OpenLV: Empowering investigators and first-responders in the digital forensics process

The continuing decline in the cost-per-megabyte of hard disk storage has inevitably led to a ballooning volume of data that needs to be reviewed in digital investigations. The result: case backlogs that commonly stretch for months at forensic labs, and per-case processing that occupies days or weeks of analytical effort. Yet speed is critical in situations where delay may render the evidence useless or endanger personal safety, such as when a suspect may flee, a victim is at risk, criminal tactics or control infrastructure may change, etc. In these and other cases, investigators need tools to enable quick triage of computer evidence in order to answer urgent questions, maintain the pace of an investigation and assess the likelihood of acquiring pertinent information from the device.This paper details the design and application of a tool, OpenLV, that not only meets the needs for speedy initial triage, but also can facilitate the review of digital evidence at later stages of investigation. With OpenLV, an investigator can quickly and safely interact with collected evidence, much as if they had sat down at the computer at the time the evidence was collected. Since OpenLV works without modifying the evidence, its use in triage does not preclude subsequent, in-depth forensic analysis. Unlike many popular forensics tools, OpenLV requires little training and facilitates a unprecedented level of interaction with the evidence.     

Location,location, location: Interdistrict and intercircuit variation in sentencing outcomes for federal drug-trafficking offenses

Research on sentencing has made clear that factors beyond case and offenders' attributes influence court decisions. Environmental and procedural characteristics also significantly affect the sentences of criminal courts. Yet, while state-level studies regularly control for such factors, most research on modern federal determinate sentencing has neglected jurisdictional attributes and variation as sources of extralegal sentence disparity. Using the organizational context and social worlds theoretical perspectives with a multilevel analytical approach, this study assessed how district and circuit of adjudication affect case-level lengths of sentences for federal drug-trafficking offenses, finding that both significantly affect sentencing outcomes and their predictors.     

Public Area CCTV and Crime Prevention: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

In recent years, there has been a marked and sustained growth in the use of closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance cameras to prevent crime in public places in the USA and other Western nations. Amidst this expansion and the associated public expenditure, as well as concerns about their efficacy and social costs, there is an increasing need for an evidence‐based approach to inform CCTV policy and practice. This paper reports on an updated systematic review and meta‐analysis of the effects of CCTV on crime in public places. Evaluations were included if CCTV was the main intervention and the design was of high methodological quality. Forty‐four evaluations met the inclusion criteria. The results suggest that CCTV caused a modest (16%) but significant decrease in crime in experimental areas compared with control areas. This overall result was largely driven by the effectiveness of CCTV schemes in car parks, which caused a 51% decrease in crime. Schemes in most other public settings had small and nonsignificant effects on crime: a 7% decrease in city and town centers and in public housing communities. Public transport schemes had greater effects (a 23% decrease overall), but these were still nonsignificant. Schemes evaluated in the UK were more effective than schemes evaluated in the USA and other countries, but this was largely driven by the studies in the car parks. Implications for policy and research are discussed.     

清代贵州少数民族科举探析

本文的讨论对象为"清代贵州少数民族科举",涉及以下四个方面内容:一、政策的演变;二、学校教育的发展;三、公平的悖论;四、引发的社会问题。从清初的高度优待到后来的蔑视提防,充分反映出相关政策与政治形势的密切关系。民族地区学校教育获得了一定发展,但相对的公平与优待背后,民族考生面对着隐性的不公平,而引发的社会问题则充分反映出民族问题的复杂性。     

伪造2005版100元人民币水印特征初探

目的建立伪造2005版100元人民币水印检验方法。方法利用紫外光源、透光光源对伪造人民币上水印进行显现和检验。结果伪造黑水印、伪造白水印在印刷方式、印刷工艺及图文形态等特征上存在不同。结论本方法的建立,可为识别假币制作地点提供线索。     

论考试制度与素质教育的发展

传统的教育考试存在很多弊端,随着素质教育的实施,各级学校却遇到了许多实际问题,遇到了许多令人困惑的矛盾。当前需要解决的重要问题是素质教育的新理念、新内容与传统的教育评估和考试制度传统的考试观念的矛盾冲突的问题。对于全面实施素质教育具有重要的意义.     

试论行政行为道德化的制度建设

行政行为道德化建设需要制度的支撑,行政制度的道德选择是行政行为道德化的保障。行政行为道德化要坚持公正和正义,诚实和信誉,惩恶扬善等价值取向。在行政行为道德化制度建设中,必须深化行政体制和用人制度的改革,建立监督约束机制,完善法制环境。     

对高校统计学试题库改革的建议

统计学在不断的发展变化,作为检验教学效果的考试试卷应跟上这种变化,但是试题库通常采用的方法是试卷入库,这种方式使得调整试卷的内容、结构等灵活性不够,时效性不够,束缚统计教学内容和方法的改变,因此需进行改革。     

植物检验在司法鉴定中的应用

植物在自然界分布广泛,与人类生活密切相关,容易与各类诉讼活动发生联系而成为物证。为了提高对植物检验重要性的认识,作者对植物检验技术及其司法鉴定应用价值进行了探讨。     

对国家司法考试制度的宪法学思考

自2002年开始,我国的司法考试至今已历三届。我们选取了国家司法考试制度中的若干问题,从宪法学的角度进行观察思考,以我国宪法所确立的制度、原则与精神为基准,对司法考试做一检视,其内容包括考试的性质、名称、主管机关、报考资格、通过条件、经费开支,以及法律职业资格的效力等问题。