Assessment of post-mortem submersion interval using total aquatic decomposition scores of drowned human cadavers

Investigating drowning-related deaths remains a significant problem for forensic personnel all over the world. The previously published decomposition scoring method like the total aquatic decomposition (TAD) score promises to estimate the correct post-mortem submersion interval (PMSI) in aquatic habitats through the assessment and calculation of the decomposition rate and accumulated degree days (ADD). The current study comprised of 53 drowned death cases belonging to various districts of Haryana from May 2016 to August 2017. The regression and Pearson's correlation indicated a significant correlation between the TAD scores and the actual ADD (calculated through water temperatures) (r² = 0.917) and between the actual and the estimated ADDs (calculated through TAD scores used by Heaton et al. [21]) (r = 0.9585). The results indicated that the estimated ADD tends to over predict the PMSI compared to the actual ADD. It is further confirmed by paired t-test, which showed the mean of actual ADD (mean = 349) to be significantly lower than the mean of estimated ADD (mean = 663). Moreover, these methods will help forensic investigators and researchers formulate region-specific regression equations for PMSI estimation.     

An overview of EU data protection rules on use of data collected online

In the third of our series of articles considering the EU’s limited harmonisation of the laws regulating the activities of businesses using the Internet, we look at EU rules on the use of data collected online. We consider the principles governing the processing of personal data collected online. We then discuss the new rules on the use of cookies and the practical difficulties facing website operators in complying with them and conclude with a brief overview of the rules governing the transfer of personal data outside the EEA.     

EU law requirements to provide information to website visitors

This is the first of a planned series of articles considering the EU’s limited harmonisation of the laws regulating the activities of businesses using the Internet. This first article considers five key EU directives, all of which require website operators to provide a variety of information to website visitors. We consider the circumstances in which the various requirements apply and the information that must be provided, to simplify the process of navigating through rules which, although similar in nature, arise from disparate sources. We consider data privacy and “ePrivacy” rules; consumer protection rules arising in the field of e-commerce; and rules protecting potential creditors dealing over the Internet with limited liability companies.     

Turkish foreign policies determinants toward Palestinian issue under the rule of Justice and Development Party (2002–2015)

The study aimed at identifying the determinants, premises and the milestones of the Turkish Foreign Policy under the rule of the Adalet ve Kalk?nma Partisi (AKP) toward the Palestinian issue. The study sought to unveil the basics and foundations of this new Turkish foreign policy, which the AKP depends on. The researcher investigated historically the Turkish foreign policy toward the Palestinian issue in the last era. It has established a kind of relative compatibility with the neighborhood and the world on many foreign policy issues, which all are characteristics that granted Turkey the possibility of establishing and implementing active and influential policies. The Palestinian issue with all its intricate and barbed nature is the best entrance of AKP Turkey to take a regional and international place. The Palestinian issue is considered the entrance of AKP Turkey to the “Islamic World.” At the end of the study, the researcher recommended that the Palestinian politicians benefit from the Turkish foreign policy under the rule of the AKP. It is through this policy that Turkey occupies a distinctive regional role through mediating between the disputing parties and exploits this role and its acceptance by the international community in supporting the Palestinian issue.