Non-destructive testing techniques for the forensic engineering investigation of reinforced concrete buildings

This study describes in detail the results of a laboratory investigation where the compressive strength of 150mm side-length cubes was evaluated. Non-destructive testing (NDT) was carried out using ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and impact rebound hammer (IRH) techniques to establish a correlation with the compressive strengths of compression tests. To adapt the Schmidt hammer apparatus and the ultrasonic pulse velocity tester to the type of concrete used in Algeria, concrete mix proportions that are recommended by the Algerian code were chosen. The resulting correlation curve for each test is obtained by changing the level of compaction, water/cement ratio and concrete age of specimens. Unlike other works, the research highlights the significant effect of formwork material on surface hardness of concrete where two different mould materials for specimens were used (plastic and wood). A combined method for the above two tests, reveals an improvement in the strength estimation of concrete. The latter shows more improvement by including the concrete density. The resulting calibration curves for strength estimation were compared with others from previous published literature.     

Narcophobia: drugs prohibition and the generation of human rights abuses

This paper is concerned with the negative aspects of global drugs prohibition. The paper argues that prohibition, which is driven by moralism rather than empirical research, creates a black market that is regulated by violent entrepreneurs, and particular in developing countries where there is a lack of economic opportunities for the poor, offers the only feasible employment options. The paper suggests that the results of experimental legislation should be taken seriously. The militarisation of prohibition enforcement has hindered the advancement of democracy and led to violence and increases in human rights abuses. In conclusion it is argued that the current system of global prohibition creates more problems than it solves, and that issues of drug production and trade need to be dealt with by regulation from within a development perspective.     

Implementing multicultural policy: an analysis of the heritage language program, 1971–1981

While O'Bryan and associates carried out a good comprehensive national survey in the 1970s of non-official language use in Canada, such a major study rum needs to be done in the 1980s as well. Such a new update could use more sophisticated methods of analysis, to ensure greater penetration into the quality of language comprehension and use.     

Forensic utility of carbon isotope ratio variations in PVC tape backings

Forensic interest in adhesive tapes with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) backings (electrical tape) derives from their use in a variety of illicit activities. Due to the range of physical characteristics, chemical compositions, and homogeneity within a single roll of tape, traditional microscopic and chemical analyses can offer a high degree of discrimination between tapes, permitting the assessment of potential associations between evidentiary tape samples. The carbon isotope ratios of tapes could provide additional discrimination among tape samples. To evaluate whether carbon isotope ratios may be able to increase discrimination of electrical tapes, particularly with regards to different rolls of tape of the same product, we assessed the δ(13)C values of backings from 87 rolls of PVC-based black electrical tape (~20 brands, >60 products) Prior to analysis, adhesives were removed to prevent contamination by adhering debris, and plasticizers were extracted because of concern over their potential mobility. This result is consistent with each of these tapes having approximately the same plasticizer δ(13)C value and proportion of carbon in these plasticizers. The δ(13)C values of the 87 PVC tape backings ranged between -23.5 and -41.3 (‰, V-PDB), with negligible carbon isotopic variation within single rolls of tape, yet large variations among tape brands and tape products. Within this tape population, carbon isotope ratios permitted an average exclusion power of 93.7%, using a window of +/-0.3‰; the combination of carbon isotope ratio measurement with additional chemical and physical analyses raises the discrimination power to over 98.9%, with only 41 out of a possible 3741 pairs of tape samples being indistinguishable. There was a linear relationship between the δ(13)C value of tape backings and the change in δ(13)C value with the extraction of plasticizers. Analyses of pre- and post-blast tape sample pairs show that carbon isotope signatures are within 0.3‰ of pre-blast values, indicating that carbon isotope values are largely preserved during an explosion.     

Diamonds,gold and crime displacement: Hatton Garden,and the evolution of organised crime in the UK

The 2015 Hatton Garden Heist was described as the ‘largest burglary in English legal history’. However, the global attention that this spectacular crime attracted to ‘The Garden’ tended to concentrate upon the value of the stolen goods and the vintage of the burglars. What has been ignored is how the burglary shone a spotlight into Hatton Garden itself, as an area with a unique ‘upperworld’ commercial profile and skills cluster that we identify as an incubator and facilitator for organised crime. The Garden is the UK’s foremost jewellery production and retail centre and this paper seeks to explore how Hatton Garden’s businesses integrated with a fluid criminal population to transition, through hosting lucrative (and bureaucratically complex) VAT gold frauds from 1980 to the early 1990s, to become a major base for sophisticated acquisitive criminal activities. Based on extensive interviews over a thirty year period, evidence from a personal research archive and public records, this paper details a cultural community with a unique criminal profile due to the particularities of its geographical location, ethnic composition, trading culture, skills base and international connections. The processes and structures that facilitate criminal markets are largely under-researched (Antonopoulos et al. 2015: 11), and this paper considers how elements of Hatton Garden’s ‘upperworld’ businesses integrated with project criminals, displaced by policing strategies, to effect this transition.     

The deployment of Canadian experts and teachers in international development

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it examines the deployment of Canadian experts and teachers in international development. Secondly, it assesses the extent to which the distribution of Canadian expertise among developing countries is consistent with the Canadian policy of concentrating on the needs of the poorest of the poor and those in greatest need. The results show that over one-half of all Canadian experts go to Africa and that about 20 per cent are women, mostly in traditional female-dominated professions. Using more objective social and economic development indicators, such as the Physical Quality of Life Index and Disparity Reduction Rates, however, the results show that the deployment of Canadian expertise does not reflect the real needs of many of the developing countries receiving aid from the Canadian International Development Agency. These contradictions and inconsistencies are discussed in the light of competing and often conflicting foreign policy objectives which often override the legitimate development needs of the most needy countries. Specific suggestions are made to alleviate some of the inconsistencies. Sommaire: Cet article poursuit un double objectif. Il se penche tout d'abord sur le contingent d'experts et de professeurs canadiens nommés à l'étranger dans le cadre du développement international. Ensuite, il évalue si la répartition des compétences canadiennes dans les pays en voie de développement est conforme à la politique canadienne selon laquelle il faut se concentrer sur les besoins des plus pauvres parmi les pauvres et des plus démunis. Les résultats montrent que plus de la moitié de tous les experts canadiens vont en Afrique et qu'environ 20% d'entre eux sont des femmes, celles-ci exerçant surtout des professions typiquement féminines par tradition. Toutefois, en s'appuyant sur des indicateurs de développement économique et sociaux plus objectifs, comme 1'Indice de la qualité physique de la vie et les Taux de réduction des disparités, les résultats montrent que le contingent d'experts canadiens ne reflete pas les vrais besoins de beaucoup de pays en voie de développement bénéficiant de l'assistance de 1'Agence canadienne de développe-ment international. Dans l'article, on analyse ces contradictions et ces illogismes à la lumière des objectifs de la politique étrangère, lesquels sont souvent en conflit les uns avec les autres et ne tiennent pas compte des besoins légitimes des pays les plus démunis en matière de développement. L'article contient des suggestions précises visant à réduire certaines contradictions.     

Major Life Events and the Age-Partisan Stability Association

Political Behavior - Stable partisanship in the United States is often attributed to attachments to political parties that become slowly and incrementally stronger with age. Here, I show that...