Asia-Pacific news

This column provides a country-by-country analysis of the latest legal developments, cases and issues relevant to the IT, media and telecommunications’ industries in key jurisdictions across the Asia-Pacific region. The articles appearing in this column are intended to serve as ‘alerts’ and are not submitted as detailed analyses of cases or legal developments.     

LC-MS/MS法快速测定全血中25种精神药物的研究

目的建立人全血中25种精神药物快速测定的LC-MS/MS方法,并应用于分析杭州地区药物影响下驾驶(driving under the inference of drugs,DUID)情况。方法以乙腈沉淀蛋白,离心后取上清液,氮气流下吹干,残渣以初始流动相复溶,离心后取上清分析;采用C18色谱柱(50mm×3.0mm,2.6μm)分离,流动相:0.1%甲酸水(A相),乙腈:甲醇=1:1(B相),梯度洗脱;质谱检测,采用串联质谱电喷雾离子源,正电离扫描,多反应监测(MRM)。结果 25种精神药物在0.05~20ng/m L范围内线性良好,R=0.994 4~0.999 6;定量下限为0.05ng/m L;提取回收率为83.0%~99.7%;方法回收率为80.2%~97.4%;日内精密度(RSD)为1.6%~14%;日间精密度(RSD)为3.1%~14%。以该法测定杭州市公安司法鉴定中心留存的全血样品3140例,25种精神药物至少一种的检出率为3.7%。结论本方法灵敏、快捷、准确,适用于全血中25种精神药物快速检测。     

Remembering the children: decolonizing community-based restorative justice for Indian Residential Schools

This article argues for community-based justice to confront the atrocities of residential schools in Canada. After considering the strengths of community-based restorative justice (CBRJ) in relation to state-sponsored transitional justice responses, I examine a case study of the Remembering the Children Society (RCS), an Indigenous church partnership, that has worked to commemorate children who lost their lives at the Red Deer Industrial School. The RCS engages in a decolonizing form of CBRJ by placing primacy on Indigenous cultures through (1) feasts and ceremonies, (2) freeing the spirits of children who died, (3) the centrality of elders, and (4) Aboriginal spirituality and world views on ‘working together’. The centrality of cultures contributes to decolonization through (1) cultural resistance in the face of assimilation, (2) the healing power of cultural resurgence, (3) the development of mutually honoring partnerships, and (4) the telling of decolonizing truths. In conclusion, I consider the broader impacts of the RCS in helping transform official narratives about residential schools.     

CAN SELF‐CONTROL CHANGE SUBSTANTIALLY OVER TIME? RETHINKING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF‐ AND SOCIAL CONTROL*

The primary goals of this study were to test the long‐term stability thesis of Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) general theory of crime and to examine the relationship between self‐control and social control over time. The data come from a field experiment where the “treatment” consisted of an intentional effort to improve the childrearing behaviors of a sample of caregivers whose children were at high risk of criminal behavior. Caregivers in the control condition were given no such training. The intervention occurred when all subjects were in the first grade (mean age: 6.2 years old), and we have measurements on self‐control and the social control/bond for each subject from grades 6 to 11 (mean ages: 12 to 17 years old). Both a hierarchical linear model and a second‐order latent growth model identified meaningful differences in the growth pattern of self‐control among individuals in the pooled sample and a difference in the growth parameters for self‐control and the social control/bond over time between the treatment and control groups. Both findings are inconsistent with Gottfredson and Hirschi's stability of self‐control hypothesis. The same patterns persisted when different analytic techniques and model specifications were applied, which suggests that the results are not an artifact of measurement error, model specification, or statistical methods. Structural equation modeling using the panel design of the data was better able to disentangle the long‐term relationship between self‐ and social control—a relationship that was found to be more dynamic than previously hypothesized.     

Analytical Challenge in Postmortem Toxicology Applied to a Human Body Found into a Lake after Three Years Immersion

The body of a 30‐year‐old woman was found in Como lake at a depth of about 120 meters in her own car after 3 years of immersion. The aim of this study was to evaluate psychoactive drugs as well as alcohol biomarkers in biological matrices. The following analyses were initially performed: GC‐MS systematic toxicological analysis on biological fluids and tissues; GC‐MS analysis of drugs of abuse on pubic hair; direct ethanol metabolite determination in pubic hair by LC‐MS/MS. After 7 years, the samples, that had been stored at ?20°C, were re‐analyzed and submitted to an LC‐MS/MS targeted screening method, using multiple reaction monitoring mode. These analyses detected citalopram (150–3000 ng/mL), desmethylcitalopram (50–2300 ng/mL), clotiapine (20–65 ng/mL), and ethyl glucuronide (97 pg/mg). The methods showed an acceptable reproducibility, and the concentrations of citalopram and desmethylcitalopram calculated through the two analytical techniques did not significantly differ in biological fluids.     

Defending What From Whom? Debating Citizen Disengagement

This article constitutes a pointed theoretical intervention in the debate opposing Richards and Smith to Flinders on the question of citizen disengagement. Its main contention is that Richards and Smith offer a straw‐man argument against Flinders by identifying him with positions he does not hold. It thus shows that Richards and Smith falsely identify Flinders with the following positions: (a) there is no need for a major overhaul in the UK's existing democratic and governance arrangements; (b) the problem of citizen disengagement is caused by the public's insatiable demand for democratic participation; and (c) the problem with British politics is that there is too much democracy and accountability. Finally, the article closes by identifying points of genuine tension between the Richards/Smith position and that defended by Flinders.     

Second-Generation Policy Priorities for Colonias and Informal Settlements in Texas

Along the Texas border with Mexico, more than 400,000 people live in over 2,000 informal self-help settlements known as colonias. These exceedingly low-income, largely Latino settlements have historically suffered from severe health risks, poor infrastructure and housing conditions, and physical and social isolation. Researchers and policymakers have focused extensively on what I call “first-generation policy priorities.” This has primarily entailed efforts to regularize title and infrastructure, support self-help home improvement for colonia homeowners, and prevent the growth of new informal settlements along the border region. I provide a comprehensive review of existing research on colonias to document the myriad ways in which housing and infrastructure conditions and titling practices have changed since these settlements first proliferated throughout the border region in the second half of the 20th century. These changes necessitate a rethinking of the policy priorities for colonias and informal settlements throughout the state. In particular, I argue that colonias must be recast to recognize the significant improvements that have taken place but also the long-term and sometimes severe problems that persist. These “second-generation policy priorities” include the development of sustainable forms of governance, regulation, and finance to address ongoing infrastructure investment needs in colonias; supporting access to and upkeep of safe and affordable renter- and owner-occupied housing through both self-help and contractor-led projects; ensuring long-term title clarity; and promoting community organizing in new and aging settlements.     

Sudan and South Sudan: identity,citizenship, and democracy in plural societies

This article discusses the institutional legacy of colonialism and how that has affected citizenship in Sudan and South Sudan. It argues that the colonial project made a legal distinction, especially in how citizenship was defined. It outlines problems facing Sudan and South Sudan and the challenges in managing a diverse population. It argues that a failure to build a democratic polity by resorting to ethnic federalism will divide the country along ethnic lines and prevent the emergence of a truly inclusive nation. Finally, the article discusses an alternative solution to the political crisis facing both Sudan and South Sudan, namely citizenship and the establishment of an inclusive framework to manage diverse populations within a unified nation. The article concludes with a discussion of the New Sudan Framework by situating it within the larger debate on democratic nation-building while also discussing its alignment with regional and international law.