Decision analysis in forensic science

Forensic scientists are routinely faced with the problems of making decisions under circumstances of uncertainty (i.e., to perform or not perform a test). A decision making model in forensic science is proposed, illustrated with an example from the field of forensic genetics. The approach incorporates available evidence and associated uncertainties with the assessment of utilities (or desirability of the consequences). The paper examines a general example for which identification will be made of the decision maker, the possible actions, the uncertain states of nature, the possible source of evidence and the kind of utility assessments required. It is argued that a formal approach can help to clarify the decision process and give a coherent means of combining elements to reach a decision.     

Sex trafficking and the mainstream of market culture

The majority of analyses of the international trade in women focusses on the rôle of organised crime groups in the supply and delivery of women across borders and into the local sex trade. This paper (a) attempts to locate the demand for traded women in a broader analysis of changes in the political economy of developed studies and (b) more specifically situates the trade in women in relation to the new-found centrality of sex in the mainstream of popular culture.     

FOSTERING COOPERATION AND DIALOGUE

The Xi-Obama summit provides a chance for frank discussion on how to improve bilateral ties The meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama at Sunnylands,the former Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage,California,on June 7-8 was unprecedented in its relatively informal