A positive interpretation of the expansion of urban services in Latin America,with some Colombian evidence

It is argued that the contemporary phenomenon of rapid urbanisation cum rural‐urban migration with a high share of new urban jobs located in the service sector is likely to be an appropriate response to the agricultural, manufacturing, and service production functions available to the countries in question. There is at present no reason to believe it to be a less efficient process than the historical pattern in now developed countries, where production of goods provided relatively more urban employment than it does today. The nature of technological change between then and now appears to be a key factor in explaining the difference in patterns.     

The COLLECTORS ranking scale for ‘at‐scene’ digital device triage

As digital evidence now features prominently in many criminal investigations, such large volumes of requests for the forensic examination of devices has led to well publicized backlogs and delays. In an effort to cope, triage policies are frequently implemented in order to reduce the number of digital devices which are seized unnecessarily. Often first responders are tasked with performing triage at scene in order to decide whether any identified devices should be seized and submitted for forensic examination. In some cases, this is done with the assistance of software which allows device content to be “previewed”; however, in some cases, a first responder will triage devices using their judgment and experience alone, absent of knowledge of the devices content, referred to as “decision‐based device triage” (DBDT). This work provides a discussion of the challenges first responders face when carrying out DBDT at scene. In response, the COLLECTORS ranking scale is proposed to help first responders carry out DBDT and to formalize this process in an effort to support quality control of this practice. The COLLECTORS ranking scale consists of 10 categories which first responders should rank a given device against. Each devices cumulative score should be queried against the defined “seizure thresholds” which offer support to first responders in assessing when to seize a device. To offer clarify, an example use‐case involving the COLLECTORS ranking scale is included, highlighting its application when faced with multiple digital devices at scene.     

Visualization of latent fingerprints using fluorescence lifetime imaging on paper emitting strong fluorescence

Latent fingerprints were successfully visualized using fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) on paper which emits strong fluorescence with a lifetime close to that of fingerprints and thus from which it is difficult for time-resolved spectroscopy to visualize fingerprints. Latent fingerprint samples on paper were excited using a 450 nm or 532 nm nanosecond pulsed-laser, and time-resolved fluorescence images were obtained at a delay time of 6–16 ns in intervals of 1 ns, to the excitation pulse. The excitation beam was expanded using a lens, and the fluorescence from the fingerprints was captured using an intensified CCD camera. Because of the large fluorescence intensity of the background paper of approximately two to four orders of magnitude larger than that of the fingerprint, the fingerprint was not visualized on each fluorescence image by time-resolved spectroscopy. However, the fingerprint was visualized in a FLIM image constructed using a series of the fluorescence images for the case with the fluorescence intensity of the background paper being four orders of magnitude larger than that of the fingerprint. The difference in fluorescence lifetime in the FLIM image of the visualized fingerprint and background paper was in the order of 0.1 ns, which was an order of magnitude smaller than the inherent fluorescence lifetime of a few nanoseconds for the fingerprints and paper. It was demonstrated that, at a background fluorescence intensity with a certain order of magnitude larger than that of fingerprints, FLIM has the potential to visualize latent fingerprints which cannot be visualized by time-resolved spectroscopy.     

Utility of a Grief Services Program for Medical Examiners' Offices

Medical examiner/coroner's (ME/C) offices investigate sudden, violent, and unexpected deaths, leaving those close to the deceased suffering traumatic loss with little in terms of support and counseling. We investigated a grief services program (GSP) at the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) to better understand the needs of bereaved individuals, identify the services provided, and propose our findings as a model for others. A total of 1085 contacts occurred over 1 year, with the majority occurring at OMI (60.5%), followed by telephone (23.1%). Support was primarily provided to those suffering a loss due to homicide (28.8%) and suicide (26.1%). The roles grief counselors play in the setting of a GSP and ME/C office are multiple. Given the frequent utilization of OMI's GSP and diverse reasons for visits, it is apparent there is a need for GSPs at ME/C offices, particularly given the traumatic nature of deaths investigated by ME/Cs.     

State rules: Oil companies and armed conflict in Sudan

The strategic behaviour of international oil companies in war-torn Sudan was overwhelmingly driven by political pressure from governments. After almost 20 years of operating in Sudan, the US giant Chevron was pushed to withdraw as a result of deteriorating relations between Washington and Khartoum. The Canadian flagship oil company, Talisman, which helped kick-start oil development after Chevron's exit also fell victim to Washington's ire. On the other hand, the European junior oil companies, Lundin and omv, protected by the European Union's political standpoint of ‘constructive engagement’ in Sudan, were free to profit. Finally, the eastern parastatals, led by a surging China, eager to capture international energy resources to fuel their budding economies and supported by the plural relationships fostered between their respective governments and the ruling, riverine elite in Khartoum, tactfully established a dominating presence. While fervent international human rights advocacy alone seemingly drove susceptible Western firms out of Sudan, the real power behind corporate movements came from the rules dictated by states.     

Party Size and Portfolio Payoffs: The Proportional Allocation of Ministerial Posts in Coalition Governments

Over 30 years ago, Eric Browne and Mark Franklin demonstrated that parties in a coalition tend to receive portfolio payoffs in almost perfect proportionality to their seat share. Even though this result has been confirmed in several studies, few researchers have asked what the underlying mechanism is that explains why parties receive a proportional payoff. The aim of this paper is to investigate the causal mechanism linking party size and portfolio payoffs. To fulfil this aim, a small-n analysis is performed. By analysing the predictions from a statistical analysis of all post-war coalition governments in 14 Western European countries, two predicted cases are selected, the coalitions that formed after the 1976 Swedish election and the 1994 German election. In these case studies two hypotheses are evaluated: that the proportional distribution of ministerial posts is the result of a social norm, and that parties obtain payoffs according to their bargaining strength. The results give no support to the social norm hypothesis. Instead, it is suggested that proportionality serves as a bargaining convention for the actors involved, thus rendering proportional payoffs more likely.     

The Electoral Connection and Legislative Committees

This article examines whether the career needs of legislators – to be re-elected or to move on to another political post – allow us to explain the rules governing committee structures and the committee assignments individual legislators obtain. It uses the institutional variations provided by Argentina, Costa Rica, and Venezuela to test hypotheses about committee assignments and committee assignment mechanisms. It finds that incentives created by candidate selection procedures and electoral rules show some relationship to committee assignments, but with a good deal of variation across national cases and individual careers.     

Aristotle, Hobbes and Chimpanzees

The article is an exercise in the philosophical anthropology of politics. According to Aristotle, man is a political animal but not uniquely so, whereas, according to Hobbes, politics is artificial and the preserve of humans alone. Both Aristotle and Hobbes draw upon contemporary science. The dominant relevant science today is neo-Darwinism – humans are products of evolution and genetically closely related to the other primates. The argument that chimpanzees are political, thus putatively endorsing an Aristotelian rather than a Hobbesian perspective, is scrutinised. However, at best, chimpanzees are only metaphorically political. While this conclusion may weaken the Aristotelian position, it cannot of itself vindicate the Hobbesian one. The philosophical anthropological endeavour to investigate the relation between politics and human nature still has work to do.     

Psychiatric disorders and management of sexual offenders in the prison psychiatric consultation unit of Marseille

Since 2017, complaints of sexual violence have increased in France. At the same time, the management of sexual offenders has been at the center of international public health policies. The prevalence of mental disorders among sexual offenders is an essential field of research. There are some published studies on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in sexual offenders in detention, but there are few recent published studies among French individuals who were detained. Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among persons detained for sexual offenses and the level of care received according to their diagnosis. For this purpose, we carried out a retrospective observational study from January 2017 to October 2021 of all adult sexual offenders, whether accused or convicted, who were seen in the psychiatric consultation unit of Les Baumettes prison, Marseille, France. The primary outcome measure was the psychiatric diagnosis entered in the medical records. One hundred forty-two patients were included in analysis. All patients were men, and the majority (n = 97, 68.3%) of these patients presented with at least one psychiatric disorder, principally a personality disorder (31.7%). 10.6% presented with a schizophrenic disorder, 4.9% a bipolar disorder, 3.5% a depressive disorder, 5.6% pedophilic paraphilia, and 25.4% an addictive disorder. Their management and comorbid addictions were analyzed in subgroups for each psychiatric disorder. Patients appeared to receive an appropriate level of care for their diagnosed disorder. It seems important to develop structured assessment of recidivism risk for better management of sexual offenders.