Decentering America: the Quest for a Transnational American Studies

The planned removal of a Civil War monument in Charlottesville, Virginia, was the pretext for a white supremacist rally there in August 2017. It brought American fascists back into the streets, marching under the banner of a virulent nativism, of a vicious fear of being removed from the pedestal of their proper place in society. It also brought to the minds of people watching these images on TV older visual repertoires dating back to Nazi-Germany, fascist Italy, and similar racist clashes elsewhere. In such a stream of consciousness, such a chain of visual recollections, national settings—American or otherwise—are transcended. The wandering—and wondering—mind of the observer moves in a space naturally trans-national. The following essay considers the implications of such mental processes for the established forms of discourse among historians.     

From Competition and Collusion to Consent-Based Collaboration: A Case Study of Local Democracy

The high distrust in political institutions and a growing sense of powerlessness among many citizens suggest that prevailing democratic governance systems lack a capability for collective dialogue and learning. The key thesis here is that public governance systems can benefit from organizational arrangements informed by circular design. A case study conducted at a Dutch municipality illustrates how principles of circular design served to enhance the city council’s role of orchestrator of civil participation. This case also illustrates how a local democracy, which has long suffered from majority–minority ploys and voting schemes, can be transformed into a consent-based culture of collaboration.     

Tort,Insurance and Ideology: Further Thoughts

This article explores the impact of insurance arrangements on the development of the law of obligations. It is accepted orthodoxy that the existence or otherwise of a duty of care in tort should be determined independently of the parties' underlying insurance arrangements. This article suggests that the traditional analysis is of limited value only, in that it fails to take full account of contractual arrangements which rest upon risk allocation backed by insurance; of the circumstances in which duties of care may arise; and of the relevance of insurance to the determination of the standard of care and causation principles. It is further suggested that insurance has a much greater part to play in the spreading of losses arising out of private suits than has to date been fully appreciated.     

Effects of hydrated lime and quicklime on the decay of buried human remains using pig cadavers as human body analogues

Recent casework in Belgium involving the search for human remains buried with lime, demonstrated the need for more detailed understanding of the effect of different types of lime on cadaver decomposition and its micro-environment. Six pigs (Sus scrofa) were used as body analogues in field experiments. They were buried without lime, with hydrated lime (Ca(OH)(2)) and with quicklime (CaO) in shallow graves in sandy loam soil in Belgium and recovered after 6 months of burial. Observations from these field recoveries informed additional laboratory experiments that were undertaken at the University of Bradford, UK. The combined results of these studies demonstrate that despite conflicting evidence in the literature, hydrated lime and quicklime both delay the decay of the carcass during the first 6 months. This study has implications for the investigation of clandestine burials and for a better understanding of archaeological plaster burials. Knowledge of the effects of lime on decomposition processes also has bearing on practices involving burial of animal carcasses and potentially the management of mass graves and mass disasters by humanitarian organisations and DVI teams.     

Trends in the Reaction on Crime in Criminal Justice Systems in Europe in 1990–2007: A Comparison of Four European Regions

Recorded crime and prison populations seem to be increasing in Europe. Some explanations for this situation can be related to changes in the reaction on crime by the Criminal Justice Systems. The information collected in the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics (ESB) provides a good opportunity to look in more detail at the changes in the various stages of the Criminal Justice Systems in more than 40 European countries over the period 1990 to 2007. In this study we look mainly at the changes over time of recorded crimes, the offender ratio, the conviction ratio and punitivity in Europe where the countries are clustered into four regions: North/West, South, Central and East Europe. It was found that the increase in the number of recorded drug crimes and a possible higher priority for violent crimes could help explain the increase in recorded crimes during the last two decades. The Criminal Justice Systems in Europe, with some differences between regions within Europe and despite not having more police resources, succeed in finding more offenders. The conviction ratio appeared to be increasing as well, mainly in Central Europe. While punitivity for Europe as a whole is stable, there are vast differences in the levels and trends between the regions.     

Validation of the barcoding gene COI for use in forensic genetic species identification

The application of forensics to wildlife crime investigation routinely involves genetic species identification based on DNA sequence similarity. This work can be hindered by a lack of authenticated reference DNA sequence data resulting in weak matches between evidence and reference samples. The introduction of DNA barcoding has highlighted the expanding use of the mtDNA gene, cytochrome c oxidase I (COI), as a genetic marker for species identification. Here, we assess the COI gene for use in forensic analysis following published human validation guidelines. Validation experiments investigated reproducibility, heteroplasmy, mixed DNA, DNA template concentration, chemical treatments, substrate variation, environmental conditions and thermocycling parameters. Sequence similarity searches using both GenBank BLASTn and BOLD search engines indicated that the COI gene consistently identifies species where authenticated reference sequence data exists. Where misidentification occurred the cause was attributable to either erroneous reference sequences from published data, or lack of primer specificity. Although amplification failure was observed under certain sample treatments, there was no evidence of environmentally induced sequence mutation in those sequences that were generated. A simulated case study compared the performance of COI and cytochrome b mtDNA genes. Findings are discussed in relation to the utility of the COI gene in forensic species identification.     

Federal Reserve transparency: The more things change, the more they stay the same?

The calculus of electoral politics and the central bank’s bureaucratic objectives can explain the recent trend toward greater Federal Reserve transparency and can shed light on the likelihood that this trend will continue. If incumbent politicians see no electoral advantage in pressuring the Fed to become still more transparent, and if the Fed sees no benefit to greater transparancy, then further changes in current practice are unlikely. Private sector agents will continue to face a significant degree of uncertainty about the Fed’s policy objectives and about the information that policymakers consider in the monetary policy decision process.     

Reconstructing Insurance Law: The Law Commissions' Consultation Paper

In July 2007 the English and Scottish Law Commissions published the consultation paper Insurance Law – Non-disclosure and Breach of Warranty (hereafter LCCP) which sets out in detail the Commissions' provisional proposals for the reform of insurance contract law with particular reference to the key areas of utmost good faith, warranties and agency. This article analyses, from a critical standpoint, the LCCP's principal conclusions and recommendations. It begins by noting, as a means of demonstrating that the current reform process should be informed by modern industry practices, that the ways in which modern insurance contracts are concluded differ significantly from those when insurance law was last reviewed by the Law Commission in 1980. The article then discusses the dichotomy between consumer and business insurance given that this distinction underpins the LCCP and its approach towards reforming the pre-contractual duty of good faith. By way of backdrop to the analysis, we consider the approach taken towards reforming the law governing intermediaries acting for prospective assureds during the disclosure process. Finally, the proposed rules for warranties and similar terms are examined. It is argued that the proposal to retain continuing warranties in business insurance contracts will, if implemented, represent a missed opportunity to rid insurance contracts of terms long criticised as draconian and disproportionate in their effect.