Accuracy and Repeatability of Trajectory Rod Measurement Using Laser Scanners

Three‐dimensional (3D) technologies contribute greatly to bullet trajectory analysis and shooting reconstruction. There are few papers which address the errors associated with utilizing laser scanning for bullet trajectory documentation. This study examined the accuracy and precision of laser scanning for documenting trajectory rods in drywall for angles between 25° and 90°. The inherent error range of 0.02°–2.10° was noted while the overall error for laser scanning ranged between 0.04° and 1.98°. The inter‐ and intraobserver errors for trajectory rod placement and virtual trajectory marking showed that the range of variation for rod placement was between 0.1°–1° in drywall and 0.05°–0.5° in plywood. Virtual trajectory marking accuracy tests showed that 75% of data values were below 0.91° and 0.61° on azimuth and vertical angles, respectively. In conclusion, many contributing factors affect bullet trajectory analysis, and the use of 3D technologies can aid in reduction of errors associated with documentation.     

Controversial Suicide Case Using a Submachine Gun with a Sound Suppressor—The Need of Team Work of Forensic Chemistry and Firearm Examiners

Evidence materials in a presumed suicide case were studied by a firearm examiner and a forensic chemist. The victim's body with double gunshot wounding in his forehead, a machine gun in the sustained fire mode with a silencer, and four cartridge cases were found. Examinations of the evidence, the case file studies, and experiments dedicated to the case were carried out. Relationships between the placement of cartridge cases and the gun were established using a fast camera. The distributions of gunshot residues on the evidence materials and within the comparative gunshot patterns were studied by means of optical and electron microscopy, X‐ray microanalysis, and infrared spectroscopy. The shooting distance was assessed to be 30 cm or more, whereas the greatest distance that could have been achieved by the victim himself was about 11–13 cm. The obtained results supported the version of homicide rather than suicide.     

认知脑电位检测在目击证人心理面孔重建中的应用

检验目击证人对犯罪嫌疑人面孔记忆的正确性是一项困难的工作。在证人面孔记忆的语义提取过程中,严格遵守完形原则,尽量减少影响证人记忆和再认的因素,把握细节,可以提高目击证人心理面孔重建的质量。认知脑电位检测法可以通过对记忆反应的脑电图成分、潜伏期、波幅等指标的测量,有效判断证人对列队辨认中的面孔是否存有记忆。本文对脑电位检测在目击证人心理面孔重建中的研究和应用进行综述,希望能为相关研究和实践提供参考。     

电动两轮车侧翻倒地滑动摩擦系数实验研究

目的两轮车侧翻倒地后的滑行摩擦系数是利用两轮车碰撞后倒地滑行距离进行速度计算的关键参数,论文通过试验研究提出用于道路交通事故速度计算的电动两轮车侧翻倒地滑动摩擦系数。方法在综合分析电动两轮车侧倒滑行摩擦系数影响因素的基础上,利用正交试验设计摩擦系数实验方案,并采用实车牵引的方法,在不同速度条件下,分别在干燥、潮湿的沥青混凝土路面及水泥混凝土路面上进行实验。结果实验所得数据显示,电动两轮车侧翻倒地滑动摩擦系数的范围为0.40～0.60。结论通过对所得数据进行处理,提出适用于电动两轮车交通事故再现的摩擦系数范围。     

基于MADYMO软件的交通事故中行人运动机理研究

事故重建、数据分析以及计算机仿真是行人安全防护研究的三个重要手段。行人运动机理的研究对于揭示人-车交通事故的特征具有非常重要的意义。文章以一起真实案例为基础,运用MADYMO仿真分析探讨真实交通事故中行人的运动机理。并以真实的交通事故数据作为验证手段。     

理解与说明——论人文科学方法论的重建

自然科学、社会科学和人文科学的研究对象不同,决定了它们研究方法的区别。人文科学以人的精神世界为研究对象,这使得其研究方法具有特殊性。关于人文科学研究方法的争论主要有统一论、独立论和家族相似论。若要建立科学的方法论,必须既反对统一论和独立论的一刀切的研究方法,也要反对家族相似论的模糊不清的研究方法,要将理解——研究的主观方面和说明——研究对象的客观方面相结合作为其研究的主要方法。     

Somaliland's post-war reconstruction: Rubble to rebuilding

ABSTRACT

This study captures the momentum of Somaliland's national reconciliation nationstate-rebuilding phase as it drives a reconstruction process involving the demobilisation of militias; internal state institutional reconstruction focusing on the House of Elders and the House of Representatives; the international dimensions of reconstruction involving humanitarian aid and developmental assistance; private reconstruction initiatives interacting with the development of a monetary exchange process and the participation of the Somaliland diaspora; and the role of women as the backbone of the Somaliland economy, and how all of these social components of nation-state building are framed constitutionally in the crafting of a multi-party democracy with northern Somali characteristics. However, the broader context in which these reconstructive dynamics unfold is conditioned by the emergence of militant expressions of political Islam within and outside the Somali coast in and around the Red Sea ‘Afrabian’ transregion and the Persian Gulf.     

Reconstruction and reparations: Lessons from China and the Pan-African world

Abstract

This article addresses the role of the university and institutions of higher learning in carrying out the mandate of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), held in Durban, South Africa in 2001. The active contribution of the university is anticipated in Article 98 of the Programme of Action published in the Report of the World Conference (2001), which clearly states:

We emphasize the importance and necessity of teaching about the facts and truth of the history of humankind from antiquity to the recent past, as well as of teaching about the facts and truth of the history, causes, nature and consequences of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, with a view to achieving a comprehensive and objective cognizance of the tragedies of the past.     

Social network analysis and counterinsurgency: a counterproductive strategy?

Social network analysis has been adopted by a number of governments in their counterinsurgency campaigns. By using network analysis, security agencies claim they can render militant groups impotent by targeting ‘nodal points’ or key links in insurgent networks. The article makes three arguments on the potentially counterproductive nature of social network analysis-assisted counterinsurgency campaigns. Firstly, social network analysis may be ‘too successful’ in stripping militant movements of a cadre who could negotiate a peace accord. Secondly, social network analysis-assisted campaigns fail to address the root causes of violent conflict. Thirdly, by denuding communities of social capital and social entrepreneurs, social network analysis – as a counterinsurgency tool – may condemn communities to underdevelopment and failed post-war reconstruction. In short, the ‘magic weapon’ of social network analysis might actually prolong the conflict it is supposed to help quell. The article employs the government of Sri Lanka's social network analysis-assisted counterinsurgency campaign as a case study, though it also has application to other cases. It concludes by considering if social network analysis can be put to more constructive uses, specifically in the rebuilding of communities after violent conflict.     

Pronasale Position: An Appraisal of Two Recently Proposed Methods for Predicting Nasal Projection in Facial Reconstruction

This study examines two recently proposed methods for predicting nose projection from the skull, those developed by Stephan et al. (Am J Phys Anthropol 122, 2003, 240) and Rynn et al. (Forensic Sci Med Pathol 6, 2010, 20). A sample of 86 lateral head cephalograms of adult subjects from Central Europe was measured, and the actual and predicted dimensions were compared. Regarding nose projection (the anterior and vertical position of the pronasale), in general, the method of Rynn et al. (Forensic Sci Med Pathol 6, 2010, 20) was found to perform better and with less error variance than the method of Stephan et al. (Am J Phys Anthropol 122, 2003, 240), but the mean difference between the actual and predicted values did not exceed 2.2 mm (6.5% of the actual dimension) in most of the variables tested. The vertical dimensions of the nose were predictable with greater accuracy than the horizontal dimensions. Although the mean error of both methods is not great in practice and thus both methods could be considered to be “accurate,” the real variance of error should not be overlooked.