How to bring about change in the Bangladesh civil service? Attempts to change mindsets,behaviours and practice

This article addresses three critical questions central to many donor funded programmes which seek to enable pro‐poor reform and growth. In the context of Bangladesh, the research asks first, does the civil service has a role in promoting change of this kind? Second, can a senior civil service development programme succeed in creating reform minded civil servants? And, third, if so how might the contribution be made both more substantive and of value? These questions are addressed systematically through a literature review and evidence drawn from Managing at the Top (MATT 2)—a DFID funded programme. Some tentative conclusions are drawn in the final section. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using typologies of victimization worry to create strategies for reducing fear of crime

The purpose of this paper is to develop actionable strategies designed for law enforcement agencies seeking to reduce fear of crime among those living within their jurisdictions. A conjunctive analysis of case configurations is conducted on data collected from residents living in southeast Queensland (Australia) (N = 713) in order to identify context-specific typologies of victimization worry. Main effects for each component of the typologies are examined in order to identify the impact each has on reducing negative attitudes towards crime. Current findings suggest that agencies will likely reduce fear of crime among community residents the most by focusing on decreasing concerns related to the consequences of victimization. Results are consistent for both crimes against persons and property offenses.     

“知识创作物未保护领域”之思维模式的陷阱

自现代知识产权法诞生以来,基于强化和拓展知识产权保护以涵盖各种未保护的知识创作物的理论观念,知识创作物未保护领域的界线就不断遭到突破。但这种理论观念的主要问题在于它们脱离了人类行为的实际模式。任何合理的知识产权法和政策必须注重人类行为的具体模式——即调整人类活动的连接点,因而法律和政策没有必要调整所有知识创作物的利用行为,知识产权只能限制某些人类行为。为了避免可能的缺陷,知识产权法的制定者既应当考虑影响知识产权法制定的实际因素,比如制定过程中经常出现的利益不均衡现象,也应当考虑其应用和实际的效果。     

Neoinstitutionalism: Still no intellectual hegemony?

Despite its greater realism, neoinstitutionalism has not been able to rival neoliberal approaches in the minds of many public‐policy communities. This article suggests four reasons why this is the case: the way that neoliberalism appears to be rooted in the strong paradigms of neoclassical economics, the related simple appeal of marketization as a solution to policy problems, the dominance of short‐term calculation in financial markets as the apparently most successful form of economic activity, and the role of corporate actors as public‐policy insiders. It is argued that an essential solution to the problem is a rapprochement between neoinstitutionalism and neoclassical economics, which is itself not necessarily wedded to neoliberalism.     

Debugging Decomposition Data—Comparative Taphonomic Studies and the Influence of Insects and Carcass Size on Decomposition Rate

Abstract:  Comparison of data from a variety of environments and ambient temperatures has previously been difficult as few studies used standardized measures of time/temperature and decomposition. In this paper, data from previous studies and recent experiments are compared using simple conversions. These conversions allow comparison across multiple environments and experiments for the first time. Plotting decomposition score against logADD allows the exponential progression of decomposition to be expressed as a simple linear equation. Data comparison from many environments and temperatures shows no difference in decomposition progression when measured using Accumulated Degree Days. The major effector of change in rate was insect presence, regardless of depositional environment, species, or season. Body size is significant when carcasses are accessed by insects; when insects are excluded, while bodies are indoors, submerged, or buried, then decomposition progresses at the same rate regardless of body size.     

Do US City Crime Rates Follow a National Trend? The Influence of Nationwide Conditions on Local Crime Patterns

This study considers the degree to which the crime rates of US cities follow a uniform national trend. A nationwide trend has consequences for theories that explain aggregate changes in crime, but how closely subnational units hold to a common time path has received almost no research attention. Using annual panel data, the current study presents analyses that attempt to measure the correspondence between city-level and national-level crime rates. The results of each analysis are consistent with a clear single pattern that operates across the nation’s major urban areas. This supports the idea that a meaningful national trend exists, and it suggests the desirability of continuing efforts to explain it.

Governing Without Law or Governing Without Government? New‐ish Governance and the Legitimacy of the EU

The way the EU is governed and the way such governance is perceived contributes centrally to the legitimacy of the European enterprise. This legitimacy underpins both the acceptance and the effects of EU activity. Legitimacy is a product of the way in which decisions are taken, and the nature and quality of such decisions. Pressures created by concerns about both forms of legitimacy affecting EU decision making partially explain the turn in legal scholarship away from the more traditional preoccupation with the analysis of legislative instruments and case-law, towards a more broadly based conception of governance which involves the examination of a more diverse range of processes and instruments. This article offers an analysis of the parameters of newness in governance. The overall argument is that some of the more innovative governance modes are not so new, whilst more recent and celebrated modes, although displaying elements of newness, are, perhaps, not that innovative. The focus of the new governance in the EU is largely on governing without law, rather than the more radical governing without government; hence the suggestion that we are experiencing only 'new-ish governance'. The article asks whether a limited conception of new governance is inevitable given the legitimacy constraints within which the EU operates, or whether the potential for developing a broader conception of governance, through wider participation and involvement of non-governmental governing capacities, might bolster legitimacy through both better processes and better outcomes.     

The Oslo Peace Process and Two Views on Judaism and Zionism, 1992–1996

The article contends that the Oslo Peace process was as much about Jewish identity in Israel as it was about borders and security. This is because these factors are interrelated. This made the peace process highly contentious, particularly because it happened when post-Zionism was at its peak. While Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres saw Oslo as the fulfillment of Zionism, the religious right saw it as negating Zionism. This is because the Oslo process involved a change in three precepts of Zionism: Greater Israel, self-defence and pioneering settlement. This difference of opinion was compounded by the way Rabin managed relations with his critics on the religious-right. The conclusion notes how the collapse of Oslo has led to a reversion to pre-Oslo Jewish world view.     

Combined DNA Typing and Protein Identification from Unfired Brass Cartridges,,,

Biological evidence analysis from contact traces is adversely affected by low quantity and quality of DNA. Proteins in these samples contain potentially individualizing information and may be particularly important for difficult surfaces such as brass, where DNA may yield incomplete profiles. In this study, touched unfired brass cartridges were sampled using dry tape or wet swabs and analyzed by separating DNA and protein from the same collected material, thus producing both genomic and proteomic information. DNA recovery was similar for both collection methods, with tape yielding an average of 1.36 ± 1.87 ng and swabs, 1.34 ± 3.04 ng. Analysis by mass spectrometry identified 95 proteins, with the two collection methods showing no significant difference (p = 0.76) in the average number of collected proteins: 44.5 ± 10.9, (tape) versus 47.9 ± 20.4 (swabs). Proteins can be collected from fingerprints at levels necessary to provide identifying information, thus expanding information obtained from challenging evidence.     

Evaluation of Total Nitrite Pattern Visualization as an Improved Method for Gunshot Residue Detection and its Application to Casework Samples

Visualization of nitrite residues is essential in gunshot distance determination. Current protocols for the detection of nitrites include, among other tests, the Modified Griess Test (MGT). This method is limited as nitrite residues are unstable in the environment and limited to partially burned gunpowder. Previous research demonstrated the ability of alkaline hydrolysis to convert nitrates to nitrites, allowing visualization of unburned gunpowder particles using the MGT. This is referred to as Total Nitrite Pattern Visualization (TNV). TNV techniques were modified and a study conducted to streamline the procedure outlined in the literature to maximize the efficacy of the TNV in casework, while reducing the required time from 1 h to 5 min, and enhancing effectiveness on blood‐soiled samples. The TNV method was found to provide significant improvement in the ability to detect significant nitrite residues, without sacrificing efficiency, that would allow for the determination of the muzzle‐to‐target distance.