Tax Amnesty as Price-Discriminating Behavior by a Monopolistic Government

We consider perfectly anticipated periodic tax amnesties characterized by a tax rate lower than the ordinary one and used by a monopolistic government to maximize net fiscal revenue. We model tax amnesties as a form of intertemporal price discrimination. It turns out that, under certain conditions, discrimination secures the highest net revenue, as amnesties incorporate a self-selection mechanism that renders it possible to collect additional payments from tax evaders, without inducing honest taxpayers to join them. Optimal timing for granting tax amnesties may be calculated, but problems of time inconsistency in government behavior may arise.     

'The story of Abraham,Isaac and Jacob" or "am I my brother's keeper?"

Presented is a case report of a violent sexual assault where the DNA profile obtained from an item of evidence was compared to a suspect's profile. The profiles did not match, but the sharing of such a large number of alleles raised the suspicion that perhaps the real perpetrator was a blood relative of the suspect. The investigators requested a sample from the suspect's brother, and a match was defined. In an era of technological breakthroughs in the field of forensic DNA analysis, the importance of the scientist's attention to the evidence presented in each case is stressed.     

A Y-chromosome STR marker should be added to commercial multiplex STR kits

Abstract:  Autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) analysis has become highly relevant in the identification of victims from mass disasters and terrorist attacks. In such events, gender misidentification can be of grave consequences, yet the list reporting amelogenin amplification failure using STR multiplex kits continues to grow. Presented here are three such examples. In the first case, we present two male suspects who demonstrated amelogenin Y-deficient results using two commercial kit procedures. The presence of their Y chromosomes was proven by obtaining a Y-haplotype. The second case demonstrated a profile from a third male suspect where only the Y homolog of the XY pair was amplified. In events such as mass disasters or terrorist attacks, timely and reliable high throughput DNA typing results are essential. As the number of reported cases of amplification failure at the amelogenin gene continues to grow, we suggest that the incorporation of a better gender identification tool in commercial kits is crucial.     

Politics of on-demand food delivery: Policy design and the power of algorithms

In this article, we examine the politics of on-demand food delivery using insights from the theory of social construction and policy design. On-demand food delivery is a service built on algorithm-based technology known for its precarity and physical risks for couriers. We compare how the on-demand food delivery sector is regulated and its observable effects in two Asia-Pacific cities with contrasting food courier profiles: Melbourne, Australia (international students), and Singapore (citizens, permanent residents). We show how the social construction of food couriers in other policy subsystems (migration, higher education, citizenship) affects debates of their fair treatment in the on-demand food delivery sector. By interrogating the politics of digitally enabled versions of reality, we argue for embracing a design perspective to identify how reforms could be introduced in change-resistant sectors.     

Statebuilding and the Politics of Budgeting in Afghanistan

Anchored in a framework drawn from the public finances literature and executive–legislative studies, the purpose of this article is to assess the impacts of Afghan budgetary institutions on the statebuilding project. Two main questions drive the analysis: what is the nature of the relationship between central government and subnational units concerning the allocation and distribution of resources, and – regarding budget preparation – what is the role played by the legislature? It is argued that beyond Afghanistan’s dependency on foreign aid to fund ordinary expenditures and development projects, the presence of a set of budgetary rules which not only centralizes the preparation and execution of budget decisions at the expense of provinces but also marginalizes the legislative involvement in the decision-making process are two important features that prevent further development in state capacity and the representative government.     

Human height estimation from highly distorted surveillance image

Video surveillance camera (VSC) is an important source of information during investigations especially if used as a tool for the extraction of verified and reliable forensic measurements. In this study, some aspects of human height extraction from VSC video frames are analyzed with the aim of identifying and mitigating error sources that can strongly affect the measurement. More specifically, those introduced by lens distortion are present in wide-field-of-view lens such as VSCs. A weak model, which is not able to properly describe and correct the lens distortion, could introduce systematic errors. This study focuses on the aspect of camera calibration to verify human height extraction by Amped FIVE software, which is adopted by the Forensic science laboratories of Carabinieri Force (RaCIS), Italy. A stable and reliable approach of camera calibration is needed since investigators have to deal with different cameras while inspecting the crime scene. The performance of the software in correcting distorted images is compared with a technique of single view self-calibration. Both approaches were applied to several frames acquired by a fish-eye camera and then measuring the height of five different people. Moreover, two actual cases, both characterized by common low-resolution and distorted images, were also analyzed. The height of four known persons was measured and used as reference value for validation. Results show no significant difference between the two calibration approaches working with fish-eye camera in test field, while evidence of differences was found in the measurement on the actual cases.     

Population data for Y-chromosome haplotypes defined by 17 STRs (AmpFlSTR YFiler) in Portugal

The 17 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs) included in the AmpFlSTR YFiler Amplification Kit (AB Applied Biosystems) (DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635 and GATA H4.1) were typed in 250 samples from Portugal. A total of 231 different haplotypes were found, where 17 haplotypes were shared by two individuals and one haplotype by three. The overall haplotype diversity (HD) was 0.9994. DYS458 non-consensus alleles found in 5 samples (out of 85) are all associated with paragroup J*(xJ1,2). Population comparisons with available Yfiler loci data in European samples were undertaken, namely with Northern Portuguese data (N=174) where no significant differences were observed with our sample (Rst=0.0000; P=0.8649+/-0.0310). Since both Portuguese databases can be joined (N=424; HD=0.9997; 394 distinct haplotypes), a study on the best loci for HD increment in this sample was also undertaken: by fixing the haplotypes generated from the minimal haplotype and SWGDAM core set (www.yhrd.org) and adding the other Yfiler loci one by one, the order in which the loci contribute more is DYS458, DYS456, GATA H4.1, DYS437 or DYS635, and finally DYS448. Therefore, at least in this population sample, all Yfiler loci are contributing for haplotype discrimination.     

A quantitative differentiation method for plastic bags by wide angle X-ray diffraction for tracing the source of illegal drugs

Thirty-three shopping bags, commonly encountered in the packaging of drug doses, were characterized by wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Using this single technique, without sample preparation, nearly all the considered samples could be differentiated, achieving a discriminating power of 0.992. The rather large degree of variability existing in grocery bags, even though they are mass produced, was shown, confirming that these items can be useful in tracing the source of illicit drug doses.