Can whale-fall studies inform human forensics?

Experimental knowledge of human body decomposition in the deep ocean is very limited, partly due to the logistical challenges of deep-sea research. The literature on ecological responses to the arrival of naturally sunk and implanted whale carcasses on the seafloor represents a potential source of information relevant to questions of human body survival and recovery in the deep ocean. Whale falls trigger the formation of complex, localized, and dense biological communities that have become a point of interest for marine biologists for the past 2–3 decades. Researchers have documented whale falls by whale type, size, geographic location, water depth and water chemistry, and there have been some comparative analyses of decomposition rates and faunal presence on carcasses. We undertook a review and meta-analysis of the whale-fall literature to identify and statistically model trends relevant to human forensics. Results from studies using deep-sea cameras baited with pig carcasses and simulated carrion provided further validation of noted trends. The stages of whale carcass decomposition most relevant to human forensics are those characterised by mobile scavengers that strip the soft tissues from carcasses, and to a lesser degree, other biota that degrade skeletal material. Our statistical models used the number of faunal taxa attracted to the whale carcasses as a measure of the ecological response and the potential rate of decomposition. Negative binomial models identified significant influences of carcass age and dissolved oxygen concentration on the ecological response (taxon numbers). The strongest environmental effects were identified in data from experimental studies that implanted whale carcasses across a broad range of dissolved-oxygen conditions. We propose directions for further experimental research to refine models of environmental controls on decomposition in the deep sea. Our results also highlight the potential use of publicly available global databases on environmental conditions in the deep ocean for informing body scavenging activity and thus body survival. Applying a forensic lens to whale-fall studies provides a window into an otherwise unseen world from the standpoint of human forensic taphonomy.     

Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) detection limits for blood on fabric: Orientation and coating uniformity effects

Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) was used to analyze four types of forensically relevant fabrics coated with varying dilutions of blood. The blood was applied in two manners, dip coating with a smooth and uniform layer and drip coating with droplets from pipettes. Spectra of neat and dip coated fabrics were acquired using controlled orientations, and these were compared to spectra collected on samples with random orientations. The improved reproducibility seen in visual inspection of the spectra is confirmed by principal component and linear discriminant projections of the spectra, as well as by statistical hypothesis testing. Principal component regression (PCR), using the regions of the IR spectra associated with the amide A/B, I, II, and III vibrational bands (3500–2800, 1650, 1540, and 1350 cm⁻¹), was employed on the more uniform dip coated spectra to estimate limits of detection for blood on two of the four fabrics – acrylic and nylon. These results demonstrate that detection limits for blood on fabrics can be decreased significantly by controlling for the orientation and face of the fabric samples while collecting spectra. Limits of detection for acrylic and nylon were found to be 196 × and 227 × diluted blood, respectively.     

影响司法效果的因素分析

司法效果包括法律效果与社会效果。作为法律功能实现程度的具体表现,司法效果反映的是一个法域司法运行的整体状况。通过对司法效果进行科学评价,人们可以掌握法律对社会需要的反映程度,社会对法律的认识和遵守程度,司法裁判的公正程度等,它是立法完善和司法改革的重要依据。阐明宏观因素与微观因素对司法效果的影响,有助于设计司法效果的实现路径。     

外商直接投资对中国产业结构升级的影响——基于粤苏鲁三省面板数据的时点个体固定效应分析

本文选取粤、苏、鲁三省2001～2011年第一、二、三产业的面板数据,采用时点个体固定效应模型,对外商直接投资对产业结构升级的影响做了实证分析,结果显示外商直接投资的进入促进了中国产业经济结构的升级.外商直接投资对第二产业的固定效应最大,其次是第三和第一产业.外商直接投资对第一、二产业的个体固定效应随经济发展水平的提高而降低;对第三产业的个体固定效应则随经济发展水平的提高而增强.外商直接投资对第一产业的时点固定效应呈一直降低趋势,对第二产业的时点固定效应则先升高后降低,对第三产业的时点固定效应呈先降低后升高趋势.     

Electing Mayors with the Supplementary Vote Method: Evidence from Norway

Both Norway and England have used the supplementary vote (SV) method to elect mayors. SV was intended to elect mayors with a broad popular mandate, and deemed easy for voters to use. Previous research on English mayoral elections focusing on the supply side of the elections has found that voters supporting minority candidates with their first vote face difficulties using the optional second vote to choose among the remaining two top-candidates in municipalities where there are many candidates in the race. A close race, on the other hand, seems to give voters a helping hand in making this choice. Drawing on these findings, we link data on the 48 Norwegian mayoral races to survey data to further explore how the supply side of the elections and individual voter resources affect effective voting and use of the optional second vote. We use both standard logistic regression and multi-level models as statistical tools. The result reveals that 27 out the 48 elected mayors in Norway came out as majority winners (more than 50 per cent of the votes). The analysis suggests that the supply side of the elections is of minor importance for whether voters use their second vote or not. The probability of using the second vote is reduced by age, and voters who claim to understand how the electoral system works use the second vote more frequently. The analysis also reveals considerable variation in the number of first and second votes for the top two candidates (effective votes) between municipalities, and the results suggest that this variability may be explained partly by the closeness of the elections. Voters in municipalities with competitive mayoral races are more likely to vote effectively than voters in municipalities with less competitive elections. At the individual level party members are more likely to vote ineffectively.     

论内部人事行政行为之司法救济

内部具体行政行为一直以来被认为属于内部管理行为,不行政诉讼范围之内。对此,本文提出严重影响公务员权益的内部人事行政行为应该纳入行政诉讼,并围绕这一观点,从内部行政行为不应司法救济之驳斥、内部人事行政行为司法救济之必要、内部人事行政行为司法救济之法理分析和意义等方面进行论述。     

Effects of pretrial juror bias,strength of evidence and deliberation process on juror decisions: new validity evidence of the Juror Bias Scale scores

This study examines the validity of the Juror Bias Scale scores in relation to the mock juror decisions reached in two real life homicide cases before and after the deliberation process. The judicial cases used varied in terms of the ambiguity of the evidence presented at both trials. The WLS methodology for statistical modelling of categorical data was used to analyse data. The findings indicated that the Juror Bias Scale scores successfully predict the verdicts and other related questions before and after deliberations in the case with ambiguous evidence. Furthermore, deliberations caused a generalisation effect on the pretrial juror bias in such a case, and enhanced the differences between defense-biased and prosecution-biased jurors in the verdicts delivered after deliberations. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the use of pretrial juror bias questionnaires in jury selection.     

Examining legal authoritarianism in the impact of punishment severity on juror decisions

Recent Supreme Court decisions point to an increased reliance on juries to determine a defendant's sentence. Evidence is mixed on whether jurors are more likely to convict when the potential punishment is mild. The current study examined this issue, as well as the impact of legal authoritarianism (LA) (Kravitz, D. A., Cutler, B. L., & Brock, P. 1993. Reliability and validity of the original and revised legal attitudes questionnaire. Law and Human Behavior, 17, 661–677. doi: 10.1007/BF01044688), on jurors’ decisions. An ethnically diverse sample of participants completed the individual difference measure prior to viewing a videotaped, reenacted criminal trial. We manipulated the severity of the punishment the defendant would receive if convicted. Results indicated LA moderated the effect of punishment severity on verdict. Specifically, at higher levels of punishment severity, civil libertarians convicted less, while legal authoritarians convicted more. That is, the severity-leniency effect held for civil libertarians, but not for legal authoritarians. As juries become more responsible for determining a defendant's sentence, attorneys should be aware of the defendant's potential sentence and use voir dire to identify jurors who are higher on LA.     

犯罪新闻报道的双向效果与少年犯罪

犯罪新闻报道作为向受众提供犯罪有关信息以及价值评判的一种文化传播方式,其对未成年人而言具有双向的效果,既能提供一种校正的模板,成为一种强力的社会控制器;但是,由于某些犯罪新闻报道基于经济效益的冲动,热衷于提供一些犯罪的暴力、色情等不良信息,又会成为刺激、诱导未成年人犯罪的因素,因此,应当通过加强国家监管、规范新闻从业人的报道行为以及提升未成年人媒介素养等方式使之达到一种有机的平衡,这一点先进国家的经验和教训可资参考。     

One voter and two choices: The impact of electoral context on the 2011 UK referendum

There is a debate in the literature on referendum voting as to whether these occasions are opportunities for voters to express issue preferences in the absence of partisan politics or whether they simply serve as referendums on the current government. In part, this latter, second order account is assumed to be driven by the amount and content of media coverage, and hence information about the referendum, that is available to voters. In this paper, we address the second order question and demonstrate that holding elections concurrently both reduces the amount of media attention to the second order contest—the AV referendum in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland where national elections were held—and moderates media priming, thereby affecting the salient cues in the decision making of voters in those contexts.