Latent fingermark pore area reproducibility

The study of the reproducibility of friction ridge pore detail in fingermarks is a measure of their usefulness in personal identification. Pore area in latent prints developed using cyanoacrylate and ninhydrin were examined and measured by photomicrography using appropriate software tools. The data were analysed statistically and the results showed that pore area is not reproducible in developed latent prints, using either of the development techniques. The results add further support to the lack of reliability of pore area in personal identification.     

Contracting Public Sector Services: A Meta-Analytic Perspective of the International Evidence

The performance framework adopted for this review includes five dimensions — economic, social, democratic, legal and political issues. This article presents summary findings from a statistical (meta-analytic) review of the performance measurements found in the available international literature on privatisation and contracting-out government services… This enables an assessment to be made of the extent to which reform objectives appear to have been achieved in practice. The article discusses the gains which result from contracting reforms, and the extent to which these gains accrue to various stakeholders — whether community, customers, the organisation or government.     

Suppressing Vote-Buying: the ‘War’ on Electoral Bribery from 1868

Electoral bribery is an ancient phenomenon, but its manifestations and pathologies can only be understood in the context of particular electoral norms and political practices. The spark for electoral bribery in the Westminster tradition was the shift from parliamentary service as a duty to a privilege, whilst its paradigm forms of treating and crude vote-buying are traceable to a shift from buying a seat to buying the voters. The gradual move from cultural acceptance to legislative and ethical condemnation of electoral bribery is attributable to a concern with the rising cost of elections and developing notions of fair electoral competition. This article focuses on the seminal period in the ‘war’ on electoral bribery from 1868 to the early twentieth century, giving a taxonomy of the various forms of bribery and judicial responses to them, as well as an explanation of the role played by statutory developments. The ultimate success of this war on corruption is shown to lie in a confluence of politico-legal techniques – election courts, tighter legislation, the secret ballot and the mass franchise – and institutional developments, in particular the rise of centralised, professional parties.     

A preliminary investigation into the use of testate amoebae for the discrimination of forensic soil samples

We present the results of an initial investigation into the efficacy of using testate amoebae for the discrimination of soils from wet ground and puddles, as little attention has been given to these organisms in forensic science. The preservation of testate amoebae in these sediments is generally good, although test concentrations are low. Statistical analysis suggests that testate amoebae assemblages are somewhat spatially distinct and have potential to be used for soil discrimination. A case study is presented where mineralogical (X-ray diffraction) and testate amoebae analyses are used in conjunction to clarify the scene of crime in a ‘cold case’ murder enquiry. Testate amoebae were recovered from dried sediment residues on clothing 10 years after the murder. Despite these promising results, further experimental work is crucial to examine the spatial and temporal variation of amoebae assemblages in water films, wet ground and puddles before they can be added to the armoury of methods available to the forensic biologist.