Wisdom or Indifference? The Principles of Representative Government in the Eyes of the French Voters

This contribution attempts to assess qualitatively the current views of ordinary French citizens about political representation in general and their MPs in particular. In contrast to the Tocquevillian idea of an unequivocal egalitarian claim rising from the people, the results of the present study support the view that citizens tend to adopt both democratic and aristocratic principles in their perceptions of political representation. General support for the electoral procedure captures such ambiguity as elections are not only legitimate on democratic grounds (the egalitarian civic participation) but also on aristocratic grounds (the selection of the best). This study follows an original method involving analysis of discussions from 11 focus groups within French constituencies in 2010–11. The results of an experimental design comparing various kinds of elected position (parents' representatives, workers' representatives, MPs and the President of the Republic) are presented and discussed.     

The Entitlement Approach: A Case for Framework Development Rather than Demolition: A Comment on ‘Entitlement Failure and Deprivation: A Critique of Sen's Famine Philosophy'

Abstract

The article dismisses most of the objections previously forwarded in this journal by Khandakar Qudrat-I Elahi against Amartya Sen's framework for famine analysis: the entitlement approach. Instead, the article argues that even 30 years after the conception of the entitlement approach, it remains a potent framework for famine analysis, as illustrated by the recent 2005 famine in Niger. However, as contemporary famines are increasingly linked to factors that have hitherto received limited attention in entitlement analysis – conflicts, legal collapses and political struggles – the article calls for supplementary famine analysis on the meso and macro levels.     

Pattern detection in forensic case data using graph theory: application to heroin cutting agents

Pattern recognition techniques can be very useful in forensic sciences to point out to relevant sets of events and potentially encourage an intelligence-led style of policing. In this study, these techniques have been applied to categorical data corresponding to cutting agents found in heroin seizures. An application of graph theoretic methods has been performed, in order to highlight the possible relationships between the location of seizures and co-occurrences of particular heroin cutting agents. An analysis of the co-occurrences to establish several main combinations has been done. Results illustrate the practical potential of mathematical models in forensic data analysis.     

Cybercrime is whose responsibility? A case study of an online behaviour system in crime

Drawing on Sutherland’s theory of behaviour systems in crime, this study investigates social media fraud (SMF) facilitated by botnets to understand the onset and maturation of this new online offending behaviour. We find legitimate actors in the system – Internet of Things manufacturers, online social networks, hosting companies and law enforcement agencies – share a way of life that prioritises private gains and avoids implicit responsibility for security. They arrive at a Nash equilibrium that provides a weak and disorganised social response to crime. SMF providers, on the other hand, are cleverly organised and exploit weaknesses in security, adapting to change and developing working relationship with those who benefit from their activities and share their lenient behaviour towards fraudulent activities. We conclude that the rise in cybercrime is a result of the behaviours of all actors in the system, not just those who offend.     

Complex Suicide by Self‐stabbing and Drowning: A Case Report and a Review of Literature

Sharp force injuries and drowning are methods exceptionally combined in complex suicides. We report a challenging case of complex suicide by self‐stabbing and drowning that illustrates the difficulty in discriminating between homicide and suicide in such circumstances of death. The corpse of a young man was found submerged in a river, stabbed nine times with two wounds that had penetrated the thorax and had caused lung injuries and a hemopneumothorax. The postmortem and histological examinations were consistent with a death caused by drowning, but the manner of death still remained undetermined. Police investigation finally concluded to a suicide, although no suicide note had been left and the victim had no underlying diagnosed mental disorder. The parameters that may help distinguish suicide from homicide at the autopsy should be interpreted in light of a thorough forensic investigation to determine the exact manner of death in such a case.     

Trade mark use in transit: EU-phony or cacophony?

Legal context The present article discusses the opinion of Advocate-GeneralJacobs in Case C-405/05 Class International BV v Unilever NVand others, according to which trade mark owners cannot opposethe entry into the European Union of grey market non-Communitygoods placed in external transit, on the grounds of Article5(1) of the Trade Mark Directive, or any equivalent provision,as such entry does not constitute trade mark use. Key points We examine the consistency of this approach withprior case law of the European Court of Justice, namely in theCommission v France, Rioglass, The Polo/Lauren and Rolex casesand draw a parallelism with Council Regulation (EC) 1383/2003. Practical significance We conclude that trade mark owners shouldbe allowed to prohibit the placing in transit of goods whichwould infringe an intellectual property right under the lawof the transit country, unless the owner or consignor of thelitigious goods can undeniably prove that the goods are notdestined for the internal market. Stop press. At the end of the article the authors provide abrief analysis of the European Court of Justice's decision of18th October 2005 in this case.     

The contribution of forensic science to crime analysis and investigation: forensic intelligence

The debate in forensic science concentrates on issues such as standardisation, accreditation and de-contextualisation, in a legal and economical context, in order to ensure the scientific objectivity and efficiency that must guide the process of collecting, analysing, interpreting and reporting forensic evidence. At the same time, it is recognised that forensic case data is still poorly integrated into the investigation and the crime analysis process, despite evidence of its great potential in various situations and studies. A change of attitude is needed in order to accept an extended role for forensic science that goes beyond the production of evidence for the court. To stimulate and guide this development, a long-term intensive modelling activity of the investigative and crime analysis process that crosses the boundaries of different disciplines has been initiated. A framework that fully integrates forensic case data shows through examples the capital accumulated that may be put to use systematically.     

Hyperostosis frontalis interna: forensic issues

The use of pathological conditions in age and sex determination, important factors in personal identification, is not widespread in anthropology and legal medicine. Hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) is a bone condition that mainly affects the inner table of the frontal bone. Although there are numerous publications on the subject, at the present time its etiology remains obscure. Several associations of symptoms, whose incidence varies according to the population studied, have been described. Age and gender appear to be linked with the preponderance of this condition, as does the presence of behavioral disturbances. The aim of our study, based on a series of 1532 autopsies, was to define the incidence and the associations observed with other pathological conditions. Thirteen cases of HFI were identified (0.8% of autopsies), 12 women and one man whose mean age was 59.15 years (range: 42-79 years). All had behavioral disturbances and most were under psychiatric care. This study emphasizes the value of this condition in medico-legal identification.     

Remittance Effects on Child Labour: Evidence from Burkina Faso

This article explores the effects of remittance receipt on child labour in an African context. We focus on Burkina Faso, a country with a high prevalence of child labour and a high rate of migration. Given the complex relationship between remittance receipt and household time allocation decisions, we instrument remittances using economic conditions in remittance-sending countries and explore heterogeneous effects across different types of potential remitters. While remittances have no significant effect on child labour on average, transfers reduce child labour in long-term migrant households, for whom the disruptive effect of migration is no longer felt. We find no gender difference but remittances seem to affect mainly the labour market participation of younger children.