Application of three spectrometric methods to total selenium determination in postmortem material in a case of acute selenium compound poisoning

Three spectrometric methods, that is, spectrofluorimetry (SF), atomic absorption spectrometry with electrothermal atomization (ET-AAS), and atomic fluorescence spectrometry with hydride generation (HG-AFS) were used for the determination of total selenium in biological samples taken from postmortem material in a case of acute selenium compound poisoning. The precision of the SF, ET-AAS, and HG-AFS methods (RSD, n=10) was found to be in the ranges of 10.0-15.0, 3.0-6.0 and 1.0-1.5%, respectively, and the detection limit was 10.0, 4.0, and 0.1 μg/L of Se, respectively. In the case of HG-AFS, the analytical procedure takes less time and is less laborious than the other methods considered. The obtained results show the usefulness of the HG-AFS method as a supplementary analytical tool to the SF and ET-AAS methods with respect to the determination of selenium as well as the possibility of using this method as a primary one in forensic toxicology practice.     

Expert Testimony Regarding Child Witnesses: Does It Sensitize Jurors to Forensic Interview Quality?

Does expert testimony on forensic interviews with children help adults distinguish between poorly conducted and well-conducted interviews? This study evaluates the effects of social framework expert testimony regarding child witnesses in a case involving allegations of child sexual abuse. A 2 (Expert Testimony: present or absent) × 3 (Child Forensic Interview Quality: poor, typical, or good) × 2 (Child’s Age: 4- or 10-year-old) factorial design was used to examine whether expert testimony is prejudicial or beneficial to jurors (N = 463). The results revealed that, without expert testimony, mock jurors did not consider the forensic interview quality when reaching a verdict. However, with expert testimony, mock jurors were more likely to render guilty verdicts if the interview quality was good versus poor. Further expert testimony increased mock jurors’ knowledge about child witnesses. These findings suggest that expert testimony related to the impact of interview techniques on the reliability of children’s reports may assist fact-finders in evaluating child abuse cases.     

Conceptualising and combating transnational environmental crime

To date, transnational environmental crime has been poorly attended to by the transnational organised crime and transnational policing discourse. Academics have focused on individual elements of environmental crime, neglecting a broader theoretical discussion, while national and international institutions have prioritised other forms of organised crime, giving little thought to the nuanced nature of transnational environmental crime and how this should be reflected in policing and countermeasures. This paper attempts to rectify this by conceptualising transnational environmental crime and suggesting ways forward for countermeasure development. The paper will begin by looking at the problem of environmental crime, its value, scope and effects, concluding that the damaging nature of transnational environmental crime demands a greater focus on its policing. The nature of transnational environmental crime will then be discussed by reference to traditional forms of organised crime. It will be argued that, while transnational environmental crime is a form of organised crime, and has some features in common with the traditional organised crimes, such as drug smuggling and people trafficking, it is the substantial differences that should guide the approach to developing countermeasures. The development of effective countermeasures, it is concluded, requires a significant change in policy at every level.     

Public Administration as an Interdisciplinary Field: Assessing Its Relationship with the Fields of Law,Management, and Political Science

Public administration is an interdisciplinary field, building on a variety of disciplinary approaches and values. But how well does the field of public administration reflect those values and processes? In contrast to previous arguments regarding the degree to which the field does or should incorporate values and lessons from other academic disciplines, this study provides a systematic assessment of the field’s reliance on research and theory from the fields of law, management, and political science. An analysis of journal citations across these fields suggests that research in public administration is largely isolated from the three disciplines that are commonly believed to form its foundation.     

Psychological adjustment in a forensic sample: relationship with approach- and avoidance-coping typologies

Most studies that relate coping strategies with psychological symptoms usually consider a single coping dimension. This means that interpretation of the results is unclear and only partially true as subjects activate different types of coping strategies simultaneously when faced with a stressor. The objective of the present study is to analyze the relationships between coping and psychopathology in young inmates, taking into account the number of approach and avoidance answers simultaneously. The results show that the inmates with above-average scores in avoidance coping and below average in those of approach (coping responses inventory--adult form, [CRI-A]) show higher symptomatology (MMPI-2) than the inmates who obtain above-average scores in both avoidance and approach strategies. It can be deduced that it is not the high use of avoidance coping that is related to psychopathology, but rather the combined use of many avoidance strategies and few approach strategies. The convenience of jointly taking into account both types of coping is discussed.     

Agency and similarity effects and the VC’s attitude towards academic spin-out investing

Our research seeks to develop understanding of the factors explaining venture capital investment managers’ attitudes towards investment in the unique context of academic spin-outs. We provide a novel integration of both VC fund characteristics and investment managers’ human capital characteristics with a unique hand-collected dataset of 68 early stage VC investment managers in Europe. Attitudes toward academic spin-out investing are positively affected by the presence of public sector capital and by investment managers who are more intensively involved with the entrepreneur. Specific human capital in investment managers who had worked in an academic environment is more likely associated with investment in academic spin-outs. In terms of general human capital, financial experience is positively related while entrepreneurial experience is negatively associated with investment attitude towards academic spin-outs. There may be a need to facilitate the attraction of people from industry and investment banking into public VC funds in particular.     

Perceptions about memory reliability and honesty for children of 3 to 18 years old

Purpose. To examine the relationship between perceived memory characteristics and age. Method. Participants rated the reliability and honesty of children's memory for one of two events. The children's ages varied from 3‐ to 18‐years‐old. Results. Participants (N = 612) believed that memory reliability increased with age, but the observed effect was non‐linear. Perceived reliability increased rapidly for children from 3 to 6 years. After this, male participants believed memory reliability increased, but less than in early childhood. Female participants did not think memory reliability increased in middle childhood and adolescence. Further effects involving type of event, age of participant, and the gender of the eyewitness were observed for honesty and the relationship between these attributes and beliefs in guilt. Conclusions. These findings stress the need for more research on development trends of memory in middle childhood and adolescence.     

Technology business incubation mechanisms and sustainable regional development

This article introduces various aspects of technology business incubators (TBIs), emphasizing their increasing role in the spatial context where they are used as platforms and drivers of regional entrepreneurial ecosystems. It outlines the key themes of the emerging role of TBIs in sustainable regional development: TBI biodiversity of ecosystems; accelerating startups in the entrepreneurial university; TBI mechanisms challenged by green technology to sustain regional development; and TBIs’ connecting role between entrepreneurship education, experiential knowledge, and regional development. It proposes an agenda for future research on the role of TBIs as bridging mechanisms and drivers of entrepreneurship and regional development.     

NPM Reforms and Professionals in Health and Higher Education in Portugal

The aim of this article is to analyze comparatively how academics, physicians, and nurses positioned themselves in relation to the reconfiguration of power structures and decisional processes, under New Public Management influence, in the hospitals, and higher education institutions. The empirical data are gathered from a survey applied to the three professional groups. Quantitative results show that the three groups have similar positions concerning power concentration at institutions’ top governance. However, relevant differences emerge in their views concerning the organization and control of the social division of work and also of their professional practices.     

An investigation of the relationship between anger and offence-related shame and guilt

Abstract

A number of accounts of shame and guilt emphasise an association between shame and anger difficulties, and it has been suggested that shame and rage may promote one another. The shame–anger relationship may be particularly relevant to the study of forensic populations, as the fact of having committed a criminal offence has the potential to be a highly shame-provoking experience. The current study investigates the prediction that shame and guilt reactions to an offence are differentially related to the propensity to experience and ability to control anger. A measure of offence-related shame and guilt and a measure of anger experience and control was completed by 60 men detained in forensic psychiatric units. The results supported the prediction that offence-related shame is associated with elevated levels of anger difficulties, whilst offence-related guilt is associated with ability to control anger. The findings of the current study are consistent with those of previous investigations of shame, guilt and anger. Specific implications for the understanding and prevention of violent offending are discussed.