Tuning knowledge ecosystems: exploring links between hotels’ knowledge structures and online government services provision

The development of knowledge-based business opportunities in many economic sectors worldwide is often conceived through a silo-mentality, whereby efforts are focused in either industry or government entities in isolation. Without a systemic or holistic understanding of connections between these, any present or future project evaluation becomes either input- or output-based instead of having a comprehensive understanding of its impact. In order to address such a challenge, this empirical study focuses on the Spanish hospitality sector, which currently thrives by continuously accessing external and internal sources of knowledge, thus offering opportunities to conceptualise it as a knowledge ecosystem. Lessons learned from the Spanish hospitality sector have the potential to inform the design of online government services as part of a knowledge ecosystem. This can, in turn, yield further opportunities for innovation in the hospitality sector. A structural equation model validated by factor analysis of 130 hotels is used to assess the extent to which hotels currently benefit from online government services. This study concludes that online government services can be better fostered by nurturing external communities while also setting up internal working communities and practices. The model and its implications can also inform initiatives which seek to pursue ecosystem-oriented research and practice, as well as future policy and technology transfer initiatives.     

Training Police Investigators to Interview to Detect False Intentions

This study is the first to investigate police investigators’ adherence to, and the effectiveness of, a training program for detecting true and false intentions. Experienced police investigators (N = 53) were either trained or not trained in how to interview to discriminate between true and false intentions. All investigators interviewed mock suspects (N = 53), of which half lied and half told truth about their intentions. Both subjective and objective measures showed that the trained investigators interviewed in line with the training received. That is, a large proportion asked about the planning of the stated intentions. Noteworthy, none of untrained investigators reported to have posed such questions for strategic purposes. The trained investigators reached a higher detection accuracy level (65 %) than their untrained colleagues (55 %), however not significantly. Given that the investigators adhered to the training, this training package is a viable starting point for developing more effective training programs.     

Information pathways into prison mental health care

Police and court liaison and diversion services provide important specialist mental health input along critical stages of the criminal justice pathway. Effective sharing of information between the services and relevant justice agencies is essential. However, various problems exist with the flow of information between agencies and services across the criminal justice pathway. This service evaluation explored how clinically relevant information is transferred, by drawing on the perspectives of prison health care staff in a large urban UK male prison. A qualitative service evaluation was conducted using semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 11 prison staff. The main themes included: gaps in the transfer of essential information, (particularly concerning risk and offending information); information gathering to fill these gaps; the importance of professional relationships, information sharing between agencies; and information solutions. Improving information transfer across the criminal justice pathway could prevent treatment delays and ensure more timely mental health care in prison.     

Bite Mark Analysis in Foodstuffs and Inanimate Objects and the Underlying Proofs for Validity and Judicial Acceptance

Even though one of the first bite mark cases was Doyle v. State in 1954 (a bitten cheese case), the research has focused on bite marks inflicted in human skin. As published Papers, Case Reports, or Technical Notes can constitute precedents which are relied upon in making the legal arguments and a considerable amount of case law exists in this area, we present a systematic review on bite mark analysis in foodstuffs and inanimate objects and their underlying proofs for validity and judicial acceptance according to Daubert rulings. Results showed that there is vulnerability in these procedures, and it is essential to demand for focus scrutiny on the known error rates when such evidence is presented in trials. These kinds of bite marks are well documented; however, there has been little research in this field knowing that the protocols of analysis and comparison are the responsibility of the forensic odontologists.     

Homicide of children and adolescents in Mexico (1990–2013)

The trends and correlates of child and juvenile homicide rates in three developmental age groups (0-5, 6-11, and 12-17) during 1990–2013 in Mexico are examined by using vital statistical data. Homicide rates for adults and children were calculated yearly and the place where homicides occurred and the means used to commit homicide examined. Changes and continuities in homicide rates during 2002–2007 and 2008–2013 and their association with socio-economic, status of women, public security efforts, and firearm availability variables were studied. Homicide rates increased rapidly for adults and children in 2008 as did the rates in which a firearm was used. Rates for adults and children 0–5 years were particularly correlated. In some states, the youngest children’s rates increased by 75% or more than the rates for adults. High-increase states for younger children were closer to the U.S. border, were farther from abortion services, and had growing rates of female-headed households.     

Analysis of the Effect of Cyclophosphamide and Methotrexate on Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae),

Forensic entomotoxicology investigates the effects of chemical substances in the development of scavenger insects and the reflection on estimating the minimum postmortem interval (PMI). To evaluate the impact of the chemotherapeutic drugs cyclophosphamide (CF) and methotrexate (MTX) on the postembryonic development of Chrysomya megacephala, controlled experiments were performed by rearing the larvae on spiked minced beef with different concentrations of these drugs. The results indicated that CF significantly decreased their developmental rate up to 28 h but had no significant effect on larval and adult sizes, survival rate, and sex ratio, whereas MTX decreased larval and adult sizes, survival rate, and there was a deviation in the expected sex ratio toward females in MTX‐exposed larvae but had no significant impact on developmental rate. These negative interference factors should be considered in cases of suspected death of people that have undergone chemotherapy.     

Children’s voices on equal time-sharing arrangement following parents’ divorce

The article presents the final part of an Icelandic research project on parents and children of divorce, focusing on grown-up children’s experiences of equal time-sharing arrangements, ETSA, after their parents’ divorce. It consists of a quantitative analysis of firstly a nationally representative sample mapping the frequency and experience of 18–59 years old individuals of ETSA after parents’ divorce, and secondly a qualitative analysis of 16 long interviews with 16 children of divorce reflecting on their experiences. Both analyses indicate different experiences of this type of arrangement. The reality of the arrangement in practice is that parents chose the arrangement on the basis of their own preferences rather than a court imposing it or because the generally accepted core conditions for a positive outcome for children were in place. These negative experiences of ETSA are discussed in further detail and the need for law reform and service improvement is considered.     

Acid alteration of several ignitable liquids of potential use in arsons

Ignitable liquids such as fuels, alcohols and thinners can be used in criminal activities, for instance arsons. Forensic experts require to know their chemical compositions, as well as to understand how different modification effects could impact them, in order to detect, classify and identify them properly in fire debris. The acid alteration/acidification of ignitable liquids is a modification effect that sharply alters the chemical composition, for example, of gasoline and diesel fuel, interfering in the forensic analysis and result interpretation. However, to date there is little information about the consequences of this effect over other accelerants of interests. In this research paper, the alteration by sulfuric acid of several commercial thinners and other accelerants of potential use in arsons is studied in-depth. For that purpose, spectral (by ATR-FTIR) and chromatographic (by GC–MS) data were obtained from neat and acidified samples. Then, the spectral and chromatographic modifications of each studied ignitable liquid were discussed, proposing several chemical mechanisms that explain the new by-products produced and the gradual disappearance of the initial compounds. Hydrolysis, Fischer esterification and alkylation reactions are involved in the modification of esters, alcohols, ketones and aromatic compounds of the studied ignitable liquids. This information could be crucial for correctly identifying these accelerants. Additionally, an exploratory analysis revealed that some of the most altered ignitable liquid samples might be very similar with each other, which could have impact on casework.     

Beyond the Visible Pattern: Historical Particularities,Development, and Age at First Marriage in Transylvania, 1850–1914

The present study focused on age at first marriage in Transylvania between 1850 and 1914, a time of both social-economic change and resilient historically entrenched particularities. Based on data extracted from the Historical Population Database of Transylvania we constructed an extensive sample from settlements with a broad range of social-economic characteristics, which allowed for a comparative view into the influence of various factors on marriage timing. We examined in this sense both individual-level co-variates, such as denominational affiliation, migration background, and social-occupational status, as well as broader factors, such as the development level attained by certain settlements and the time frame. We found that the area level of development measured according to a heuristic index was in many cases more decisive than individual characteristics in shaping individuals’ constraints and opportunities on the marriage market. More significantly, the analysis showed that the ways in which the development level worked to transform marriage timing for both men and women could be explained by historically entrenched differences and specificities. At the same time, these patterns in age at first marriage, given by factors such as denomination, might be the result of other largely still invisible factors, for which the variables used are merely imperfect proxies.     

Stranger rape: classifying Spanish sexual offences using multiple correspondence and cluster analyses

We have analysed the information in 342 police reports of stranger sexual offences recorded in 2010. We have carried out a multiple correspondence analysis and a cluster analysis using modus operandi variables to identify differential profiles in these types of sexual offences. We have come up with three profiles of stranger sexual offences, which concur in the two techniques used. By analysing the personal variables of the offenders with such profiles, we have found differences in terms of the offender’s country of origin and age. We will discuss the consequences of these results on the police investigation of stranger sexual offences.