Toxicologic findings in the USS Iowa disaster.

The toxicologic results from the 47 victims of the explosion on the USS Iowa are presented. Good correlation between carboxyhemoglobin saturations and cause of death was found. There were no correlations between blood cyanide concentrations and causes of death. Volatile analysis suggested postmortem ethanol production rather than antemortem ethanol ingestion. No drugs except nicotine were detected in any of the victims.     

The establishment of the features of the blade of a stabbing-cutting weapon by the damages to human skin and to tricot clothing]

Presents forensic medical characteristics of the specific features of stabbed and cut injuries of human skin and jersey. Suggests a complex of signs that will help determine some structural parameters of a knife blade and the conditions of its interaction with the injured site of human body.     

Impact of tropical conditions on thin layer chromatography in analytical toxicology: high temperatures and moderate humidities.

The impact of high temperatures (24 to 39 degrees C) and low to moderately high humidities (20 to 70%) on the applicability of TLC systems for drug identification was studied during a 6 month climatologic cycle in Burkina Faso (West Africa). In general, the Rf values as observed on the plates were found to be substantially affected as compared with values obtained at temperate climates. Some TLC systems were more affected than others and the largest deviations of up to 30 Rf units were at low humidities. Tropical conditions also had a negative effect on the reproducibility of Rf values. However, when an Rf-correction procedure was applied, using reference mixtures of known drugs on each plate, accuracy as well as reproducibility of the resulting Rfc values were drastically improved and data thus corrected were found to be compatible with existing TLC data bases developed under moderate climatological conditions. The impact of high to extremely high humidities (70 to 100%) remains to be investigated.     

Veto Players and Civil War Duration

Civil wars show a remarkable variation in how long they last. Some end within days; others continue for decades. What explains the extreme intractability of some wars while others are resolved quickly? This article argues that conflicts with multiple actors who must approve a settlement (veto players) are longer because there are fewer acceptable agreements, information asymmetries are more acute, and shifting alliances and incentives to hold out make negotiation more difficult. This veto player approach to explaining variation in civil war duration is tested using a new dataset containing monthly data on all parties to each civil war begun since World War II. The statistical analysis shows a strong correlation between the number of veto players and the duration of civil war.     

Law enforcement information sharing: A Florida case study

Many attempts have been made over the last several decades to improve communication among law enforcement agencies. This article is a case study of a “low-level” data sharing project in Florida that could serve as a national model. The Florida Law Enforcement Data Sharing Consortium is a partnership between the University of Central Florida and more than one hundred law enforcement agencies. It offers an inexpensive, yet technically advanced alternative to the proprietary data sharing model. Its distributed architecture was endorsed by the Markle Foundation, the 9/11 Commission, and the 2004 National Security Act. Civil liberties concerns raised by this and other types of data sharing projects are discussed.     

Key longitudinal-experimental studies in criminology

Following the tradition of Joan McCord's work, this paper reviews longitudinal-experimental studies in criminology with community samples of at least 100 persons, follow-up periods of at least 5 years, personal interviews, and measures of offending. The main advantages of such studies are in investigating both the natural history of development (including the effects of risk/protective factors and life events) and the impact of interventions on offending. This paper also reviews advantages and problems of prospective longitudinal surveys, randomized experiments, and longitudinal-experimental studies in criminology. Four key longitudinal-experimental studies were conducted by Joan McCord, Richard Tremblay, Lawrence Schweinhart and David Olds. Other studies have been conducted, or are currently under way, but no criminological study has yet been published with several years of personal data on participants both before and after an intervention.Joan McCord Award Lecture given at the American Society of Criminology, Toronto, Canada.     

The UN Human Rights Norms for Corporations: The Private Implications of Public International Law

Though many years in the making, the UN Human Rights Norms forCorporations only registered on the radars of most states, corporationsand civil society organisations in August 2003 when they beganto move up the ladder of the United Nation's policy-making processes.Since then they have been subject to intense, and sometimesintemperate, debate, scrutiny and controversy. A particularlegal feature of the deliberations has been the focus on theclosely related questions of the legal standing of the Normsin their present format (namely, an imperfect draft, and therefore,of no direct legal force), and what they might become (possibly—thoughnot likely soon—a treaty that speaks to corporations butbinds states). A potent mix of distrust and suspicion, vestedinterests, politics and economics has given rise to a greatdeal of grand-standing and cant concerning these questions andhow they might be answered. In this article, the authors explorethe history of the Norms and the form and content of the debatethat surrounds them, in their attempt to disentangle the legalfrom the rest. That said, the article also focuses on the realpoliticking of the circumstances in which the Norms now findthemselves and it seeks to offer some guidance as to where theNorms—or at least their substance, if not their form—mightgo from here.     

行政问责制对地方政府经济行为的影响——制度堕距的视角

行政问责制是构建责任政府的具体制度安排。问责制度在制度设计与制度执行层面存在制度堕距。制度堕距对地方政府经济行为产生重要影响,因此,从制度设计与制度执行层面改进问责制制度文本,消弭制度堕距,有助于构建优良的问责制制度,推动地方政府经济行为合理化。     

Crime Victimization: Assessing Differences Between Violent and Nonviolent Experiences

Experiencing a criminal victimization is among one of the most stressful human experiences. A cross-sectional study of victims of violent crime and victims of nonviolent crime suggests that there are statistically significant differences in experiences in the initial aftermath of the crime event and a few common effects. This article describes the common effects that are associated with criminal victimization in the context of intense distress and discusses the theoretical implications of well-being in the coping process. One hundred seventy-five victims of violent or nonviolent crime were interviewed. Implications for social work practice and theory and future research are delineated.