Recovery of DNA and fingerprints from touched documents

This study investigated the various factors affecting DNA profiling from DNA recovered from fingerprints deposited on paper before and after fingerprint enhancement treatments. The DNeasy^® plant mini kit (QIAGEN^®) was found to improve DNA recovery from paper by over 150% compared with the QIAamp^® mini kit. A significant decrease in the amount of DNA recovered was observed following treatment with DFO and/or Ninhydrin. This decrease in yield did not have a comparably significant effect on the quality of the SGM Plus™ profiles. Furthermore, this study found that whilst certain paper types, such as newspaper, magazine and filter paper allowed for the good recovery of DNA, common office paper and white card, strongly interfered with the recovery of DNA resulting in poor quality profiles.     

What makes good development management?

In a previous paper published in 1996, the author gave two views of development management. One was management in the context of development as historical change. The other was the management of deliberate efforts at progress, of development tasks. This paper adds a third: a style of management with a development orientation, that is, an orientation towards progressive change. It is argued that this third view allows for a normative definition of development management. Thus a distinctive notion of what is good development management is that it should consistently promote the values of development at all levels, even if this is not the most straightforward way of getting particular development tasks done successfully.     

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006: the implications for employers in educational settings

Vetting those who work with children and vulnerable adults is an emotive topic and one which can prove a challenging area for employers. The legitimate interest that parents, carers and employers have in screening those charged with the care of others can be in direct conflict with the most fundamental principles of economic freedom and employees’ human rights. The desire to balance these conflicting objectives is at the heart of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, which introduces what is being heralded as the most inclusive and comprehensive vetting and barring system to date. The changes dramatically widen the scope of workers who are subject to vetting and barring processes, covering employees, volunteers and contractors in the education, care and health industries, and affecting some 11.3 million people in the UK. This new scheme is of particular relevance and importance to schools and other educational institutions, who will be directly affected by the changes. This article will examine the practical employment implications of the new regime and the new obligations that the Vetting and Barring Scheme creates for both employers and employees.     

Giving an interoperable e-ID solution: Using foreign e-IDs in Austrian e-Government

Electronic identities (e-IDs) are of paramount importance for almost any e-Government application. Thus, many countries are working on their e-Government and e-ID strategies in order to improve access to governmental services for their citizens. However, facing a society of increasing mobility raises the requirements for e-Government and e-ID solutions. So providing e-Government services to native citizens only is no longer acceptable. E-Government and e-ID in particular have to be designed focusing on interoperability. The interoperability of e-IDs within the European Union is an especially open issue. The existing identity management solutions in member states have not been developed from the interoperability perspective. This article explains the Austrian e-ID approach and how foreign identities are already today incorporated into its e-Government framework.