Do US City Crime Rates Follow a National Trend? The Influence of Nationwide Conditions on Local Crime Patterns

This study considers the degree to which the crime rates of US cities follow a uniform national trend. A nationwide trend has consequences for theories that explain aggregate changes in crime, but how closely subnational units hold to a common time path has received almost no research attention. Using annual panel data, the current study presents analyses that attempt to measure the correspondence between city-level and national-level crime rates. The results of each analysis are consistent with a clear single pattern that operates across the nation’s major urban areas. This supports the idea that a meaningful national trend exists, and it suggests the desirability of continuing efforts to explain it.

Rethinking the Notion of a ‘Higher Law’: Heidegger and Derrida on the Anaximander Fragment

The Anaximander fragment, in the readings of both Heidegger and Derrida, speaks of that which exceeds positive law. In this article, the author provides a detailed reading of Heidegger’s Der Spruch des Anaximander, showing how Heidegger relates this fragment to his thinking of Being, the latter having been ‘forgotten’ by metaphysics. Heidegger’s reading at the same time involves a contemplation of technology and of the ontological relation of beings to each other. Derrida’s reading of Heidegger’s Der Spruch highlights specifically those parts of Heidegger’s text where that which precedes Being’s gathering, Being’s disjoining or dissemination, is pointed to. This disjoining, Derrida contends, speaks of the gift of a day more ancient than memory itself and ties in closely with certain aspects of the thinking of Marx. Derrida’s focus on that which precedes Being is in turn related to his contemplation of the law or condition of possibility of technology and also of that which makes possible a relation to the other as other. This condition of possibility, or the gift of Being, which Heidegger’s text also speaks of, involves a ‘higher law’ which can serve as a ‘measure’ for the evaluation, interpretation and transformation of positive law.

室外温度与室内恒温下EC随死后经历时间的变化

目的在室外环境和室内恒温条件下测定昼夜不同时间猪后腿肌肉电导率(electrical conductivity,EC)值,分析并比较两种环境条件下,EC值随死后经历时间(time since death, TSD)变化的规律。方法取5块即刻屠宰的猪后腿肌肉,均分为两份,随机分成两组,分别置于秋季室外环境和室内18℃恒温环境中。在死后10d内分别于早晚8时(每隔12h)取样,测定其浸渍液EC值。结果两种环境条件下,EC随TSD变化的趋势在整体上是一致的,二者相关性均较好(R2室外=0.971,P室外=0.004,R2室内=0.98,P室内=0.002)。室外环境温度下,肌肉的EC值在白天增长明显,夜间增长不明显,尤其环境温度低于13℃时,出现明显的平台现象,与室内恒温条件下肌肉EC值持续上升的变化趋势有显著的差异。结论无论室外环境温度还是室内恒温下,肌肉EC与TSD的相关性均较好,但在具体分析时,应考虑到夜间低温平台期造成的时间延搁。     

尸体胸骨骨髓细胞核DNA含量变化及其与死后经过时间的关系

目的探讨推断腐败尸体死亡时间的新方法。方法应用计算机图像分析技术,对以改良的Feu lgen法染色,死后经过不同时间(<1~14d)的胸骨骨髓细胞核DNA含量进行观测,并对所得数据进行相关分析。结果胸骨骨髓细胞核DNA含量随死亡时间延长逐渐下降,死后2周DNA量达最低值;死后DNA降解速率与死亡时间呈直线相关。结论测定胸骨骨髓细胞核DNA含量有助于腐败尸体的死亡时间推断。     

A Review of Bomb Pulse Dating and its Use in the Investigation of Unidentified Human Remains

In cases where there is limited antemortem information, the examination of unidentified human remains as part of the investigation of long-term missing person's cases is a complex endeavor and consequently requires a multidisciplinary approach. Bomb pulse dating, which involves the analysis and interpretation of 14C concentration, is one technique that may assist in these investigations by providing an estimate of year of birth and year of death. This review examines the technique of bomb pulse dating and its use in the identification of differentially preserved unknown human remains. Research and case studies implementing bomb pulse dating have predominantly been undertaken in the Northern Hemisphere and have demonstrated reliable and accurate results. Limitations were, however, identified throughout the literature. These included the small sample sizes used in previous research/case studies which impacted on the statistical significance of the findings, as well as technique-specific issues. Such limitations highlight the need for future research.     

谈第四次修宪之现实价值

2004年3月14日第十届全国人民代表大会第二次会议通过了宪法修正案,这是1982年宪法制定以来的第四次修改,具有极其重大的现实意义。修改内容包括:“三个代表”和“政治文明”入宪;增加“国家尊重和保障人权”;明确和保护公民的私有财产权;提高非公有制经济地位;扩大爱国统一战线的阶级基础等。修宪内容从头至尾包含着“以人为本”的思想。     

创新职务犯罪预防机制高效服务和谐社会建设

职务犯罪产生的根本原因是职务主体内在履职心理与外部履职环境严重不和谐并相互作用的结果,预防职务犯罪工作应按照和谐社会建设的要求,从消除职务主体的内外不和谐因素入手,坚持打防并举、标本兼治的方针,建立和完善"教育、制度、监督、法治"四位一体的预防机制,以高效服务于和谐社会建设.     

Studying the New Communication of Politics

A research agenda set forth in the 1975 book Political Communication is well suited for study in an era when conventional mass communication gives way to less centralized channels. Features of this approach include a focus on behavior and cognitions rather than inferred attitudes, close attention to measurement of media experience, conceptualization of curvilinear processes that occur over time, comparative theorizing that can be tested across different national systems, and reconceptualization of communication as a process defined more by its functions than whether it occurs via mass media or interpersonal channels.     

Shedder status—An analysis over time and assessment of various contributing factors

The shedder status of a person is an important consideration when evaluating probabilities of DNA transfer during activity-level assessments. As an extension of our previously published study, the shedder statuses of 38 individuals were reassessed 1 year later. The study found that shedder status may change over time for some individuals and was associated with one's gender, number of items touched, and mobile phone usage. In 29% of touch events, no DNA allele was detected and in 99% of touch events, the amount of DNA deposited was <2 ng. The study also found that in 0.6% of touch events, the participant could be excluded as a contributor of the observed DNA profile, with another person being included. Additionally, our investigations suggest that the current three-category system for shedder status classification may require further refinement to better represent the individuals' shedder status in a population.     

Radiocarbon dating as tool to assist in triaging cases of unidentified human remains in Victoria,Australia: A case series

In cases where human remains are unidentified because there is no initial identification hypothesis, limited contextual information, and/or poor preservation, radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating may be a useful tool to further assist with identification. Through measuring the amount of ¹⁴C remaining in organic material, such as bone, teeth, nail, or hair, radiocarbon dating may provide an estimated year of birth and year of death for a deceased person. This information, may assist in, establishing whether a case of unidentified human remains (UHR) is actually of medicolegal significance and therefore, requires forensic investigation and identification. This case series highlights the application of ¹⁴C dating to seven of the 132 UHR cases in Victoria, Australia. Cortical bone was sampled from each case and the level of ¹⁴C was measured to provide an estimated year of death. Four of the seven cases analyzed contained the levels of ¹⁴C consistent with an archeological timeframe, one contained a level of ¹⁴C consistent with a modern (i.e., of medicolegal significance) timeframe, and the results for the remaining two samples were inconclusive. Applying this technique not only reduced the number of UHR cases in Victoria but also has investigative, cultural, and practical implications for medicolegal casework in general.