Rap sheets in criminological research: Considerations and caveats

The types of errors found in official criminal history records are not completely understood by many researchers, and this lack of understanding can lead to serious misinterpretations. Analyses of a recently developed database of New Orleans offenders indicate that the use of rap sheets with a limited catchment area can lead to gross distortions of the effects of variables related to geographic mobility, such as race and age. Evidence from a number of sources indicates that false-negative error is a serious problem, particularly in fingerprint-based record systems. In addition, arrest records lend themselves to a variety of common misinterpretations by researchers in the coding process, including failing to identify multievent arrests, misclassifying arrests, and treating arrest or custody process events as crimes indicating criminal activity of the individual while free. Solutions to some of these problems are suggested.     

侦查错误的原因及对策探究

侦查错误理论要求侦查主体在侦查过程中正确、全面、发展地诠释和抑制对科学侦查有负面导向的侦查主体致错因素、侦查客体致错因素、侦查方法致错因素和相关人致错因素。侦查主体未能形成正确的侦查错误意识,不明确侦查错误的表现形式和缺乏探求侦查错误成因的勇气是很难在侦查错误预防上大有所为的。所以,运用侦查学基础知识,准确界定侦查错误概念,明确侦查错误表现形式,探求侦查错误原因,进行侦查错误预防是十分必要的。     

Pretend It Doesn'T Work: The ‘Anti-Social’ Bias In The Maryland Scientific Methods Scale

The social constructs and methodological principles embodied in the Maryland Scientific Methods Scale (SMS), comprising part of the Campbell Collaboration in Crime and Justice assessment protocol, induce a series of biases in the evaluation of evidence of crime prevention policy interventions that focus on collective social phenomena, such as communities. Applying these principles leads to negative conclusions about effectiveness; yet their inherent ‘anti-social’ bias may induce Type II error with regard to the desirability of ‘social’ interventions to reduce crime. Policy-making is poorly served as a result. This point is illustrated, first, through a scrutiny of the social constructs used, including those that typify treatments, institutional settings and units of analysis. These are seen as being constructed in a way that is congenial to the underlying methodological issue of ‘control’ but that constitute nevertheless a distorted definition of the governance issues involved in crime reduction in community settings. A model more appropriate for evaluating voluntaristic action in civil society is needed. Second, it is suggested that this methodological bias arises particularly in policy interventions and change programmes that address issues concerning the ‘collective efficacy’ of local communities in reducing crime. An empirical exemplification of these arguments is presented with reference to a completed evaluation research study (Foster and Hope, 1993).     

英语专业外贸英文函电写作错误实例分析与建议

针对外贸英语函电写作错误的研究,目前虽有少数学者将语言研究与商务语境结合起来,但主要集中在语言能力方面。从文化和语用学的角度分析函电写作错误尚不多见,也未见学者对函电写作中的外贸业务知识错误进行系统的分析和研究。通过对英语专业学生的大量函电习作进行研究,我们发现学生的语用错误和国际贸易实务知识错误比较突出。对这些错误进行分析,旨在引发同行对外贸英语函电教学的思考和研究。     

医疗事故诉讼中过失认定

医疗事故属于医疗执业侵权。医疗执业侵权中医方的过失来自于其违反了法律要求的照护义务。美国的医疗执业侵权法从“医疗常规标准”已经发展出了“群体接受的标准”,以及在此基础上的过失认定原则。在程序上,美国的原告依赖于专家证人举证证明医方过错。我国的医疗事故诉讼的过失标准是“医疗常规标准”,存在着许多法律缺陷;程序没有专家证人制度,但实行单一举证责任倒置。事实上,过失的认定上交给了医疗事故技术鉴定,成为了医疗事故诉讼的核心。“医疗常规标准”和举证责任、医疗事故鉴定存在很多法律上的冲突。医疗事故鉴定和医疗事故诉讼间的关系,现有法律存有许多待讨论的问题;鉴定人的欠缺法律责任的规范。但现有达到专家辅助人和可能有的医学专家充当陪审员,很可能有助于解决我国医疗事故诉讼中的专业问题。     

Trading old errors for new errors? The impact of electronic voting technology on party label votes in Brazil

In the mid-1990s, Brazil introduced electronic voting technology that reduced residual ballots and consequently expanded de facto enfranchisement. We employ a regression discontinuity design similar to that of previous studies of the Brazilian electronic voting technology to show that electronic technology also caused a sharp rise in party label votes (votos de legenda) that can only be explained by voting error. We show that this error offsets a large portion of the gains in enfranchisement, highlighting the fact that even generally positive changes in voting procedures can have negative effects. Our results also suggest that party label votes should not be considered a measure of party strength in the Brazilian context.     

Police officers’ actual vs. recalled path of travel in response to a threatening traffic stop scenario

The purpose of this study was to measure the amount of error incurred by police officers when trying to accurately draw a previously completed movement path, which occurred during their response to a high-stress encounter. Secondary purposes of the study examined whether gridlines on a diagram or a distractor situation would influence memory accuracy. Officers (n = 23) were taken through a high-stress stimulus phase, followed by a memory recall phase where they were required to accurately draw their path of travel. Average distance traveled was 5.15 ± 1.98 m. Average discrepancy for all participants was an area of 3.23 ± 4.13 m² and length of 1.43 ± 1.30 m. Significant length differences were found between actual and recalled paths of travel (p < .01). No other significant area or length differences were found.     

因果关系错误问题及其应对——以行为危险现实化说的再阐释为中心

因果关系错误,是为了解决在因果关系上认定过宽,让行为人对一些罕见的偶然结果也要承担既遂责任的问题而提出的概念,是试图将在客观违法阶段难以解决的问题转移至主观责任阶段加以解决的尝试。但这种尝试不仅无法解决具体问题,还会加重责任阶层判断的负担,导致违法阶层判断与责任阶层判断失衡。因此,在客观层面处理因果关系错误问题成为学说主流,其中,行为危险现实化说应当成为首选方案。只是,当前对行为危险现实化说的理解带有较浓厚的相当因果关系论色彩。行为危险现实化说强调因果关系的客观性,认为在有无因果关系的判断上,没有必要以内容模糊的规范性因素即“异常性”作为判断依据,而只要以科学鉴定所确认的行为对现实结果发生的贡献度或者参与度为根据,判断现实结果能否评价为行为危险的现实化即可。     

Error and its Meaning in Forensic Science

The discussion of “error” has gained momentum in forensic science in the wake of the Daubert guidelines and has intensified with the National Academy of Sciences' Report. Error has many different meanings, and too often, forensic practitioners themselves as well as the courts misunderstand scientific error and statistical error rates, often confusing them with practitioner error (or mistakes). Here, we present an overview of these concepts as they pertain to forensic science applications, discussing the difference between practitioner error (including mistakes), instrument error, statistical error, and method error. We urge forensic practitioners to ensure that potential sources of error and method limitations are understood and clearly communicated and advocate that the legal community be informed regarding the differences between interobserver errors, uncertainty, variation, and mistakes.     

Iatrogenic Burns of the Neckline in a Patient with Tetraparesis During Tracheotomy

The paper presents a case of an atypical iatrogenic complication after tracheotomy analyzed on the basis of the case dossier materials submitted to the authors by the court of justice to prepare a forensic medical opinion concerning the correctness of the medical procedure. A 37‐year‐old woman was brought by the ambulance service to the hospital with acute respiratory failure due to post‐tracheostomy tracheal stenosis. Tracheotomy was performed on an emergency basis. The patient suffered severe burns of the chest and neck. The experts concluded that the most probable cause of the incident was electrocautery‐induced ignition of the disinfectant used for cleaning the skin before the surgery. It was established that with correct handling of the procedure, the aforementioned incident should not have taken place. Therefore, it cannot be regarded as a normal complication inherent in the risk associated with the procedure, but as a consequence of a medical error.