Dimock's naturalistic ethics

Between 1937 and 1958 Marshall Dimock developed a naturalistic account of the administrative function. This account emphasized an organic and instrumentalist account of ethics which was akin to American pragmatism in its ontological assumptions, vocabulary, and conceptualization. His theory was self-consciously aimed at identifying and responding to the problems of an administrative theory and practice plagued by dichotomies. Through an organizational leadership comprised of a moral elite, Dimock hoped to integrate the processes of administration and value creation.     

Development of a methodology for the standardisation and improvement of ‘Smartphone’ photography of patterned bruises and other cutaneous injuries

Human bite-mark analyses can play a prominent role in forensic case investigations, including those involving sexual assault. High-quality photographs routinely secure a link between a bite-mark and an individual's dentition. Access to around the clock forensic photography, however, is often limited, resulting in delay and/or missed opportunities to record valuable evidence. The emergence of Smartphone high-quality photographic technology now provides a previously unimagined opportunity to gather timely forensic photographic evidence. Problems can arise, however, due to the relatively poor quality of the photographs, as a result of many of those taking photographs having received little or no forensic photography training. This study compares unassisted photography with assisted photography, by a specifically developed camera application (App), to provide a standardised method for taking forensic photographs. An App, written in Java, was hosted on the Google Android Operating System, on a Samsung Galaxy SII Smartphone. Twenty-four volunteers participated in a study to photograph a pseudo bite-mark using three methods, (1) unassisted (as a control), (2) assisted by an ABFO No.2 right-angled photographic reference scale and (3) assisted by the App. The App, method (3), was shown to consistently outperform methods (1) and (2), demonstrating greater standardisation and precision (p < 0.001). Analysis of the data showed the extent to which acquiring an accurate photograph depends on the image being orthogonal to the camera. It appears likely that the relatively inaccurate photographs acquired by methods (1) and (2), were as a result of deviation from the plane, orthogonal to the bite-mark. Therefore, the App was successful in ensuring that the camera was both orthogonal and at an appropriate distance, relative to the bite-mark. Thus, the App enhanced the abilities of non-experts to acquire more accurate photographs and created the potential to significantly improve the quality of forensic photographs.     

The sins of the founding fathers

Stephen F. Knott, Secret and Sanctioned: Covert Operations and the American Presidency (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996). Pp.258, biblio., index. £19.50. ISBN 0–19–510098–0.

Notes

1. Richard B. Morris, Witnesses at the Creation: Hamilton, Madison, Jay, and the Constitution (NY: Plume 1986) p.160.

2. Ralph Ketcham (ed.) The Anti‐Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Debates (NY: Mentor 1986) p.27.

3. Charles Beard, An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (NY: Macmillan 1961 [1913]) pp.vi, 160.

4. Max Beloff (ed.) The Federalist, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Basil Blackwell 1987 [1948]) p.482, n27.

5. Jack N. Rakove, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution (NY: Knopf 1996) p.5. Rakove's ‘originalism’ might be regarded as a particular example of a general malpractice that historians sometimes call ‘presentism’, a tendency to look at the past with a contemporary political agenda in mind.     

Networked Legal Learning: An Evaluation of the Student Learning Experience

This paper reports the findings from a case study that was conducted as part of the JISC/CALT funded Networked Learning in Higher Education project. The paper casts light on the wider debate about how and whether tutors can 'align' their teaching style with students' approaches to learning. It evaluates a law course that has been taught on campus using Lotus Notes to support group work and to provide a general course environment. The paper builds upon earlier evaluations of the course reported by the course tutor and used to develop the course design. The findings combine a firm understanding of the tutor's intentions and design with an evaluation of the student experience. This allows a consideration of alignment in a networked learning environment and uses several sources of rich data to triangulate designers' intentions with outcomes. Our findings incline us to the view that networked learning environments may be more open to unplanned influences than traditional courses. As a consequence of the increased number of influences students' may encounter greater degrees of variation in their experience.     

Democratization and foreign policy in Southeast Asia: the case of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus

Recent democratic transitions in Southeast Asia raise the question as to how we should theorize the relationship between democratization and foreign policy. Many scholars assume that more ‘democratic’ Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members pursue more ‘liberal’ policies than their less-democratic counterparts, but surprisingly little theoretical work investigates the connection. This article argues that such investigations tend to crumble under close scrutiny. Instead, it offers an alternative framework based on an analysis of how different socio-economic interests contend to shape foreign policy in ASEAN states and how these interests are able to organize politically to impose their preferences. The case study of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, a regional network of legislators campaigning for liberal-interventionist policies on Myanmar, shows how it is these forces, and not the mere presence or absence of formally democratic institutions, that govern the political space available to those seeking to transform ASEAN states' policies.