Solving underwater crimes: Development of latent prints made on submerged objects

Underwater crime scenes always present a challenge for forensic researchers, as the destructive effect of water considerably complicates the chances of recovering material of evidential value. The aim of this study is to tackle the problem of developing marks that have been left on submerged objects. Fingermark deposition was randomly made on two surfaces — glass and plastic whilst the material was submerged under tap water and then left for one to fifteen days before drying and development. For their later development, various reagents – Black Powder, Silver Metallic Powder, Fluorescent Powder, Sudan Black (powder and solution) and Small Particle Reagent – were used and the effectiveness of each of them on this particular type of evidence was then evaluated.The results show the possibility of obtaining good quality developed marks, even under such adverse circumstances. Further and wider research should, therefore, be undertaken in which other variables are introduced such as different substrates, other types of liquids, and environmental or time factors.     

Disentangling legislative duration in coalitional presidential systems

ABSTRACT

The speed and actions that bills face in legislatures vary immensely, but we do not have a comprehensive framework to analyse legislative durations. Moreover, the absence of data detailing legislative activities and durations in distinct stages of legislative processes hinders analysis. This article presents a framework for analysing legislative delay in coalitional presidential systems and examines unique data on durations, attributes, and parliamentary activities in legislative processes at the level of individual proposals. The empirical analysis investigates executive proposals considered by the Brazilian Congress and seeks to disentangle when duration means legislative activism, when it is due to political conflict, and when it only represents inertia. Our analysis indicates substantial activities in both content-influencing legislative activism and politically motivated obstructionism. Hence, political conflict is as important a source as policy disagreement in accounting for legislative delay. By examining a hitherto untapped area with rich data, this study opens up new venues for rigorous analyses of legislative durations and gridlock.     

Regulations on the Use of Fish and Wild Meat Segregate the Intrinsically Un-Dissociable for Subsistence Livelihoods in Colombia

Abstract

Wild animals have a special importance in Colombian rural contexts, where access to other sources of protein is limited. In rural communities, fishing and hunting provide food and generate income for household subsistence. In general, an important portion of the animals harvested is consumed within the family, and the remaining surplus is traded to acquire other subsistence foods and goods. Under the Colombian legal framework, harvesting animals from the wild (fishing and hunting) for subsistence purposes is allowed without restrictions on harvested amounts, if limited to family consumption. However, the trade of wild fish and wild meat, even in small amounts, is subject to a license, permit, or authorization. Regulations for the commercial use of wild fish, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, are clear and simple to comply with. On the other hand, the commercial use of wild meat, regulated under the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, remains illegal in practice, due to the complex requirements and the caveats in the regulatory framework. The reasons for these differences in the legal requirements to obtain a commercial permit for wild fish and wild meat are based on institutional differences and not on the sustainability of the practice. Considering the relevance of both hunting and fishing for rural livelihoods, it is important to question whether the current legal framework offers guarantees for the sustainable use of these resources in the future. Our analysis shows that the contrasting regulatory approaches between fish and wild meat use, as well as the discrepancies in the arguments to justify commercial fishing while prohibiting wild meat trade, have concrete consequences for local livelihoods. Moreover, instead of guaranteeing sustainability, bans on wild meat trade lead to more underground distribution channels and, potentially, also to increased pressure on fish stocks. Integrated management options need to be encouraged at the local level and promoted through integrated policy and regulatory frameworks for both resources and their habitats. Improved valuation and monitoring systems for subsistence and small-scale fish and wildmeat trade should also be integrated in the regulatory system to ensure sustainability for the future.     

Is E-Government Promoting Convergence Towards More Accountable Local Governments?

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes how extensively European Union local governments are using their websites to disseminate financial information in order to evaluate whether electronic-government (e-government) is promoting convergence towards more accountable local governments. We also posit and test various hypotheses about the influence of internal and contextual factors on Internet financial reporting (IFR) practices. Results show that the public administration style, the size of the city, and the audit of financial information by private firms are significant explanatory factors of IFR practices. Our findings also suggest that multilateral organizations are overly optimistic about the possible convergence in transparency and financial accountability through the use of common modes of IFR. That is, the introduction of information and communication technologies without the corresponding institutional reform is leading to limited success of IFR.     

Economic voting in Hungary, 1998–2008

This study investigates retrospective voting and issue voting, and their change over time in a transitioning country. Sociotropic, as well as egocentric economic evaluations, and policy issues of parties are expected to play an increasing role in party preferences of citizens over time. Data consist of 41 Hungarian cross-sectional surveys, between 1998 and 2008. Results of conditional logistic regression models reveal that voters reward incumbent parties when they see improvements in their personal or the national economic situation, and punish them if the economy deteriorates. Distance from a given party on the left–right scale also decreases the chance of voting for that party. Voting behavior is changing during transition. The evaluations of the national economy and personal situation have an increasing impact on party preferences over time. We found educational heterogeneity in the extent of economic voting.     

Anti‐colonial Chicana feminism

Abstract

During the 1980s and 1990s, a critical mass of Chicana feminist scholars established a space and a voice to express an identity of opposition. This paper is an overview of Chicana Studies writings since 1991, emphasizing the pain, recovery, and celebration expressed by Chicana writers. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, I discuss the anti‐patriarchal, anti‐colonial challenges posed by Chicana theorists and feminists. I also confront the impacts of “internalized colonialism” that influence relations among Chicanas. Finally, I pose questions about the future writing agendas of Chicana feminists. An examination of Chicana feminist writings reveals the anti‐colonial features of her process of recovery and survival. The greatest potential value of Chicana feminist writing, especially certain lesbian writing, is “speaking secrets” to challenge the structure of power, the colonial patriarchy, and our participation in perpetuating it. The “collective good” continues as a dream and as a goal for the anti‐colonial Chicana feminist.     

Characterising Electoral Systems: An Empirical Application of Aggregated Threshold Functions

This article proposes a new way to measure proportionality using aggregated threshold functions. Electoral systems can be summarised by a single value that shows the necessary share of the total vote to win either one seat or half of the seats in parliament. The article calculates aggregate threshold values for 142 different electoral systems that were used in 525 democratic elections between 1946 and 2000. These results are also contrasted with the most commonly used indices of proportionality and turn out to be both substantively and empirically richer. Aggregated threshold functions provide both students and reformers of electoral systems with a measure based purely on institutional variables that offers an exhaustive summary of the functioning of many electoral systems.     

European Regional Policy and Backward Regions: Implications Towards EU Enlargement

In this paper we show that the success of the EU Regional Policy, in terms of boosting growth in objective 1 regions, will mean a big opportunity for Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) and hence the increases in competition arising from an enlarged European market combined with a suitable regional development policy should in the future boost the growth of those countries. In the last part of the paper we made a simulation for the funding envelope from 2007, based on the 2000–2006 budget. We show that the figures of the Agenda 2000 provide enough financial support for 90% of the total CEEC population and for 75% of current objective 1 population.     

That’s One Heck of an “Unruly Horse” Riding Roughshod overr Autonomy in Wrongful Conception

The case of Rees v. Darlington Memorial Hospital N.H.S. Trustarises from a lower court backlash against the a prior decision of the British House of Lords in McFarlane v. Tayside Health Board. McFarlane holding that healthy children brought about by negligence in family planning procedures are blessings, and parents should therefore be denied the costs of child maintenance. But, would the House agree with the Court of Appeal in Reesthat the factual variation in that case of a disabled parent with a healthy child should form an exception? In tracing the appeal of Reesto the House of Lords, this note explores their Lordships’ refusal in principle to depart from McFarlane, as well as the invocation of an autonomy-based approach to address the harm of unsolicited parenthood. In reflecting on the extent to which the wrongful conception action can be said to reinforce the value of reproductive autonomy, this note argues, nevertheless, that Reesillustrates in another way a significant departure from McFarlane, but that this is still a turn in the wrong direction. Far from resonating with women’s diverse experiences of reproduction, the law of negligence continues to illustrate little respect for reproductive choice. Therefore, this note calls for a deeper understanding of autonomy, one that recognises and embraces the diversity of individuals’ reproductive lives.