The effect of soil type on adipocere formation

Adipocere refers to a postmortem product which forms from body fat in the later stages of decomposition. Factors present in the surrounding decomposition environment will influence adipocere formation and may accelerate or retard the process of conversion. One such factor important in burial environments is the type of grave soil in which the burial has taken place. This study was conducted to investigate the influence of various soil types on the formation of adipocere in grave soils. X-ray diffraction and particle size analysis were used to characterise the soils which were essentially chosen on the basis of grain size. Infrared spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used to investigate the lipid profile and chemical composition of adipocere developed from decomposing tissue. The results suggest that adipocere is able to form in various soil types and that particular soil environments may accelerate its formation.     

Characterization of adipocere formation in animal species

Adipocere is a soft white substance formed postmortem from fatty tissue in a decomposing body. In this preliminary study the formation of adipocere in soil was investigated for a number of animal species. Adipocere was formed from the fatty tissue of pig, cattle, sheep and rabbit. It was found that adipocere did not form from the fatty tissue of chicken or kangaroo in the time frame investigated. The issues being considered are relevant to the forensic examination of remains whose origin is otherwise uncertain or which are, in some way, related to human remains. Infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used to characterise the composition of adipocere formed in the various species after different burial durations. Adipocere was observed to form at different rates among the species, but there was no distinct evidence of the fundamental composition varying between species.     

Disasters as Crisis Triggers for Critical Junctures? The 1976 Guatemala Case

This article focuses on the 1976 Guatemala earthquake disaster as a possible crisis trigger, in a relatively strict application of the critical juncture analytical approach. It expands to include the broader question of what conditions might cause disasters to trigger crises that open critical junctures for nation‐states. The research concludes that the 1976 Guatemala disaster led to a high degree of community self‐organizing and alliance‐building across Guatemala, which the Guatemalan national security state at that time perceived as a fundamental crisis requiring a response. This reaction generated significant debate and policy conflict within the state; the resulting decision was massively repressive violence, with legacies that continue to this day. Another conclusion is that strictly applied, critical juncture analysis can untangle often very complicated disaster postimpact emergency, recovery, and reconstruction situations.     

The impact of EU intervention on political parties’ politicisation of Europe following the financial crisis

Abstract

This article examines the effect of the financial crisis and economic intervention by the European Union on political parties’ politicisation of the EU within national elections. Data from the Manifesto Project for elections between 2002 and 2017 in 12 Eurozone countries is used to assess how the crisis and intervention altered the saliency, position and clarity of parties’ EU policies. The analysis shows that the crisis only led to an increase in EU saliency in those states not subjected to intervention whilst intervention is actually associated with a decrease in the saliency of the EU. In terms of increasing Euroscepticism, intervention appears to exhibit a greater effect than the crisis although the results display marked asymmetry between different parties on the left and right. The same is observed to be the case for the level of blurring that parties are engaged in to mask their EU positions. The implications of the findings suggest that economic intervention within the EU has negatively impacted democracy in intervened-in member states by reducing the manoeuvrability of parties to provide voters with clear choices on the direction of European integration.     

The rise and fall of Germany's party of democratic socialism

This article offers a short diachronic analysis of the development and success of Germany's Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), followed by an examination of the explanations cited by academics, political commentators and the party itself for its poor performance in the 2002 general election. A distinction is drawn between factors that are short-term in nature and those that are more fundamental to the party's current predicament, with the analytical emphasis being placed firmly on internal variables – that is, on the party's own capacity (or lack thereof) to act. The conclusion is reached that sympathisers and supporters of the PDS currently have very little reason to be optimistic about the party's future prospects.