Analysis with the Combur-Test--special aspects in forensic trace examination

The Combur Test is a ready-made and easy-to-use pretest for blood. It is based on the oxidation of tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), which is catalysed by haemoglobin and its derivatives. Despite its high sensitivity, there are many known substances which are responsible for false positive and false negative test results. On the basis of experiments of our own, case reports and the pertinent literature special aspects of the application of the Combur Test in the forensic routine case work are discussed.     

Low Self-Control, Deviant Peer Associations, and Juvenile Cyberdeviance

Gottfredson and Hirschi??s (1990) general theory of crime and Akers?? (1998) social learning theory have received strong empirical support for explaining crime in both the physical and cyberworlds. Most of the studies examining cybercrime, however, have only used college samples. In addition, the evidence on the interaction between low self-control and deviant peer associations is mixed. Therefore, this study examined whether low self-control and deviant peer associations explained various forms of cyberdeviance in a youth sample. We also tested whether associating with deviant peers mediated the effect of low self-control on cyberdeviance as well as whether it conditioned the effect. Low self-control and deviant peer associations were found to be related to cyberdeviance in general, as well as piracy, harassment, online pornography, and hacking specifically. Deviant peer associations both mediated and exacerbated the effect of low self-control on general cyberdeviance, though these interactions were not found for the five cyberdeviant types examined.     

Drawing the Necessary Line: A Review of Dating Domestic Violence Statutes around the United States

Orders of protection help combat dating violence by ensuring a period of separation between the victim and the abuser. The prevalence of dating violence is similar to that of spousal abuse and the effects on the nonmarried victims are just as severe. Some jurisdictions in the United States do not offer victims in dating relationships protective orders and two states restrict orders for same‐sex couples only. Other state statutes are inadequate. A uniform statute that permits participants in dating relationships access to protective orders should be implemented across the country.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• See and understand the changes in dating domestic violence statutes
• Up to date as of 2011 with 2012 amendments to state statutes

     

26-Locus Y-STR typing in a Bhutanese population sample

26 Y chromosome short tandem repeat (STR) loci were amplified in a sample of 856 unrelated males from Bhutan, using two multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. The first multiplex is the Y-STR 20plex described by Butler et al. [J.M. Butler, R. Schoske, P.M. Vallone, M.C. Kline, A.J. Redd, M.F. Hammer, A novel multiplex for simultaneous amplification of 20 Y chromosome STR markers, Forensic Sci. Int. 129 (2002) 10-24], and the second is a novel (but overlapping) 14plex that targets six additional Y-STRs (DYS425, DYS434, DYS435, DYS436, DYS461, DYS462) and also amplifies the amelogenin locus. The 26-loci give a discriminating power of 0.9957, though even at this resolution one haplotype occurs 24 times. We identify novel alleles at five loci and microvariants at a further three, which were characterised by sequencing. Extended (11-locus) haplotypes for these samples have been submitted to the Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD).     

Technological intensity in manufacturing trade between ASEAN and the EU: challenges and opportunities

Asia Europe Journal - This article analyses trade flows EU-ASEAN, focusing on export performance and technological intensity, covering the years 2004–2016. The aim of this paper is to analyse...     

Jurisdictional games and decision making: The Belgian approach in dealing with migrant smuggling

The article presents a case study focusing on the Belgian approach to deal with migrant smuggling and more broadly on the governance of migrants in transit on its territory. Drawing from the literature on jurisdiction and scales and combining it with the scholarship on bureaucrats' decision making, the article sheds light on the messy dynamics and realities of legal governance of migrants transiting through Belgium in their journey to the United Kingdom. By focusing on the multilayered nature of the issue, the distinct legal regimes and the various actors involved, the article argues that the jurisdictional separation of the realms of criminal and administrative law enables a decision to mobilize a set of law over or in combination with another. The article explores the situation at the local and national scales and, as jurisdictions overlap and competences are scattered between distinct entities and actors, specific attention is paid to “passing the buck” behaviors and discourses which have substantial consequences for the situation of migrants in transit in Belgium.     

Reflective and decisive supervision: The role of participative leadership and team climate in joint decision-making

Supervisory bodies can intervene in organizational practices that may harm society, but their effectiveness to do so depends on their ability to make decisions reflectively and decisively. Are these tendencies incompatible with each other or can they go together? Can empowering leadership (i.e. participative, coaching, informing behaviors) stimulate reflectiveness and decisiveness? A 10-item Joint Decision-Making Questionnaire was developed and tested among supervisory officers (N = 87) and supervisory board members (N = 158). Reflectiveness and decisiveness were positively correlated, indicating that these tendencies can be reconciled in joint decision-making (Study 1). An examination of 44 supervisory teams further revealed that participative leadership relates to more reflectiveness and decisiveness, via cooperative trust and goal commitment (Study 2). Moreover, teams that experienced this team climate prior to COVID-19 reported that they acted more reflectively and decisively during this crisis (Study 3). Hence, participative leaders can foster reflectiveness and decisiveness, by promoting cooperative trust and goal commitment.     

The Geopolitical Imaginary of the Brazilian Ultra-Right

The strengthening of the ultra-right in the Brazilian political scenario has a certain geopolitical imagination as one of its centres. Its main authors, on the one hand, consider Latin America as something to be avoided, and, on the other hand, value the affinities between Brazil and the United States due to the idea of a mutual belonging to a Christian West. The present article explains the most current assumptions and arguments of this discourse after 2016, based on an analysis of the geopolitical imaginary of the Brazilian ultra-right. The text reconstructs three political languages of the field – the reactionary, the ultraliberal, and the authoritarian conservative, based on the analysis of four intellectual protagonists: Olavo de Carvalho, Ernesto Araújo, Paulo Guedes, and Eduardo Villas Bôas. Finally, we raise some hypotheses about the reasons for the longevity of some fundamental traits of this geopolitical imaginary in the Brazilian scenario.