STR data for the AmpFlSTR profiler plus loci from Macau (China).

Allele frequencies for the nine STRs included in the AmpFlSTR profiler plus kit (D3S1358, VWA, FGA, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317 and D7S820) were estimated from a sample of 87 unrelated individuals living in the region of Macau, a territory located in the southeastern coast of China.     

STR data (CD4, CSF1PO, F13A01, FES/FPS, MBPB, TH01, TPOX) from North Portugal.

Allele frequencies for seven STRs (CD4, CSF1PO, F13A01, FES/FPS, MBPB, TH01, TPOX) were estimated from samples (sized between 300 and 940) of unrelated individuals born in North Portugal.     

Comparison of morphological changes in white blood cells after death and in vitro storage of blood for the estimation of postmortem interval.

Estimation of the time of death is one of the most important problems for forensic medicine and law. Physical and chemical postmortem changes are evaluated together while estimating the time of death.In this study, in vitro storage and postmortem changes of white blood cells were aimed to be compared within the given postmortem interval, and a follow-up study was carried out. Blood smears which were obtained from 10 non-refrigerated cadavers (experimental group) and from 40 hospital patients (control group) have been evaluated to observe and compare changes during the in vitro storage and postmortem degenerative morphological changes that white blood cells undergo throughout the given postmortem intervals. The samples were examined by using a light microscope, and blood cells were differentiated by staining blood films with May-Grunwald stain, followed by Giemsa stain. Identifiable degenerated eosinophils and monocytes were first examined at 6h of death and the in vitro storage, and they were unidentifiable beyond 72 h of storage. Identifiable degeneration of neutrophils were first examined at 6h of death and storage while unidentifiable beyond 96 h of storage. Identifiable degeneration of lymphocytes were first examined at 24h of death, and they were still identifiable beyond 120 h.Cellular changes of leukocytes can be useful in the 6-120 h for estimating the time of in vitro storage, and the findings match during the first 21 h for both experimental and control groups. Finally, this follow-up study and the comparison will also be carried out for a longer postmortem interval, and other specific hypothesis that relate cellular changes in tissues other than blood with time since death are various points that needs to be studied.     

Citizens policing citizens: are citizen watches manifestations of contemporary responsible citizenship?

During the last decade, the phenomenon of citizen watches has become a common and meaningful element in citizen participation that aims to improve local public safety. This paper discusses citizen watches as a manifestation of the way citizens and state agencies are redefining and transforming their relationships. It examines the question of the extent to which citizen watches can be seen as examples of good citizenship. The Dutch government is currently appealing strongly for more citizen involvement in public matters, but is unclear about the kind of involvement it expects. The paper argues that citizen watches are mainly considered manifestations of ‘good citizenship’ by the government if they are set up in line with state objectives and are willing to serve as an auxiliary of the formal authorities in the neighborhood. Many citizen watches are therefore products of self-responsibilization processes, which have not yet received much academic attention.     

Sustainability of the effects of multisystemic therapy for juvenile delinquents in The Netherlands: effects on delinquency and recidivism

Objectives

The present study focused on the sustainability of the effects of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) on delinquency and recidivism.

Methods

A sample of 256 juveniles with severe and persistent antisocial behavior were randomly assigned to MST (147) and Treatment As Usual (TAU) (109) condition. Pre-test assessment took place before the start of MST/control group treatment. Post-test assessment took place at 6 months after termination of the program. Delinquency (parent and adolescent reported) was assessed 6 months after termination of the treatment. Official judicial data were collected to assess recidivism, with a mean length of follow-up of 3.06 years. ANCOVAs and survival analyses were used to test the effectiveness of MST.

Results

The multi-informant data showed that MST is effective in diminishing delinquent behavior as reported by adolescents and parents, with d’s larger than at post-test assessment immediately after ending of the intervention. The official judicial data, however, suggest that there are no differences between MST and TAU in recidivism. Few and inconsistent moderator effects were found.

Conclusions

According to parent and adolescent reports, the beneficial effects of MST were sustained at the follow-up. This was not supported by official data. These results stress the importance of using multi-informant data on delinquency, as each source of information has its own advantages and disadvantages.     

Immigrants as future voters

Public Choice - Immigration policies in western democracies have often been contrary to the predictions of the mainstream theory of international economics. Political parties that are predicted to...     

International regime complexes and corporate crime: a research agenda based on the Volkswagen diesel fraud case

Crime, Law and Social Change - Criminological literature has often pointed to the absence or weakness of existing international regulation as important explanatory factors of corporate crime in...     

Legal challenges to combating cybercrime: An approach from Vietnam

Crime, Law and Social Change - This paper explores the legal challenges of combating cybercrime in Vietnam. We used a legal doctrine method to review the updated Vietnamese legal frameworks,...     

On the empirical relevance of Condorcet’s paradox

Condorcet’s paradox occurs when there is no alternative that beats every other alternative by majority. The paradox may pose real problems to democratic decision making such as decision deadlocks and democratic paralysis. However, its relevance has been discussed again and again since the celebrated works of Arrow (Social choice and individual values, 1963) and Black (The theory of committees and elections, 1958). The discussion varies from one extreme to the other: from very relevant to practically irrelevant. This paper tries to bring more clarity to the discussion by reviewing the literature on the empirical relevance of Condorcet’s paradox. Since a definition of the paradox for even numbers of voters and alternatives, and for weak voter preferences is missing in the literature, we first define the paradox clearly and simply. Then, three topics are investigated, namely domain conditions, culture and the likelihood of the paradox, and the empirical detection of the paradox. Domain conditions express regularities in voter-preference profiles that prevent the paradox. Frequent observations of these domain conditions would make Condorcet’s paradox empirically less important. Cultures define probability distributions over the set of voter preferences. Observation of cultures might be a first step to indicate the relevance of the paradox. The empirical detection of the paradox speaks for itself; we will try to identify the number of observations of the paradox so far. The overall conclusion is that the empirical relevance of Condorcet’s paradox is still unsettled.