Blood-spatter patterns: hands hold clues for the forensic reconstruction of the sequence of events

Biologic and nonbiologic traces on the hands are of particular importance for the forensic reconstruction of shooting incidents; gunpowder residue analysis in particular helps determine whether the gunshot is close range or distant. In crime scene investigation, knowledge about the morphology of bloodstain patterns-including gunshot-related back spatter-has increased since various experimental examinations have been performed in the last years; nowadays, these traces are frequently used for forensic crime scene reconstruction. The goal of this study was to deduce the position and orientation of the hands, and therefore the firearm, according to the bloodstain patterns on the hands of the deceased. For this purpose blood-spatter stains on the hands were examined on site in 5 suicides caused by gunshot. In all cases, forensically relevant conclusions regarding forensic reconstruction were enabled through close examination of the spatter marks. Therefore, in shooting incidents, analysis and documentation of blood-spatter findings on the hands is recommended before hands are tested for gunpowder residue or wrapped for the transport of the body.     

Is the Left-Right Scale a Valid Measure of Ideology?

In order to measure ideology, political scientists heavily rely on the so-called left-right scale. Left and right are, however, abstract political concepts and may trigger different associations among respondents. If these associations vary systematically with other variables this may induce bias in the empirical study of ideology. We illustrate this problem using a unique survey that asked respondents open-ended questions regarding the meanings they attribute to the concepts “left” and “right”. We assess and categorize this textual data using topic modeling techniques. Our analysis shows that variation in respondents’ associations is systematically related to their self-placement on the left-right scale and also to variables such as education and respondents’ cultural background (East vs. West Germany). Our findings indicate that the interpersonal comparability of the left-right scale across individuals is impaired. More generally, our study suggests that we need more research on how respondents interpret various abstract concepts that we regularly use in survey questions.     

Filling the gap? An analysis of non-governmental organizations responses to participation and representation deficits in global climate governance

The involvement of civil society actors such as NGOs is often presented as one possible remedy to shortcomings in the democratic legitimacy and accountability of institutions of earth system governance. This article uses the case of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to show how its constituency of environmental and development NGOs has responded to perceived representation and participation deficits in global climate policy-making. It discusses three types of NGO responses, which could potentially help to bring the voices of affected but marginalized communities to the relevant levels of climate policy-making: firstly, NGO proposals designed to remedy representation inequities among governments; secondly, NGO demands for strengthening opportunities for participation by societal stakeholders at all levels of climate policy-making; and finally, representative practices (based on authorization and accountability) reflected in the NGOs’ own decision-making processes and governance structures. With regard to the first two types of responses, the article finds that the NGOs tend to support broadly similar standards of participation and representation in the climate convention. The analysis of the decision-making processes and governance structure of the Climate Action Network, the constituency focal point for the environment and development NGOs in the climate convention, highlights a number of ways through which the network can legitimately claim to represent a wider constituency. At the same time, however, it is important for NGOs not to underestimate the potential costs of high standards of inclusiveness and representativeness.     

Pushing Dualisms and Differences: From ‘Equality versus Difference’ to ‘Nonmimetic Sharing’ and ‘Staying with the Trouble’

Abstract

Critically revisiting the ‘equality versus difference’ dualism that is inscribed in the feminist canon of the last decades is an important task for feminist ethico-political discussions today. The theoretico-political tension between claims of equality and difference still troubles feminist discussions and thus needs to be addressed by contemporary research. Yet, moving beyond the persisting antagonism cannot be done by either moving outside the problematic relation or by choosing one term over the other. It is, as Joan W. Scott noted, impossible to choose between equality and difference, so that other ways of tackling the problem are needed. This article suggests a new line of flight for feminist politics in respect to this founding paradox from a feminist new materialist/posthuman(ist) perspective. Via an affirmative reading of Irigaray's cosmopolitical concern of Sharing the World (2008) and a critical investigation into the structuring ‘anthropological limit’ (Derrida) of her sexual difference thinking, the author pushes the dualistic framework of equality versus difference towards a thought of ‘nonmimetic sharing’ and ‘staying with the trouble’. In her argument, she turns to the differential worldings of Grosz's ‘differing’, Barad's ‘quantum’ and Haraway's ‘terran’ in order to open up ethico-political alternatives to engage difference(s) differently. The article ultimately argues that by affirming all multifaceted (im)material worlding entanglements, significant new insights can be gained for both theorizing differentiality as ethico-onto-epistemological ‘becoming-with’ and for practising this world of/as difference(s) in a more ‘response-able’ manner.     

The Case for a Participation Income: Acknowledging and Valuing the Diversity of Social Participation

Anthony Atkinson's idea of a participation income draws attention to the various ways in which people contribute to society. Current discussions on social participation go beyond paid work to include volunteering, education, and caregiving to kin. With the idea of the participation income, various forms of contribution can be highlighted and acknowledged. This article investigates how the idea of a participation income is reflected in Danish, Finnish, German and Dutch social policies. It shows that different elements of a participation income are incorporated in active labour market policies: Denmark adopted a narrow focus on paid work; Finland seeks tailor‐made solutions for the long‐term unemployed; Germany reformed many policy areas to achieve a better activation; and the Netherlands acknowledges a wide range of social participation forms. These country differences highlight that governments can adapt the idea of a participation income to achieve the focus they desire.     

Individual Differences and Political Contexts –The Role of Personality Traits and Direct Democracy in Explaining Political Protest

Building on a growing literature concerned with the link between psychological dispositions and political protest behavior, we argue that this relationship is not universal, but rather depends on contextual factors. Political context factors are able to alter the meaning and understanding of participatory repertoires. This, in turn, leads to differential effects of personality on participation. We argue that direct democracy constitutes such a political context that can act as moderating factor with regard to protest participation. In order to test this interaction between person and situation empirically, we conduct a subnational comparative analysis of the Swiss cantons. Hierarchical regression models reveal that the personality traits openness to experience and extraversion affect protest behavior directly. Most importantly, however, the link between openness to experience and protest participation is significantly moderated by direct democracy. This provides evidence for variance in the situational expression of personality traits.     

Virtopsy,a new imaging horizon in forensic pathology: virtual autopsy by postmortem multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)--a feasibility study

Using postmortem multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 40 forensic cases were examined and findings were verified by subsequent autopsy. Results were classified as follows: (I) cause of death, (II) relevant traumatological and pathological findings, (III) vital reactions, (IV) reconstruction of injuries, (V) visualization. In these 40 forensic cases, 47 partly combined causes of death were diagnosed at autopsy, 26 (55%) causes of death were found independently using only radiological image data. Radiology was superior to autopsy in revealing certain cases of cranial, skeletal, or tissue trauma. Some forensic vital reactions were diagnosed equally well or better using MSCT/MRI. Radiological imaging techniques are particularly beneficial for reconstruction and visualization of forensic cases, including the opportunity to use the data for expert witness reports, teaching, quality control, and telemedical consultation. These preliminary results, based on the concept of "virtopsy," are promising enough to introduce and evaluate these radiological techniques in forensic medicine.