Identifying criminal predators, sentences, and criminal classifications

This paper speculates that due to antiquated criminal predator identification that the courts render less prison time to predators who continually commit abominable forms of crime than to first time violent offenders who were controversially convicted of the crime of murder. A sample of 89 respondents includes 61 males and 28 females incarcerated in high custody penitentiaries. The findings show that many predators are rarely charged and/or convicted of heinous predatory acts consequently their prison sentences averaged an eight year confinement as compared to nonpredators with an average of 25 years to life, often without parole. The hypothesis was supported and a criminal offender classification was created to explain various offender profiles. One implication of this finding is that methods of crime control including criminal profiles are inadequate to deal with one of America's worst problems—predatory attacks. An assumption that arises from this implication is that crime control is linked to popular myths produced by the media and therefore predators largely go unchecked. Further research should be concluded to determine efficient methods of intervention for various categories of predators.     

Revolutionary conflict in federations: the Indian case

Federations promise to provide autonomous, representative governance that is flexible enough to overcome potential internal conflict resulting from the dual stresses of governing diverse populations and power overreach. India is the world's biggest federation but also hosts the most violent revolution in modern history against a federal state. Since 2004, 150,000 people have been killed or displaced in the war between the Communist Party of India-Maoist and India's government. Conflict management efforts led not to resolution but catastrophe across Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand as state responses contradicted each other and the centre's efforts. The differences illustrated how institutional mechanisms of decentralisation create, sustain and otherwise alter internal revolutionary conflicts that cross subunit boundaries. Three unique characteristics come into play when federal governments tackle revolutionary conflict: picking from subunit actions like policy buffets, exacerbation of state–subunit fissures and empowerment of local elites who put political self-interest above conflict resolution.     

The election timing advantage: Empirical fact or fiction?

Do non-fixed election dates in Westminster parliamentary democracies create an unfair incumbent advantage? The consensus in the literature is that the incumbent party can gain an advantage at the ballot box by controlling election timing (Bakvis, 2001; Docherty, 2010; Smith, 2004; White, 2005; Wolinetz, 2005). Surprisingly, however, there is a lack of empirical evidence to support this claim. We address this lacuna by providing an empirical test of whether the election-timing power matters for incumbent vote support. We do so by employing an innovative web-based voting experiment. Our findings show that the government does gain an advantage by timing an election when it is to their advantage, but the context is limited to conditions where the election follows immediately after a heightened level of positive government coverage.     

Detection of nitro-organic and peroxide explosives in latent fingermarks by DART- and SALDI-TOF-mass spectrometry

The ability of two mass spectrometric methods, surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (SALDI-TOF-MS) and direct analysis in real time (DART-MS), to detect the presence of seven common explosives (six nitro-organic- and one peroxide-type) in spiked latent fingermarks has been examined. It was found that each explosive could be detected with nanogram sensitivity for marks resulting from direct finger contact with a glass probe by DART-MS or onto stainless steel target plates using SALDI-TOF-MS for marks pre-dusted with one type of commercial black magnetic powder. These explosives also could be detected in latent marks lifted from six common surfaces (paper, plastic bag, metal drinks can, wood laminate, adhesive tape and white ceramic tile) whereas no explosive could be detected in equivalent pre-dusted marks on the surface of a commercial lifting tape by the DART-MS method due to high background interference from the tape material. The presence of TNT and Tetryl could be detected in pre-dusted latent fingermarks on a commercial lifting tape for up to 29 days sealed and stored under ambient conditions.     

Safety in Intimate Partnerships: The Role of Appraisals and Threat

For most intimate partners, safety is an important goal and basic need. How a partner perceives safety has an impact on what happens in the relationship, and this will in turn affect the responses from the other partner. Lack of safety can provoke negative emotions and actions which can lead to relationship deterioration and violence. However, little is known about this process from the insider’s perspective. In this study, constructivist grounded theory methods were used to analyze interviews from individuals (n = 37) to better understand individual appraisals of relational safety. The results include a theory that illustrates the process of relational safety and threat. This model articulates how certain relational conditions precede a perception of safety or threat, which then leads to corresponding actions. Implications of the model include a focus on interaction and context when assessing for safety and abuse, as well as the importance of self regulation.     

AMBER Alerts: Are School-Type Photographs the Best Choice for Identifying Missing Children?

We investigated how well adults could recognize the faces of children when they differed in appearance from photographs shown in an alert. College students in three studies saw a mock AMBER Alert while watching a television show. The children appeared either well-groomed with positive affect (as in a school photograph) or disheveled with poor affect (as abducted children might appear). Recognition accuracy and confidence were significantly lower when the faces differed in appearance from the alert displayed during the television show. Thus, AMBER Alerts may be more effective if they are accompanied by more than one type of photograph of a missing child, particularly if a photograph is shown in which the child does not appear well-groomed and happy.     

STR melting curve analysis as a genetic screening tool for crime scene samples

In this proof-of-concept study, high-resolution melt curve (HRMC) analysis was investigated as a postquantification screening tool to discriminate human CSF1PO and THO1 genotypes amplified with mini-STR primers in the presence of SYBR Green or LCGreen Plus dyes. A total of 12 CSF1PO and 11 HUMTHO1 genotypes were analyzed on the LightScanner HR96 and LS-32 systems and were correctly differentiated based upon their respective melt profiles. Short STR amplicon melt curves were affected by repeat number, and single-source and mixed DNA samples were additionally differentiated by the formation of heteroduplexes. Melting curves were shown to be unique and reproducible from DNA quantities ranging from 20 to 0.4 ng and distinguished identical from nonidentical genotypes from DNA derived from different biological fluids and compromised samples. Thus, a method is described which can assess both the quantity and the possible probative value of samples without full genotyping.