A Theoretical examination of police entry-level uncorrected visual acuity standards

Police organizations function in a dynamic environment that requires management to make adjustments to constant changes. The focus of this paper is on entry-level uncorrected vision entry standards that are being affected by recent technological advancements in the optical field. Extreme policy variances exist relative to - these requirements and many of the more rigid policies are grounded in unrealistic foundations. Many of these foundations relate to problems relevant to spectacles. Additionally, these standards are based on very remote events. An analysis of these policies and policy recommendations are presented in this paper.     

The application of immunoblotting to the phenotyping of haptoglobin.

An immunoblotting method for phenotyping haptoglobin in serum and bloodstains has been developed. Haptoglobin isoproteins were separated by polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis and then transferred to nitrocellulose by electroblotting. The use of 1 mm gels facilitated more rapid and effective transfer than conventional 3 mm thick gels. Nitrocellulose blots were developed by double antibody enzyme immunoassay. The detection limit for serum and bloodstains was improved 16 times compared to conventional staining using O-tolidine. The method could detect haptoglobin phenotypes from 0.001 microliter of whole blood. This detection limit is approximately 8 times lower than that of group specific-component analysis by immunoblotting.     

Still the American Empire

Over the past few years there has been an intellectually controversial, strategically significant and politically charged debate as to whether America should – or should not – be characterised as an empire. More recently, it has become equally fashionable to argue that this empire is either now failing or in steep decline. This essay examines the background to the original 'empire debate', suggests that the notion of empire is one that can (with care) be applied to the United States, and that in spite of recent setbacks – like Iraq – we should take care not to underestimate the US capacity to shape world politics. The American Empire may be in trouble, but it is not about to fall.     

An alternative method of capital jury selection

The purpose of this research was to develop and evaluate an alternative method of capital jury selection. Subjects who were classified as excludable and nonexcludable from capital jury service were exposed to a crime questionnaire which contained 16 brutal crimes. Sixty-five percent of the excludables indicated that they would consider imposing the death penalty in one or more scenarios, with 76% maintaining the new position 48 hours later. Furthermore, the rehabilitated excludables were significantly more tolerant of ambiguity and more due process oriented than the nonexcludables. A second study showed that the crime questionnaire did produce a small amount of bias against the defendants in terms of conviction rates and penalties. The advantages of the alternative system for providing a more objective, standardized questioning procedure and a more representative, less attitudinally biased jury are discussed.     

The effects of impeachment evidence and limiting instructions on individual and group decision making

Two studies were conducted to investigate the effects of impeachment evidence in civil cases. According to the Federal Rules of Evidence, impeachment evidence can be used to judge defendant credibility, but not to infer bad character or harmful propensity. Jury-eligible subjects watched a realistic videotaped trial in which prior convictions for perjury and character evidence of honesty or dishonesty were manipulated. In Study 1, subjects provided individual judgments, and in Study 2, subjects engaged in group deliberations. Impeachment evidence did not strongly affect verdicts, and character evidence of honesty decreased liability only when limiting instructions were given. In both studies, however, the evidence produced legally permissible and impermissible inferences. Prior convictions reduced perceived credibility and increased inferences of negligent propensity. Evidence of dishonesty produced lower credibility ratings and negative character impressions. Credibility, character, and propensity assessments were all important in the verdict-reaching process, suggesting that juror's decisions do not conform to the requirements of the Rules of Evidence.This research was supported by National Science Foundation under grant no. SES-8411599 awarded to the first author. We would like to thank Richard Lempert for his helpful comments on an earlier draft, and Jerry Busmeyer, Maureen Crowley, Myrna Gaidos, David Hullinger, Randy Larsen, Bill Little, Charles Nelson, Richard Schweickert, Harold Seymour, and Al Solomon for serving as witnesses in the trial videotapes.     

Postmortem cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis

We show that postmortem cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis is a common event. Postmortem cerebrospinal or ventricular fluid was obtained from children and adults. The cells were counted and morphologically characterized using several histochemical markers. Infants exhibit a brisk postmortem CSF pleocytosis. Sudden infant death cases have relatively high CSF counts. Typeable cells are mononuclear and consist of approximately 60%-70% lymphocytes and 20%-40% macrophages. When postmortem duration is greater than 12 h, the cells become vacuolated and cannot be identified. The etiology of these findings requires further study.