An Impact Velocity Device Design for Blood Spatter Pattern Generation with Considerations for High‐Speed Video Analysis,

A mechanical device that uses gravitational and spring compression forces to create spatter patterns of known impact velocities is presented and discussed. The custom‐made device uses either two or four springs (k₁ = 267.8 N/m, k₂ = 535.5 N/m) in parallel to create seventeen reproducible impact velocities between 2.1 and 4.0 m/s. The impactor is held at several known spring extensions using an electromagnet. Trigger inputs to the high‐speed video camera allow the user to control the magnet's release while capturing video footage simultaneously. A polycarbonate base is used to allow for simultaneous monitoring of the side and bottom views of the impact event. Twenty‐four patterns were created across the impact velocity range and analyzed using HemoSpat. Area of origin estimations fell within an acceptable range (ΔX_av = ?5.5 ± 1.9 cm, ΔY_av = ?2.6 ± 2.8 cm, ΔZ_av = +5.5 ± 3.8 cm), supporting distribution analysis for the use in research or bloodstain pattern training. This work provides a framework for those interested in developing a robust impact device.     

Books received

The Politics of Local Expenditure, K. Newton and T.J. Karran, Macmillan, 1985, pp. 165, £5.95 paperback.

Welfare Bureaucracies, David Billis, Heinemann, 1984, pp. 252, £11.50 paperback.

Paying for Welfare, Howard Glennerster, Black well, 1985, pp. xi + 273, £7.50.

School Governing Bodies, M. Kogan, D. Johnson, T. Packwood and T. Whitaker, Heinemann Educational Books, 1984, pp. 210, £18.50 hardback, £8.50 paperback.

Something in the Air, Andrew Blowers, Harper and Row, 1984, pp. 359, £6.95.

Controlling the Constable: Police Accountability in England and Wales, Tony Jefferson and Roger Grimshaw, Frederick Muller/The Cobden Trust, 1984, pp. 205, £18.95 hardback, £7.95 paperback.     

Europe's Last Red Terrorists: The Revolutionary Organization 17 November, 1975-2000

This article discusses and analyses the wave of bombing incidents occurring in South Africa between 1996 and the beginning of 2000, and inter alia linked to vigilante action, gang warfare and drug smuggling. An overview of measures adopted to combat what has been termed ‘urban terrorism’ is also provided. In conclusion, the point is made that it is unclear to what extent the incidents are criminally or politically motivated, or whether a combination of motives are present.     

The moving targets of penal abolitionism: ICOPA,past, present and future

The history of the International Conference on Penal Abolition (ICOPA) is explored, assessing major trends shaping the current growth of carceral practices and offering suggestions for the future of the conference movement. The goal here is to facilitate the expansion of abolitionism by describing the changing nature of what is to be abolished. A discussion of the emergence of prison abolitionism and of the ICOPA is presented, describing the shift in focus from prison to penal abolition. Taking these developments and character into account, an abolitionist gaze must be expanded to reflect a carceral abolition project, encompassing contemporary penal abolitionism while acknowledging the proliferation of carceral practices and spaces outside the traditional penal system.     

Technological learning in Singapore: A test case of leapfrogging

Some technology analysts have suggested that developing countries (DCs) might be able to ‘leapfrog’ earlier technological paradigms and catch up in the field of electronics. This paper provides a partial test case of the leapfrogging argument, using evidence from Singapore's electronics industry. It shows that technology was accumulated through a gradual process of learning, rather than by leapfrogging. Indeed, corporate learning was incremental, painstaking, long‐term and cumulative. Also in contrast with the leapfrogging hypothesis, firms tended to enter electronics at the mature phase of the product cycle rather than the early stage. Furthermore, much of the technology accumulated by Singapore's electronics industry was ‘pre‐electronic’ in character, involving crafts, mechanical and precision engineering, electro‐mechanical interfacing and basic manufacturing skills, rather than the software, computer and R&D skills usually associated with electronics. The evidence from Singapore suggests that industrial development in electronics involves a gradual and systematic accumulation of industrial, educational and infrastructural capabilities, many of which are associated with pre‐electronic technological paradigms.