Forensic Significance of Gunshot Impact Marks on Inanimate Objects: The Need for Translational Research

Wherever an impact mark is found, either on the surface or on the recovered projectile, it is important for forensic investigators to extract useful information in solving shooting-related cases. This article reviews a collection of works on examination of impact marks upon striking of projectiles on inanimate objects, emphasizing on the retrievable information from a shooting scene and their forensic significance in shooting event reconstruction. Literature suggested that impact marks on target surfaces and the degree of deformation on striking projectiles vary according to different combinations of ammunition and surface materials. It was noted that conditions in real-case scenarios further differed unpredictably in comparison with controlled studies, where forensic investigation should be treated as case-specific basis. Furthermore, the way forensic science is researched and applied operationally has to be reconsidered to reduce the gap via translational approach for more effective use of forensic evidence.     

Quality of Laypersons' Assessment of Forensically Relevant Stimuli,

The current study examined the potential for cognitive bias in lay examiners' comparisons of footwear impressions within the technical review process while addressing limitations of previous research. Prior research has found inconsistent results regarding the extent to which cognitive bias may influence forensic comparisons, often asking non-experts to review forensic stimuli above their competency level. Furthermore, past research has largely ignored the potential for cognitive bias during the technical review process. In collaboration with the Miami-Dade Police Department's Forensic Services Bureau, we examined the effects of previous examiners' level of experience and prior knowledge of the previous examiner's decision on the technical review stage of footwear impression stimuli. Before lay examiners were presented with pairs of known match and nonmatch footwear impressions, they were either told that an expert or a novice had previously examined them and determined them to be either a match, nonmatch, or inconclusive (plus a no-information condition). Participants then evaluated each pair of footwear impressions to make their own determinations of match, nonmatch, or inconclusive. Results support the technical review process for all decision types, as known nonmatch stimuli were generally more difficult for lay examiners to assess than known match stimuli. Knowledge of a prior examiner's decision and status was observed only when the prior decision was inconclusive, suggesting the need for inclusion of inconclusive decisions in future research examining cognitive bias in forensic examination.     

刑事立法模式的宪法考察

现行刑事立法采取了将所有犯罪规定在一部刑法典中的模式,没有在行政法、经济法等法律中直接规定构成要件与法定刑,导致刑法典中出现大量的绝对空白刑法规范与相对空白刑法规范,并且形成了自然犯与法定犯一体化的立法体例。法律保留原则、明确性原则与比例原则是宪法原则;绝对空白刑法规范违反了法律保留原则,相对空白刑法规范不符合明确性原则;自然犯与法定犯一体化的立法体例不符合比例原则。只有改变现行刑事立法模式,在行政法、经济法等法律中直接规定相关犯罪的构成要件与法定刑,在刑法典中仅规定自然犯,才能使刑事立法模式与宪法相协调。     

Conceptualising,evaluating and communicating uncertainty in forensic science: Identifying commonly used tools through an interdisciplinary configurative review

This study provides a set of tools for conceptualising, evaluating and communicating uncertainty in forensic science. Given that the concept of uncertainty is one that transcends disciplinary boundaries, an interdisciplinary configurative review was carried out incorporating the disciplines of medicine, environmental science and economics, in order to identify common themes which could have valuable applications to the discipline of forensic science. Critical Interpretive Synthesis was used to develop sub-synthetic and synthetic constructs which interpreted and synthesised the underlying evidence and codes. This study provides three toolkits, one each for conceptualisation, evaluation and communication. The study identified an underlying theme concerning the obstacles that would need to be overcome for the effective application of these toolkits and achieving effective conceptualisation, evaluation and communication of uncertainty in forensic science to lay-stakeholders. These toolkits offer a starting point for developing the conversation for achieving greater transparency in the communication of uncertainty. They also have the potential to offer stakeholders enhanced understanding of the nuances and limitations of forensic science evidence and enable more transparent evaluation and scrutiny of the reliability, relevance and probative value of forensic materials in a crime reconstruction.     

Constructions of girls’ bodies in Israeli academic literature: a critical scoping review

This scoping review offers an opportunity to examine the spread and reclaiming of feminist theoretical tenets in a central domain of youth studies. We examined critically the development of the academic literature on Israeli girls and their bodies, based on a girlhood studies perspective. Data consisted of the 255 academic works (articles, book chapters and graduate theses) published on the topic since Israel’s inception. The analysed variables included: decade, language, discipline, topic, focus population, approach and genre. The findings outline a gradual increase overtime of works on the bodies of girls, dominated by health-related topics and quantitative methodologies, alongside a relatively small number of studies on sub-populations of girls and based on a critical approach. The discussion situates the trends found regarding study populations, topics and approaches in the global and local literature on girls, highlighting signs of an emerging girlhood studies perspective in the reviewed literature in the past two decades.     

Avoiding Theoretical Stagnation: A Systematic Review and Framework for Measuring Public Value

Public value theory has become a hot topic in public administration research, but its proponents have long recognised difficulties in empirically testing the theory's central propositions. There has been a lack of clarity about how to measure the extent to which organisations are generating public value, which has rendered researchers unable to quantitatively study the causes, consequences and correlates of public value. The current study systematically reviews the growing literature on public value measurement to identify, evaluate, and synthesise available measures. Through a qualitative synthesis of the themes present in published measures, we identify four key components for measuring public value that appear to be important across a range of policy and national contexts. Our review identifies a promising framework that could be used to structure a comprehensive measure of public value and, in doing so, provides a means to progress theoretical development and testing of the public value approach.     

违宪法律的效力

违宪法律是否具有效力,并非完全取决于“违宪”的判断结论,而视乎无效决定之效力状态。各国对于违宪法律应否具有效力的处理方式有所不同,但仍存在一定的规则：违宪法律的对象效力范围,与维护宪法秩序和保障个人权利这两种法律价值观密切相关,并有一般无效与个别无效两种不同的法律处理;违宪法律的时间效力范围取决于“构成说”与“宣示说”这两种无效学说下的不同规定性,而违宪法律的自始无效与将来无效则成为各国设计违宪法律的时间效力范围时必须面对的关键问题。     

Joint sector reviews—M&E experiments in an era of changing aid modalities: Experiences from JSRs in the education sectors of Burkina Faso,Mali and Niger

Aid policy and practice have been thoroughly shaken up over the past few years. One of the reform areas relates to monitoring and evaluation (M&E). In short, aid recipients are asked to elaborate result‐oriented frameworks while donors are expected to harmonise and align their policies and frameworks. This article examines the extent to which joint sector reviews (JSRs) could take the M&E reform agenda forward. JSRs are M&E exercises at the sector level which have the potential to satisfy the M&E needs of various stakeholders while, at the same time, also contributing to the M&E reform agenda. They are increasingly utilised on the ground, yet, so far, there do not exist any systematic stocktakings and/or analyses of them. Our own analysis of a sample of JSRs from the education sectors of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger indicate that JSRs score highly on harmonisation, coordination, leadership and broad‐based participation, but poorly on alignment. They generally prioritise accountability over learning needs and largely neglect accountability and learning at the level of the sector institutional apparatus. In this article, findings from the field are contrasted with insights from evaluation theory and practice so as to provide suggestions for on the ground JSR improvements. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

近十年来民主党派监督职能研究述评

各民主党派在国家的社会主义建设事业中发挥着越来越重要的作用。民主监督的职能长期以来都是理论界研究的热点问题,并取得了一系列显著的研究成果。     

Ontario Healthcare Coverage Eligibility Among New Permanent Residents: A Scoping Review

New permanent residents to Ontario can experience difficulties accessing health services due to the 3-month residency requirement for provincial healthcare coverage. This scoping literature review, which included peer-reviewed articles and gray literature from 1993–2013, examined the effects of the 3-month waiting period on the health of new permanent residents to Ontario, public health, and the health-care system. At the individual level, issues of affordability, pre-existing conditions, and quality of care were prominent throughout the literature. At a systems level, the policy was found to constrain various health-care settings, pose a risk to public health, and compound health-care system costs.