The Effect of Image Quality and Forensic Expertise in Facial Image Comparisons

Images of perpetrators in surveillance video footage are often used as evidence in court. In this study, identification accuracy was compared for forensic experts and untrained persons in facial image comparisons as well as the impact of image quality. Participants viewed thirty image pairs and were asked to rate the level of support garnered from their observations for concluding whether or not the two images showed the same person. Forensic experts reached their conclusions with significantly fewer errors than did untrained participants. They were also better than novices at determining when two high‐quality images depicted the same person. Notably, lower image quality led to more careful conclusions by experts, but not for untrained participants. In summary, the untrained participants had more false negatives and false positives than experts, which in the latter case could lead to a higher risk of an innocent person being convicted for an untrained witness.     

Determination of Herbicides Paraquat,Glyphosate, and Aminomethylphosphonic Acid in Marijuana Samples by Capillary Electrophoresis

In this work, two methods were developed to determine herbicides paraquat, glyphosate, and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in marijuana samples by capillary electrophoresis. For paraquat analysis, sample was extracted with aqueous acetic acid solution and analyzed by capillary zone electrophoresis with direct UV detection. The running electrolyte was 50 mmol/L phosphate buffer (pH 2.50). For glyphosate and AMPA, indirect UV/VIS detection was used, as these substances do not present chromophoric groups. Samples were extracted with 5 mmol/L hydrochloric acid. The running electrolyte was 10 mmol/L gallic acid, 6 mmol/L TRIS, and 0.1 mmol/L CTAB (pH = 4.7). The methods presented good linearity, precision, accuracy, and recovery. Paraquat was detected in 12 samples (n = 130), ranging from 0.01 to 25.1 mg/g. Three samples were positive for glyphosate (0.15–0.75 mg/g), and one sample presented AMPA as well. Experimental studies are suggested to evaluate the risks of these concentrations to marijuana user.     

Angola and Kenya Pavilions in the 2013 Venice Biennale: African Contemporary Art and Cultural Diplomacy in the “Olympics of Art”

A record six African states were awarded a national pavilion at the 2013 Venice Biennale, the premier venue for showcasing a nation's contemporary art, from which Africa has historically been excluded. While first-time participant Angola won the top prize, Kenya's pavilion was the target of bafflement and ire. Using a cultural diplomacy framework that integrates the insights of leading scholars, this research makes concrete recommendations for practitioners vis-à-vis a comparative case study of the two pavilions. Analysis and recommendations consider the interests of a variety of stakeholders and offer insights relevant to Africa and other emerging regions.     

Passivity at Work. A Conversation on an Element in the Philosophy of Giorgio Agamben

This text is based on a staged dialogue conceived by Alice Lagaay and Juliane Schiffers, which closed the conference ‘How not to speak’ (Wie nicht sprechen) at the Centre Marc Bloch in Berlin on 22 April. Critical comments and questions emerging from the discussion that took place on that day are reflected in ‘Voice Off’.     

Use of Forensic DNA Evidence in Prosecutors''Offices

This article reports on a survey of DNA-related practices and procedures within District Attorneys' offices to obtain preliminary information about actual prosecutorial practices. The data obtained is preliminary but supportive of further study of areas targeted by the survey.     

THE ROLE OF THE NATIONAL JUDGE IN EUROPEAN STATE AIDS SECTOR

The article analyses the role and powers of the national judge in the context of State Aids litigation in light of the EU Commission＇s policy adopted in 2009. By analysing the EU Commission＇s policy designed to stimulate the interest of privates to claim judicial protection in front of the national Judge and the judgements of the European Court of Justice, the paper illustrates benefit and problems arising from the enforcement of EU Law in the domestic courts. The paper is focused on the role of the national judge in European state aids sector analyzing the state aids from the national Judge＇s perspective. It is highlighted that the judicial tools are available for the national judge to address the EU Commission and the EU Courts in order to receive support, if needed. Considering that the national Judge cannot analyse State aid＇s compatibility with the EU market-- because this competence belongs only to the EU Commission--it is of the outmost importance that the national judiciary is aware of its role. The EU jurisprudence illustrates that control of legitimacy operated by the Commission and the formal control operated by the national Judge are separate, but complementary to each other. The intervention of the national Judge is to reduce the anti-competitive effect of illegal supports supplied. The role of the national Judge appears very large as he enjoys some precautionary duties--such as the interruption of the aid＇s allocation and the revocation of it--and some curative duties--as the compensation for damages condemning the Member State or the beneficiary.     

Animals In Law: Introduction

This essay opens the Special Issue of the International Journal for the Semiotics of Law dedicated to Animality, entitled “Animals in Law”. It focuses on revealing the principal issues faced in the volume, by positioning the contributors’ works into the general theoretical perspectives which shape the social discourse over animals.     

Long-distance nationalism and belonging in the Libyan diaspora (1969–2011)

ABSTRACT

The article explores the significance of the Libyan diaspora for the politics of the homeland and for nation-building in Libya before the 2011 revolution. The focus is on the migratory flows of Libyan nationals from Libya that resulted in the formation of the Libyan diaspora between 1969 and 2011. The historical analysis of the migratory flows, with a focus on long-distance nationalism projects enacted by opposition groups in exile, is combined with the empirical analysis of the micro-interactional social mechanisms at work in the diaspora that suffuse the everyday lives of individuals. The historical and empirical analysis of the case of the Libyan diaspora provides an opportunity to unpack the mutually constitutive relationship between concepts of nation, nation-state, nationalism and belonging in the context of transnational processes in the twenty-first century.