Three-dimensional computer visualization of forensic pathology data

Despite a decade of use in US courtrooms, it is only recently that forensic computer animations have become an increasingly important form of communication in legal spheres within the United Kingdom. Aims Research at the University of Nottingham has been influential in the critical investigation of forensic computer graphics reconstruction methodologies and techniques and in raising the profile of this novel form of data visualization within the United Kingdom. The case study presented demonstrates research undertaken by Aims Research and the Department of Forensic Pathology at the University of Sheffield, which aims to apply, evaluate, and develop novel 3-dimensional computer graphics (CG) visualization and virtual reality (VR) techniques in the presentation and investigation of forensic information concerning the human body. The inclusion of such visualizations within other CG or VR environments may ultimately provide the potential for alternative exploratory directions, processes, and results within forensic pathology investigations.     

Mitochondrial DNA and STR analyses of maggot crop contents: effect of specimen preservation technique

DNA analysis of maggot crop contents can be used to identify a missing body or aid entomologists with interpreting evidence used for PMI estimations. Entomological evidence is often collected and preserved to keep identifiable external features intact. The preservation methods currently in use may not be suitable for preserving DNA in the maggot crop for later analysis. In this study, carrion maggots raised on human tissue were preserved under the following 8 preservation conditions: no fluid at -70 degrees C, no fluid at 4 degrees C, no fluid at 24 degrees C, 70% ethanol at 4 degrees C, 70% ethanol at 24 degrees C, 95% ethanol at 24 degrees C, Kahle's solution at 24 degrees C and formaldehyde at 24 degrees C. Maggots were dissected following 2 weeks, 8 weeks and 6 months of preservation. The maggot crops were extracted, human DNA was quantitated, and an attempt was made at amplifying mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and short tandem repeat (STR) loci. Both mtDNA and STRs were successfully amplified from maggots stored in ethanol or without any preservation fluid. Formalin-containing preservation solutions reduced the recovery of DNA. The best results were observed from maggots stored without any preservation fluid at -70 degrees C.     

Citizen-Centered Collaborative Public Management

Civic engagement and collaborative public management are concepts that are defined broadly, making theoretical explication challenging and practical application of empirical research difficult. In this article, the authors adopt definitions of civic engagement and collaborative public management that are centered on the citizen and the potential for active citizenship. Following a historical review of civic engagement in the United States, a conceptual model of five approaches to civic engagement is offered. Citizen-centered collaborative public management is enhanced through these approaches. The authors suggest the need for further empirical research on collaborative public management that is grounded in citizenship action.     

Global Justice and the Distribution of Natural Resources

What should a political theorist say about the justice of the global distribution of natural resources? One issue is whether principles of distributive justice should be applied globally, and this has been debated between nationalists and cosmopolitans. A second, though, is how the category of 'natural resources' should be conceived in relation to other distributable goods. This has not adequately been addressed even by theorists of global justice who expressly focus on natural resources. In particular, neither Charles Beitz's argument for a natural resources redistribution principle nor David Miller's argument against works with a satisfactory account of how the physical distribution of resources relates to the distribution of their economic value. A more satisfactory account can be developed from the perspective of ecological economics as inspired by Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen. From this perspective, global inequalities in the command of natural resources can be viewed with the clarity that a normative theory of their justice requires. If natural resources are re-conceptualised in terms of 'ecological space', Beitz's argument can be recast and vindicated. The re-conceptualisation is necessary to overcome the problems with the original version, as is shown by reference to the existing alternative formulations of Hillel Steiner and Thomas Pogge.     

Assumptions,behavioral findings,and policy analysis

Recent empirical studies indicate that many standard economic assumptions used in policy analyses do not reflect people's preferences and choices as well as modifications based on behavioral findings. Differences in the areas of time preferences and the large disparity between valuations of gains and losses illustrate the issues and the distortions that present analyses likely impose.