The underworld of gold

This paper dissects the global business of gold, from the ground, through the refining and marketing process and on into the hands of the final consumer, while examining the main forms of criminal activity associated with each stage. In one fundamental respect the black market for gold is quite different from that for other contraband goods. With opiates, for example, although there are occasional interrelations, it is reasonable to differentiate between legal and illegal sectors. The legal one uses raw material from designated producing areas, transforming it into a pharmaceutical product to supply a controlled medical demand. The illegal one uses illicitly obtained raw materials to make recreational drugs in order to service a demand that in most countries is defined as criminal by its very nature. By contrast, with gold, legally and illegally produced raw materials flow through the same channels to the same set of legitimate firms for refining and casting; and the product of these respectable refineries then is redivided into separate streams serving the overt and the covert portions of the market. Even then the cross-links do not stop. Legally sold gold can be diverted into illicit uses, while illegally obtained gold can end up in the hands of otherwise legitimate manufacturers or consumers. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** AW502007 00002     

基于公共受托责任的政府投资项目契约性质分析

为了弥补我国政府投资项目管理中的机制缺陷,必须厘清政府投资项目中的责任关系。本文运用契约理论、代理理论与组织理论等分析工具,阐述了政府投资项目中的多重委托代理关系以及源于委托代理关系的公共受托责任,认为政府投资项目中委托代理关系需要契约来维系,政府投资项目是在公共需求带动下形成的一系列契约的缔结体。由于信息不对称等原因,注定政府投资项目是一组不完备契约的集合。     

现代公共行政的伦理意蕴——基于“新公共服务”范式的分析

本文分析了新公共服务理论因其超越了传统公共行政的效率中心论和新公共管理的市场化和企业化模式等工具性价值的内在矛盾和缺陷,突显了民主、公民权和公共利益等目的性价值在现代公共行政的中心地位,由此使其在人性、公共道德责任、公共道德目的、公共道德准则、公共美德等方面发挥积极作用,产生重大影响,具有重要的伦理价值,为现代公共行政的合法性奠定新的公共道德基础。     

A Molecular Method to Detect Wound Cells in Bloodstains Resultant of Sharp Force Injuries for Crime Scene Reconstruction

Previous research by the authors on an animal model showed that bloodstains can contain additional information about their somatic origin in the form of wound cells. Bloodstains produced by a gunshot wound to the head were distinguished from bloodstains produced by a gunshot wound to the chest by testing the stains for a brain microRNA marker. In this study, the effectiveness of the technique was examined on blood drops shed externally from a stab wound to the liver of rat carcasses. Specifically, investigations were conducted on the liver microRNA marker, rno‐mir‐122‐3p, with the QIAGEN miScript System, and PCR analysis. Between the two stabbing methods used, 67% of the scalpel blades and 57% of the blood drops tested positive for rno‐mir‐122‐3p; however, other samples tested negative giving inconclusive results as to the wound‐of‐origin. The amount of the liver cells in the bloodstains appeared to be related to the extent of trauma.     

National study comparing the characteristics of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia who committed homicide vs. those who died by suicide

Associations between serious mental disorder and violence are well-documented, but there is little epidemiological evidence linking these disorders and homicide risk. The reported study compares socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of people diagnosed with schizophrenia who committed homicide vs. those who died by suicide. The study is a national case series of male patients in England & Wales diagnosed with schizophrenia and convicted of homicide during 1997–2012 (n = 168), and a randomly selected comparison group of male patients with schizophrenia who died by suicide and who were matched to the homicide case series by age (n = 777). There are different patterns of behaviour in people with schizophrenia preceding homicide and suicide. Homicide perpetrators have frequently disengaged with services whilst patients who die by suicide are often in recent contact. This is important knowledge for clinical services as it indicates a different preventive emphasis despite the existence of other shared characteristics.