The Successful Recovery of Low Copy Number and Degraded DNA from Bones Exposed to Seawater Suitable for Generating a DNA STR Profile

A universal method allowing for DNA profiling from bones exposed to seawater has not been reported yet. This study refers on the identification of a body immersed in seawater for 8 months. The biological material for identification was the mandibular body, usually characterized by low success rates of DNA analysis. Initially, two extraction protocols were performed with negative results: one used for bones immersed in fresh water and a silica‐column procedure. A third protocol was performed, which combined the extraction of a higher amount of bone powder, the use of multi‐silica‐based extraction columns followed by a concentration step. This protocol allowed to obtain low copy number DNA and to generate a 12‐loci STR profile by combining conventional STR typing and mini‐STR technologies. This protocol could be suitable when human bones have been exposed to severe environmental conditions, and the available nuclear DNA is highly degraded and in low copy number.     

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.     

中医医疗技术损害侵权鉴定中的证据审查分析简

近些年,随着全民养生保健意识的逐步提高,选择中医治疗的患者越来越多,接踵而来的是因中医医疗技术损害引起纠纷的案件数量的攀升。但目前国内外大多数都是按照西医治疗的标准进行鉴定,一直未形成具有针对性、系统性、统一性的中医医疗纠纷鉴定的标准与原则。本文中,作者旨在结合《侵权责任法》中医疗技术损害责任的相关规定,阐述中医辨证论治的特点,审查分析中医医疗技术纠纷鉴定中的相关证据。     

科学技术发展对刑事证据的影响初探

随着科技的发展及其不断深入到人们生活的方方面面,对刑事证据制度的影响越来越大。科技影响了刑事证据制度的变迁;扩大了刑事证据的范围,使越来越多的非自然物进入证据之列;对于收集、固定和保全刑事证据,既提供了新的手段,也提出了新的挑战;同时对于刑事证据的采信规则也产生了影响。从科技的角度研究刑事证据,可以为我国建立完善刑事证据规则奠定理论基础。     

法治思维视阈下科技伦理教育观完善探析——基于当下科技发展中学术道德失范行为现象的思考

学术瑕疵类、学术垄断类失范行为之所以普遍存在,与科技伦理教育观密切相关。当前,我国的科技伦理教育主要存在法治意识淡薄,忽视培养具有法治思维的科技伦理专业人才,以及缺乏法治化制度保障等问题。然而,法治思维作为社会治理的核心思维,具有将其引入科技伦理教育的必要性和可行性。为实现规制学术道德失范行为以净化科技伦理生态的道德理想,需要在科技伦理教育的过程中中融入法治思维并凸显法治作用,从而构筑起坚不可摧的法治屏障。所以,法治思维视域下科技伦理教育观的完善应从德法并重,严重的学术道德失范行为应以法律规制为主,且科技伦理教育中亟待重视法治思维的培育等方面着力;法治思维视域下,高等院校与科研机构对于科研人员科技伦理教育观的培育应从增设科技法和知识产权法课程,强化警示教育,且在对于学术道德失范行为的学术研究和立法规制等方面努力。     

Translational criminology and its importance in policing: a review

ABSTRACT

Translational criminology is a decision-making perspective that emphasizes the dynamic coproduction of evidence by researchers and practitioners, focusing on obstacles to and facilitators of evidence generation and utilization. It incorporates several other data-driven decision-making models, including evidence-based policy making. This review suggests that the availability of empirical research is no longer the most significant impediment to evidence-based policing. Rather, translating and implementing knowledge about ‘what works‘ in policing has arisen as the field’s primary barrier to securing the effectiveness and efficiency improvements of research and data utilization. This article orients readers to translational criminology’s various components and explores their applications. Focusing on four central considerations, this review explores the roles of researcher practitioner partnerships, policy, technology, and government in developing and sustaining translational efforts in policing. The review concludes by acknowledging challenges to fostering a translational perspective in policing, and offers examples of where it has been applied with success.     

There’s an app for that: Modernizing domestic violence support through the creation of new technologies,tools, and services

With domestic violence (DV) at an all-time high, police departments are drastically underutilizing technology to combat DV. Currently, New York police departments complete a “Domestic Incident Report” at the scene of domestic incidents but fail to adequately facilitate support services. New York State should mandate a services component into police DV protocols, specifically by commissioning: (1) an application linked to DV organizations presented at the scene of domestic incidents; and (2) a gateway application to refer victims to the correct services. Such tools would allow for the rendering of more efficient support to DV victims in times of immediate crisis.     

Scopic valuations: how digital tracking technologies shape economic value

How do market actors in the contemporary economy make decisions when they are uncertain of the value of what is being traded? To answer this question, this paper analyses the changing temporal and spatial orientation of economic valuations in increasingly digitalized economies, in which markets can no longer be understood as locally bound and closed sites of valuation and exchange. Drawing on ethnographic material from the fishing industry, the paper shows how digital tracking technologies link and synchronize auction markets with real-time information on fishing activities. Hence, ‘scopic media’ such as chart plotters and computer screens are not only deployed by skippers to monitor one another, but are also used as valuation devices that recontextualize local knowledge for the purpose of coping with economic uncertainty. As a consequence of this panoptic valuation regime, fishermen control their virtual identities by disciplining harvesting practices according to their buyers’ expectations.     

Trade and Industrial Policy as Levers for Sustainable Energy Technology Adoption? Experiences from Urban Latin America

Debates abound regarding the link between trade and industrial policy and the adoption of sustainable energy technologies in developing countries. Some purport that open trade regimes support technology diffusion, while others indicate that more interventionist regimes are more conducive. This paper uses empirical evidence from Mexico City and São Paulo to argue that sustainable energy technology uptake can be more prevalent in settings with partially open trade policy regimes. These regimes have afforded countries more opportunities to develop local capabilities, which, in turn, has had knock‐on effects on sustainable energy technology uptake. Specifically, having more local technology sources (equipment, expertise) brought quicker access to these technologies, created more perceptions of technology “ownership,” fostered more effective mobilization, and helped create well‐established standards, which in turn contributed positively to sustainable energy technology uptake, while taxes and tariffs were less influential.     

Technology and Politics: Have the ICTs Turned into a Domain for Civil–Military Relations in Turkey?

The implications of technology have been widely acknowledged in international relations. Studies ranging from the causes of war and military effectiveness to terrorism and nuclear proliferation have explored how technology shapes international politics. However, the implications of technology in domestic politics have not been scrutinised much. This paper helps fill this vacuum through an analysis of Turkey’s civil–military relations. Although civilian control over the Turkish military has improved in the past decade, this process has not been smooth. With a focus on the recent court cases involving the military, the 2007 e-memorandum and the transfer of electronic military intelligence apparatus to the civilian authority, this paper demonstrates how technology has become an important domain for civil–military relations in Turkey.