Forensic Application of Analytical Mechanics in Fatal Fall From a Height

Fatal fall from a height initiated with a swinging motion on the sagittal plane of the victim's body is examined. Method of analytical mechanics is adopted to establish the functional relations between the swinging angle of the body and the force needed to sustain the body until release, and the amount of the horizontal displacement that would occur after release. The analysis is applied to support an expert opinion presented in a criminal court in which two accused were convicted of murder for dropping a female victim from a bridge. The results indicate that it is unlikely for the body to locate as recorded by the police investigation report in the case. This study demonstrates that a straightforward mechanical analysis can be utilized to examine uncommon falling scenarios.     

论良法的恶性循环

人们崇尚良法,期冀良法之治,却在翘首与热望中忘却了良法亦需适宜的土壤。当良法出台后,因土壤导致的“水土不服”很可能让良法之良本身遭到质疑,这是令人尴尬的一种真实。良法如果遭遇故意误读,在司法中将会陷入一种可怕的恶性循环。从这一视角解析实践中的许多案例,能使我们揭开隐于表象后的本质,同时打开索解之结。     

浅析公务员职位轮换中存在的问题及对策

笔者认为,在我国地方现阶段实行公务员轮换的过程中,存在着诸如轮换周期不合理、随意轮换、离任审计不彻底、制度不健全等诸多问题,因而给政府工作带来一些负面效应。本文试图分析公务员职位轮换中存在的这些问题并寻求相应对策,以期达到实行公务员职位轮换应有的目的。     

Analyses factorielles et choix méthodologiques: réplique à Markus Freitag

In this contribution, we discuss the number of factors to consider as well as the consequences of rotation in the case of principal components analysis, a technique belonging to the family of factor analysis. The article by Freitag in this issue, dedicated to the study of social capital in Switzerland, is used as example. This contribution shows the impact of different missing values estimations and, more generally, stresses the importance of looking at different solutions in an exploratory perspective. It underscores also the importance to have access to the data in order to allow a new analysis and, consequently, the possibility of the scientific debate.     

Columnar‐Thin‐Film‐Assisted Visualization of Depleted Sebaceous Fingermarks on Nonporous Metals and Hard Plastics

A fingermark on a nonporous substrate can be developed by depositing a columnar thin film (CTF) on it, but the CTF technique's sensitivity for low‐quality fingermarks is unknown. The optimized CTF and traditional development of several depletion series of sebaceous‐loaded fingermarks were compared using a split‐print methodology as well as subjective and objective grading schemes, in a limited laboratory trial. CTF development was superior to development with selected traditional techniques on brass, anodized aluminum, black acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and white nylon. On white ABS and black nylon, the CTF technique performed poorly but still as well as the best‐performing traditional development technique. The CTF technique was more sensitive on brass and anodized aluminum than, and as sensitive on the four hard plastics and stainless steel as, the best‐performing traditional technique. Thus, the CTF technique is useful to develop friction‐ridge detail from limited fingermark residue on some smooth substrates.     

Female student athletes’ perceptions of acceptability and the occurrence of sexual-related behaviour by their coaches in India

The current study assessed the perceptions of acceptable sexual behaviour of coaches and the occurrence of sexual harassment among female student in India. A sample of 180 Indian female student-athletes at intercollegiate and inter-university levels with male coaches participated in this study. A questionnaire on sport-specific Touch and Behaviour versus Unwanted Intimacy from coaches (Vanden Auweele et al., 2008), consisting of 41 items on a 5-point rating scale was used. The participants were asked to indicate the acceptability of specific coaching behaviour as well as the occurrence of the behaviour represented in each item. The acceptability of the behaviour was determined by means and standard deviations, while the occurrence was determined by frequencies. Factor analysis was performed to determine the structure of the coaches’ behaviour and athletes’ acceptability thereof, which yielded four factors. Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of the extracted items on each factor. Two factors, namely, unwanted sexual behaviour and inappropriate verbal and physical sexual behaviour, were regarded by athletes as very serious and unacceptable coach behaviour, while a third factor represented context-dependent suspicious behaviour (a grey area in which athletes differ in their opinion) and was perceived to be serious and unacceptable. A fourth factor represented acceptable behaviour. The occurrence of very serious and unacceptable behaviour was reported by 31% of the female athletes.     

论刑事诉讼程序回转

刑事诉讼程序回转,又称刑事诉讼程序倒流,指公安司法机关将案件倒回前一个诉讼阶段并进行相应的诉讼行为。目前国内学界对于在刑事诉讼中处于承上启下地位的检察机关适用程序回转措施的情况尚缺乏研究。撤回起诉是发生在检察环节,前承侦查机关,后接审判机关的具有典型代表意义的诉讼回转活动,从理论与注释的角度对目前我国撤回起诉制度的合法性、正当性进行分析,揭示其存在的问题与缺限,结合立法与司法、理论与实践,以发挥诉讼回转的目的与功效为价值追求,有针对性的提出改进与完善的建议,具有十分重要的意义。     

Agrarian transformation in the Russian breadbasket: contemporary trends as manifest in Stavropol'

A team of US and Russian geographers combines field observations with satellite imagery in an examination of how major trends in Russian agriculture are manifest in one of Russia's most productive agricultural regions: Stavropol' Kray. A nationwide pattern of agricultural consolidation during the 1990s (featuring rural depopulation and a reduction in cultivated area and herd sizes upon the termination of Soviet-era subsidization levels) has had decidedly different outcomes in different parts of the vast Russian countryside. This paper – using Stavropol' as a surrogate for regions which by physical attributes, location, and human capital are best positioned to support agricultural activity – identifies a number of developments that may signal a new growth trajectory for agriculture in Russia: evolving specialization of former socialized farms in response to market conditions (in Stavropol' involving the shrinkage of animal husbandry and the release of surplus labor); increased levels of absentee (corporate) ownership of farmland in the more favorable locations; decoupling of the economic fate of large farms (success) from local municipal budgets (deficiency); and the expansion of non-Russian ethnic communities in the countryside, with attendant land use changes.