A study of dispersion of gunshot residue from a frequently used Serbian ammunition cal. 7.65 mm to support selected aspects of casework in North Macedonia

The subject of this research was the inorganic gunshot residue component collected from shooting patterns obtained on woven cotton cloth using a Pietro Beretta model 70 pistol, cal. 7.65 mm and Serbian ammunition for the following muzzle-to-target distances: 25, 50, 75, 100 and 125 cm. For each distance, three rounds of shooting were performed. Particles were lifted within a 10 cm radius of the projectile entrance and automatically analyzed using a scanning electron microscope coupled with an energy dispersion X-ray spectrometry. The obtained data on the populations of particles were analyzed taking into account their numbers, chemical classes and sizes. The results showed an apparent maximum incidence within all particles containing barium at about 50 cm distance. Also, lead particles revealed a distinct behaviour, being dominant at a 25 cm distance, falling below the other chemical classes, and finally becoming dominant again at 125 cm. The analysis of the frequency of occurrence of particles sorted according to their sizes confirmed that the small particle population is the largest, and their distribution in function of the equivalent circle diameter is exponential-like. The obtained results provided knowledge on the distribution of particles in the vicinity of the tested firearm and ammunition cal. 7.65 mm which generally corroborates with similarly studied GSR distributions obtained for the use of pistols cal. 9 mm. This information, together with the examinations of gunshot damages and other types of residues such as soot or unburned propellant grains may support qualitative inferences on shooting distance estimation, especially in cases, when the firearm and cartridges are not available to perform test shooting. In such cases even roughly estimated shooting distance can be helpful, e.g. for confirming or excluding the possibility of self-inflicted injuries or suicide and infer on the mutual position of the shooting stage actors. An example of casework that illustrates intermediate shooting distance estimation is presented.     

Decoding hidden darknet networks: What we learned about the illicit fentanyl trade on AlphaBay

The opioid epidemic, impacted from the proliferation of fentanyl, has added impetus to the need to detect fentanyl, sources of fentanyl, and places where fentanyl and drugs adulterated with fentanyl are available. Many darknet marketplaces (DNMs) have rules that ban fentanyl. However, it is unclear how these affect the fentanyl market. Using the AlphaBay DNM as a case study, we conducted mixed methods qualitative research. We scraped and analyzed data from the AlphaBay I2P website using, among other methods, content and social network analysis, to uncover hidden fentanyl networks. Our research highlights the next evolution of darknet marketplaces – the migration of DNMs from Tor to I2P and the methods that can be used identify fentanyl networks, irrespective of where sites are: I2P, Tor, or multihomed on I2P and Tor. Despite its ban in the Global AlphaBay Rules, our research revealed the sale of fentanyl on the AlphaBay DNM. Unlike previous studies, our findings predominantly revealed the covert sale of fentanyl on AlphaBay and predatory vendors selling illicit drugs, which unbeknownst to buyers, contained fentanyl. To a lesser extent, our findings identified the overt sale of fentanyl patches on AlphaBay. Although we examined only one DNM, the prevalence of the covert sale of fentanyl and the presence of predatory vendors underscores the importance of research that decodes the language of vendors who surreptitiously sell fentanyl or drugs adulterated with fentanyl or other illicit substances. The results of our research can inform strategies aimed at disrupting and dismantling DNM fentanyl networks.     

加拿大环境影响评价制度的比较与启示

加拿大从20世纪70年代就开始发展环境影响评价制度,至今其涉及环境影响评价制度的法律法规不计其数。加拿大有关环境影响评价的法律主要是《加拿大环境评价法》,该法明确规定了环境影响评价的主要目的,归纳为谨慎行事、预防污染、重视合作以及鼓励公众参与。而加拿大环评制度的主要内容也很好地体现了这一原则。《加拿大环境评价法》第19条规定了环境评价的主要内容,其中的可替代性方案、缓解措施以及研究委员会的报告都是该部法律中比较有特色而且值得研究的内容,这些严格谨慎的规定使加拿大环境影响评价制度可以发挥更大的作用,更好地预防污染,保护环境。本文以介绍和分析加拿大环境评价制度的对象和内容为主,并对比分析我国环境影响评价的内容,旨在为完善我国环境影响评价制度有所启示和借鉴。     

The Creative Commons licences through moral rights provisions in French law

Since 2002, Creative Commons has been continuously evolving in order to create a licensing scheme that not only fulfils the needs of the author but also stays compatible with already existing national copyright laws. The extent of the respect of moral rights provisions has always been highlighted during the licences’ evolution. This Article first examines whether moral rights are expressly mentioned in the licences and if so, what their treatment is. Each element of the moral rights in the French system will be considered in order to verify their compatibility with the Creative Commons licences. In this context, it will be also asserted whether some existing clauses in the licence contradict with the moral rights of authors. The Article will conclude that although a more flexible interpretation of moral rights provisions is needed when dealing with open content licences, it is essential that Creative Commons addresses the aspects of the licences that are identified as problematic in relation to moral rights. Finally, it will be demonstrated that regardless of the legal status of the licences, the authors' responsibility towards their rights is what will ultimately be the safeguard of their creations' path.     

便衣警察战术训练内容设计研究

便衣警察行动具有隐蔽性与快速性相结合的打击优势,许多城市开展的便衣警察行动收效甚好,而且有许多警务工作必须由便衣警察来完成。因此,探索便衣警察的战术训练内容具有重要的现实意义,通过对便衣警察的跟踪战术、抓捕战术、沟通战术、伪装战术等进行探索,从中总结出行之有效的训练方法和原则,从而能够使便衣警察的训练有的放矢,以提高便衣警察的执法能力。     

印油与印油印迹比对检验方法的影响因素研究

目的针对印油印迹形成过程中可能存在的影响因素,研究印油与印油印迹比对分析方法中可能存在的风险。方法采用溶剂提取,高速离心,过膜的简单的前处理方法,然后高效液相色谱分析,用色谱峰峰面积的相对含量来判定印油印迹与印油之间的差异。结论印泥印油、印油印迹与印油之间差异很小;而印台印油、渗透印油、翻转印油、印油与印油印迹比对时,存在一定影响。     

Stigma and wrongful conviction: all exonerees are not perceived equal

Exonerees report experiencing stigma post-incarceration. This research examined whether particular exonerees are stigmatized more than others. Participants read an article about a fictional exoneree who falsely confessed, was misidentified by an eyewitness, or was implicated by a jailhouse snitch, and then reported their perceptions. Participants in the control condition did not read an article. An exoneree who falsely confessed was more likely to be perceived as actually guilty of the crime, less competent, and less warm than the other exonerees, but participants did not express more anger or less pity toward any particular exoneree. Participants did express more pity when rating exonerees than in the control condition, but this did not translate into a greater willingness to offer the exonerees more governmental assistance (e.g., job training, psychological counseling). Exonerees who falsely confess were stigmatized more than other exonerees. The implications for the post-incarceration experiences of exonerees who falsely confess are discussed.     

The Iraq War and the Responsibility to Protect: Uses,Abuses and Consequences for the Future of Humanitarian Intervention

Before the 2003 Iraq war, the political leadership of the United States and United Kingdom had to sell the case for war to their people and the world. This was attempted through a number of speeches that employed rhetorical justifications for the war. Two prominent justifications used during this period involved the employment of security and humanitarian narratives. The security narrative focused on claims regarding Iraq's undermining of international law, possession of weapons of mass destruction and threat to the world. The humanitarian narrative revolved around claims about human suffering in Iraq and the need to liberate its people. While it is widely assumed that security is the dominant casus belli in the post-9/11 world, there is much evidence to suggest that the humanitarian justifications that played a critical role in the military interventions of the 1990s were still important after 9/11. The use of humanitarian justifications for the Iraq war clearly has implications for the ‘responsibility to protect (R2P)’ movement, which has gained prominence since the December 2001 publication of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) report. Based on an extensive content analysis of speeches by the US and UK political leadership before the war, this article will quantify the relative importance of each narrative and analyse what the findings mean for the ongoing debates within the ‘responsibility to protect (R2P)’ movement.     

The aesthetic public sphere and the transformation of criticism

This article argues that criticism is fundamental for understanding how culture and politics shape the ambiguous self-interpretation of society. An initial exploration of Habermas's theory of the public sphere reveals that it is inadequately cultural. An alternative is thus offered by discussing the work of Jacobs, and especially his concept of an “aesthetic public sphere”. His insight that nothing is too trivial when it comes to broadening the limits of the public sphere prompts scholars to take into consideration the positive as well as negative aspects of criticism. As a cultural mediation, criticism is shaped by a struggle for recognition that gives rise to the interpretation of its own crisis. The purpose of the article, however, is to propose a more balance account of such predicament. By discussing online criticism, the rise of the “prosumer” and user-generated content, it is argued that there is now a new battle for authority and legitimacy undergoing. This creates the potential for the democratization of criticism, even though this potential has great chance to remain within an inescapable democratic tension.     

A journalism quarterly potpourri

Abstract

How do the news media help construct election mandates? By interpreting an election victory broadly, the news media can facilitate the implementation of a newly elected government's program. Conversely, the media can constrain a newly elected government by interpreting the election as influenced by factors other than ideology, primarily retrospective evaluations of the outgoing government's performance. Studies of how the media interpret election results have offered only speculation on why the media choose certain narratives while discarding plausible alternatives. Through a systematic examination of six Canadian elections, this article identifies key variables that explain the media's choices. I found that the media tended to confer a mandate when the victorious party focused on its policy intentions during the campaign and when the party was conservative; they tended to confer a “personal mandate” when newly elected leaders were facing their first election. In general, the news media quickly settled on one narrative, did not support this decision using quantitative data such as exit polls, and tended to depoliticize the public sphere by framing most results as devoid of ideological content.