How to bring about change in the Bangladesh civil service? Attempts to change mindsets,behaviours and practice

This article addresses three critical questions central to many donor funded programmes which seek to enable pro‐poor reform and growth. In the context of Bangladesh, the research asks first, does the civil service has a role in promoting change of this kind? Second, can a senior civil service development programme succeed in creating reform minded civil servants? And, third, if so how might the contribution be made both more substantive and of value? These questions are addressed systematically through a literature review and evidence drawn from Managing at the Top (MATT 2)—a DFID funded programme. Some tentative conclusions are drawn in the final section. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biases in Judging Victims and Suspects Whose Statements Are Inconsistent

In this commentary, we point to similarities in characteristics of suspect and victim/witness statements and the underlying motivations of these individuals. Despite the similarities, there are differences in how such statements are evaluated by fact-finders and investigators. Retractions, for example, cast serious doubt on the credibility of victims/witnesses but appear not to diminish the power of confessions. Investigators need to recognize the wide range of motivations behind statements made to the authorities and be mindful of biased dispositions to doubt victims and believe confessors, especially when their statements are inconsistent or retracted. An investigative process that was entirely transparent would help ensure that inconsistencies and retractions, whether in statements from victims, witnesses, or suspects, are viewed in the context of other statements and eliciting circumstances.     

Neoinstitutionalism: Still no intellectual hegemony?

Despite its greater realism, neoinstitutionalism has not been able to rival neoliberal approaches in the minds of many public‐policy communities. This article suggests four reasons why this is the case: the way that neoliberalism appears to be rooted in the strong paradigms of neoclassical economics, the related simple appeal of marketization as a solution to policy problems, the dominance of short‐term calculation in financial markets as the apparently most successful form of economic activity, and the role of corporate actors as public‐policy insiders. It is argued that an essential solution to the problem is a rapprochement between neoinstitutionalism and neoclassical economics, which is itself not necessarily wedded to neoliberalism.     

Debugging Decomposition Data—Comparative Taphonomic Studies and the Influence of Insects and Carcass Size on Decomposition Rate

Abstract:  Comparison of data from a variety of environments and ambient temperatures has previously been difficult as few studies used standardized measures of time/temperature and decomposition. In this paper, data from previous studies and recent experiments are compared using simple conversions. These conversions allow comparison across multiple environments and experiments for the first time. Plotting decomposition score against logADD allows the exponential progression of decomposition to be expressed as a simple linear equation. Data comparison from many environments and temperatures shows no difference in decomposition progression when measured using Accumulated Degree Days. The major effector of change in rate was insect presence, regardless of depositional environment, species, or season. Body size is significant when carcasses are accessed by insects; when insects are excluded, while bodies are indoors, submerged, or buried, then decomposition progresses at the same rate regardless of body size.     

Do US City Crime Rates Follow a National Trend? The Influence of Nationwide Conditions on Local Crime Patterns

This study considers the degree to which the crime rates of US cities follow a uniform national trend. A nationwide trend has consequences for theories that explain aggregate changes in crime, but how closely subnational units hold to a common time path has received almost no research attention. Using annual panel data, the current study presents analyses that attempt to measure the correspondence between city-level and national-level crime rates. The results of each analysis are consistent with a clear single pattern that operates across the nation’s major urban areas. This supports the idea that a meaningful national trend exists, and it suggests the desirability of continuing efforts to explain it.

Investigating Investigators: How Presentation Order Influences Participant–Investigators’ Interpretations of Eyewitness Identification and Alibi Evidence

Presentation order of ID and Alibi evidence was manipulated for undergraduate participants who conducted a simulated police investigation. Experiment 1 found a recency effect when an eyewitness rejected the investigator’s suspect. Experiment 2 also examined order effects, exploring how participant–investigators evaluated alibi information in addition to eyewitness ID information. When investigators saw the witness identify the suspect but also received a strong alibi for that suspect a recency effect occurred, such that whichever piece of information occurred at the end of the procedure had the strongest impact on investigators. Thus, type of evidence and evidence order both had a dramatic influence on participant–investigators’ decisions.     

Governing Without Law or Governing Without Government? New‐ish Governance and the Legitimacy of the EU

The way the EU is governed and the way such governance is perceived contributes centrally to the legitimacy of the European enterprise. This legitimacy underpins both the acceptance and the effects of EU activity. Legitimacy is a product of the way in which decisions are taken, and the nature and quality of such decisions. Pressures created by concerns about both forms of legitimacy affecting EU decision making partially explain the turn in legal scholarship away from the more traditional preoccupation with the analysis of legislative instruments and case-law, towards a more broadly based conception of governance which involves the examination of a more diverse range of processes and instruments. This article offers an analysis of the parameters of newness in governance. The overall argument is that some of the more innovative governance modes are not so new, whilst more recent and celebrated modes, although displaying elements of newness, are, perhaps, not that innovative. The focus of the new governance in the EU is largely on governing without law, rather than the more radical governing without government; hence the suggestion that we are experiencing only 'new-ish governance'. The article asks whether a limited conception of new governance is inevitable given the legitimacy constraints within which the EU operates, or whether the potential for developing a broader conception of governance, through wider participation and involvement of non-governmental governing capacities, might bolster legitimacy through both better processes and better outcomes.     

Evaluation of Total Nitrite Pattern Visualization as an Improved Method for Gunshot Residue Detection and its Application to Casework Samples

Visualization of nitrite residues is essential in gunshot distance determination. Current protocols for the detection of nitrites include, among other tests, the Modified Griess Test (MGT). This method is limited as nitrite residues are unstable in the environment and limited to partially burned gunpowder. Previous research demonstrated the ability of alkaline hydrolysis to convert nitrates to nitrites, allowing visualization of unburned gunpowder particles using the MGT. This is referred to as Total Nitrite Pattern Visualization (TNV). TNV techniques were modified and a study conducted to streamline the procedure outlined in the literature to maximize the efficacy of the TNV in casework, while reducing the required time from 1 h to 5 min, and enhancing effectiveness on blood‐soiled samples. The TNV method was found to provide significant improvement in the ability to detect significant nitrite residues, without sacrificing efficiency, that would allow for the determination of the muzzle‐to‐target distance.