Behind the South China Sea Disputes

正TERRITORIAL disputes over islands in the South China Sea have long been a latent threat to regional security and cooperation in East Asia,involving not only China and some of its Southeast Asian neighbors,but also members of ASEAN.For instance,sovereignty disputes over certain South China Sea islands also exist among the Philippines,Vietnam,Malaysia,Indonesia and Brunei.     

DFO／PVP试剂显现热敏纸上汗潜指纹方法研究

目的建立热敏纸上汗潜手印显现的新方法。方法根据DFO／PVP溶液能够阻碍热敏纸的显色,能够和手印遗留物质中的氨基酸发生显色反应的原理来显现手印。结果PVP浓度为5％、7．5％、10％时,荧光效果较好;DFO／PVP试剂显现热敏纸上汗潜指纹不会导致背景变黑;DFO／PVP试剂在热敏纸上的显现效果优于DFO试剂;对遗留时间为154天的ATM机上一枚凭证显出了清晰的指纹纹线。结论DFO／PVP显现法操作简单、安全可靠、显出率高、荧光强。     

Exploring Sex Differences among Sentenced Juvenile Offenders in Australia

Recent research applying latent class analysis (LCA) reveals considerable diversity in the self‐reported offending patterns of incarcerated females and suggests that a failure to recognize these patterns will hinder the ability to understand mechanisms that lead females to serious offending. Using data from a cohort of serious juvenile offenders in Queensland, Australia, this paper extends the earlier research by using LCA to assess sex differences in juvenile criminal offending. Results indicate that female offenders are not a homogenous group with respect to their offending patterns, that there is a degree of symmetry between male and female offenders, and that childhood experiences of maltreatment increase the likelihood of membership in the most serious offending group for both males and females. Implications for theory and policy as well as directions for future research are highlighted.     

Performance evaluation of automated fingerprint identification systems for specific conditions observed in casework using simulated fingermarks

Few studies have been reported on the performance evaluation of automated fingerprint identification systems (AFIS) for fingermark-to-fingerprint comparisons. This paper aims to illustrate to fingerprint examiners the relevance of evaluating the AFIS performance under specific conditions by carrying out five types of performance tests. The conditions addressed are the number of minutiae assigned to a fingermark, manual and automatic assignment of the minutiae, the finger region from which the fingermark originates, the degree of distortion in the fingermark, and the difference in orientation between fingermarks and fingerprints. In these tests, the magnitude of the influence for each condition was quantified. The comparisons were performed using a research AFIS technology with simulated fingermarks. Simulated fingermarks provide a practical way to create fingermarks for specific conditions in large quantities. The results showed that each condition influences the performance significantly, emphasizing the relevance of developing, and applying performance tests for specific conditions.     

DO CELLMATES MATTER? A CAUSAL TEST OF THE SCHOOLS OF CRIME HYPOTHESIS WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION AND DETERRENCE THEORIES

In the schools of crime hypothesis, social interactions between inmates are assumed to produce criminogenic rather than deterrent prison peer effects, thus implicating them in the persistence of high recidivism rates and null or criminogenic prison effects. We assess the validity of the schools of crime hypothesis by estimating prison peer effects that result from differential cellmate associations in a male, first‐time release cohort from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. To isolate causal prison peer effects in the presence of essential heterogeneity, we use a semiparametric local instrumental variables estimation strategy. Our results do not support the school of crime hypothesis. In our sample, prison peer effects produced in interaction with more criminally experienced cellmates are always null or deterrent rather than criminogenic. Although we do not explicitly test for the operant conditioning mechanisms theorized to underlie social influence in the context of differential association, we argue that, under the assumption that the differential association context relates positively to the direction of peer influence, our universally noncriminogenic estimates exclude direct reinforcement, vicarious reinforcement, and direct punishment as potential drivers of prison peer effects produced in interaction with more criminally experienced cellmates. Our results support the assertion that operant conditioning mechanisms connect differential association and deterrence theories.     

Contactless Visualization of Latent Fingerprints on Nonporous Curved Surfaces of Circular Cross Section—A Statistical Evaluation on the Materials as Plane Mirror

A new contactless technique for latent fingerprint visualization on nonporous curved surfaces of circular cross section was introduced by Low et al. (1). The technique utilizes a plane mirror to convey the light rays toward the inspected surfaces for latent fingerprint visualization. This research activity came up as an extension of the previous study which utilized an aluminum plate as the plane mirror to illuminate the inspected surfaces. Dulling spray was used to increase the diffuse component of the reflective aluminum plate. However, the amount of dulling spray will affect the uniformity of the illumination on the inspected curved surfaces. In this study, a study on the new materials for the plane mirror was carried out. Coated aluminum, opal, and ground glass diffusers were selected as the new materials. The performance of the new materials was compared to the aluminum based on the quality of the captured images on various nonporous cylindrical surfaces. A statistical approach known as randomized complete block design was used to design the experiment. The quality of the captured images was obtained using Spectral Image Validation and Verification. Two‐way analysis of variance and Fisher's least significant difference test were used to analyze the quality of the images. From the results of the statistical analysis, coated aluminum has the best performance compared to aluminum, opal, and ground glass diffusers.     

小颗粒悬浮液法显现汗潜手印的研究

本文从小颗粒悬浮液的显现原理出发,选择二硫化钼作为显现物质,对小颗粒法显现手印的试剂浓度、操作方法、对陈旧手印的适用性及小颗粒悬浮液的放置时间进行了研究和探讨,并给出相应的结论。     

Latent-variable models in criminological research: Applications and a generalization of Joreskog's LISREL model

This paper examines issues in LISREL models involving latent, or unobserved, variables. We discuss estimating parameters in multiple-indicator models, various approaches to assessing goodness of fit, different types of linear measurement models, using LISREL to correct for attenuation in models involving single indicators with known reliabilities, and estimating parameters in structural equation models involving latent exogenous and endogenous variables. Finally, we present a generalization of the standard LISREL model which explicitly identifies implicit constraints on parameters in the standard LISREL model. We argue that the generalization can accommodate a wider range of models and provide additional diagnostic information on some assumptions in the standard LISREL model. By example, we show how the more general model can be estimated using Joreskog's LISREL program.     

关于纸张上汗潜手印显现方法的研究

对于纸张上的汗潜手印,一般是采用直接在纸张上进行化学显现的方法进行。但在某些特殊情况下,该方法因为会破坏客体而不适用。文章主要研究了通过压力转印将检材上的手印物质转移到另一载体上再进行显现的方法。研究结果表明：使用转印的方法可以显现多种纸张上的汗潜手印,用滤纸作为载体,转印压强为10MPa,转印时间为5分钟时,转印效果最佳。     

Latent Fingerprint Development on Thermal Paper Using Traditional Ninhydrin and 1,2‐indanedione

Thermal paper poses a significant challenge to latent print development as it tends to change color when traditional fingerprint development formulations are applied to it. In this study, the optimal components of ninhydrin, 1,2‐indanedione, 1,8‐diazafluoren‐9‐one (DFO), and 5‐methylthioninhydrin (5‐MTN) for yielding clear fingerprints on thermal paper were determined by systematically adjusting the relative amounts of the reagents, polar solvents, and the nonpolar diluent petroleum ether, followed by validation on text‐printed thermal paper. Specifically, 3.0% ethyl acetate as the polar solvent in petroleum ether was found to be the optimal combination; the optimal dilution ratios of ninhydrin, DFO, and 5‐MTN original solutions with petroleum ether were 1 to 2, 11, and 7, respectively. The optimal concentration of 1,2‐indanedione in petroleum ether was 0.125 g/L, with a string of 0.5% ethyl acetate in petroleum ether.