A validation study for vinyl electrical tape end matches

Fracture matches are considered the strongest conclusion in the forensic examination of rigid materials, such as glass, metal, and paint. However, publications that support the fracture matching of polymeric films, such as tape backings, are limited. This study was designed to determine the validity and error rate associated with conducting end-match (fracture match) examinations on vinyl electrical tape. Test designs varied the source roll of tape, test preparer, or mode of separation from the roll. Results indicated that each affected the resulting severed tape ends. The analysts examining the end matches also had an effect on the results. Eight end matches in the study were not identified by the initial analysts and were considered inconclusive. One end match was misidentified, resulting in one false positive and an error rate of 0.049%. These results support a comprehensive physical and chemical tape comparison regardless of indications of an end match.     

Assessing measurement invariance of PCL-R assessments from file reviews of North American and German offenders

Cross-cultural research on psychopathy necessitates assessment methods that are generalizable across linguistic and cultural differences. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare the factorial structure of Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) assessments obtained from file reviews of North-American (N = 2622) and German (N = 443) male offenders. The analyses indicated that the 18 item, 4-factor model of the PCL-R obtained with the standard PCL-R protocol (interview and file review) also holds for file review data. On a factor-by-factor level, the data are commensurate with strong factorial invariance of factor loadings and item thresholds for the Interpersonal and Lifestyle factors, and with likely metric invariance for the Affective factor. The Antisocial factor showed structural differences between the two samples. The results imply that cultural or environmental factors more strongly influence the judgment and/or expression of antisociality. Based on the results, cross-cultural comparisons between North-American and German offenders in terms of PCL-R psychopathy should be limited to the Interpersonal and Lifestyle factors. Further research using data obtained through the standard protocol (i.e., interview plus file information) is encouraged.     

论犯罪测量量具及其标准化

犯罪测量是犯罪学的重要课题。,近年来西方犯罪学发展缓慢,原因就在于测量量具缺乏标准化。测量量具不标准不利于犯罪学核心概念的精确,不利于实证研究的比较,不利于理论与实证互动,不利于研究成果的累积与转化。对于初学实证的我国犯罪学界,普及量具标准化意识有独特的意义。犯罪学测量量具标准化有利于西方犯罪学理论的中国化和我国本土犯罪学理论的验证。量具标准化不会影响犯罪学的多元比较,它是灵活的、发展的,不是固定的、模式化的。量具标准化不是一劳永逸的,它需要定期评估。     

刑事证人出庭作证的误区及其出路

目前,在刑事诉讼中,证人出庭作证情况不容乐观,证人出庭作证的比例非常小,这种现象显然不利于法庭审理。为了解决证人出庭率偏低的问题,理论界和实务界一直有人提出应当提高证人出庭率。这种做法在一定程度上有其合理性。但是一味地提高证人出庭率反而是一种理论上的误区。由于证人证言未必可靠,中国多年来司法传统,质证效果难以保证等原因,片面强调证人出庭率对于查明案件事实,对公正审理刑事案件未必能够起到促进作用。关于证人出庭作证的立法也存在误区,证人资格规定过宽,证人作证义务豁免,书面证言与口头证言之间存在矛盾等原因也导致了我国目前证人出庭作证情况的乱象。走出这些误区需要从完善证据立法等多个方面入手。     

诚实信用原则对于规范行政权行使的意义——对当前学说及司法实践的检讨

诚实信用原则应当作为与信赖保护原则、依法行政原则、比例原则、平等原则等行政法基本原则相平行的一项原则引入行政法体系,使其作为法解释之基准,担负补充既有法律规范的漏洞、修正法律体系中的错误之机能。诚实信用原则在行政法领域的适用受公益优先、平等原则以及依法行政等原则的限制,是否应予适用,须以利益衡量方法定夺之。诚实信用原则的规范意涵需在个案中加以确定,但须对个案所应符合的最低限度的标准有所认识。     

心理测试技术的误差分析

心理测试技术测试误差主要来自被测对象、题目编制、测试实施过程等三个相对独立的方面,且随机误差和系统误差的权重也不同。对被测对象的个别化、动态化处理,科学的编题,适当的测前访谈,动态、整体、多因素参考的评图等能有效提高测试准确性。     

Dueling experts and imperfect verification

In the Dueling Experts Game, adversarial experts strategically produce “good” or “bad” evidence to support their partisan testimony. Good evidence is probative while bad evidence has no evidentiary value. The new feature of this Game is that Judge sometimes erroneously identifies good evidence as bad evidence and vice versa. Along the Game’s equilibrium path, each partisan expert produces only good evidence if it supports his side. When favorable good evidence is unavailable, an expert produces bad evidence to support his testimony. Hence, dueling experts always contradict one another. Despite their conflicting testimony, one of the experts invariably produces the available good evidence for Judge. Therefore, Judge always receives the available good evidence. A central result is that the quality of experts, including their ability to persuade judges using available good evidence, and the quality of judges – their ability to distinguish good from bad evidence – determine the accuracy of verdicts. Remarkably, the likelihood that experts are endowed with good evidence does not matter provided that this likelihood is not identically zero or one.     

对我国行业协会性质错位的思考

行业协会作为民间经济组织,在维护企业共同利益,促进企业和行业发展,监管企业生产经营活动,协调国家与企业、行业的关系等方面发挥了巨大的作用。但行业协会在我国由于过多地受到政府行政干预甚至左右,因此发生了性质错位。通过分析其性质本原,可以纠正目前我国行业协会发展中的性质错位现象,以促进行业协会的正常发展。     

The extension method to calculate the error of industrial structure

The industrial structure shows the service efficiency of economic resources and the rationality of its development. It has been one of the important works for governments to calculate the error of industrial structure and adjust it. The dependent function is the core of extension set, which shows the extent of objective property, and explains the easiness to be variated quantitatively or qualitatively. By using the dependent degree, the error of industrial structure shows not only the magnitude but also the easiness to correct it, then the decision-makers can discriminate the difficulty of industrial adjustment and select the emphasis, and the orientation of adjustment may be clearer and the operation may be more maneuverable. The paper analyzes the orientation to adjust the industrial structure and proposes some simple suggestions by using the calculation results.     

An experience report regarding the performance of the IBIS correlator

The majority of published experimental evaluations of the performance of the IBIS system are based on very specific conditions, mainly considering IBIS as a tool to create a "ballistic database." No recent reports were found covering the performance of the IBIS system to search an open case file of realistic structure. In this paper, the performance of the IBIS correlator will be evaluated, based on four different data sources that predominantly concern the operation of the central collection of evidence ammunition of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Germany. The results allow a conclusion on the success and error rates to be expected of the IBIS correlator in a realistic OCFDB ("open case file database") environment, given certain conditions. It was found that success rates of 75-95% for cartridge case comparisons and 50-75% for bullet comparisons can be achieved in practice. Recommendations for a most efficient way to operate the IBIS electronic comparison system will be presented based on the results of the evaluations. The terms and definitions in this report completely correspond with the definitions in an earlier article. Familiarity with this article is therefore absolutely necessary to fully understand many of the statements presented here.