Ingredients of institutional reputations and citizen engagement with regulators

The purpose of this study is to examine the link between the reputational components of efficacy and moral reliability of institutions, and citizens' compliance with institutional recommendations. Research on bureaucratic reputations highlights the significance of positive political reputations based on credibility and legitimacy, but the impact of these components is not systematically isolated and studied. We draw insights from political psychology to move beyond a positive‐negative valence‐based approach of reputation, and highlight the different effect of efficacy and moral reliability components of reputation on citizens' cooperation, engagement in water saving activities, and levels of complaints. We use the Cypriot Water Authority as a case study and inquire how its institutional reputation influences Cypriot citizens' behavior regarding water use. Our data was collected via a representative national survey administered to a random sample of 800 Cypriots in the spring of 2009 and show that favorable perceptions of particular components of institutional reputation shape the levels of satisfaction with specific organizational outputs.     

Presidentas Rise: Consequences for Women in Cabinets?

Since 1999, women have democratically won the presidency eight times in Latin America and have named hundreds of ministers. This study argues that under certain conditions, presidentas are more likely than male presidents to improve women's cabinet representation. Two mechanisms, presidenta mandates and gendered networks, appear to drive the relationship. Furthermore, because the pool of ministerial candidates is shallower for women than for men, presidentas are most likely to advance women's representation in cabinets at the beginning of their term and for “feminine” ministries. A case study of Michelle Bachelet's 2006 ministerial appointments reveals initial evidence for the argument. Empirical implications are then tested with an original dataset of 1,908 ministers of all democratically elected Latin American presidents since 1999. Model results are consistent with the theory that presidentas are most likely to “make a difference” when they are least constrained by the supply of female ministerial candidates.     

TOF‐SIMS Analysis of Red Color Inks of Writing and Printing Tools on Questioned Documents

Time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF‐SIMS) is a well‐established surface technique that provides both elemental and molecular information from several monolayers of a sample surface while also allowing depth profiling or image mapping to be performed. Static TOF‐SIMS with improved performances has expanded the application of TOF‐SIMS to the study of a variety of organic, polymeric, biological, archaeological, and forensic materials. In forensic investigation, the use of a minimal sample for the analysis is preferable. Although the TOF‐SIMS technique is destructive, the probing beams have microsized diameters so that only small portion of the questioned sample is necessary for the analysis, leaving the rest available for other analyses. In this study, TOF‐SIMS and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR‐FTIR) were applied to the analysis of several different pen inks, red sealing inks, and printed patterns on paper. The overlapping areas of ballpoint pen writing, red seal stamping, and laser printing in a document were investigated to identify the sequence of recording. The sequence relations for various cases were determined from the TOF‐SIMS mapping image and the depth profile. TOF‐SIMS images were also used to investigate numbers or characters altered with two different red pens. TOF‐SIMS was successfully used to determine the sequence of intersecting lines and the forged numbers on the paper.     

Fatal Intoxication with Toluene Due to Inhalation of Glue

Two cases of fatal intoxications with toluene due to glue sniffing are described. In case 1, the autopsy did not indicate cause of death, while in case 2, the cause of death was determined to possibly be due to mechanical asphyxia by drowning. As the decedents had a history of glue sniffing, toxicological analyses were performed. Using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with headspace method, toluene was detected in biological samples. Toluene ranged from 3.81 to 20.97 μg/g, with the highest concentrations observed in liver and brain (13.82–20.97 μg/g) in both cases. Based upon this data, the cause of death in both cases was determined to be toluene poisoning. Toxicological investigations are extremely important and should be considered mandatory in all deaths thought to be due to volatile substance abuse, as well as all deaths that are thought to be due to poisoning in young people.     

Blow Flies from Forest Fragments Embedded in Different Land Uses: Implications for Selecting Indicators in Forensic Entomology

Given the general expectation that forest loss can alter biodiversity patterns, we hypothesize that blow fly species abundances differ in a gradient of native vegetation cover. This study was conducted in 17 fragments across different landscapes in central Brazil. Different land cover type proportions were used to represent landscape structure. In total, 2334 specimens of nine species of Calliphoridae were collected. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to reduce dimensionality and multicollinearity of the landscape data. The first component explained 70%, and it represented a gradient of forest‐pasture land uses. Alien species showed a wide distribution in different fragments with no clear relationship between the abundance values and the scores of PCA axes, whereas native species occurred only in areas with a predominance of forest cover. Our study revealed that certain native species may be sensitive to forest loss at the landscape scale, and they represent a bioindicator in forensic entomology.     

Temperature‐Dependent Postmortem Changes in Human Cardiac Troponin‐T (cTnT): An Approach in Estimation of Time Since Death

Estimation of time of death is an indispensible requirement of every medico‐legal autopsy, but unfortunately, there is not a single method by which it could be determined accurately. This study focused on the temperature‐dependent postmortem degradation of cardiac troponin‐T and its association with postmortem interval (PMI) in human. The analysis involved extraction of the protein, separation by denaturing gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE), and visualization by Western blot using cTnT‐specific monoclonal antibodies. The area of the bands within a lane was quantified by scanning and digitizing the image using Gel Doc (Universal Hood). The results indicate a characteristic banding pattern among human cadavers (n = 6) and a pseudo‐linear relationship between percentage of cTnT degradation and the log of the time since death (r > 0.95), which can be used to estimate the postmortem interval. The data presented demonstrate that this technique can provide an extended time range during which PMI can be more accurately estimated.     

Is the Expert Admissibility Game Fixed?: Judicial Gatekeeping of Fire and Arson Evidence

Anecdotal evidence claims that in criminal cases, trial judges admit the prosecution's expert witnesses more readily than the defendants', and in civil cases the reverse is true; judges exclude plaintiffs' experts more often than civil defendants' experts. This occurs despite the fact that, with few exceptions, the same rules of admissibility apply to all parties and, in most jurisdictions, across criminal and civil cases. This article empirically tests this differential by reviewing judicial decisions to admit or exclude evidence holding the type of expert testimony constant, fire and arson evidence, across criminal and civil cases in the United States. The study examines the admissibility of fire and arson investigation experts in criminal and civil cases across all legal parties in fifty‐seven federal and state opinions in the United States. The findings offer empirical support of a bias in criminal cases and in civil cases which present expert witnesses at trial, and is less pronounced, but still evident, on appeal. Specifically, the role of the party that offers the evidence has a profound effect on whether arson evidence is admitted, even when factors around the judge's political affiliation, attorney experience, expert qualifications, and rules of evidence are taken into account.     

Improving Luminol Blood Detection in Forensics

The aim of this study was to develop chemical improvements to the original Weber protocol, in order to increase the intensity and time length of light emission and to eliminate false‐positive reactions. The intensity and duration of light were measured on serial blood dilutions using a plate reader chemiluminometer. Blood stains of various concentrations were impregnated in pure cellulose, dried, and luminol solution was added with/without the potential enhancers. An in silico study was also conducted, aiming to demonstrate the enhancing mechanism of hemoglobin denaturation using 8 M urea. The luminol blood detection test revealed important improvements after urea pretreatment or in the presence of monochloro‐triazinyl‐β‐cyclodextrin. This approach also eliminated the false‐positive reaction from sodium hypochlorite. These improvements could provide a higher sensitivity under particular circumstances such as old or washed blood stains, leading to a better localization for further DNA typing and higher quality photographic analysis.     

Brexit,Article 50 and the Contested British Constitution

This article discusses the early stages of the Art 50 TEU process, and those aspects that relate most clearly to British constitutional law. Its overarching theme is that the Brexit process is rendered highly problematic by the lack of any coherent conception of the British Constitution. Different parties settle on interpretations of constitutional law that support their case, but often there is no determinative answer. Three broad issues are examined in order to substantiate this claim: the EU Referendum, the triggering of Article 50, and the Devolution aspect of Brexit. I argue that each of these issues reveals tensions and competing constitutional interpretations that suggest that the British Constitution is ill‐equipped to deal with Brexit.