Skeletal Trauma Resulting From Fatal Low (≤3 m) Free Falls: An Analysis of Fracture Patterns and Morphologies

The skeletal trauma resulting from fatal low (≤3 m) free falls is poorly researched and understood by forensic practitioners. The aim of this study was to identify the types of skeletal trauma resulting from low falls through investigating fracture patterns and morphologies. Skeletal trauma was analyzed using full‐body postmortem computed tomography scans of 145 individuals who died from a low free fall. Trauma was then contextualized to the variables that influence how a person falls using multiple logistic regression. Results showed fracture patterning primarily involved the axial skeleton and that there were a number of patterns significantly associated with the height fallen, pre‐existing health conditions, and age. Analysis of fracture morphologies showed 108 possible fracture types, six of which were significantly associated with the height fallen. Understanding the skeletal trauma characteristic of low free falls will further inform anthropological interpretations of trauma in cases where a fall may be considered the possible mechanism.     

The Concealed Information Test is Susceptible to Misleading Information

An approach toward detecting hidden knowledge is the Concealed Information Test (CIT). It relies on the memory of crime‐relevant information. This study investigated whether its validity is susceptible to memory distortion by misleading information. A misleading information paradigm was employed to distort memory prior to an interrogation with a CIT. Forty‐one participants watched a video with specific crime‐related information. After a 1‐week retention interval, misleading information was introduced. Afterward, a CIT was performed, followed by a threefold memory test. When misleading information was presented, memory performance was reduced, and no physiological response differences between crime‐relevant and crime‐irrelevant information were found. Without presenting misleading information, physiological responses differed between responses to crime‐relevant and crime‐irrelevant information. However, responses in all physiological measures also differed between misleading and irrelevant information. The results indicate that the CIT is susceptible to misleading information, which reduces its validity in specific constellations.     

Testing the Use of Pigs as Human Proxies in Decomposition Studies

Pigs are a common human analogue in taphonomic study, yet data comparing the trajectory of decomposition between the two groups are lacking. This study compared decomposition rate and gross tissue change in 17 pigs and 22 human remains placed in the Forensic Investigation Research Station in western Colorado between 2012 and 2015. Accumulated degree days (ADD) were used to assess the number of thermal units required to reach a given total body score (TBS) (1) which was used as the measure of decomposition. A comparison of slopes in linear mixed effects model indicated that decomposition rates significantly differed between human donors and pig remains χ²₍₁₎ = 5.662, p = 0.017. Neither the pig nor the human trajectory compared well to the TBS model. Thus, (i) pigs are not an adequate proxy for human decomposition studies, and (ii) in the semiarid environment of western Colorado, there is a need to develop a regional decomposition model.     

NEW FORMS OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW IN THE AGE OF THIRD‐PARTY GOVERNMENT

This article explores the democratic values underlying public services when they are outsourced. Building on Rosenbloom and Piotrowski's (2005a, 2005b) framework, we examine whether and how administrative law norms – that serve as central democratic governance and accountability mechanisms in the administrative state – are extended to the new (private) frontline service providers. Through a study of the regulation of the privatized welfare‐to‐work programme in Wisconsin, we find that new forms of administrative law are evolving in third‐party government. These forms differ from administrative law as it usually applies to public agencies in several important aspects. The findings highlight the active role of legislative and administrative mechanisms in the promotion of these new forms of administrative law; and they shed light on the transformations that administrative law norms undergo in the age of third‐party government.     

A Fatal Shot with a Signal Flare—A Crime Reconstruction*

Abstract: A reconstruction of an incident of a fatal wounding of a football fan with a parachute flare was performed. Physical and chemical examinations of the victim’s trousers and parts of a flare removed from the wound in his leg were performed by means of an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope coupled with an energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometer. Signs of burning were seen on the front upper part of the trousers, including a 35–40 mm circular hole with melted and charred edges. Postblast residue present on the surface of the trousers contained strontium, magnesium, potassium, and chlorine. Also the case files—the medical reports and the witnesses’ testimonies—were thoroughly studied. It has been found that the evidence collected in the case supported the version of the victim being shot by another person from a distance.     

The Role of Forensic Anthropology in the Examination of the Daegu Subway Disaster (2003, Korea)*

Abstract: Meticulous recovery of victims in the Daegu subway disaster was possible, because charred and fragmented victims were left in situ. Because bodies were piled one over another within the train, appropriate methodology during the recovery was critical to identifying the victims. The disaster area was thoroughly documented with notes, photographs, and schematic drawings of the various locations. The recovery team, comprising two medical examiners and one forensic anthropologist, decided when charred body parts and cremated bones were linked to the same individual based on the anatomy and forensic anthropological examination. Without these recovery procedures, it would not have been possible to efficiently harvest representative DNA sample from most of the victims’ body parts. After the entire process of identification, 136 victims were positively identified, and six victims remained unidentified. This study supports the crucial role of forensic anthropologists in the recovery of victims, especially in fire scenes.     

Microscopic Age Estimation from the Anterior Cortex of the Femur in Korean Adults*

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop age‐predicting equations from the anterior cortex of the femur of Korean adults. Seventy‐two femoral samples (44 male and 28 female) were obtained from Korean cadavers and used to develop the equations. The thin sections (<100‐μm thick) were prepared by manual grinding; the sections were not decalcified and were stained with Villanueva bone stain reagent. Analysis of covariance showed no significant differences in age‐adjusted histomorphological variables between sexes. In stepwise regression analysis, osteon population density, average osteon area, and the most anterior cortical width were selected for an age‐predicting equation which produced a high regression correlation (R² = 0.789). The average Haversian canal area was not significantly related to age for any specimen.     

A CASE OF PARTIAL CONVERGENCE: THE EUROPEANIZATION OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

This article compares the Europeanization of central government in four Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs): Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Slovakia. Using a large N survey of ministerial civil servants, it finds that the Europeanization of central government is characterized by partial convergence. The scope of Europeanization is large and similar among CEECs, reaching widely and deeply into government ministries. Moreover, patterns of Europeanization are similar among CEECs: the same ministries form the ‘inner core’ and ‘outer circle’ of Europeanized ministries; only a small proportion of civil servants work full‐time on EU issues and routinely engage in activities that ‘project’ national policies at EU level. Compared to old member states, patterns of Europeanization show signs of convergence, while the scope of Europeanization is larger in CEECs.     

“We don’t want to hear about discrimination”: Evidence slippage and evidence invention in the politics of foreign credential recognition in Canada

This article investigates how Canadian politicians engaged with evidence on foreign credential recognition in 2009. We find that some evidence receives decreasing attention over time, that some politicians bring forward explanations that have nothing to do with the evidence, and that most politicians hold the same position before and after the process of evidence‐gathering. These findings cast doubt on the extent to which politicians use evidence to inform their position on immigration‐related issues, even when they explicitly solicit it.     

Constraining Executive Action: The Role of Legislator Professionalization in Latin America

What explains the failure of legislatures with strong constitutionally endowed powers to exert themselves over the executive in practice? We examine the role of legislator professionalization in strengthening the legislature's ability to constrain executive action, conceptualizing legislator professionalization as prior legislative experience and prior professional work experience. We argue that more professionalized legislators, through the skill and knowledge they bring to the policymaking process from prior experience, will be better equipped to challenge executive authority. In a sample of four Latin American countries from 1990 through 2010, we find that legislatures are more likely to curb executive decree issuance when individual legislators are strongly professionalized, controlling for constitutional powers and several other partisan and political factors. Our findings suggest that legislatures composed of more professionalized legislators can constrain executive action, especially in the context of a unified political opposition in the legislature.