The fate of the chemical warfare agent during DNA extraction

Forensic laboratories do not have the infrastructure to process or store contaminated DNA samples that have been recovered from a crime scene contaminated with chemical or biological warfare agents. Previous research has shown that DNA profiles can be recovered from blood exposed to several chemical warfare agents after the agent has been removed. The fate of four toxic agents, sulfur mustard, sodium 2-fluoroacetate, sarin, and diazinon, in a lysis buffer used in Promega DNA IQ extraction protocol was studied to determine if extraction would render the samples safe. Two independent analytical methods were used per agent, selected from GC-MS, 1H NMR, 19F NMR, (31)P NMR, or LC-ES MS. The methods were validated before use. Determinations were carried out in a semi-quantitative way, by direct comparison to standards. Agent levels in the elution buffer were found to be below the detectable limits for mustard, sarin, sodium 2-fluoroacetate or low (<0.02 mg/mL) for diazinon. Therefore, once extracted these DNA samples could be safely processed in a forensic laboratory.     

Police Interviewing and Interrogation: A Self-Report Survey of Police Practices and Beliefs

By questionnaire, 631 police investigators reported on their interrogation beliefs and practices-the first such survey ever conducted. Overall, participants estimated that they were 77% accurate at truth and lie detection, that 81% of suspects waive Miranda rights, that the mean length of interrogation is 1.6 hours, and that they elicit self-incriminating statements from 68% of suspects, 4.78% from innocents. Overall, 81% felt that interrogations should be recorded. As for self-reported usage of various interrogation tactics, the most common were to physically isolate suspects, identify contradictions in suspects' accounts, establish rapport, confront suspects with evidence of their guilt, and appeal to self-interests. Results were discussed for their consistency with prior research, policy implications, and methodological shortcomings.     

Identifying risk factors in stalking: a review of current research

Stalking is a behaviour which can cause substantial damage to its victims, whether the perpetrator is violent or not. Victims face a range of risks including not only assault, but persistent or recurrent stalking and varying degrees of psychological and social damage. The responsibility for assessing and managing these risks often falls to the mental health professional, yet the emerging stalking risk assessment literature is at too early a stage to provide clinicians with empirically derived evidence upon which to base their clinical practice. This paper reviews existing research to identify those factors currently believed to be associated with increased risk of physical and sexual assault; with persistent and/or recurrent stalking; and, with psychological and social damage.     

Police-Induced Confessions,Risk Factors,and Recommendations: Looking Ahead

Reviewing the literature on police-induced confessions, we identified suspect characteristics and interrogation tactics that influence confessions and their effects on juries. We concluded with a call for the mandatory electronic recording of interrogations and a consideration of other possible reforms. The preceding commentaries make important substantive points that can lead us forward—on the effects of videotaping of interrogations on case dispositions; on the study of non-custodial methods, such as the controversial Mr. Big technique; and on an analysis of why confessions, once withdrawn, elicit such intractable responses compared to statements given by child and adult victims. Toward these ends, we hope that this issue provides a platform for future research aimed at improving the diagnostic value of confession evidence.     

Using Alkylate Components for Classifying Gasoline in Fire Debris Samples

The characteristic that discriminates gasoline from other ignitable liquids is that it contains high‐octane blending components. This study elaborates on the idea that the presence of gasoline in fire debris samples should be based on the detection of known high‐octane blending components. The potential of the high‐octane blending component alkylate as a characteristic feature for gasoline detection and identification in fire debris samples is explored. We have devised characteristic features for the detection of alkylate and verified the presence of alkylate in a large collection of gasoline samples from petrol stations in the Netherlands. Alkylate was detected in the vast majority of the samples. It is demonstrated that alkylate can be detected in fire debris samples that contain traces of gasoline by means of routine GC‐MS methods. Detection of alkylate, alongside other gasoline blend components, results in a more solid foundation for gasoline detection and identification in fire debris samples.     

Further Validation of the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) Trial 1 Performance Validity Index: Examination of False Positives and Convergent Validity

Assessment of performance validity is an essential part of a neuropsychological evaluation, with the inclusion of two or more performance validity tests (PVTs) becoming routine practice. Considering the time to administer multiple tests, there has been some support for use of the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) Trial 1 (T1) as an independent, “one and done” PVT. Notably, cutoffs for TOMM T1 need further validation, with an emphasis on minimizing false-positive classifications among those with bona fide cognitive impairment. In a clinically referred sample of 127 veterans, this study examined the role of cognitive impairment in TOMM performance and the utility of a TOMM T1 as an independent PVT. Examinees were administered the TOMM and three additional PVTs as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Sixty-eight percent of examinees were classified valid (35% of valid examinees were cognitively impaired). TOMM T1?≤?40 had excellent observed sensitivity (83%) and specificity (93%) overall, with minimal false-positive classification. TOMM T1 was also significantly correlated and concordant with other memory-based PVTs. Given score ranges and failure rates for TOMM T1?≤?40 among those with neurological/neurocognitive conditions, scores in the 37–40 range may merit administration of additional TOMM trials to maximize accuracy in identifying valid-cognitively impaired versus noncredible performance. Otherwise, an abbreviated TOMM administration (i.e., only T1) using a cutoff of ≤?40—in conjunction with one or more additional PVTs—may be sufficient for detecting noncredible/invalid test performance in the absence of known or suspected neurological/neurocognitive disorders.     

Airbnb,technological change and disruption in Barbadian tourism: a theoretical framework

This paper focuses on how Airbnb, an internet platform which has created the possibility for mass participation in the tourism market, is resulting in class conflict between new entrants and the ‘traditional’ tourism industry. Specifically, it studies how traditional tourism interests in Barbados have responded to Airbnb by seeking to restrict participation in the industry and presents this as a microcosm of broader class transitions and conflicts associated with new technologies. The paper utilises a Marxist theoretical perspective buttressed by Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of ‘creative destruction’ – places emphasis on the process of destroying productive systems to understand how specific industries expand and survive – and Clayton Christensen’s notion of ‘disruptive innovation’ – a process by which a disruptive product transforms a market – for studying how transformations in technology are impacting the tourism industry in Barbados. Its aim is to provide an account of how the process of disruption is unfolding in Barbados by highlighting the reactions of the main hotel lobby group to Airbnb, while also applying the ideas of Marx, Schumpeter and Christensen as useful theoretical lenses through which to examine the unfolding of the process of disruption of settled class and historical control of a dominant economic sector by new technologies.     

Information society policy in the developing world: A critical assessment

The Global Information Society (GIS) has in recent years been high on the political agenda of Western countries. These countries have been concerned with the development of Information Infrastructures in order to achieve the Information Society. In the West there has been a broad consensus about the framework in which the development of the GIS needs to take place. On both national and international levels a framework has to be established which supports competition, encourages private investment, supports flexible regulatory framework and allows for open access to networks. Recently this dominant scenario has been transposed as the appropriate scenario for the development of Information Infrastructures in the developing world. This article sets out to give an overview of GIS policy in a developmental context. It elaborates on recent policy initiatives in the area. At the international level it critically analyses changes in the communications industries and in the global economy. At the national level it critically analyses the assumptions of the dominant scenario and its proposed strategy for achieveing the GIS.