The secondary transfer of fibres from head hair.

In this study, the effects of fibre type, hair style, time and fibre persistence on the secondary transfer of mask fibres to pillowcases via head hair were studied. Volunteers with a range of hair styles, and masks consisting of different fibre compositions were used in the study. Fibres from the masks were found to transfer from donor subjects to the pillowcases up to 14 nights after the mask had been worn. On average, the number of secondarily transferred fibres found decreased with time; however, this decrease appeared to be more 'linear' in nature, rather than an exponential decay. The greatest degree of secondary transfer occurred with cotton, then acrylic, then wool. In a primary transfer/persistence experiment with a 50% acrylic/50% wool mask, wool was found to persist in the hair more readily than acrylic. The results also showed that the greatest degree of secondary transfer occurred via short straight and long straight hair, with no clear pattern emerging between medium length hair (both straight and curly) and with long curly hair. The implications of these findings for the assessment and interpretation of casework are considered along with data obtained from related studies.     

Who should be chef? The dynamics of valence evaluations across income groups during economic crises

In this paper, we investigate partisan rationalization in valence politics by trying to better specify the direct and indirect effects of the economy on government support. To do so, we examine how income levels moderate the influence of objective economic conditions on perceptions of which party is the best manager of the economy during a period of economic crisis, 2004–2010, in the United Kingdom. We find that low-income voters are more responsive in their assessments of the incumbent Labour government based on unemployment, as are high-income voters in terms of inflation. In addition, high-income voters tend to behave in a manner consistent with partisan rationalization, while low-income voters do not. These conclusions offer important implications for the effectiveness of electoral control of government policy, as well as the quality of representation.     

Institutional development,the world bank,and India's new agricultural extension programme

The new World Bank‐sponsored and funded Training and Visit system of agricultural extension represents a major attempt by the Bank to promote institutional development. The very considerable investment has in fact resulted in little change or improvement in the quality of extension. The reasons lie in failure to analyse the cause of the weakness of the previous extension systems, inherent defects of the Training and Visit system, and the way in which it has been introduced into India. These failures in turn can be explained by the interests and the politics underlying the programme.     

Ambiguous Institutions: Traditional Governance and Local Democracy in Rural South India

In India, ‘customary village councils’ are generally believed to be disappearing vestiges of a pre-democratic, hierarchical socio-political order. However, while remaining informal and maintaining a low public profile, in Karnataka state they are actively taking on new roles, adapting to the democratic, competitive political environment, becoming more representative and pluralist, and providing a wide range of services that are highly valued by the populations they serve. The relationship of customary village councils to the formal, elected local councils (Grama Panchayats) – and to electoral democracy generally – is more synergistic and complementary than competitive.     

Evaluating interviews which search for the truth with suspects: but are investigators’ self-assessments of their own skills truthful ones?

Self-evaluation of one’s own performance has been found in prior research to be an enabler of professional development. The task of evaluation is also a core component of a model of the investigative interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects, being increasingly used throughout the world. However, it remains the case that there has been little research as to how practitioners approach the task itself. The present study examined the topic through the lens of observing how effectively 30 real-life investigators in the UK undertook evaluation of their interviews, representing almost the entire investigative frontline workforce of a small law enforcement agency in this country. Using an established scale of measurement, both investigators’ and an expert’s ratings of the same sample of interviews were compared across a range of tasks and behaviours. It was found that in almost all the assessed behaviours, requiring of the investigators to provide a self-rating, their scores tended to significantly outstrip those applied to the sample by the expert. Reasons are explored for the investigators’ overstated assessments. Implications for practice are then discussed.     

The discrimination of (non-denim) blue cotton

This study was conducted to determine the degree of discrimination obtained between non-denim blue cotton fibres using visible–UV range microspectrophotometry alone. To this end, samples of fibres were taken from 100, non-denim, blue cotton, outer garments, including t-shirts, trousers and jumpers and subjected to analysis by both visible and UV range microspectrophotometry. The results obtained from the samples of each garment were compared to determine if they ‘matched’ or not. From an initial visual comparison of the garments it was possible to subdivide the samples into two populations consisting of 73 ‘dark blue’ garments and 27 ‘mid-blue’ garments. It was found that of the 73 ‘dark blue’ garments, 22 distinct sub-populations could be distinguished using visible range MSP, this figure being increased to 43 when the analysis was extended into the UV range. In the case of the 27 ‘mid-blue’ garments, 9 distinct sub-populations were discriminated using visible range MSP, this figure being increased to 17 when the analysis was extended into the UV range. The discriminating power (i.e. the number of discriminated pairs divided by the number of possible pairs) of visible range microspectrophotometry was calculated as 0.89 for ‘mid-blue’ garments and 0.87 for ‘dark blue’ garments. Extending microspectrophotometry into the UV range increased discrimination by 7%, giving a discriminating power of 0.96 for both mid and dark blue cotton fibres which was similar to that reported by a previous study where this method was combined with light and fluorescence microscopy.Intra-garment variation was found to be negligible. The implications of this study for casework are discussed and a revised analytical pathway for the comparison of this fibre type/colour combination using microspectrophotometry as a primary screening tool, is proposed.     

The population,transfer and persistence of fibres on the skin of living subjects

Fibres were transferred to the bare arms of living subjects and their persistence determined at intervals up to 24 h, during which normal daily activity was undertaken. Decay curves showed an initial rapid loss followed by an apparently exponential decay. No target fibres were found to remain after 24 h. The length distribution showed a shift towards shorter fibre lengths and the differential shedding results for a polyester/cotton mixture showed a small bias towards the retention of cotton. The population of coloured fibres on bare skin was classified according to perceived colour, length, generic class and the presence or absence of delustrant.     

Sport,Alcohol and Women: An Emerging Research Agenda

ABSTRACT

This article describes an emerging research agenda for defining the relationship between women, sport and alcohol as a feminist issue. Characterised as a “holy trinity”, the relationship between sport, drinking, particularly heavy drinking, and masculinity remains a popular orthodoxy. While not disputing the enduring and influential symbolic, economic, political and cultural power relations between men, sport and alcohol, the article argues that our proclivity towards framing drinking and sport through the lens of “hegemonic masculinity” gives rise to a theoretical and empirical silence when it comes to research on women, sport and alcohol in the Australian context and beyond. We interrogate four key interrelated research problems for feminist scholars of sport: i) the framing of sport-related drinking as hegemonic masculinity; ii) the need for new theoretical/conceptual/analytical frameworks that have emerged from the framing of women’s relationship to alcohol as invariably problematic; iii) a recognition that sport-related drinking for women is as pleasurable and problematic as it is for men; and iv) the relationship between sport and alcohol relative to a growing emphasis on cultural and gender diversity in Australian sport.