Naked foot marks — A preliminary study of identification factors

Footprints of 725 apparently healthy subjects (395 males and 330 females) between the ages of 18 and 30 years were obtained. A number of measurements were taken on each footprint and converted into suitable indices to overcome the problems of registration, recording and observation.Minimum and maximum probability values for each index and combined probabilities were calculated. From the data, it was found that the maximum combined frequency of an individual in the population was of the order of 10^?4 and the minimum combined frequency was several orders of magnitude less. These probability figures do not take into consideration crease marks and other characteristic features. Thus the present study indicates that combined probabilities could provide reasonably reliable circumstantial evidence to link the criminal with the crime.Humps and creases, which often confer individuality on a print, form additional features of the study.     

Rapid and non-destructive approach for characterization and differentiation of sealing wax using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy

Sealing wax is used for maintaining the integrity and authenticity of a document or physical evidence. Any tampering with the seal calls into question the overall integrity and authenticity of the tangible evidence or document. In these circumstances, determining the authenticity of the sealing material (physical and chemical) becomes imperative. In this study, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy supported by chemometrics has been used to differentiate sealing wax samples belonging to 12 different brands available across India. All the samples were first melted, cooled, and then analyzed using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy in the mid-infrared region (4000–600 cm⁻¹). The obtained spectra were first examined visually for the presence of different functional groups. Principal component analysis (PCA) and principal component analysis-linear discriminant analysis (PCA-LDA) were employed to analyze the sample clustering patterns and to categorize them into their respective groups, respectively. For classification, a PCA-LDA training model was applied, and it demonstrated 95.83% accuracy. The validation test resulted in an accuracy of 83.33%. PCA-LDA model offered 100% accurate prediction for samples on various substrates, including cloth, cardboard, and paper. A blind study was also performed using five unknown samples, which were accurately classified into their respective groups. PCA-LDA model will be helpful in providing investigative leads by linking a questioned sealing wax sample with its respective group.     

Energising ties: The politics of oil

India's growing energy needs are a key driver of commercial and diplomatic initiatives with Africa. It is also an area in which competition is rife with China and the US, but also other global players. The article details developments and production in Africa's energy sector and suggests ways that India could improve its relationship with the continent in this regard.     

Measuring the Impact of Microfinance on Women Empowerment: A Cross Country Analysis with Special Reference to India

The outreach of microfinance program is considered to be a means to enhance the economic opportunities among the women section of the population and thus have its far reaching implications to the empowerment of women. In this respect, a wide variation in the outreach of microfinance program to the women poor households is observed across countries of the world. In India, the states having higher level of microfinance outreach are also the states with a relatively high level of women empowerment. It is, thus, predicted that an all-inclusive microfinance system would strengthen the process of financial inclusion in India and thereby would promote women’s empowerment.     

Mainstreaming Gender in Politics in Bangladesh: Role of NGOs

‘Gender mainstreaming’ has been regarded as one of the strongest approaches to deal with the issue of equality policy for women. In order to mainstream women in the political process, a number of NGOs have been carrying out different programs in Bangladesh for building awareness among women so that they could opt for participation in the political process. The paper analyzes the role of NGOs in the process of mainstreaming gender in politics in Bangladesh in general and in the enactment of the Local Government (Union Parishad) (Second Amendment) Act of 1997 in particular. Based on empirical data collected through an open-ended structured questionnaire and available secondary data, the study findings reveal that despite having no formal access to the policy process, NGOs augment participation of women in the political process through informal means as is exemplified by their training programs that enhance women's social and economic status.     

‘Executive ombudsman’ in an American city—a mechanism for handling complaints

Community Politics has been a political strategy of the Liberal Party, now the Liberal Democrats, since 1970. It involves a critique of traditional representational relationships and argues for a participatory democracy based upon deliberation to build consensus out of competing interests. Whilst the associated campaigning techniques have made the third party an important force in local government, this article uses new empirical evidence to assess the success of the strategy in transforming representational relationships and extending popular participation in local government. It is argued that its success in respect of these objectives has been limited, principally because of popular disenchantment with political parties and the inherent tensions and limitations that accompany popular participation in deliberative democratic structures.     

Cytochrome b based genetic differentiation of Indian wild pig (Sus scrofa cristatus) and domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica) and its use in wildlife forensics

The Indian wild pig (Sus scrofa cristatus) is a protected species and listed in the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The wild pig is often hunted illegally and sold in market as meat warranting punishment under law. To avoid confusion in identification of these two subspecies during wildlife forensic examinations, we describe genetic differentiation of Indian wild and domestic pigs using a molecular technique. Analysis of sequence generated from the partial fragment (421 bp) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene exhibited unambiguous (> 3%) genetic variation between Indian wild and domestic pigs. We observed nine forensically informative nucleotide sequence (FINS) variations between Indian wild and domestic pigs. The overall genetic variation described in this study is helpful in forensic identification of the biological samples of wild and domestic pigs. It also helped in differentiating the Indian wild pig from other wild pig races. This study indicates that domestic pigs in India are not descendent of the Indian wild pig, however; they are closer to the other wild pig races found in Asia and Europe.