Fall from a Balcony—Accidental or Homicidal? Reconstruction by Numerical Simulation

In the case presented, conflicting witness accounts and the subject's injuries were highly suspicious of an assault that might have caused the balcony fall. For the reconstruction, a simulation software, originally designed for motor vehicle accident reconstruction, was used. Three scenarios were simulated using the PC‐Crash multibody pedestrian model: (S1) Subject was pushed against and fell over balcony rail, (S2) subject fell off from a seated position, (S3) subject fell off from a prone position on the rail. (S1) could be ruled out due to inconsistent results in terms of landing area and minimum velocity. Realistic results were obtained for (S3) with a fall off from a prone position on the rail. After a few months, the comatose subject awoke and gave an account of what had happened being consistent with the simulation results. This case demonstrates the feasibility of multibody simulations also in cases of nontraffic incidents.     

The Incidence of Visible Underemployment: Evidence for Trinidad and Tobago

This article presents an empirical analysis of the incidence of visible underemployment in Trinidad and Tobago. Visible underemployment consists of workers who work less than the normal duration of working hours but are willing and available to work more. We find that compared to other groups of the labour force the visibly underemployed tend to be less educated and are more likely to work in the private sector. We also find that their revealed behaviour is consistent with their desire for more hours. Only about 50 per cent of the visibly underemployed are able to find full-time employment within three months and little except firm size helps predict who will.     

Enacting social engineering: the emotional experience of information security deception

Crime, Law and Social Change - Social engineering is a modern form of fraud that is widely implicated in contributing to information security breaches. This study situates social engineering in...     

The political consequences of transitions out of marriage in Great Britain

This article uses British Household Panel Survey data to estimate the effects of divorce and widowhood on political attitudes and political behavior. In contrast to previous research, which mostly relied on cross-sectional data, a matched propensity score analysis does not find any effects of transitions out of marriage on policy preferences, party identification, or vote choice. The results also show that divorce (but not widowhood) substantially reduces electoral participation. Some preliminary evidence suggests that this effect of divorce on turnout is partially attributable to the increased residential mobility that accompanies divorce.     

Fear of Criminal Victimization on a College Campus: A Visual and Survey Analysis of Location and Demographic Factors

On a college campus, fear of crime may be driven by the physical characteristics of a specific location, as well as the demographics and the past experiences of respondents. Demographic and personal factors such as gender, residency, race, age, and class status can play a role in expressed fear as respondents intuitively assess the spaces for prospect, refuge, and escape. Photographs of various campus locations were used to present sample of students from a public university with various physical locations on campus. A survey was utilized as students assessed their reaction to each location in relation to fear of crime. Results were mixed in terms of personal characteristics. For example, males living on campus and full-time students were found to be less fearful than males living off campus and part-time students. Involvements in campus activities reduced fear for women, but increased it for men. The most fear producing location on campus was an enclosed walkway with almost no chance for escape, confirming that prospect, refuge, and escape are strong influences on fear (Nasar and Fisher, Sociology and Social Research, 76, 48–58, 1992).     

Cell line DNA typing in forensic genetics--the necessity of reliable standards

The incorporation of reference DNA is crucial to the validation of any DNA typing protocol. This paper aims to provide a panel of reference DNAs for actual forensic profiling strategies, i.e. autosomal and gonosomal STR typing as well as mtDNA sequencing. We have characterised three human lymphoid cell lines, GM9947, GM9948 and GM3657, and considered 58 autosomal and gonosomal microsatellites as well as the mitochondrial control region sequence. Well-established markers and STRs recently developed for forensic use were involved. K562 DNA samples which we purchased from two different suppliers were also analysed. They revealed conflicting results with regard to the ChrX STR marker genotype. Hence, we suggest that K562 is no longer used for the calibration of profiling techniques. Our investigation establishes a panel of one female and two male DNA samples as an STR allelic ladder calibration tool and offers information on six alleles of each autosome (AS) marker, three alleles of each X chromosome (ChrX) marker and two alleles of each ChrY marker. In addition, sequences of the mitochondrial control region of the three DNAs are communicated in order to provide sequencing quality control.     

Mitochondrial diversity of a northeast German population sample

Mitochondrial DNA sequences of the hypervariable regions HV I and HV II were analyzed in 300 unrelated individuals born and living in the northeast corner of Germany (Western Pomerania) to generate a database for forensic identification purposes in this region. Sequence polymorphism were detected using PCR and direct sequencing analysis. A total of 242 different haplotypes were found as determined by 147 variable positions. The most frequent haplotype (263G, 315.1C) was found in 10 individuals and is also the most common sequence in Europe. Three other haplotypes were shared by 5 individuals, 2 sequences by 4, 8 haplotypes by 3, 15 sequences by 2 persons, and 213 sequences were unique. The genetic diversity was estimated to be 0.99 and the probability of two random individuals showing identical mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes is 0.6%. A comparison with other studies from Germany showed only little differences in the distribution of haplogroups. Nevertheless, one frequent haplotype in northeast Germany (five unrelated individuals) could only rarely be found in other German and European regions. Our results may indicate that despite a high admixture proportion in the German population some regions could demonstrate certain characteristic features.     

A novel platform for the modular integration of forensic assay setup and medium- to high-throughput purification of nucleic acids

With its extraction and assay setup modules, the QIAsymphony^® provides a highly flexible solution for processing forensic samples in a medium- to high-throughput scale. We tested the sensitivity of extraction, precision of sample processing, and accuracy of automated assay setup of this integrated system. Results attest to QIAsymphony's ability to isolate DNA from a spectrum of common forensic samples and process these samples without cross-contamination. Furthermore, accurate assay setup for downstream applications, like PCR, make this system highly suited for enhancing laboratory workflow.     

“The Good,the Bad and the Ugly” Reconsidered: A Comparison of German,Canadian and Spanish Labour Migration Policies

This article compares three immigration countries that are perceived, both publicly and politically, as being fundamentally different: Canada, which is allegedly one of the most attractive destination countries for labour migrants worldwide; Germany, which is still thought to be sceptical towards immigration; and finally Spain, which is considered institutionally incapable of implementing efficient labour migration policies. Against the backdrop of various political reforms that have been adopted in these countries, however, the article argues that such a distinction is becoming increasingly inaccurate. This observation is backed empirically by analysing the technique of screening labour migrants and the temporal design of labour migration policy.