Study of the Behaviors of Gunshot Residues from Spent Cartridges by Headspace Solid‐Phase Microextraction–Gas Chromatographic Techniques

Gunshot residues, produced after shooting activity, have acquired their importance in analysis due to the notoriety of firearms‐related crimes. In this study, solid‐phase microextraction was performed to extract the headspace composition of spent cartridges using 85‐μm polyacrylate fiber at 66°C for 21 min. Organic compounds, that is, naphthalene, 2,6‐dinitrotoluene, 2,4‐dinitrotoluene, diphenylamine, and dibutyl phthalate were detected and analyzed by gas chromatography‐flame ionization detection technique. Evaluation of chromatograms for diphenylamine, dibutyl phthalate, and naphthalene indicates the period after a gunshot was discharged, whether it was 1 days, 2–4 days, <5 days, 10 days, 20 days, or more than 30 days ago. This study revealed the potential effects of environmental factors such as occasional wind blow and direct sunlight on the estimation of time after spent cartridges were discharged. In conclusion, we proposed reliable alternative in analyzing the headspace composition of spent cartridges in a simulated crime scene.     

Comparison of Four Saliva Detection Methods to Identify Expectorated Blood Spatter

Blood spatter analysis is an important step for crime scene reconstruction. The presence of saliva in blood spatter could indicate expectorated blood which is difficult to distinguish from impact spatter. In this study, four saliva test methods (SALIgAE^®, Phadebas^® sheet, RSID^™-Saliva kit, and starch gel diffusion) were compared to identify the best method for detecting expectorated blood spatter. The RSID^™-Saliva kit showed the highest sensitivity even when saliva was mixed with blood, and was not inhibited by the presence of blood. The SALIgAE^® test provided easy and rapid results, but the yellow color of a positive reaction was overwhelmed by the red color of the blood. The starch gel diffusion method and the Phadebas^® sheet exhibited relatively low sensitivity and the assay took a long time. When using the RSID^™-Saliva kit for identifying saliva in blood, results should be read within 10 min.     

Attribution and the Illegality Defence

In Jetivia SA v Bilta (UK) Ltd (in liquidation) all seven judges of the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal by holding that the illegality defence could not be raised as a defence against the claim made by the company because the wrongdoing of the directors and shareholder cannot be attributed to the company. Although all the judges unanimously agreed on the outcome of the case, their reasoning concerning the approach to attribution and the different circumstances under which attribution should or should not take place differed. Further, the Supreme Court was divided on the issue of the correct approach to the illegality defence.     

Stability studies of ALD-52 and its homologue 1P-LSD

With the emergence of new psychoactive substances (NPSs) over the years, the substances detected on stamps (also known as blotter papers) have also evolved from the traditional drug—lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) to the multiple variants of lysergamides such as ALD-52 and 1P-LSD. The analysis of such blotter papers is usually done by solvent extraction followed by identification using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This study has shown that hydrolysis to form LSD was observed in GC-MS analysis when ALD-52 was extracted with methanol. The extraction of ALD-52 using other solvents such as acetonitrile, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, and acetone, followed by GC-MS analysis, was investigated. It is shown that alcoholic solvents such as methanol and ethanol will result in the conversion of ALD-52 to LSD during GC-MS analysis, whereas the sterically hindered isopropyl alcohol will prevent this conversion. Investigation also shows that the hydrolysis of ALD-52 to LSD occurs at the GC injector port. It was also observed that the degree of hydrolysis was more pronounced at a lower concentration (0.1 mg/mL). The study was extended to a close analog—1P-LSD, and the results showed that 1P-LSD similarly hydrolyzes to LSD. However, 1P-LSD was observed to be more stable than ALD-52 due to steric hindrance because of the propanoyl group.     

Of ‘Landmark’ or ‘Leading’ Cases: Salomon's Challenge

This article seeks to question the two dominant conceptions of ‘landmark’ or ‘leading’ cases in English legal scholarship, using the House of Lords decision in Salomon v. Salomon Co Ltd. – the most famous case in corporate law – as a case study. It argues that neither the first dominant conception of ‘leading’ or ‘landmark’ cases, characterized by the analysis of the intrinsic merits of a case, nor the second, which looks at the historical contexts in which cases were decided, appears sufficient by itself to determine whether a case is landmark or canonical. Rather, we have to look at how the canonicity of a case is constructed by subsequent courts. The article seeks to advance the debate concerning the formation of landmark cases and aims to challenge certain prevailing views on the canonicity of corporate law's arguably most significant case.     

CHANS-Law: preventing the next pandemic through the integration of social and environmental law

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics - Zoonotic viruses have sacrificed hundreds of millions of people throughout human history. There are currently 1.7 million...     

Privatization in developing countries: ideal and reality

In both developed and developing countries, governments finance, produce, and distribute various goods and services. In recent years, the range of goods provided by government has extended widely, covering many goods which do not meet the purist's definition of “public” goods. As the size of the public sector has increased steadily there has been a growing concern about the effectiveness of the public sector's performance as producer. Critics of this rapid growth argue that the public provision of certain goods is inefficient and have proposed that the private sector replace many current public sector activities, that is, that services be privatized. Since Ronald Reagan took office greater privatization efforts have been pursued in the United States. Paralleling this trend has been a strong endorsement by international and bilateral donor agencies for heavier reliance on the private sector in developing countries.

However, the political, institutional, and economic environments of developing nations are markedly different from those of developed countries. It is not clear that the theories and empirical evidence purported to justify privatization in developed countries are applicable to developing countries.

In this paper we present a study of privatization using the case of Honduras. We examine the policy shift from “direct administration” to “contracting out” for three construction activities: urban upgrading for housing projects, rural primary schools, and rural roads. The purpose of our study is threefold. First, we test key hypotheses pertaining to the effectiveness of privatization, focusing on three aspects: cost, time, and quality. Second, we identify major factors which affect the performance of this privatization approach. Third, we document the impact of privatization as it influences the political and institutional settings of Honduras. Our main finding is that contracting out in Honduras has not led to the common expectations of its proponents because of institutional barriers and limited competitiveness in the market. These findings suggest that privatization can not produce goods and services efficiently without substantial reform in the market and regulatory procedures. Policy makers also need to consider carefully multiple objectives at the national level in making decisions about privatization.     

Spatial egalitarianism as a social ‘counter-movement’: on socio-economic reforms in Chongqing

Abstract

Through a framework drawn from Karl Polanyi's substantivist theorization of economic practices, this paper evaluates the quest for equitable urbanization in Chongqing, a major city-region in south-western China. Illuminating the tensions arising from two interrelated reforms, namely the ambitious attempt to construct 40 million m² of public rental housing between 2010 and 2012, and the large-scale drive to ensure peasant migrants enjoy equal access to social benefits as current urban residents, the paper explains how the quest for equitable urbanization magnifies two nationwide dimensions of institutionalized uneven development, namely (i) the caste-like categorization of populations according to ‘urban’ and ‘rural’; and (ii) the coastal bias in national economic development. The paper concludes that this state-driven pursuit of spatial egalitarianism in Chongqing expresses the dialecticism of economic development in China: it is a social ‘counter-movement’ against the effects of an uneven spatiality that was instituted to drive and deepen the marketization of Chinese society.     

“It’s Going to Make the Whole Tower Crooked”: Victimization Trajectories in IPV

Interest in the mechanisms by which childhood maltreatment can lead to adult intimate partner victimization (IPV) is growing, though limited research has examined these mechanisms from the direct perspective of the victims. Using qualitative methods to examine childhood histories in a sample of 23 IPV survivors, we identified two trajectories, childhood emotional trauma and childhood physical trauma, which lead to revictimization in adulthood in the form of IPV. The emotional trauma trajectory was associated with a desire for intimacy and deficits in navigating interpersonal relationships. Problematic interpersonal schemas and a fear of loneliness swayed many of these women to stay with an abusive partner. The physical trauma trajectory was associated with desensitization and normalization of violence. Problematic interpersonal schemas, and the belief that the experience of violence is normal, promoted tolerance of IPV. Implications for research and intervention are discussed.