‘I am an American’: protesting advertised ‘Americanness’

How are citizenships and nationalisms constructed, connected, and contested in the post-9/11 USA – performatively, affectively, and visually – and how do their relationships figure ‘Americanness’? This article takes up this question (1) by tracking how Americanness was advertised in the American Ad Council's ‘I am an American’ campaign and (2) by introducing the multimedia project ‘I am an American’: Video Portraits of Unsafe US Citizens, which engages the Ad Council's campaign as a practice-based protest of the Ad Council's advertised ‘Americanness’. The article traces how the Ad Council's campaign advertises what Evelyn Alsultany calls ‘diversity patriotism’. It also constructs a complex, mobile system of differentiation that marks some citizens as ‘safe’ and others as ‘unsafe’, which runs counter to the idealized notion of a unified ‘Americanness’ that it advertises. The article then examines how the practice-based protest project ‘I am an American’ takes these ‘unsafe citizens’ – US citizens who either will not or cannot make their differences normatively conform to the national ideal of the ‘One’ composed of the ‘Many’ propagated by the Ad Council's campaign – as its point of departure to reflect upon how citizenship protests function for and against citizenship, nationalisms, and various figurations of Americanness.     

The Identification of Spiromesifen,a Recently Introduced Pesticide,Using Approaches to Chemical Unknown Analysis

An unknown, viscous, opaque, white liquid with a strong, unpleasant odor was submitted with a request for identification. It was analyzed using infrared (IR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy. It was found to contain glycerin as well as another compound. IR and mass spectral data were readily obtained for this second component, but it was not easily identified as common instrument libraries had no matching spectra. After an extensive literature search, the unknown compound was identified as spiromesifen, a recently introduced pesticide. The IR spectrum and electron impact mass spectrum of spiromesifen are presented here as these are not available in the published literature. This case report also provides useful approaches for searching for and identifying an unknown compound when it is not found in a laboratory's spectral libraries.     

Constitutional foundations of commercial and investment arbitration in Nigerian law and practice

Ten years ago Sir Anthony Mason, a former Chief Justice of Australia, warned that ‘a failure to strike the right balance between judicial independence and judicial accountability will result in either an unacceptable weakening of judicial independence or inadequate accountability’. ¹ 1 Judicial Commission of New South Wales (1997) Fragile Bastion – Judicial Independence in the Nineties and Beyond (Sydney: Judicial Commission of New South Wales), Chapt 1, p. 2.

This article examines some of the evolving aspects of judicial independence and judicial accountability within and outside the Commonwealth Caribbean and highlights some of the practical problems that occur in our region or are likely to arise. Decisions of courts and emerging practices in other parts of the Commonwealth provide excellent guidance and lessons for us in the Caribbean.

Judicial independence and accountability are not esoteric matters. They are principles that, admittedly, may resonate particularly with judicial officers because they tend to affect judicial officers in practical ways. But they are principles that are fundamental to good governance in democratic societies. Indeed, Commonwealth Heads of Government acknowledged the importance of these two principles when, at their meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2003, they adopted the Latimer House Guidelines ² 2 The Latimer House Guidelines for the Commonwealth, 19 June 1998. as Commonwealth Principles. Such importance and respect are now accorded judicial independence that the UK Parliament actually enshrined the principle in the text of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005: ‘The Lord Chancellor, other Ministers of the Crown and all with responsibility for matters relating to the judiciary… must uphold the continued independence of the judiciary.’ ³ 3 Section 3(1).

Although this article will discuss judicial independence and accountability separately, it will be argued that the two concepts are not inconsistent and must coexist.     

Predicting the Postmortem Submersion Interval for Human Remains Recovered from U.K. Waterways*

Abstract: This article aims to increase accuracy in estimating the postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) for bodies recovered from rivers in the United Kingdom. Data were collected from closed case files, crime scene reports, and autopsy files concerning bodies recovered over a 15‐year period from the River Clyde, Scotland, and the River Mersey and canals in northwest England. One hundred and eighty‐seven cases met the study criteria and were scored by quantifying the overall amount of decomposition observed in each case. Statistical analysis showed that the duration of a body’s submergence in water and the temperatures to which it was exposed, as measured in accumulated degree days (ADD), had a significant effect on the decay process. Further analysis indicated that there were no significant differences in decomposition between the waterways. By combining the data from all study samples, it was possible to produce a single linear regression model for predicting ADD from observed decomposition.     

The Influence of Insects on Decomposition Rate in Buried and Surface Remains

Abstract: This article reports results of a comparative study of decomposition rates of wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) which were either (i) buried after exposure to insect activity, (ii) buried without exposure, (iii) kept above ground behind an insect screen, or (iv) continuously exposed above ground in a field experiment. Results showed that dipteran oviposition occurred consistently in groups i and iv only. Decomposition rates (measured by Total Body Score every c. 50 accumulated degree days [ADD]) of rabbits kept behind the screen and those buried without exposure showed no difference (p = 0.450). This was significantly slower than those buried after exposure (p = 0.0016) which was in turn significantly slower than those continuously exposed (p << 0.001). Temperatures collected from animals showed the presence of feeding larvae increased intra‐abdominal temperatures to >5°C above ambient. The findings support the assertion that insect presence is the primary agent affecting decomposition rate via tissue consumption and also the heat they generate.     

Proactive Policing: a Summary of the Report of the National Academies of Sciences,Engineering, and Medicine

This paper provides a summary of our report for the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on proactive policing. We find that there is sufficient scientific evidence to support the adoption of many proactive policing practices if the primary goal is to reduce crime, though the evidence base generally does not provide long-term or jurisdictional estimates. In turn, we conclude that crime prevention outcomes can often be obtained without producing negative community reactions. However, the most effective proactive policing strategies do not appear to have strong positive impacts on citizen perceptions of the police. At the same time, some community-based strategies have begun to show evidence of improving the relations between the police and public. We conclude that there are likely to be large racial disparities in the volume and nature of police–citizen encounters when police target high-risk people or high-risk places, as is common in many proactive policing programs. We could not conclude whether such disparities are due to statistical prediction, racial animus, implicit bias, or other causes.

     

Intergenerational Transmission of Violence: the Influence of Self-Appraisals,Mental Disorders and Substance Abuse

Although research has demonstrated connections between experiencing abuse as a child and being in a violent relationship as an adult, the specific mechanisms through which this transmission occurs are unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between certain personal factors (self-appraisals and mental/substance use disorders) and experiencing violence as an adult. Data from the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) 1990–1992 were utilized. Respondents who reported experiencing childhood abuse or victimization and were in a current intimate partnership (N = 590) were selected for analysis. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that low self-esteem, past year PTSD, and past year alcohol dependence were significantly associated with intimate partner violence after controlling for other self-appraisals and mental disorders.     

Investigating the leaders' state of readiness in the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services in South Africa to develop policy for the fourth industrial revolution

The study investigated the state of leadership readiness in the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS) to develop policy for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). The DTPS is the lead Department in terms of 4IR within the Public Service and there are specific skills that are required within the DTPS to effectively lead in this regard. This study investigated the perceived gap between current skills and required skills in DTPS. The study adopted a qualitative method to obtain leaders' views and opinions by conducting structured and semi-structured interviews. The nature of the study is exploratory. A total of 10 DTPS employees, both female and male on a 50/50 basis were interviewed on the skills of the leaders' state of readiness in developing policy for 4IR. The study findings identified an absence of problem-solving, analytical, creative, technical, conflict management, collaboration and artificial intelligence, innovation and change management skills. It recommends that these competencies be included in the current Public Service Competency Assessment Framework that ensures that leaders are ready for policy development for 4IR.