Estimating postmortem interval for human cadavers in a sub‐tropical climate using UV‐Vis‐near‐infrared Spectroscopy

Estimating postmortem interval (PMI) of surface found skeletal remains is challenging. This novel study used UV‐Vis‐NIR spectroscopy to scan soil collected from cadaver decomposition islands (CDIs) ranging from 15‐ to 963‐d postmortem and control soils. A decomposition product spectra model (DPS model) was constructed by deducting the control soil spectra from the CDI soil spectra for the estimation of postmortem indices: PMI (d), ADD₄, ADD₁₀, and ADD₂₀. The DPS model (n = 55) was calibrated and subjected to a full cross‐validation. Calibration R² and RPD for the DPS model ranged from 0.97 to 0.99 and from 6.1 to 9.9, respectively, for the four postmortem interval indices. Validation R² and RPD for the DPS model ranged from 0.73 to 0.80 and from 1.9 to 2.2, respectively. The DPS model estimated postmortem intervals for three test CDIs in a clay soil under perennial grassland (test set 1; n = 3) and six CDIs in a sandy soil under a loblolly pine forest (test set 2; n = 6). Test set 1 had PMI prediction ranges from ?69 to ?117 days, ?796 to +832 ADD₄, +552 to +2672 ADD₁₀, and ?478 to ?20 ADD₂₀ of observed PMI. Test set 2 PMI prediction ranged from ?198 to ?65 days, ?9923 to +2629 ADD₄, ?6724 to +1321 ADD₁₀, and ?2850 to +540 ADD₂₀ of observed PMI. Test set 2 had poor predictions for two CDIs, for all measures of postmortem indices resulting in discussion of sampling depth, effect of body mass index (BMI), and scavenging.     

Literary reviews

Autobiographies of the townships. Gone with the Twilight: a story of Sophiatown. Don Mattera London: Zed Press. 1987. 151pp. £19.95hb/£5.95pb

Kaffir Boy: growing out of apartheid. Mark Mathabane London: Pan. 1987. 354pp. £3.50pb

Subtle dissent: Malawi's poetry of protest. Nightwatcher, Nightsong. Frank M Chipasula Peterborough, UK: Paul Green. 1986. 25pp. £1.50pb

Napolo Poems. Steve Chimombo Zomba, Malawi: Manchichi Publishers. 1987. 55pp n/p

Selective blindness. Women in African Literature Today, Vol. 15. Edited by Eldred Jones, Eustace Palmer and Marjorie Jones London: James Currey/Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. 1987. 162pp. £7.50/$8.95pb

Ngambika: studies of women in African literature. Edited by Carole Boyce Davies and Anne Adams Graves Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. 1986. 298pp. $35.00hb/$11.95pb

Form and content. Reading the African Novel. Simon Gikandi London: James Currey. 1987. 172pp. £8.95pb

West African Poetry: a critical history. Robert Fraser Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1986. 351pp. £35hb/£12.50pb

Textual adventure. Around the Day in Eighty Worlds. Julio Cortázar Translated from the Spanish by Thomas Christensen San Francisco: North Point Press. 1986. 293pp. J22.50hb

A Change of Light and other stories. Julio Cortazar Translated from the Spanish by Gregory Rabassa London: Arena. 1987. 275pp. £3.50pb

Master of the fantastic. The Dream of Heroes. Adolfo Bioy Casares Translated from the Spanish by Diana Thorold London: Quartet Books. 1987. 212pp. £9.95hb

Popular heroes. I Dreamt the Snow was Burning. Antonio Skarmeta Translated from the Spanish by Malcolm Coad London/New York: Readers International. 1985. 220pp. 57.95/£4.95pb

Burning Patience. Antonio Skarmeta Translated from the Spanish by Katherine Silver London/Methuen. 1988. 126pp. £9.95hb

Struggling towards a voice. Angel. Merle Collins London: The Women's Press. 1987. 294pp. £12.95hb/£4.95pb

Nowhere to hide. The Arkansas Testament. Derek Walcott London: Faber & Faber. 1988. 117pp. £3.95pb

Unity of the spirit. Modern Arabic Poetry: an anthology. Edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi New York: Columbia University Press. 1987. 498pp. Hb n/p

Defiant creativity. Let It Be Told: essays by Black women writers in Britain. Edited by Lauretta Ngcobo London: Pluto Press. 1987. 146pp. £12.95hb London: Virago Press. 1988. 176pp. £4.50pb

Charting the Journey: writings by Black and Third World women. Edited by Shabnam Grewal, Jackie Kay, Liliane Landor, Gail Lewis and Pratibha. Parmar London: Sheba Feminist Publishers. 1988. 322pp. £7.95/$10.95pb     

Book Notes

Encyclopaedia of the Third World. George Thomas Kurian, London: Mansell. 1979. 1694 pp. £40.00.

Year Book of Labour Statistics 1978. International Labour Office Geneva: ILO. 1978. 675 pp. S Fr 95.00.

Documents of the Gatherings of Nonaligned Countries 1961–78. Medjunarodna Politika, Belgrade: Jugoslavenska Stvarnost. 1978. 274 pp.

Strategic Survey. International Institute of Strategic Studies, London :IISS. 1979. 140 pp. £2.25 pb.

The Far East and Australasia 1978–9. London: Europa. 1978. 1311 pp. £26.50.

Britain and Latin America: an annual review of British‐Latin American relations 1979. Latin American Bureau, London: LAB.1979. 189 pp. £2.50 pb.

Latin American Annual Review and the Caribbean 1979. World of Information, Saffron Walden, England: WoI. 1978. 222 pp. £11.50.

Register of Research on Trade and Development Issues. UNCTAD, New York. UNCTAD. 1978. 96 pp.

Register of Development Research Projects in Africa: liaison bulletin. OECD, Paris: OECD Development Centre. 1979. 106 pp. $6.50.

Landsat Index Atlas of the Developing Countries. Washington DC: The World Bank. £6.25.

African Studies: a handbook for teachers. Edited by Margaret Killingray, London: School of Oriental and African Studies. 1979. 81 pp. £2.00.

Women in the Development Process: a selected bibliography on women in the sub‐Saharan Africa and Latin America. S S Saulniers & A Rakowski, Austin, Texas: University of Texas. 1977. 287 pp. £4.90.

Women and World Development: an annotated bibliography. Mayra Buvinic, Washington DC: Overseas Development Council. 1976. 162 pp. $2.50.

Development as if Women Mattered: an annotated bibliography with a Third World focus. May Rihani, Washington DC: Overseas Development Council. 1978. 137 pp. $3.00.

America in Asia: research guide on US economic activity in Pacific Asia. Asia‐North America Communications Center, Hong Kong: ANACC. 1979. 165 pp. $10.00 pb.

Changing Approaches to Population Problems. Margaret Wolfson, Paris: OECD Development Centre. 1979. 193 pp. $9.50 pb.

Planning for Growing Populations. Edited by Robert Cassen and Margaret Wolfson, Paris: OECD Development Centre. 1979. 227 pp. $11.50 pb.

Food Aid for Development. Harmut Schneider, Paris: OECD Development Centre. 1979. 130 pp. $6.75 pb.

Traveller's Guide to Africa 1980. Edited by Richard Synge, London: International Communications. 1979 (third edn). 400 pp. £5.95.

Traveller's Guide to the Middle East 1980. Edited by Richard Synge, London: International Communications. 1979 (second edn). 300 pp. £5.95.

Arabic Historical Writing 1975 and 1976: an annotated bibliography. Fawzi Abdulrazak, London: Mansell. 1979. 210 pp.

Calligraphy in the Arts of the Muslim World. Anthony Welsh, London: Dawson. 1979. 216 pp. £15.00.

Big Business and the Mass Media. Bernard Rubin, Lexington, Massachussets: Lexington. 1977. 185 pp.

Making News: a study in the construction of reality. Gaye Tuchman, New York: The Free Press. 1978. 244 pp. £9.75.

India: resources and development. B L C Johnson, London: Heinemann Educational. 1979. 211 pp. £6.90.     

Correctional Treatment Programmes for Young Offenders in Europe: A Survey of Routine Practice

This article presents the results of an international survey of European correctional treatment programmes for young offenders. Questionnaires gathering data on programmes’ design, implementation, structure, and evaluation were collected from 112 programme administrators in 25 European Union countries. Results demonstrated that although there was a commitment to young offender rehabilitation in almost every country, programmes adopted many different approaches and were implemented with varying levels of adherence to evidence-based principles of ‘best practice.’ The majority of programmes adopted a cognitive-behavioural approach, and clinical discretion was prioritised over systematised, empirically validated assessment instruments. Most programmes were administered by centralised government agencies; however, process and outcome evaluation was rare. These findings suggest a strong need for improved systematic evaluation in most European countries.     

Handbook of the Psychology of Interviewing

Abstract

Handbook of the Psychology of Interviewing. By Memon. A. and Bull, R. (Eds). Chichester: Wiley, (1999). ISBN 0-471-97443-9 (hbk) $65.00.

Investigative Interviewing: Psychology and Practice. By Milne, R. and Bull, R. Chichester: Wiley, (1999). ISBN 0-471-98728-X (hbk) $34.95; ISBN 0-471-98729-8 (pbk) $17.99.

Detecting Lies and Deceit: The Psychology of Lying and the Implications for Professional Practice. By Vrij, A. Chichester: Wiley, (2000). ISBN 0-471-8516-X (pbk) $24.95.