从严别男女政策看太平天国妇女的社会地位

严别男女政策是太平天国起义之初为适应流动作战需要而实行的一种男女隔离政策,在一定程度上起到了妇女保护作用,但它本身不合情理,再加上执行过程中的激进、极端,对广大妇女所起的保护作用比起她们实际受到的伤害显得微乎其微。这说明太平天国领导人本身并未具有将广大妇女从被压迫的境况中解放出来的伟大志向,他们实行的看似具有妇女解放色彩的政策大多也只是军事政策的副产品。太平天国妇女的社会地位并未得到真正提高。     

Research Note: Randomized field experiments published in the British Journal of Criminology, 1960–2004

Randomized controlled trials have become an important component of evidence-based policy in criminal justice. Because searches of electronic bibliographic databases often miss relevant trials, handsearch – or the visual inspection of the contents of an article – is recommended as an additional search strategy. In this paper, we conducted an electronic handsearch of every available issue of the British Journal of Criminology (1960–2004) to determine how many randomized field experiments were published. We compare these results to earlier manual handsearch efforts to augment the Campbell Collaboration Social, Psychological, Educational and Criminological Trials Register (C2-SPECTR). We find only nine trials (although two used quasi-random allocation such as alternation), and just one published in the past 20 years. We discuss some possible reasons for this, and conclude with a modest agenda for improving the reporting of evidence in the age of evidence-based policy.     

Are UK undergraduate Forensic Science degrees fit for purpose?

In October 2009 Skills for Justice published the social research paper ‘Fit for purpose?: Research into the provision of Forensic Science degree programmes in UK Higher Education Institutions.’ The research engaged employers representing 95% of UK Forensic Science providers and 79% of UK universities offering Forensic Science or Crime Scene degree programmes. In addition to this, the research collected the views of 430 students studying these degrees. In 2008 there were approximately 9000 people working in the Forensic Science sector in the UK. The research found that the numbers of students studying Forensic Science or Crime Scene degrees in the UK have more than doubled since 2002–03, from 2191 in to 5664 in 2007–08. Over the same period there were twice as many females as males studying for these degrees. The research concluded that Forensic Science degree programmes offered by UK universities were of a good quality and they provided the student with a positive learning experience but the content was not relevant for Forensic Science employers. This echoed similar research by the former Government Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on graduates from wider science, technology, engineering and mathematics degree programmes. The research also found that 75% of students studying Forensic Science or Crime Scene degrees expected to have a career in the Forensic Science sector, meaning that ensuring these courses are relevant for employers is a key challenge for universities. This paper reflects on the original research and discusses the implications in light of recent government policy.     

Case Comment: The Legality of ‘Kettling’ after Austin

This case comment considers the European Court of Human Rights decision of Austin v United Kingdom (2012) 55 EHRR 14. Austin claimed, unsuccessfully, that police kettling at a public protest in London amounted to a violation of her right to liberty under Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights. This case comment suggests that the court took an unexpected and unorthodox approach to the issue of ‘deprivation’ within Article 5. This decision may come to undermine the protections afforded by Article 5 and extend the current exceptions to Article 5 to an indefinite range of situations.     

王国礼仪公共性的扩展——简论古代华夏族群的形成途径

古代华夏融合由夏商周三代王国政治推动完成,这一点已为学界公认。但华夏融合的具体途径是什么,仍有待深入研究。三代王国皆耗费大量物资建设象征权力的王国礼仪,王国礼仪为王族独占,但在长期发展中也形成某种公共性,即由各姓族集团贵族分享,可以在前后不同王族之间传递,由之而渐成跨越姓族藩篱的文化圈,此文化圈便是春秋“诸夏”认同的基础。古代华夏融合不同于现代民族认同,后者是社会全体成员参与的过程,前者主要是社会上层贵族参与的过程。     

《庄子》喜用寓言新探

寓言是《庄子》重要的组成部分和主要的论说方式。庄子喜用寓言的原因有三：其一,与当时诸子著书立说善用寓言这一流行的学术思潮分不开;其二,是当时“说难”这一客观的文化发展和庄子追求“超脱”的主观心态发展相结合的结果;其三,深受当时流行于楚国的巫风与神话的影响。     

Lipidic compounds found in soils surrounding human decomposing bodies and its use in forensic investigations – A narrative review

Following decomposition of a human body, a variety of decomposition products, such as lipids, are released into the surrounding environment, e.g. soils. The long-lasting preservation in soils and their high diagnostic potential have been neglected in forensic research. Furthermore, little is known about the preservation, chemical transformation, or degradation of those human derived lipids in soils. To date, several studies identified various lipids such as long-chain free fatty acids and steroids in soils that contained decomposition fluids. Those lipids are preserved in soils over time and could serve as markers of human decomposition in forensic investigations, e.g. for estimating the post-mortem interval or identifying the burial location of a human body. Therefore, this review focuses on the current literature regarding fatty acid and steroid that have been detected in soils and associated with human body decomposition. After a short introduction about human decomposition processes, this review summarises fatty acid and steroid analysis applied in current case studies and studies related to taphonomic research. This review provides an overview of the available studies that have used fatty acids and steroids as identifiers of human decomposition fluid in soils in a forensic context and discusses the potential for developing this innovative field of research with direct application in a forensic context.     

Defeat of the People's Army? The 2015 British general election and the UK Independence Party (UKIP)

The 2015 general election in Britain saw a major attempt by a relatively new party - the UK Independence Party (UKIP)- to secure elected representation. While UKIP received nearly four million votes, the party left the 2015 general election with just one Member of Parliament. Our evidence, drawn from analysis of British Election survey data and in-depth qualitative interviews with activists, suggests that UKIP's campaign was a major factor in its inability to translate widespread support into elected representation. While the party pursued a targeted campaign, this had only a modest impact on its own vote. UKIP's lack of resources, inexperience and inability to operationalize highly effective, targeted local campaigns severely hamstrung the party and prevented it from converting support into MPs at Westminster.