Visualisation of fingermarks and grab impressions on dark fabrics using silver vacuum metal deposition

Vacuum metal deposition (VMD) involves the thermal evaporation of metal (silver) in a vacuum, resulting in a uniform layer being deposited on the specimen being treated. This paper examines the use of silver on dark fabrics, thus offering a simpler operation and more obvious colouration to that of the traditional use of gold and zinc metals which must be evaporated separately. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of fabric type, donor, mark age and method of fingermark deposition on the quality of marks visualised using silver VMD. This was achieved by collecting fingermark deposits from fifteen donors, of both sexes and various ages, by a grab or a press method. Four different fabrics: satin, polyester, polycotton and cotton were studied over a 10 day timeline of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 21 and 28 + days. It was found that satin and polyester gave the most positive results, with polyester often producing excellent ridge detail. Cotton and polycotton were less successful with no ridge detail being observed. The donors also had an observable effect on the results obtained probably due to variations in secretions produced or pressures applied during specimen collection. The age of the mark or the method of mark deposition had little influence on the results obtained. Silver VMD is a viable process for visualising marks on certain dark fabrics and has the advantage over gold/zinc VMD in that the marks visualised are light in colour which contrasts well against the dark background.     

Left behind: The social democratic party in Eastern Germany

Four long‐term structural complications have prevented the Social Democratic Party of Germany from establishing a large party membership in eastern Germany since unification: the injurious legacy of Nazi and communist rule, the contradictions that arose in the 1980s out of the SPD's Ostpolitik, the flawed birth and development of the eastern SPD, and continuing tensions between the eastern and western wings of the party. Since none of these structural problems is likely to change quickly, the SPD will remain impaired in the East for the foreseeable future. This in turn will make it extremely difficult for the SPD to win federal elections.     

Lewis S. Feuer: The Scholar as Intellectual

The career of Lewis S. Feuer spanned several disciplines—Philosophy, Sociology, Politics, and History (especially the History of Ideas); his books and articles covered several centuries, and were devoted primarily to exposing the emotional undercurrents that animated the thought of intellectuals. Feuer tended to be highly suspicious of intellectuals, because they were susceptible to the allure of ideologies, which masked a dangerous will to power. His greatest achievement was to connect the contours of political and social thought to the drives of persons and to the context of institutions; his greatest limitation was to miss, at least in the United States, the deeper problem of popular hostility to science and to knowledge itself.     

From laboratory to the WMD Commission: how academic research influences intelligence agencies

Academic research can improve national security, yet the process by which findings flow from the ivory tower to intelligence agencies is not well understood by scholars. This article addresses this gap through an exploratory case study of when research impacted intelligence: the incorporation of cognitive biases research in intelligence analysis. The results of this study illustrate the importance of idea entrepreneurs—individuals who promote academic research—as well as the need for making academic findings applicable to intelligence practitioners. These results, while based on a single case, suggest new avenues for scholarship exploring knowledge utilization in intelligence.     

Norm diffusion and the limits to forestry governance reform in Southeast Asia's new democracies

Abstract

The return of the World Bank Group (WBG) to Burma after some 25 years’ absence, along with other international financial organizations, follows a series of extraordinary political reforms that have taken place in the country since 2010. Burma has made a transition from 50 years of authoritarian rule to what its leaders call ‘disciplined democracy’. This paper examines the likely consequences of the Bank's return for the forestry sector in Burma and the potential outcomes in forestry governance given the evolution of its development agenda over the past 25 years. While measures to address deforestation have been applied in Southeast Asia, the success of forestry governance reforms depends to a large extent on their endorsement and adoption by local power structures and political figures, as well as on the nature of the political regime itself. The record on forestry governance in Southeast Asia is particularly poor and international financial organizations continue to neglect the local political economy of deforestation. Comparatively, few studies have attempted to investigate the relationship between types of political regimes and rates of deforestation. The paper examines two other new democracies in Southeast Asia (Indonesia and Cambodia), and the impact that governance reforms have had on their deforestation trends and land use, in order to contextualize the potential impact of the WBG's return to Burma. In Southeast Asia, powerful vested interests continue to outweigh the support inside governments or civil society for the forestry governance norms promoted by international organizations. The cases of Indonesia, Cambodia and Burma illustrate that deep patrimonial interests operate within the region and that local politics cannot be ignored by international organizations designing policy reforms. The WBG should effectively engage wherever possible with the local communities and a broad range of civil society groups before developing further initiatives.     

Reviews

THE ROOTS OF U.S. POLICY TOWARD LA TIN AMERICA

G. Pope Atkins, Latin America in the International Political System, second edition. (Boulder: Westview Press, 1989. Pp. 421.)

Lars Schoultz: National Security and United States Policy toward Latin America. (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1987. Pp. 377.)

Kevin J. Middlebrook and Carlos Rico, eds.: The United States and Latin America in the 1980s (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1986. Pp. 648. Second printing 1988.)

GENEROSITY AND SELF‐INTEREST

Teresa Odendahl: Charity Begins at Home: Generosity and Self‐interest among the Philanthropic Elite. (New York: Basic Books, 1990. Pp. 298.)

HOBBES AMONG THE PATRIARCHS

Arnold A. Rogow: Thomas Hobbes: Radical in the Service of Reaction. (New York: W. W. Norton Company, 1986. Pp. 287.)

STRACHEY AND MACLEAN: BRITISH ALTERNA TIVES

Michael Newman: John Strachey. (Manchester: Manchester Press, 1989. Pp. 201.)

B. J. Ripley and J. McHugh: John Maclean. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989. Pp. 201.)     

Eye of the Beholder: Partisanship,Identity, and the Politics of Sexual Harassment

Political Behavior - Two current members of the U.S. Supreme Court took their seats despite allegations of sexual harassment (Clarence Thomas) and sexual assault (Brett Kavanaugh) leveled against...     

Bad nature, bad nurture, and testimony regarding MAOA and SLC6A4 genotyping at murder trials

Recent research-in which subjects were studied longitudinally from childhood until adulthood-has started to clarify how a child's environment and genetic makeup interact to create a violent adolescent or adult. For example, male subjects who were born with a particular allele of the monoamine oxidase A gene and also were maltreated as children had a much greater likelihood of manifesting violent antisocial behavior as adolescents and adults. Also, individuals who were born with particular alleles of the serotonin transporter gene and also experienced multiple stressful life events were more likely to manifest serious depression and suicidality. This research raises the question of whether testimony regarding a defendant's genotype, exposure to child maltreatment, and experience of unusual stress is appropriate to present during the guilt or penalty phases of criminal trials, especially when capital punishment is a consideration. The authors present their experience in genotyping criminal defendants and presenting genetic information at criminal trials.     

Understanding the chemistry of the development of latent fingerprints by superglue fuming

Cyanoacrylate fuming is a widely used forensic tool for the development of latent fingerprints, however the mechanistic details of the reaction between the fingerprint residue and the cyanoacrylate vapor are not well understood. Here the polymerization of ethyl-cyanoacrylate vapor by sodium lactate or alanine solutions, two of the major components in fingerprint residue, has been examined by monitoring the time dependence of the mass uptake and resultant polymer molecular weight characteristics. This data provides insight into the molecular level actions in the efficient development of latent fingerprints by superglue fuming. The results show that the carboxylate moiety is the primary initiator of the polymerization process and that a basic environment inhibits chain termination while an acidic environment promotes it. The results also indicate that water cannot be the primary initiator in this forensic technique.     

Diversity of 26-locus Y-STR haplotypes in a Nepalese population sample: isolation and drift in the Himalayas

Twenty-six Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci were amplified in a sample of 769 unrelated males from Nepal, using two multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. The 26 loci gave a discriminating power of 0.997, with 59% unique haplotypes, and the highest frequency haplotype occurring 12 times. We identified novel alleles at four loci, microvariants at a further two, and nine examples of amelogenin-Y deletions (1.2%). Comparison with a similarly sized Bhutanese sample typed with the same markers suggested histories of isolation and drift, with drift having a greater effect in Bhutan. Extended (11-locus) haplotypes for the Nepalese samples have been submitted to the Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD).