Jihad in a World of Sovereigns: Law,Violence, and Islam in the Bosnia Crisis

This article argues that jihads waged in recent decades by “foreign fighter” volunteers invoking a sense of global Islamic solidarity can be usefully understood as attempts to enact an alternative to the interventions of the “International Community.” Drawing from ethnographic and archival research on Arab volunteers who joined the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia‐Herzegovina, this article highlights the challenges and dilemmas facing such jihad fighters as they maneuvered at the edges of diverse legal orders, including international and Islamic law. Jihad fighters appealed to a divine authority above the global nation‐state order while at the same time rooting themselves in that order through affiliation with the sovereign and avowedly secular nation‐state of Bosnia‐Herzegovina. This article demonstrates an innovative approach to law, violence, and Islam that critically situates states and nonstate actors in relation to one another in transnational perspective.     

Routine forensic use of the mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA gene for species identification

Since July 2004, Mitotyping Technologies has been amplifying and sequencing a approximately 150 base pair fragment of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that codes for 12S ribosomal RNA, to identify the species origin of nonhuman casework samples. The approximately 100 base pair sequence product is searched at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/BLAST and the species match is reported. The use of this assay has halved the number of samples for which no mtDNA results are obtained and is especially useful on hairs and degraded samples. The availability of species determination may aid forensic investigators in opening or closing off lines of inquiry where a highly probative but challenging sample has been collected.     

Modelling the buried human body environment in upland climes using three contrasting field sites

Despite an increasing literature on the decomposition of human remains, whether buried or exposed, it is important to recognise the role of specific microenvironments which can either trigger or delay the rate of decomposition. Recent casework in Northern England involving buried and partially buried human remains has demonstrated a need for a more detailed understanding of the effect of contrasting site conditions on cadaver decomposition and on the microenvironment created within the grave itself. Pigs (Sus scrofa) were used as body analogues in three inter-related taphonomy experiments to examine differential decomposition of buried human remains. They were buried at three contrasting field sites (pasture, moorland, and deciduous woodland) within a 15 km radius of the University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK. Changes to the buried body and the effect of these changes on hair and associated death-scene textile materials were monitored as was the microenvironment of the grave. At recovery, 6, 12 and 24 months post-burial, the extent of soft tissue decomposition was recorded and samples of fat and soil were collected for gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis. The results of these studies demonstrated that (1) soil conditions at these three burial sites has a marked effect on the condition of the buried body but even within a single site variation can occur; (2) the process of soft tissue decomposition modifies the localised burial microenvironment in terms of microbiological load, pH, moisture and changes in redox status. These observations have widespread application for the investigation of clandestine burial and time since deposition, and in understanding changes within the burial microenvironment that may impact on biomaterials such as hair and other associated death scene materials.     

Disrupting Conventional Law Firm Business Models using Document Assembly

Document assembly software is a technology that is fundamentalto disrupting law firms. This article uses the framework setout by Clayton Christensen in The Innovator’s Dilemmaand subsequent books to examine the range of business modelsthat use document assembly software, from those that are sustainingin relation to law firms to those that are disruptive in relationto law firms. It looks at three barriers that slow down thepace of disruption: a shortage of the right people, rules againstunauthorised practice, and inadequate capitalisation of lawfirms. These barriers will be overcome on a piecemeal basisas disruptive forces advance and undercut the billable hour.     

Systematic review of religious affiliations and beliefs as correlates of public attitudes toward capital punishment

Religious reasons are frequently described as considerations that shape support for or opposition to capital punishment; however, there are many inconsistencies in the literature. This study represents a systematic review of the extant research on religious affiliations and beliefs as correlates of public attitudes toward capital punishment. Searches conducted in five databases identified 33 articles, representing 97,570 respondents. Results revealed that people belonging to Protestant affiliations and with negative images of God were more likely to support capital punishment. People possessing positive images of God and with strong beliefs in compassion were less likely to support capital punishment. The religious correlates commonly assessed in the extant literature, such as fundamentalism, are not significant correlates of attitudes toward capital punishment. Findings also revealed that the predominance of research examined Christian religious affiliations, to the exclusion of other common affiliations, such as Buddhist or Islamic affiliations. Taken together, findings suggest that compared to affiliations, religious beliefs better explain attitudes toward capital punishment. Further research is needed to investigate the ways religious correlates influence death qualified jury selection and capital sentencing decisions. An increased understanding of the nuanced relationship between religion and capital punishment attitudes can better inform capital punishment policy and practice.     

Estimation of adult stature from fragmentary tibias.

Linear-regression equations derived from measurements of tibial condyles from 100 individuals in the Hamann-Todd Collection retrodicted known stature with a level of confidence comparable to many of the existing stature-estimation techniques. Statures of an independent control group were estimated with similar success. The strong linear relationship that exists between the length of the tibia and the size of the condyles allows adult stature (of American whites and blacks) to be estimated from the proximal tibia. Since complete tibial length is not required, this technique could prove useful in forensic science and archaeological cases where less-than-intact elements are recovered.     

Comparative identity and homogeneity testing of the mtDNA HV1 region using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis

A denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) assay has been developed for comparative identity and homogeneity testing of the mtDNA HV1 region. A total of 49 pairs of sequences, each pair differing by a single unique polymorphism, were tested to verify the reliability of the assay. Discrimination between all pairings was achieved as judged by the resolution of the mismatch-containing heteroduplexes from the fully base-paired homoduplexes. In all but two pairings, resolution of the fully base-paired homoduplexes was also obtained. Sequence pairs differing by multiple polymorphisms were also tested and resulted in a greater separation between the homo- and heteroduplexes. Additional information derived from the technique includes the identification of co-amplifying contaminating or heteroplasmic samples in the independent samples lanes. Thirteen heteroplasmic samples, six at positions distinct from those analyzed in the pairwise comparison study, were analyzed and the heteroplasmic positions identified unambiguously by sequencing the excised bands. The technique constitutes a conceptually simple, accurate, and inexpensive test for determining whether two sequences match within the mtDNA HV1 region, while providing a more definitive control for the identification of co-amplifying contaminating or heteroplasmic sequences than is presently available.