An Investigation of Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Eurasian Badger (Meles meles) Scavenging,Scattering, and Removal of Deer Remains: Forensic Implications and Applications

Within northwest Europe, especially the United Kingdom, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the Eurasian Badger (Meles meles) are the largest wild scavengers capable of modifying a set of remains through scavenging. Knowledge of region-specific and species-typical scavenging behaviors of scavengers within the crime scene area and surroundings can aid in more efficient and accurate interpretations. The scavenging behaviors of captive and wild foxes and badgers were recorded and compared through actualistic methods and direct observation. The scavenging by wild foxes and badgers of surface-deposited baits and whole deer (Cervus nippon; Capreolus capreolus) in a woodland was observed and analyzed. Wild foxes were found to scavenge deer more frequently than badgers. The scavenging of deer remains by foxes was also compared with forensic cases. The scavenging pattern and recovery distances of deer and human remains scavenged by foxes were similar but were potentially affected by the condition and deposition of a body, and the presence of clothing.     

The marriage boom: Spanish and Swedish women making sense of marriage during the marriage boom

This article analyzes the marriage boom that took place during the middle decades of the twentieth century. The increase in nuptiality is analyzed in Spain and Sweden from a qualitative perspective, and the authors describe how cultural, social, economic and institutional transformations were understood by women who were in their reproductive period during the marriage boom. In-depth interviews were conducted in both places with 51 women born between 1919 and 1951. The authors argue that it is important that the ways in which the factors previously identified as decisive of the marriage boom are studied for their motivating power, and the way they were or were not made important in people's understandings of their marital practices. The results show that despite the differences between the national contexts of Spain and Sweden, three interrelated themes recurred when the interviewed women framed their marital choices: (1) the normalization of marriage as a life event; (2) religion; (3) and education and work life. The results also suggest that the women highlighted norm systems within which their choices and decisions were made, rather than describing individual choices and decisions as stemming from individual preferences and wishes.     

Transitional Justice in Transit: Why Transferring a Special Court for Sierra Leone Trial to the Hague Defeats the Purposes of Hybrid Tribunals

Netherlands International Law Review -     

Classifying Political Regimes in Latin

This article is about how political regimes should generally be classified, and how Latin American regimes should be classified for the 1945–99 period. We make five general claims about regime classification. First, regime classification should rest on sound concepts and definitions. Second, it should be based on explicit and sensible coding and aggregation rules. Third, it necessarily involves some subjective judgments. Fourth, the debate about dichotomous versus continuous measures of democracy creates a false dilemma. Neither democratic theory, nor coding requirements, nor the reality underlying democratic practice compel either a dichotomous or a continuous approach in all cases. Fifth, dichotomous measures of democracy fail to capture intermediate regime types, obscuring variation that is essential for studying political regimes. This general discussion provides the grounding for our trichotomous ordinal scale, which codes regimes as democratic, semi-democratic or authoritarian in nineteen Latin American countries from 1945 to 1999. Our trichotomous classification achieves greater differentiation than dichotomous classifications and yet avoids the need for massive information that a very fine-grained measure would require.     

Biotechnology and society in the new century]

The developments and applications in human biotechnology make us face deep social dilemmas, social and ethical, that are associated to the possibility of altering our evolutionary and cultural development, thereby renouncing to the principle of Humanity. From a sociological perspective, this text reflects on this matters taking into account how its past and present has shaped a specific operational matrix that is projected towards the future. We shall offer all the public perceptions held on their possibilities in Spain and in the European nations as every advance in scientific and technological matters must take into account the opinion of the citizenry. Finally, there are some final reflections that rather than close the debate leave some questions unanswered. The future should be constructed through dialogue and consensus in a matter of such importance.     

对刑释人员安置工作的思考

在构建和谐社会过程中,加强刑释人员安置工作,降低重新犯罪率,对实现构建和谐社会的目标具有重要的意义。加强刑释人员安置工作需要对刑释人员保护进行立法、建立刑释人员保护组织、转变刑释人员安置方式。同时改革现行的监狱对服刑人员进行职业技术教育的内容,提高刑释人员回归社会后的生存能力。