Evaluation of Skin Surface as an Alternative Source of Reference DNA Samples: A Pilot Study

An acceptable area for collecting DNA reference sample is a part of the forensic DNA analysis development. The aim of this study was to evaluate skin surface cells (SSC) as an alternate source of reference DNA sample. From each volunteer (n = 10), six samples from skin surface areas (forearm and fingertips) and two traditional samples (blood and buccal cells) were collected. Genomic DNA was extracted and quantified then genotyped using standard techniques. The highest DNA concentration of SSC samples was collected using the tape/forearm method of collection (2.1 ng/μL). Cotton swabs moistened with ethanol yielded higher quantities of DNA than swabs moistened with salicylic acid, and it gave the highest percentage of full STR profiles (97%). This study supports the use of SSC as a noninvasive sampling technique and as a extremely useful source of DNA reference samples among certain cultures where the use of buccal swabs can be considered socially unacceptable.     

Prisons’ condition and treatment of prisoners in Nigeria: towards genuine reformation of prisoners or a violation of prisoners’ rights?

This study examines the conditions of prisons and the treatment of prisoners in Nigeria. The purpose of this examination is to determine compliance with the benchmarks for the treatment of prisoners and ascertain if prisoners’ rights against ill-treatment are safeguarded. The study uses relevant laws, as well as published and unpublished reports, in order to paint a coherent picture of the conditions of prisons and the treatment of prisoners in Nigeria. This article comes to the conclusion that prisons in Nigeria are not operating satisfactorily according to their statutory duties, and instead of functioning as rehabilitation centres they end up contributing to human rights violation.     

Error and exaggeration in the presentation of the significance of a DNA match in criminal trials in Malaysia

DNA evidence is now widely used in criminal trials across jurisdictions, including Malaysia. One important issue to be considered is how the significance of a DNA match that uses statistical calculations should be presented and explained in a criminal trial. This article demonstrates how the presentation of the significance of a DNA match in criminal trials in Malaysia has been tainted with error, exaggeration and bias towards the prosecution case based on the reference to case law. It also provides recommendations in order to ensure that the significance of a DNA match is properly presented in the criminal trials in Malaysia.     

The Spatial Distribution of Postblast RDX Residue: Forensic Implications

Locating exactly where trace explosive residue samples should be sought during sample collection at bomb scenes is not specified in the published literature or guidelines; in this area, it is generally acknowledged that forensic practices are based on tradition rather than evidence. This study investigated patterns in the spatial distribution of postblast 1,3,5‐trinitro‐1,3,5‐triazocyclohexane residue from a series of unconfined detonations, over a range of sampling sites, and at two different detonation heights. The amount of residue recovered from the sites decreased as a function of distance from the center of the explosion. [Correction added after online publication 27 December 2012: In the preceding sentence, “increased” was corrected to “decreased” to agree with the conclusion of the article.] As the height of the detonations increased, more residues were found from all sampling sites. The findings of this empirical study have a number of important practical implications including determining where residue samples are best sought at crime scenes.     

Politically Engaged Muslims in Malaysia in the Era of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2003–2009)

Long regarded as an embodiment of tolerant Islam and peacefully co-existing with modernisation within a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, Malaysia unexpectedly aroused much attention as a potential breeding ground for Muslim radicals in the aftermath of catalytic events which pitted the West against the Muslim world. Malaysian Muslims are said to be susceptible to Middle Eastern-originated radicalism, as exemplified in interlocking transnational contacts and agendas sowed between increasingly globalised Muslim networks adept in exploiting latest trappings of modernity. This article urges readers to engage in deeper reflection on the local dynamics of Malaysia's Islamisation process, in order to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of challenges posed by politically engaged Muslims in Malaysia. It is argued that, belying the regime's profession of a progressive Islam known as Islam Hadhari, Malaysia under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Premiership witnessed an abrupt escalation of inter-religious tension which not only threatened to disrupt communal harmony and nation-building, but also posed a security risk. The origins of such instability could arguably be located to the peculiar manner in which politically-laden Islam is applied by the regime, in particular by its home-nurtured Islamic bureaucracy.     

Sustainable reintegration to returning refugees in post-Taliban Afghanistan: land-related challenges

The lives of millions of people around the world continue to be thwarted with violence, obliging them to flee from their own country or community mainly for reasons of persecution and armed conflict. Resolving this problem is a complex and pressing challenge. This is because of their needs not only while in exile, but also during their return home as the situation improves, ensuring their rights to protection and sustaining their reintegration requirements. This article focuses on the return of refugees in post-war situations, and the challenges and complexities of ensuring a durable return and sustainable reintegration in the country of return. It focuses on ‘land’, and the concerns and complexities surrounding it as one of the key obstacles to the sustainability of return and reintegration. Within a general discussion, the issue of land is explored by looking at it in the context of returnee reintegration against the backdrop of various aspects such as security, politics, disputes, restitution and livelihoods. The case in discussion is Afghanistan, referring to the voluminous return of refugees and the challenges in seeking solutions to their reintegration problems since the political changes in late 2001 underlined by the US-led military intervention, the ouster of the Taliban regime and the Bonn Agreement.     

Abstention in Daylight: Strategic Calculus of Voting in the European Parliament

As in large elections, substantialabstention is frequently observed inlegislative assemblies. This paper analyzesroll call votes from the third and fourthlegislatures (1989–1999) of the EuropeanParliament to test predictions from threetypes of theories of abstention: (1)decision-theoretic approach of RationalChoice theory, (2) game-theoretic approachof Rational Choice theory, and (3) theSwing Voter’s Curse theory. The resultsindicate that closeness significantlydecreases the rate of abstention. Thefindings also show that an increase in theprobability of being in the majorityincreases turnout. Overall, findings aresupportive of the decision-theoreticapproach of Rational Choice theory butnot of the game-theoretic approach toabstention or the Swing Voter’s Cursetheory.     

State-backed discrimination against Shia Muslims in Malaysia

This article traces the origins of legalized discrimination, religious hatred, and systematic marginalization of a community of Malaysian Muslims – the Shias – perpetuated in the name of Islam. It demonstrates how a central government-derived fatwa (religious legal opinion) banning Shi’ism and the propagation of Shia teachings in the country since 1996 has been used to justify a range of human rights violations, not limited to the religious freedom of this minority group. Apart from Syariah legislation, the state has utilized this fatwa alongside other tools, including the religious bureaucracy and the media, to persecute Shia in Malaysia. Anti-Shia efforts are also supported and propagated by non-state Islamists who often work hand-in-hand with state actors.