Use of aquatic insects in determining submersion interval

Although its potential is great, the use of aquatic insects in determining submersion intervals at death-scene investigations has not been exploited in the past. Aquatic environments have no known true specific indicator species, as do terrestrial habitats. However, aquatic environmental studies show that organisms may colonize a substrate dependent on factors such as size, position, exposure to current, water temperature, current speed, water depth, the presence of algal communities, or detritus. Certain aquatic insects such as the chironomid midges (Diptera, Chironomidae), and the caddisflies (Trichoptera), are capable of colonizing immersed bodies; and with the known biology of a specific species of insect for a certain geographic area, time intervals of submersion can be established.     

Returning to Delinquency: Factors Effecting the Survivorship of Juvenile Shoplifters

This article examines a program designed to provide a family court with a means of lessening the probability that youths on probation for shoplifting will return to criminal behavior. A single staff member within the family court screened possible participants, all of whom were defined as first-time shoplifting offenders and had been assigned to formal or informal probation. Each individual was invited to participate in a four-hour clinic, during which time the realities and possible consequences of shoplifting were explained. If they were able to successfully complete six months of supervised probation, then only the administrative record remained; the conviction itself was expunged. Over a period of nine months, a total of 154 juveniles were invited; however, only 100 actually took part in all facets of the program. A total of 30 clinic attendees and 14 nonparticipants were excluded from the present analysis, owing to missing data, or the fact that at the time of follow-up, they were legally classified as adults. The prior and subsequent court contacts of 110 subjects are reviewed. While less than 3% of either group had subsequent shoplifting arrests, nearly 26% of the program group and 35% of the nonparticipants were rearrested. Factors associated with long-term success and failure are examined. Possible reasons for these observations are discussed, with specific grounding in the shoplifting literature and the concepts of juvenile diversion and “net-widening.”     

The effects of stealing thunder in criminal and civil trials

The effectiveness of a persuasion technique referred to asstealing thunder was assessed in two simulated jury trials. Stealing thunder is defined as revealing negative information about oneself (or, in a legal setting, one's client) before it is revealed or elicited by another person. In Study 1, 257 college students read or heard one of three versions of a criminal assault trial in which a damaging piece of evidence about the defendant was absent (no thunder), brought up by the prosecutor (thunder), or brought up by the defense attorney and repeated by the prosecutor (stolen thunder). In Study 2, 148 college students heard a civil negligence trial in which damaging evidence about the key plaintiff's witness was absent (no thunder), brought up by the defendant's attorney (thunder), or brought up by the witness himself (stolen thunder). In both studies, stealing thunder significantly reduced the impact of the negative information. A path analysis of the processes underlying the effect suggested that verdicts were affected because of enhanced credibility.Often a difficult decision in opening statements is whether, and if so how, to volunteer weaknesses. This involves determining your weaknesses and predicting whether your opponent intends to use them at trial. There is obviously no point in volunteering a weakness that would never be raised at trial. Where, however, that weakness is apparent and known to the opponent, you should volunteer it. If you don't, your opponent will, with twice the impact. (Mauet, 1992, pp. 47–48)We would like to thank Michelle Cox, Gim Koay, Dana Koay, and Ralph Mueller for their helpful input. Thanks also to Irv Horowitz and Steve Karau for their comments on earlier drafts.     

当前美国保守主义外交的国内根源及其表现

当前美国外交政策表现出明显的保守性,这有它深刻的国内根源,主要是官僚政治因素、地理与人口因素和宗教派别因素。在反恐问题、伊拉克问题、北朝鲜核问题、伊朗核问题和中美贸易等一系列美国外交所面临的现实问题上,保守主义的影响都已得到相当的体现。     

The High Court and Australian Federalism

This article analyzes the constitutional role of the High Courtof Australia during its first hundred years and the effect ofthat role on the Australian federation. The High Court has acceptedas axiomatic that part of its function is the judicial reviewof legislation of both the federal and state legislatures. Itsapproach is relatively modest and "textualist." That approachhas been affected by historical changes, including Australia'sindependence from Great Britain. The decisions of the High Courthave provided a framework for the development of the Australianfederation over the last century in increasing the relativeimportance of the federal government at the cost of the stategovernments. However, those decisions are probably best viewedas reflecting, rather than creating, the changes and developmentsin the federation.     

Hierarchical Cluster Analysis of Ignitable Liquids Based on the Total Ion Spectrum

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) data of ignitable liquids in the Ignitable Liquids Reference Collection (ILRC) database were processed to obtain 445 total ion spectra (TIS), that is, average mass spectra across the chromatographic profile. Hierarchical cluster analysis, an unsupervised learning technique, was applied to find features useful for classification of ignitable liquids. A combination of the correlation distance and average linkage was utilized for grouping ignitable liquids with similar chemical composition. This study evaluated whether hierarchical cluster analysis of the TIS would cluster together ignitable liquids of the same ASTM class assignment, as designated in the ILRC database. The ignitable liquids clustered based on their chemical composition, and the ignitable liquids within each cluster were predominantly from one ASTM E1618‐11 class. These results reinforce use of the TIS as a tool to aid in forensic fire debris analysis.     

Treating alcohol-related violence: a feasibility study of a randomized controlled trial in prisons

Purpose: There is a lack of good-quality outcome evaluations of interventions for offenders whose crimes are alcohol-related. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered gold standard in treatment evaluations. Here, we report on a feasibility study for an RCT of an alcohol-related violence intervention, Control of Violence for Angry, Impulsive Drinkers (COVAID). Method: 115 adult male prisoners were randomly allocated to COVAID plus treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU only. Results: Most participants (84%) found COVAID useful. Reconviction data at six months were accessed for 109 (95%) participants. There were no differences between the two groups on violent reconvictions or all reconvictions at the six-month period, but at 17?months the COVAID group had 13% fewer people reconvicted for violence, and 20% fewer had reconvictions for any offence. Conclusion: The results indicate that an RCT is feasible and provides parameters for designing a full RCT. Differences in reconviction between groups favoured COVAID and were clinically important.