Analysis of forensic soil samples via high-performance liquid chromatography and ion chromatography

Traditional forensic soil comparisons are performed via physical and/or chemical examinations of color, texture, and mineral content, leaving any organic- or water-soluble fractions unexamined. This study uses high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ion chromatography (IC) to assess the qualitative and quantitative variation in these fractions of soil. Soil samples (n=120) were collected over the course of 3 weeks from urban, suburban, and rural locations in and around Lansing, MI. Additional samples from six of these locations (two urban, two suburban, and two rural) were collected once a week for 10 weeks for temporal analysis. Nine additional samples, equally spaced over a 1 m(2) grid, from these same six locations were collected for spatial analyses. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the resultant chromatograms separated the 120 samples into 10 groups by HPLC and 23 groups by IC. This study shows that using HPLC and IC to analyze the organic- and water-soluble fractions of soil can successfully discriminate samples. Quantitative analysis of the results eliminates some false inclusions by providing further differentiation of samples. The results of this study indicate that adding HPLC and IC analyses to traditional forensic soil analysis schemes can improve overall sample differentiation. The methods used in this study were also able to detect both qualitative and quantitative variations in soil over a relatively small geographic area. This demonstration of soil heterogeneity underscores the importance of the collection of a representative known sample population when assessing a forensic soil comparison. Significant temporal variation was also demonstrated over the course of 10 weeks of sampling; however, samples were found to be consistent over shorter periods of time. Baseline levels of inorganic anions were determined via IC; these levels may be useful in assessing the significance of anions detected in soil from cases involving low explosives.     

Building sustainable free legal advisory systems: Experiences from the history of AI & law

The enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) as a source of solutions to problems is not new. In law, from the early 1980s until at least the early 2000s, considerable work was done on developing ‘legal expert systems.’ As the DataLex project, we participated in those developments, through research and publications, commercial and non-commercial systems, and teaching students application development. This paper commences with a brief account of that work to situate our perspective.The main aim of this paper is an assessment of what might be of value from the experience of the DataLex Project to contemporary use of ‘AI and law’ by free legal advice services, who must necessarily work within funding and other constraints in developing and sustaining such systems. We draw fifteen conclusions from this experience, which we consider are relevant to development of systems for free legal advice services. The desired result, we argue, is the development of integrated legal decision-support systems, not ‘expert systems’ or ‘robot lawyers’. We compare our insights with the approach of the leading recent text in the field, and with a critical review of the field over twenty-five years. We conclude that the approach taken by the DataLex Project, and now applied to free legal advice services, remains consistent with leading work in field of AI and law.The paper concludes with brief suggestions of what are the most desirable improvements to tools and platforms to enable development of free legal advice systems. The objectives of free access to legal information services have much in common with those of free legal advice services. The information resources that free access to law providers (including LIIs) can provide will often be those that free legal advice services will need to use to develop and sustain free legal advisory systems. There is therefore strong potential for valuable collaborations between these two types of services providers.     

A Soviet paradise à L'Américaine

An Examination of the Mystic Tendencies in Islam in the light of the Qur'an and Traditions. By M. M.Zuhúruddin Ahmad, M.A. LL.B., Professor of Logic and Philosophy at the Ismail College, Andheri (Bombay). 9” x 5½”. Pp. 248. Published by the author, Pali Road, Bandra (Bombay). 1932. Obtained in England for 10s. 6d.

The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. By Sir Muhammad Iqbal. 9” x 5½”. Pp. 192. Oxford University Press. London: Humphrey Milford. 1934. 7^s. 6d. net.

The Suez Canal: Its Past, Present and Future. By Lieut.‐Colonel Sir Arnold Wilson, K.C.I.E. 10” x 7". Pp. xv+224. Map. Oxford University Press. 1933. 15s.

The Capitulatory Regime of Turkey: Its History, Origin and Nature. By Nasim Sousa. 8½” x 5¾”. Pp. xxiii+378. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.

Catalogue of Wall‐Paintings from Ancient Shrines in Central Asia and Sistan. Recovered by Sir Aurel Stein, K.C.I.E., described by Fred H. Andrews, O.B.E., under the orders of the Government of India. Delhi: Manager of Publications.

The History of Buddhist Thought. By Edward J. Thomas, M.A., D.Litt. 9½” x 6½”. Pp. xvi+314. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner and Co., Ltd. 1933. 15s.

The Eclipse of Christianity in Asia. From the time of Muhammad until the Fourteenth Century. By L. E. Browne. 9” x 6”. Pp. 198. Map. Cambridge University Press. 1933. 10s. 6d.

Oriental Studies. Edited by Jai Dastur Cursetji Pavry, with a Foreword by A. V.Williams, in honour of Cursetji Erachji Pavry. 9¾” x 6½”. Pp. xv+503. Frontispiece. Oxford University Press. 1934. 50s. net.

A History of Exploration. From the Earliest Times to the Present Day. By Brigadier‐General Sir Percy Sykes, K.C.I.E., C.B., C.M.G. 10” x 6”. Pp. xiv+374. Coloured frontispiece, plates, and maps. Routledge. 1934. 25s.

Peaks and Plains of Central Asia. By Colonel Reginald C. F. Schomberg. 8¾” x 5¾”. Pp. 288. Illustrations and three maps. London: Martin Hopkinson. 1933. 15s. net.

” La Croisière Jaune.” The Citroën‐Haardt Expedition through Central Asia. By Georges Le Fevre. Pp. xli + 342. 123 photographs. Plates. Maps. Paris. 1933. Edition de Luxe.

Le Pasteur de Tribus. Par Alexandre Syline. Paris: Librairie Gallimard. 1932.

First Russia, then Tibet. By Robert Byron. 9½” x 6¾”. Pp. xvi + 328. Illustrations. Macmillan. 15s.

The White Armies of Russia. The Chronicle of Counter‐Revolution and Allied Intervention. By George Stewart. 8” x 6”. Pp. xiii + 469. Maps and illustrations. New York: Macmillan Co. 21s.

Dans les Coulisses du Kremlin. By S. Dmitrievsky. Translated from the Russian into French by René le Grand. 7” x 4¾”. Pp. vii + 240. Paris: Lib Plon. 12 fr.

Foreign Investments in China. By C. F. Remer. 8¾” x 6”. Pp. xxi + 708. New York: The Macmillan Company. 1933. 25s.

Japan. By F. C. Jones, M.A. 7½” x 5”. Pp. viii+133. Maps. Modern State Series No. 1. General Editor, R. B. Mowat. Arrowsmith. 3s. 6d.

The Hundred Names. By Dr. Henry H. Hart. Published by the University of California Press and the Cambridge University Press. 1933. 11s. 6d. net.

Something Happened. By M. Cable and F. French. Pp. ii + 320. Illustrations. Map. Hodder and Stoughton. 5s.

The Jungle in Sunlight and Shadow. By F. W. Champion. 10” x 7¾”. Pp. xvi + 270. Illustrations. Chatto and Windus. 21s.

James Silk Buckingham, 1786–1855. A Social Biography. By Ralph E. Turner. 8½” x 5¾”. Pp. viii+463. Plates. Williams and Norgate. 21s.

On Hill and Plain. By Lord Hardinge of Penshurst, K.G. A Viceroy's Recollections of Delightful Days of Sport in India. 8” x 5¼”. Pp. xii + 110. Illustrations. John Murray. 1933. 7s. 6d.

Le Voyage d'Un Pelerin Chinois dans l'Inde des Bouddhas. Précédé d'un exposé des doctrines de l'Inde Antique sur La Vie et La Mort. By Henri Valentino. Paris. Editions G.P. Maisonneuve. 3 Rue de Sabot. 18 francs.

Indian India. By C. W. Waddington, C.I.E., M.V.O. London: Jarrolds. 1933.

Indo‐China: A Sportsman's Opportunity. By Archibald Harrison. 8½” x 5½”. Pp. 7+157. Plates and maps. Plymouth: Mayflower Press.

Secrets of the Red Sea. By Henry de Monfreid. Translated by Helen Buchanan Bell. 8½” x 5½”. Pp. vii + 317. Sixteen pages illustrated. Faber and Fabcr. 1933. 12s. 6d.

Into the Sun. By Frieda Das. 7½” x 5”. Pp. 312. Dent. 7s. 6d.

The Assyrian Tragedy. Annemasse, February, 1934.

The Naked Mountain. By E. Knowlton. Putnam.

First over Everest. By Air Commodore Fellowes, D.S.O., L. V. Stewart Blacker, Col. P. T. Etheton, Marquis of Clydesdale. Foreword by John Buchan, and account of the filming by G. Barkas. 9¾” x 6½”.Illustrations, maps, diagrams. Pp. xix + 279. Lane, Bodley Head. 12s. 6d.     

Miracle to meltdown: A pathology of the East Asian financial crisis

The financial crisis in East Asia was made more dramatic by the fact that the region's performance in terms of economic growth over the preceding decade had been widely perceived as a 'miracle'. What was it that transformed the region's fortunes, and what are the chances for a speedy economic recovery? Systematic analysis reveals that, while there is no unicausal explanation, and while few if any commentators anticipated the crisis before the event, the fundamental difference from previous international financial crises is the extreme indebtedness of the corporate sector of the crisis countries. Private sector repayment difficulties and the associated banking crises triggered the sudden withdrawal of capital and the collapse of exchange rates. Failure to address the underlying private sector debt overhang, and reliance instead on conventional macroeconomic policy solutions, have led to a decline in output and a depreciation in exchange rates which have been far greater than need have been the case.     

Applying Functional Analysis to the Case of a Malfunctioning Education System: Addressing System Complexity and Tangled Causes

A 4-year decline culminating in a collapse of school leaver exam results sent shockwaves through the Tanzanian state education system. Students and citizens attribute the collapse to visible deficiencies in classroom teaching, which is the product of a complex, government-administered system of teacher training colleges, schools, schools inspectorate, an examinations council, and a curriculum development institution. A model of the system is constructed and ‘interrogated’ to establish a research framework of key questions and propositions for functional analysis and evaluation of the system.     

Analysing the economic justification for the reforms to social welfare and family law legal aid

The Ministry of Justice plans on saving £450 million per annum from the legal aid budget through reforms contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.Over 60% of these savings will be found by removing whole areas of law and types of problem from the scope of legal aid support. One of the principal justifications for these reforms is the economic imperative; reducing legal aid expenditure is necessary to meet the Government's fiscal targets. This article examined whether these reforms will generate the substantial savings identified in the Government's impact assessment, or whether these costs will be passed on to other areas of government. Data from the Civil and Social Justice Survey were used to model the behavioural responses of people no longer eligible for legal aid under the scope changes. Economic costs were estimated for these responses where they will be incurred by the state, although many of these costs are likely to be underestimates. Many costs could not be estimated including, inter alia, the cost of increased criminality where people seek redress outside of the justice system. The analysis focused on family and social welfare law, which together represent 82% of the proposed savings from the scope reforms. Based upon this analysis, the Government is unlikely to save more than 40% of its prediction. At the same time, these minimal savings could generate inequality of access to justice and overburden an already struggling alternative advice sector. A significant uptake in funded mediation within family law is predicted.     

The cognitive interview: A survey of its forensic effectiveness

Abstract

The cognitive interview has been shown to have the potential to enhance witness recall. Consequently, it has been adopted by all police forces in England and Wales. The present paper surveyed 96 police officers trained in the cognitive interview and 65 untrained police officers, using a questionnaire. Officers rated how frequently they used and how useful they found components of the cognitive interview. Trained officers were significantly more likely to use instructions to mentally reinstate context, use different orders, change perspectives and imagery. Amongst trained officers there was a consensus that some components of the cognitive interview were used more frequently and were believed to be more useful than others. Rated as most useful and most frequently used were establish rapport, report everything, encourage concentration, witness compatible questioning, and mental reinstatement of context. Rated as less useful and less frequently used were recall in different orders, imagery, change perspectives and transfer control. Further responses indicated that the cognitive interview was generally perceived to be a useful procedure that increases correct recall, although officers were still aware that incorrect information can also be generated. However, a major problem for many officers was that they do not have the time to conduct a full cognitive interview.     

Children's testimony: Research findings and policy implications

Abstract

Traditionally the British legal system has taken a sceptical attitude toward the testimony of children, reflected in the competency requirement, the corroboration rule and the judicial caution. However, recent psychological research has suggested that children, properly interviewed, can provide invaluable testimony in securing convictions in cases of sexual or physical abuse. Research suggests that children's spontaneous accounts of events are generally accurate, and that suggestibility can be greatly reduced by appropriate questioning techniques. Partly as a result of such research, the legal hurdles surrounding children's evidence have been dismantled and procedural innovations, such as the use of the Videolink and videotaped interviews introduced. Empirical research demonstrates the success of the Videolink and a similar evaluation is planned for videotaped interviews. The latter has highlighted the need for a new research agenda which would include the impact of biased or repeated questioning, and requests to children from abusers to lie or keep secrets.