The use of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) to differentiate two UK blowfly species -- Calliphora vicina and Calliphora vomitoria

Traditionally identification of forensically important insects has been carried out based upon morphological differences between species. However insect evidence found at a crime scene may on occasion be difficult to distinguish by morphological techniques and under these circumstances another method of accurate identification is required. This work utilises a cytochrome oxidase I partial mitochondrial gene region (COI) to distinguish the two of the main UK blowfly species -- Calliphora vicina (Robineau Desvoidy) and Calliphora vomitoria (Linnaeus) (Diptera:Calliphoridae). Seventeen interspecific differences in COI sequence were located. Use of the restriction enzyme SfcI on this gene region provides a simple method for distinguishing between C. vicina and C. vomitoria.     

Stun gun injuries in the abuse and death of a seven-month-old infant

The author autopsied a seven-month-old infant who was shocked repeatedly with a stun gun by his foster mother, in an attempt by the foster mother to get the infant to stop crying. The stun gun injuries were round, well-circumscribed, erythematous macular lesions, which were found in pairs. The lesions were 2 in. apart, and were found to match the distance between the electrodes of the stun gun found in the foster mother's purse. Based on the electrical output of the stun gun, the small size of the infant, location of stun gun discharge, and the decreased resistance of the infant's skin, it can be concluded that the stun gun injury is responsible for the infant's death.     

Lessons from Analogical Reasoning in the Teaching of Negotiation

After two decades of spectacular growth in negotiation research, teaching,and application, it is appropriate to pause and consider how negotiatorslearn, a strikingly fundamental but infrequently examined issue. In thisreport, we present some initial and on-going research and thinking onlearning about negotiation skills, providing one view of the relationshipbetween negotiation pedagogy and negotiation practice.     

Whatever happened to deconcentration? Recent initiatives in Cambodia

Contemporary decentralization discourse and recommended practice focus on political decentralization. However, experience with such devolution has often failed to produce the anticipated developmental returns. This has prompted reconsideration of managerial or administrative decentralization (deconcentration) as a vehicle for improving services and encouraging popular participation. A range of potential benefits is available from deconcentration. Cambodia has embarked on a cautious policy of decentralization involving weak devolution and deconcentration. But it is from deconcentration that the government expects the greatest developmental gains. Initial results are encouraging but difficulties confront the deconcentration experiment. These include the piecemeal nature of the initiative, unfamiliar financial management practices, deeply embedded patterns of hierarchy in society and state, and limited managerial capacity. Nevertheless, it appears that incremental deconcentration may offer a useful policy alternative for countries such as Cambodia which are engaged in slowly building the infrastructure of a modern state following debilitating internal conflict. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Government co-option of civil society: exploring the AKP’s role within Turkish women’s CSOs

Mainstream academic and policy literature emphasizes the nexus between an active and vibrant civil society sector and greater political accountability. As a result, support for civil society has become central to international policy efforts to strengthen democracy in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. However, the empirical evidence presented in this article questions the validity of this assumption. Drawing on information gathered through 38 in-depth qualitative interviews with women’s organizations from across the seven administrative regions of Turkey, and key representatives from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), this article analyses the role of the AKP government in co-opting and influencing women’s organizations in Turkey. The results that emerge demonstrate that the government is actively involved in fashioning a civil society sector that advances their interests and consolidates their power. Independent women’s organizations report that they are becoming increasingly excluded from policy and legislative discussions, as seemingly civic organizations are supported and often created by the government to replace them. These organizations function to disseminate government ideas in society and to provide a cloak of democratic legitimacy to policy decisions. These findings and their implications have significant consequences for theory and policy on civil society and its role in supporting democracy.