Quality assurance testing of an explosives trace analysis laboratory--further improvements

The Forensic Explosives Laboratory (FEL) operates within the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) which is part of the UK Government Ministry of Defence (MOD). The FEL provides support and advice to the Home Office and UK police forces on matters relating to the criminal misuse of explosives. During 1989 the FEL established a weekly quality assurance testing regime in its explosives trace analysis laboratory. The purpose of the regime is to prevent the accumulation of explosives traces within the laboratory at levels that could, if other precautions failed, result in the contamination of samples and controls. Designated areas within the laboratory are swabbed using cotton wool swabs moistened with ethanol water mixture, in equal amounts. The swabs are then extracted, cleaned up and analyzed using Gas Chromatographs with Thermal Energy Analyzer detectors. This paper follows on from a previous published paper describing the regime and summarizing subsequent results from approximately 6 years of tests. Lessons learned and improvements made over the period are also discussed. Monitoring samples taken from surfaces within the trace laboratories and trace vehicle examination bay have, with few exceptions, revealed only low levels of contamination, predominantly of RDX. Analysis of the control swabs, processed alongside the monitoring swabs, has demonstrated that in this environment the risk of forensic sample contamination, assuming all the relevant anti-contamination procedures have been followed, is so small that it is considered to be negligible. The monitoring regime has also been valuable in assessing the process of continuous improvement, allowing sources of contamination transfer into the trace areas to be identified and eliminated.     

Bad moon on the rise? Lunar cycles and incidents of crime

Popular cultures in Western societies have long espoused the notion that phases of the moon influence human behavior. In particular, there is a common belief the full moon increases incidents of aberrant, deviant, and criminal behavior. Using police, astronomical, and weather data from a major southwestern American city, this study assessed whether lunar cycles related with rates of reported crime. The findings fail to support popular lore, which has suggested that lunar phase influenced the volume of crime reported to the police. Future research directions examining qualitative rather than quantitative aspects of this problem may yield further inform the understanding of whether lunar cycles appreciably influence demands for policing services.     

The Impact of Anti-Assimilationist Beliefs on Attitudes toward Immigration

I outline different beliefs about assimilation, and show that these beliefs can influence attitudes toward immigration. Using data from a new national sample survey in Japan, I test whether and how beliefs about assimilation influence attitudes toward immigration. The results show two important conclusions. First, there is a large anti-immigrant sentiment in Japan. Second, after controlling for other known determinants of attitudes toward immigration, I find that those who are in favor of immigrant assimilation support higher levels of immigration, more immigrant equal rights, and have more accurate views about immigrant crime in Japan. This suggests that those favoring assimilation are not necessarily xenophobic in all cultures.     

The Rise of the Insider: Memoirs and Diaries in Recent Australian Political History

The memoirs and diaries composed by politicians represent an increasingly important form of history. This article provides a comprehensive survey of such writings in Australia. It suggests that they have become more popular, diffuse, confessional, immediate, ambitious, interventionist and cynical over recent decades. The significance of these developments is considered and some tentative explanations advanced.     

The Role of Goal Representations,Cultural Identity,and Dispositional Optimism in the Depressive Experiences of American Indian Youth from a Northern Plains Tribe

American Indian researchers and scholars have emphasized the importance of identifying variables that promote resilience and protect against the development of psychopathology in American Indian youth. The present study examined the role of self-regulation, specifically goal characteristics (i.e., goal self-efficacy, goal specificity, intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, and goal conflict) and dispositional optimism, as well as cultural identity and self-reported academic grades in the depressive experiences of American Indian youth from a North American plains tribe. One hundred and sixty-four participants (53 % female) completed measures of goal representations, cultural identity, dispositional optimism, academic performance, and depressive symptoms. Results supported a model in which higher goal self-efficacy, American Indian cultural identity, grade point average, and dispositional optimism each significantly predicted fewer depressive symptoms. Moreover, grade point average and goal self-efficacy had both direct and indirect (through dispositional optimism) relationships with depressive symptoms. Our findings underscore the importance of cognitive self-regulatory processes and cultural identity in the depressive experiences for these American Indian youth and may have implications for youth interventions attempting to increase resiliency and decrease risk for depressive symptoms.     

What Went Wrong with NATO?

This article provides a perspective on strategic trends in the NATO alliance and the broader transatlantic relationship. It evaluates the extent of NATO's successes and failures over the last 15 years in the areas of the Balkans, NATO enlargement, and the international campaign against terrorism. The central conclusion is that, while NATO's members have significant technical reforms available that could help to reinvigorate the institution, none is likely to come to fruition without a major change in strategic concepts on both sides of the Atlantic.     

British Nationalism and Europe: A Medieval Comparison

This paper draws attention to the notable parallels between the problems faced by John Major and his government over Europe and a comparative situation from the 13th century. It shows that nationalism has been a leading force in politics for far longer than chronocentric analysis has allowed and that rulers — whether kings or prime ministers — ignore it at their own cost.