The Value of CCTV Surveillance Cameras as an Investigative Tool: An Empirical Analysis

There has been extensive research on the value of closed-circuit television (CCTV) for preventing crime, but little on its value as an investigative tool. This study sought to establish how often CCTV provides useful evidence and how this is affected by circumstances, analysing 251,195 crimes recorded by British Transport Police that occurred on the British railway network between 2011 and 2015. CCTV was available to investigators in 45% of cases and judged to be useful in 29% (65% of cases in which it was available). Useful CCTV was associated with significantly increased chances of crimes being solved for all crime types except drugs/weapons possession and fraud. Images were more likely to be available for more-serious crimes, and less likely to be available for cases occurring at unknown times or in certain types of locations. Although this research was limited to offences on railways, it appears that CCTV is a powerful investigative tool for many types of crime. The usefulness of CCTV is limited by several factors, most notably the number of public areas not covered. Several recommendations for increasing the usefulness of CCTV are discussed.     

中国大鲵维氏气单胞菌病的组织病理学观察

运用病理切片和HE染色技术,对维氏气单胞菌自然感染大鲵的肌肉、肝、肾、肺、肠道等器官的组织病理学变化进行了观察。结果显示,肝可见大量淋巴细胞和少量中性粒细胞,肝细胞空泡状变性,肝血窦内见大量血细胞;肾集合管中可见少量蛋白样物,血管球扩张,有的溶解坏死;心肌纤维溶解,甚至坏死,可见充血和出血;胰细胞颗粒变性;肺偶见充血;脾索排列紊乱,脾窦中充满大量红细胞和巨噬细胞;肠道内肠绒毛溶解脱落,有充血现象;肌纤维蜡样坏死,肌细胞核浓缩凝固,深染,破碎。证实,维氏气单胞菌能使中国大鲵的多个组织器官出现严重的病理变化而导致死亡。     

The influence of stereotypical beliefs, participant gender, and survivor weight on sexual assault response

The present study explored the influence of survivor weight and participant gender, rape myth acceptance, and antifat attitudes on perceptions of sexual assault. Using an online survey tool, a community sample of 413 adult Canadian residents reviewed a hypothetical sexual assault scenario and completed a series of evaluations and attitudinal questionnaires. Generalized linear model analyses revealed that participants were more likely to hold the survivor responsible, excuse the perpetrator's actions, and respond more negatively toward the survivor and more positively toward the perpetrator when the survivor was depicted as thin versus overweight. Interactions were found between rape myth acceptance and survivor weight, gender and survivor weight, and gender and antifat attitudes, for certain dependent variables. In addition, men and those with higher levels of rape myth acceptance and antifat attitudes were found to make more negative evaluations of the survivor and more positive evaluations of the perpetrator. Recommendations for future research and interventions are discussed.     

Key challenges in Malawi’s paprika supply chain: new insights into contract farming

Contract farming is a vital tool for linking small-scale farmers with modern supply chains. This study explored challenges resulting from contracting in the paprika supply chain in Malawi. The study used focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and email correspondence with 100 supply chain participants. The identified challenges include: inadequate input provision via the contract, a lack of opportunities to bargain and participate in contract design, and side-selling. While the contract secured the outlet for paprika, it failed to provide a reliable paprika supply for the contracting company. Thus, Malawi’s case analyses the potential of contract farming to champion the development of vulnerable economies.