Of caterpillars and butterflies: The introduction of metamorphosis at the UWA law school

CENTRAL ISSUES IN JURISPRUDENCE: JUSTICE, LAW AND RIGHTS By Nigel E. Simmonds [Sweet and Maxwell, 2002, 2nd ed., 338 pp., £16.95 (paperback)]

JUSTICE, HUMANITY AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER By Ian Ward [Ashgate, 2003, 192 pp., £50 (hardback)]

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF THE EUROPEAN UNION By Sionaidh Douglas Scott [Longman, 2002, xlx + 533 pp., £29.99 (paperback)]

THE ENGLISH LEGAL PROCESS By Terence Ingman [Oxford University Press, 2002, 9th ed., 624 pp., £19.99 (paperback)]

SMITH, BAILEY &; GUNN ON THE MODERN ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM By S. H. Bailey, J. P. L. Ching, M. J. Gunn and D. C. Ormerod [Sweet and Maxwell, 2002, 9th ed., 1,387 pp., £30.00 (paperback)]

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO CIVIL LITIGATION By Robert Hill, Helen Wood and Suzanne Fine [Jordans, 2003, 571 pp., £45 (paperback)]

PARTNERSHIP LAW By G. Morse [Blackstone Press, 2001, 5th ed., 280 pp., £14.95 (paperback)]

EMPLOYMENT LAW By Malcolm Sargeant [Longman, 2003, 2nd ed., 499 pp., £26.99 (paperback)]

THE LAW OF CONTRACT By J. C. Smith [Sweet and Maxwell, 2002, 4th ed., 268 pp., £15.95 (paperback)]

CONTRACT LAW By Catherine Elliott and Frances Quinn [Pearson Education, 2003, 4th ed., 353 pp., £17.99 (paperback)]

AQA LAW IN FOCUS: AS LEVEL By Simon Jackson [Causeway Press, 2003, First impression, 233 pp., £12.95 (paperback)]

TORT LAW By Chris Turner [Hodder and Stoughton, 2003, 1st ed., 232 pp., £13.99 (paperback)]

LOOKING AT CRIMINAL LAW By Chris Turner [Hodder and Stoughton, 2003, 1st ed., 114 pp., £9.99 (paperback)]

CRIMINAL LAW By Alan Reed and Peter Seago [Sweet and Maxwell, 2002, 2nd ed., lvii + 597 pp., £22.95 (paperback)]

CRIMINAL LAW: DOCTRINE AND THEORY By William Wilson [Longman, 2003, 2nd ed., lii + 640 pp., £29.99 (paperback)]

BURGLARY By R. I. Mawby [Willan Publishing, 2001, x + 213 pp., £40.00 (hardback), £16.99 (paperback)]

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY By David Bainbridge [Longman, 2002, 5th ed., 710 pp., £34.99 (paperback)]

PARRY AND CLARK: THE LAW OF SUCCESSION By Roger Kerridge Assisted by A. H. R. Brierley [Sweet and Maxwell, 2002, 11th ed., 671 pp., £29.95 (paperback)]

CONSTRUCTION LAW By John Uff [Sweet and Maxwell, 2002, 8th ed., 536 pp., £23.95 (paperback)]

WATER POLLUTION AND WATER QUALITY LAW By William Howarth and Donald McGillivray [Shaw and Son Publishers, 2001, 1212 pp., £85.00 (hardback)]

PROPERTY LAW By Roger J. Smith [Longman, 2003, 4th ed. lxviii + 617 pp., £29.99 (paperback)]

PROPERTY LAW: CASES AND MATERIALS By Roger J. Smith [Longman, 2003, 2nd ed. lv + 836 pp., £33.99 (paperback)]

HOUSING LAW CASEBOOK By Nic Madge [Legal Action Group, 2003, 3rd ed., 1,139 pp., £39.00 (paperback)]

LEGAL MATERIALS FOR SOCIAL WORKERS By Hugh Brayne and Graeme Broadbent [Oxford University Press, 2002, 522 pp., £24.99 (paperback)]     

Reversing microcrystalline tests--an analytical approach to recycling of microcrystals from drugs of abuse

A combined analysis of microcrystalline tests followed by LC-MS or GC-MS analysis is described. Microcrystalline tests are shown to be non-destructive as addition products formed were easily dissociated after the application of an appropriate solvent. Subsequent analysis of the sample was done to quantify the recovery of the drug. Examples were performed using the date rape drug γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and the synthetic opioid methadone.     

Factor structure and reliability of the childhood trauma questionnaire and prevalence estimates of trauma for male and female street youth

This study examines the psychometric properties of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire short form (CTQ-SF) with street youth who have run away or been expelled from their homes (N = 397). Internal reliability coefficients for the five clinical scales ranged from .65 to .95. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to test the five-factor structure of the scales yielding acceptable fit for the total sample. Additional multigroup analyses were performed to consider items by gender. Results provided only evidence of weak factorial invariance. Constrained models showed invariance in configuration, factor loadings, and factor covariances but failed for equality of intercepts. Mean trauma scores for street youth tended to fall in the moderate to severe range on all abuse/neglect clinical scales. Females reported higher levels of abuse and neglect. Prevalence of child maltreatment of individual forms was very high with 98% of street youth reporting one or more forms; 27.4% of males and 48.9% of females reported all five forms. Results of this study support the viability of the CTQ-SF for screening maltreatment in a highly vulnerable street population. Caution is recommended when comparing prevalence estimates for male and female street youth given the failure of the strong factorial multigroup model.     

Review of analytical techniques for arson residues

Arson is a serious crime that affects society through cost, property damage, and loss of life. It is important that the methods and technologies applied by fire investigators in detection of evidence and subsequent analyses have a high degree of reliability, sensitivity, and be subject to rigorous quality control and assurance. There have been considerable advances in the field of arson investigation since the 1950s. Classification of ignitable liquids has been updated to include many new categories due to developments in the petroleum industry. Techniques such as steam or vacuum distillation and gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detection that may have been considered acceptable--even a benchmark--40 years ago, are nowadays generally disfavored, to the extent that their implementation may almost be considered as ignorance in the field. The advent of readily available mass spectrometric techniques has revolutionized the field of fire debris analysis, increasing the degree of sensitivity and discrimination possible considerably. Multi-dimensional GC--particularly GC x GC--while not yet widely applied, is rapidly gaining recognition as an important technique. This comprehensive review focuses on techniques and practices used in fire investigation, from scene investigation to analysis.     

A COMMENT ON WILLIAM J. HOWE AND HUGH MCISAAC'S ARTICLE “FINDING THE BALANCE” PUBLISHED IN THE JANUARY 2008 ISSUE OF FAMILY COURT REVIEW

This article is a response to an article written by William Howe and Hugh McIsaac that questions their recommendations that court‐based mediation not be used when certain types of persons appear in court. We assert that it will be very difficult for the court to identify these people. Further, we argue that mediation practice has advanced so far that even these persons (those with serious issues of domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health) should be given an opportunity to participate in mediation before being referred to the adversarial court process.