. and M. K. Feeney. 2011. Rules and Red Tape: A Prism for Public Administration Research and Theory. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. [Google Scholar], 3) and the GRT scale “assumes that respondents understand the terms to which they are responding” (101), evaluating red tape in this way may be theoretically disadvantageous. This article proposes a new measure—the Three-Item Red Tape (TIRT) scale—consisting of three items drawn from previous rules research on rule characteristics to which respondents characterize organizational rules by how burdensome, unnecessary, and ineffective they are. This measure has several advantages over existing measures: it includes several indicators; it does not include the term “red tape”; and it is drawn directly from Bozeman's (1993 Bozeman, B. 1993. “A Theory of Government ‘Red Tape.'” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 3(3): 273–303. [Google Scholar]; 2000 Bozeman, B. 2000. Bureaucracy and Red Tape. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. [Google Scholar]) operational definition of red tape. Using structural equation modeling to model survey data from two local government organizations (n = 1,666), this article evaluates the theoretical and empirical validity of this TIRT scale, compares it with the GRT scale, tests its relationship with formalization, which is known as a distinct concept, and addresses implications of this scale on red tape theory.     

“I Realized that I couldn’t Act Normal”: a Qualitative Study of Sexual Assault Survivors’ Experiences of Workplace Disclosure

Journal of Family Violence - Sexual assault results in psychological, physical, and financial consequences for survivors. The distress caused by sexual assault can lead to work-related consequences...     

Risk factors and consequences of unwanted sex among university students: hooking up, alcohol, and stress response

This is the first study of unwanted sexual experiences in the collegiate "hooking-up" culture. In a representative sample of 178 students at a small liberal arts university. Twenty-three percent of women and 7% of men surveyed reported one or more experiences of unwanted sexual intercourse. Seventy-eight percent of unwanted vaginal, anal, and oral incidents took place while--"hooking up,"--whereas 78% of unwanted fondling incidents occurred at parties or bars. The most frequently endorsed reason for unwanted sexual intercourse was impaired judgment due to alcohol. The most frequently endorsed reason for unwanted fondling was that it happened before the perpetrator could be stopped. Of those affected by unwanted sexual intercourse or unwanted fondling, 46.7% and 19.2% reported unwanted memories, 50% and 32.7% reported avoidance and numbing responses, and 30% and 26.9% reported hyperarousal responses, respectively. A preliminary model of unwanted sex and collegiate social dynamics is proposed to provide a heuristic for further research.     

Statistical Inference and Forensic Evidence: Evaluating a Bullet Lead Match

This experiment tested the ability of undergraduate mock jurors (N=295) to draw appropriate conclusions from statistical data on the diagnostic value of forensic evidence. Jurors read a summary of a homicide trial in which the key evidence was a bullet lead "match" that was either highly diagnostic, non-diagnostic, or of unknown diagnostic value. There was also a control condition in which the forensic "match" was not presented. The results indicate that jurors as a group used the statistics appropriately to distinguish diagnostic from non-diagnostic forensic evidence, giving considerable weight to the former and little or no weight to the latter. However, this effect was attributable to responses of a subset of jurors who expressed confidence in their ability to use statistical data. Jurors who lacked confidence in their statistical ability failed to distinguish highly diagnostic from non-diagnostic forensic evidence; they gave no weight to the forensic evidence regardless of its diagnostic value. Confident jurors also gave more weight to evidence of unknown diagnostic value. Theoretical and legal implications are discussed.     

The “STICKINESS” of stigma: Guilt by association after a friend's arrest

Prior research has examined the consequences of one's police contact, but the consequences of vicarious police contact are not as well known. This study expands on labeling theory and the concept of “stickiness” by assessing whether a friend's arrest increases the likelihood of one's police contact. Using a sample of rural youth (N = 13,170), I find that a friend's arrest is associated with an increase in the likelihood of one's first arrest the next year after accounting for other predictors of police contact. Based on my theoretical framework, I interpret this finding as “guilt by association.” In addition, ending relationships with friends who have been arrested does not significantly impact this relationship. This study concludes that police contact may be harmful for a youth's social network and builds on the concept of stickiness by suggesting that stigma not only sticks from one individual to another but may also stay despite efforts to end one's association with the arrested individual. The study expands on preexisting research on the consequences of adolescent police contact by introducing a friend's police contact as a way in which an individual may be more likely to become involved in the justice system.