Halting the wheels of hope Essay

The concept of governmental tyranny is often difficult to grasp to those living in more democratic nations, and media output and literature become key in growing to understand it’s implications. Serving to heighten this political perspective is â€Å"The Wheels of Freedom: Bicycles in China† by Fred Strebeigh, which describes China’s bicycle ban in 1989 and subsequent protests in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. The bicycle provided significant growth and freedom within Chinese culture, and Strebeigh endeavors to communicate this to readers. Illustrating this, he defends the will of the people to preserve their right to ride them in the face of government opposition, and the tragedy imposed by political oppression. Upon the bicycle’s introduction to the people of China in the early 20th century, many looked to it through eyes of bewilderment. A fascinating and not yet popularized machine, it was most commonly ridden by members of affluent societies. As it’s newness wore off, however, it slowly became available those of the more humble classes, and in place of the word â€Å"bicycle†, the term â€Å"foreign horse† found it’s use in the minds and mouths of the masses. Strebeigh includes that the term â€Å"foreign† communicated the people’s feelings of admiration for the bicycle while alluding to the fact that it was modern. The peasantry of China found themselves with the deepest sense of admiration for the â€Å"foreign horse†. To them, the thought of owning one brought to mind the ease it could bring to their everyday lives, as they often carried burdensome loads on their backs. Yet, the low supply and thus high cost of the bicycle made it’s acquisition impractical for them. In response to the desire, the government later began regulating higher production rates of the bicycle to readily supply them to the impoverished and raise morale. However, the term â€Å"foreign horse† was banned in light of it’s glorification of another nation’s ingenuity, highlighting the extremes of the Chinese government to exercise their sovereign of the people. In it’s place, the name â€Å"self-running cart†. This served to express the government sentiment that the people could have what they wanted, but only at it’somplete jurisdiction. The people tolerated the name change of their beloved bicycles, as the trade-off of name for it’s widespread distribution was easy enough, and many still used it’s original moniker in private. Following it’s popularization, the lives of many saw an enrichment in quality. The dignity of the people improved, as it granted them new freedoms and eased the stress of everyday tasks, al lowing for flourishing business and connectedness within communities. Perhaps stated best, Strebeigh wrote of it’s wide use, â€Å"Everywhere, cycles kept life rolling† (Strebeigh). In addition to heightening the commerce of societies, it introduced the occupation of bicycle repair, which Stebeigh revered as perhaps the â€Å"freest† job in China. In it’s praise, he wrote, â€Å"A hard worker needed only a street corner and a few tools. Before his eyes bikes would inevitably break down and, if he was skilled, clients would multiply. Bicycle repair seemed to offer an extension of what the bike itself offered and what so many Chinese sought: modest dignity, new choices, ample freedom. † (Strebeigh). Bike repair was a choice outside of the typical, and entirely pursued as an individual pleased. Sadly, it was the bicycles issuance of dignity, choices, and freedom that that ultimately inflicted threat upon the Chinese government. They understood that with bike ownership, the people were growing to a height of advantage. It was their supposition that, if the people continued in such a fashion, government control perhaps had the potential to become menial. To ensure that their ultimate authority was not being overlooked, a ban was placed on bicycles within China. News of this did not come amicably to the people, and their response was protest. It was Tianenmen Square in Bejing which saw the organization of a large-scale demonstration which rallied for government reform. It lasted weeks, and ended upon the mobilization of troops to the area. Their invasion was destructive and resulted in the loss of many lives as troops initiated the use of tanks and weaponry to control the people. In media coverage, it was not the bloodied bodies of victims that were aired on television screens in Chinese homes, but rather the depiction of bicycles which had been crushed by the military. Of it, Strebeigh writes, â€Å"They wanted to show crushed dignity, crushed humanity, crushed freedom–so much that the bicycle means in China. † (Strebeigh). This image was a wise devise of the government. They knew what the bicycle represented to the people, and knew that to show it destroyed would communicate their dominance and triumph. The concept of tyrannical rule and its implied bleakness are often incomprehensible, or altogether unrecognized by the people of more democratic countries given their many freedoms. With the words of Fred Strebeigh, however, perspective expands. The honor of an object as seemingly simple as a bicycle becomes worthy of defense, even dying for, and the tragedy of oppressive rule becomes very real. Works Cited

Ice Cream Galore Btec Unit 9

Ice Cream Galore Made by: H. Hassan Index * P1 describe the promotional mix used by two selected organisations for a selected product/service * P2 explain the role of promotion within the marketing mix for a selected product/service * P3 explain the role of advertising agencies and the media in the development of a successful promotional campaign * P4 explain the reasons behind the choice of media in a successful promotional campaign P1The Promotional mix contains out of different elements who are necessary for the information of all target customers that means it’s not just for the people who already know about the product but also for the people who are completely unaware it all depends on how you use the elements of the promotional mix which are: 1. Advertising Any paid form of non-personal communication through mass media   about a service or product   or an idea is called advertising. It is done through non personal channels or media.Print advertisements, advertisemen ts in Television, Radio, Billboard, Cataloges, Direct mails, In-store display, , emails, posters are some of the examples of advertising. Paid promotion and presentation of goods, services, comes under the advertisement 2. Personal selling This is a process by which a person persuades the buyer to accept a product or a point of view or convince the buyer to take specific course of action through face to face contact. Examples: Sales Meetings, sales presentations, sales training, samples and telemarketing etc.It can be of face-to-face or through telephone contact. 3. Sales promotion Many different products are often sold with a discount. Companies use these kind of sales promotion a lot. They do this so that more people will buy the product, resulting in a bigger profit or so they can get rid of their old products because they are waiting for a new product to come out 4. Public relations A lot of big businesses also have a negative side. It’s the PR’s goals to make the business look as good as possible for the public 5. Direct marketingDirect marketing is a way of marketing to a particular group such as young male students Business use very advanced ways into reaching the people they want to inform of their product or discount 6. Sponsorship Sponsorship is a way to of promoting by being connected to someone or something companies pay a lot to like an athlete wearing their name on his shirt P1/P2 BCC BCC is a high tech company selling all the electrical equipment u need at your home. They use the promotional mix to attract customers and sell products. hey use a store as well as a web shop Advertising: BCC has got a lot of commercials and nationally known slogans such as â€Å"Low Prices High Service† Personal Selling: They use personal selling a lot, try walking in to a bcc store without getting jumped by a salesman. Their strategy is you come in to the store for headphones and you leave with a phone or tv. Sales Promotion: They give you dis count ,when u buy more than 1 product and give the opportunity to pay it off with a monthly fee. Sponsorship: They sponsored The Dutch soccer team at WK 2010 named â€Å"Het officiele thuis supporters packet â€Å" (http://www. nederlandsmedianetwerk. l/profiles/blogs/bcc-officieel-sponsor-van-de) Direct marketing: They use direct marketing by sending u emails of their discount if you’re in their database because u bought something from them in the past Public relations : They are known because of their slogan Low Prices High Service. If something doesn’t work they will immediately help you out through the phone or at their store The role of their promotion that people are aware that they are there and give them the image that they are the best and reliable with repairs and such so that u feel comfortable with buying a new TV without thinking that it might break .Unicef Unicef stands for United Nations Children's Fund. It’s a children rights organisation of th e United Nations. Their Goal is that all children get the same rights such as education, food ,vaccinations and help cure aids and other diseases Advertising: Unicef advertises a lot they have people on the streets collecting money. They got commercials and famous people supporting them at benefit concerts here Personal Selling: They do use personal selling by for example the people who come knock on your door raising money or have a stall with unicef shirts and caps that u can buySales promotion: They don’t give discounts because it’s about them helping children it depends on you how much u want to give there are no standard prices Sponsorship :They sponsor one of the greatest soccer team in the world FC Barcelona and the Grand Prix as well as NASCAR. Direct Marketing: They use direct marketing u can subscribe to their site and they send u emails and information about their campaigns or benefit concerts they look for people with a soft hart and care about children I t hink they mostly aim at rich housewives with children their ownPublic Relations: They are extremely kind to u and u can always call or mail them or go to their local office if u have any questions. Unicef depends on promotion they need it so people can donate money to them without promotion no one would trust the organisation with their money they would think that they will just keep it. They promote it with sad children that are all bruised up so that they get your compassion and eventually your money.

Avid Pharmaceuticals

The cost structure with the lower breakable volume has the lower systematic risk. Fluctuations in sales volume has an impact on net income. Because there is no certainty, Waver must be ready for increases and decreases in sales if the new equipment is purchased. It is important for Waver to understand that the company will not always be at normal operating levels. Sometimes more units will need to be produced and oftentimes, less units will need to be produced due to the demand in sales. Fluctuations in demand will affect the bottom line, as seen in the examples above. ) What other factors should Waver consider in making this decision? Will the quality of the product remain the same? Is the machine more efficient than the workers? Will time be saved? Can the machine produce more than 60,000 units per year? How many units can the equipment produce in a year, while maintaining a quality product? Can the company charge more for the product if there is an increase in quality? How will th is equipment affect Waver long-term? Short-term? Will upgrades be needed (added expenses)? How quickly will the equipment be outdated? How quickly can the equipment be installed?Will there be a loss of manufacturing products while the equipment is being setup? Will the company lose money during setup due to lack of production? How will this new piece of equipment show on the company's financial statements? Will it be depreciated? What form of depreciation? Are there new asset conversions that the accounting department will have to record? Do the product costs and/or period costs change? Is it possible to make other areas more efficient, therefore, reducing fixed or variable costs? What company makes the manufacturing equipment? Is the company successful/reputable?Is the company new? Is the return on the investment satisfactory to board members and owners? How does the new equipment affect the employees? Will additional training be needed? Who will operate and manage this new equipme nt? How difficult would it be to get service if repairs were needed? How dependable are the service repair people? Will Waver have to hire a full time employee to fix the repairs? This salary is an additional expense. How dependable is the machine? Will the equipment affect the factory layout, efficiency, create toxic smells or be too loud for workers to be near it?Will customer satisfaction be increased? Will the employees operating the machine be paid more, therefore, increasing salary Will training occur? This is an added expense. Are there enough Jobs to reassign all employees displaced to new Jobs within Waver? How will Waver communicate this large change to its employees? How much does the machine cost? Are there additional variable costs that will be incurred? (4) What is your recommendation? This does not look like a good investment for Waver. The return on investment is low at the normal 60,000 operating volume. The fixed costs are large, Jumping by 476,000.That is a large increase when the sales at normal operating conditions will only yield an extra $4,000. It is not worth the expense. In the beginning, the equipment may be slow to operate at normal volume due to set up, training, glitches, etc. There may be a length of time where Waver is not able to produce and sell 60,000 units per year, which will hurt Wavers bottom line (as seen in the 25% volume decrease in example above). The new equipment seems like a risky investment. The choice of production structure (with the new equipment or without) depends on the expected future sales.If Waver was certain they could produce and sell more than 60,000 units per year, this may be an investment worth looking into, however, this is an unknown. Making a little less than the 60,000 units (59,500 units), would put Waver in the same position had they not purchased the new equipment. This point at which both cost structures intersect is what is relevant. From a management's perspective, this new equipment is re ally not a good idea. There are too many What ifs' and too many personnel and training issues that could be factors. I would not recommend purchasing this new equipment for Waver.

What is the Most Effective Leadership Style in Local Government Essay

What is the Most Effective Leadership Style in Local Government - Essay Example As the report highlights simplification and transparency are needed to transform local government into a truly proactive, citizen centred form of representation. Along with local government reform what also needs to take place is a transformation of leadership. For too long, local government has concentrated on managing, or trying to manage, and many have forgotten, or never learned, what leadership is. This essay declares that the UK is comprised of a diverse array of local forms of government. The first tier form of local government is Parish or Town Councils. These councils are selected via the normal democratic process of elections. The sizes of the councils vary greatly, ranging from small rural parishes with several hundred stakeholders to the largest urban parish with over 70,000 citizens. Their authority varies depending on locale. In addition to parish or local councils there may be second tier council that provide local services to the community. In the major urban areas on England there are a total of 36 metropolitan borough councils. The areas with these larger councils include: Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, Merseyside, South and West Yorkshire, and Tyen and Wear. The councillors for these larger councils are elected for four year terms. Additionally, elections are held yearly with one third of the seats being up for election yearly. Every fourth year there is n o election.

Arm Crank Ergometry Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Arm Crank Ergometry - Assignment Example Previous studies have considered issues linked to exercise efficiency. This line of enquiry provides important information associated with the relationship between the energy required to achieve a given amount of external work. In the context of a competitive athlete or a patient in a clinical setting, exercise efficiency provides a useful insight into functional capacity. When presented in either gross or net terms, exercise efficiency has been shown to increase in line with workload during both cycling and ACE. Several studies have also demonstrated there to be a clear interaction between crank rate and workload with respect to oxygen consumption during cycling and ACE. Additionally, previous studies have considered exercise efficiency in a number of different ways, including the calculation of gross, net, and delta values. Powers et al. (1984) showed that VO2 during ACE increased in line with crank rate. At workloads of 15 and 30W, VO2 was lower and exercise efficiency was higher, using crank rate of 50 and 70 rev.min-1 compared to 90 rev.min-1. Furthermore, when the workloads were increased to 45 and 60W, exercise efficiency remained higher using 50 compared to 90 rev.min-1. ... Furthermore Smith et al. showed that while variations in crank rate (50, 70 and 90 rev.min-1) influenced measures of exercise efficiency a relatively low workloads (30 to 70w) during ACE, these discrepancies did not exist at 90w. These data are interesting as they question the previously reported interaction between crank rate, workload and exercise efficiency. The purpose of this practical will be to further investigate 1) if exercise efficiency parameters change in line with variations in crank rate and 2) to determine whether or mechanical efficiency varies according to the external workload being achieved. In these respects, values of gross, net and work efficiency will be considered. RESULTS. The results of the experiment are summarised in the table 1 in the Annex. You can see that the index FE02 (fractional concentration of oxygen in expired air) was varied in the range between 16.2 and 18.5 ml O2/kg/min (range is 2.3 ml O2/kg/min). Consequently the mean of 35 measurements was equal to 17.1 and its standard error is 0.09. The variance of FE02 gross value was 0.34 and standard deviation - 0.56. The distribution of the sample was asymmetric and not normal (skewness is 0.72 and kurtosis 0.29). The values of median, lower and upper quartile were equal to 17.0, 16.7 and 17.4 correspondingly. The mean value of FECO2 (fractional concentration of CO2-exhaled) was equal to 3.660.08 while the variance and standard deviation was 0.24 and 0.49 respectively. The median of the index was 3.73 and the first (lowest) and third (upper) quartiles were equal to 3.45 and 3.98 while the minimum and maximum were 2.52 and 4.44 (range is 1.92 ml CO2/kg/min). The skewness and kurtosis were not equal to zero thus the distribution was not symmetric. The data

Written analysis of a qualitative research report to determine the Essay

Written analysis of a qualitative research report to determine the validity of the study - Essay Example effectiveness and implementation of these programs two actors are stated: the tight school schedule and differences in the opinions of the different stakeholders (teachers, parents, adolescents etc.) which is actually the subject of research in this study. However it is not stated and there is no reference to find if the main question analyzed in the study is formulated based on a previous research or based on a personal perception of the authors of the study. Authors state that the question they analyze in the study is â€Å"at least† one of the two factors that are barriers for implementing the current recommendations for reducing adolescent obesity, but nevertheless we don’t have information’s about the importance of this question based on a previous research. Nevertheless the literature listed as reference to the text is relevant and we have access to previous research and studies that were done on the subject of adolescent obesity specifically in Switzerland (Zimmermann et al. 2004). The problem with adolescent obesity is supported by well designed and relevant studies. Also the method of qualitative approach is stated as appropriate for the type of the research conducted in this study. This statement is also referenced with relevant publications which elaborate why this approach is most suited for this study (Krueger 1994) (Kitzinger 1995). Nevertheless we can’t understand the importance of the question analyzed in this study (different views and perceptions of all the stakeholders) based on the references stated in the study, but only as personal view of the researcher that this question is one of the most important in understanding the problem. There are studies however that imply the importance of integrated approach of all s takeholders in implementing programs for reducing adolescent obesity (Lynne et al. 2010). Medical educators and nurses working in the schools have important function in identifying the problem of adolescent obesity and

The Prophecy of the Witches and the Plot to murder a King Essay

The Prophecy of the Witches and the Plot to murder a King - Essay Example The groundlings, who have paid a penny each, a day's wage for some of them, to stand at the pit under the open portion of the Globe, are totally thrilled. The middle class who can afford to pay a penny more to sit in the galleries jostle with each other taking care not to crush their best clothes. Having paid a penny more than them to sit on a cushion in the gallery, at a separate door, I settle down to watch the play. The rich and the titled sit at the Lords' rooms and Ladies rooms in the covered galleries, having paid as much as half a crown each and enjoying the privilege of being spotted by their peers at the theatre. The groundlings are largely from the working class and you can see butchers and tanners, millers and iron workers, seamen and servants, glovers and shopkeepers, bakers and wig-makers- in short tradesmen of every description along with their families. So boisterous is their conduct that you anticipate their throaty shouting, smiling and winking in scenes that cater to their taste. The shoving and fighting amongst them even as the play is staged form another interesting sight from the higher level at which I sit, having paid twice as much as they have done. The hissing and mewing noise from the groundlings at totally unpredictable moments of the play add colour to the atmosphere.

Millennium Pest Control Services Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Millennium Pest Control Services - Case Study Example Having completed this initial and important part of the marketing strategy, the firm is now in the process of configuring the value, set the price, communicate the set values to the prospective customers and deliver the values to the utmost satisfaction of the customers. "Consumer-focused marketing is the single most important factor that determines the success of an enterprise. Marketing is not just about selling. It requires a clear and astute understanding of what consumers want and the ability to deliver it to them through the most appropriate channels for a profit. It includes the planning, pricing, promotion and distribution of products and services for consumers, both present and potential." (Katherine Adam, Radhika Balasubrahmanyam, and Holly Born 1999) In today's competitive business environment, achieving the organizational twin objectives of maximizing the revenues and minimizing the costs depends entirely on the organisation's ability to improve upon the technical excellence by adopting innovative methods and improving the value of the products being offered to the customers. At the same time, adopting innovative techniques of production will lead to the creation of organizational values. It is very essential for a firm to constantly aim at the configuration of its value. "Configuring value means defining, creating, branding and pricing the offer" (Mark, 2004) While, the processes of defining and creating values are the crucial tasks in the success of any business, the processes of branding and pricing can be attempted with ease once a proper value is defined and created. The value configuration is a process by which the firm aims to create and occupy an unforgettable place for its products in the minds of the customers. The value configuration describes the ways by which value is created by the company for its customers and the ways by which such creation of value is exhibited as a reflection on the quality of the firm's products and services. This can be achieved by providing the customers the superior quality of the products or services, backed by the after sales services if required. Most of the firms forget the utility and value of the 'after sales service' as an important tool for gaining the brand loyalty. Thus the process of value creation encompasses managing quality in the entire chain of processes until the stage of the final co mpletion of the production or rendering of a service. To define organizational value is a difficult task, as the term takes different connotations under different circumstances depending on the perspectives to which it relates. It can be said that the best known value configuration is the value chain. While Porter's value chain framework (1985) is generally accepted as the common language for representing and analyzing the logic of firm-level value creation, Mark Gabbot (2004) presents the framework of value as an alternative to the traditional 4Ps approach. Adding value to the services and products in an organization is entrusted to the operations management for evolving suitable operational strategies to achieve higher value for the products and services. An organization may adopt all or any of the following strategies for value creation: Trying out different

Communication in Emergency Response Research Paper - 1

Communication in Emergency Response - Research Paper Example The fundamental role of communication during emergency response remains to transfer information to the relevant individuals in order to make response become quicker and easier. Improvement of the communication systems remains a fundamental aspect for ensuring an effective response. During natural disasters like the Hurricane Katrina, minimizing the detrimental effects of the natural disaster would have involved enhancing communication channels between different government departments and other stakeholders involved within the calamity. Information had to be transferred to the populations regarding warnings of approaching hurricane to ensure the individuals were evacuated in time. The fundamental goal established by the responsible authorities at the time was ensuring minimization of the suffering and deaths resulting from the effects of the hurricane. This fundamental goal would be achieved through many activities undertaken by different organizations. The activities included evacuation of affected individuals, provision of food and other basic needs to the victims, provision of medical services among many others. Many of these activities were aimed at minimizing suffering among the affected populations. Effective communication between the various organizations was therefore essential in ensuring the activities were undertaken effectively. With many organizations undertaking a single activity, like evacuation, lack of communication could slow the process and render the process difficult.

Management Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Management Research Paper - Essay Example Organizations are found to be successful even with large scale change initiatives and have also failed to undertake even small changes. It is the complexity of the change process which results in failures in managing the change initiatives (Yaeger, â€Å"The Complexities of Large-Scale Change†). Successful change organisations have realized the importance of inter-relationship between components and how changes in one component can impact on another. Strong rigor and methodology is identified as the prerequisite for a process which leads to well aligned decisions and possesses the required flexibility to meet the changing market needs (Yaeger, â€Å"The Complexities of Large-Scale Change†). The last decade has demonstrated an increasing flow in the extent of research on organizational change. This essay is a search for the general commonalities and differences on change management efforts in different organizations focusing on the extent of failure of such attempts and the reasons for the same. Apart from concentrating on the different sets of changes such as barriers and common mistakes while implementing certain types of changes, the main interest of the essay is focusing on the inhibitors and enablers of change, drivers of decisions for undertaking large scale change management programs and evaluation of the same. The study aims to find a link between the enablers and inhibitors causing the success or failures of change initiatives in organizations (CEP, â€Å"Why Change Fails or Succeeds†). The study provides a crucial literature on the subject highlighting on the arguments and views presented by researchers and authors. The analysis is done in the light of various organizational behavioural theories and their applications in real life organizational settings. Rate of failure of change in organizations As mentioned, given the numerous criteria for successful changes in organizations, all changes are not found to be successful. The rate of failure of change programs can be very high. According to Maurer (1997), technological changes demonstrate a failure rate of 20%, while 29% of all mergers and acquisitions fail. 30% of the attempts of business process re-engineering are found to fail while 50% of the initiatives to improve quality end in failures (Cook, Macaulay & Coldicott, â€Å"The rate of failure of change†). Kotter has identified some of the pitfalls in change management, such as lack of compelling reasons or issues for the change, unclear objectives or goals for the change, inadequate planning, unrealistic time scales, inadequate participation etc. Too much allowance for complacency, lack of short term whims, insufficient guidelines or instructions for the change have been identified as some of the other pitfalls in the management of changes in organizations (Cook, Macaulay & Coldicott, â€Å"The rate of failure of change†). Critical analysis of why some change programs are more effective than others Previous research reveals that much of the change initiatives

People and Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

People and Organizations - Essay Example Assembly lines were dedicated to the production of a single thing, implying the development of dedicated machine tools and workers, operating individually rather than as a work team, were responsible for the performance of single tasks within the assembly process. The implication here is that the said philosophy is funding upon the division of a single project/process into its constituent elements and the total dedication of man and machine to the efficient and timely execution of those single tasks. The Fordist production system, as defined in the above, reduced the cost of automobile manufacturing by 90% and led to the evolution of mass production and the associate mass consumption, and consumer culture. Although incontrovertibly efficient, however, it was not flexible and led to the accumulation of significant inventories. This, however, does not imply that the Fordist system has passed out of existence since several of its elements have been integrated into contemporary organizations and management systems. These elements are lack of specialization, as in workers and employees being able to fulfill a number of tasks if and when required, control over the business processes, efficiency predicated on the division of single projects into its constituent parts, calculability, predictability and, importantly, the organization as an efficient machine. In the final analysis, therefore, while the Fordist system of production may have been replaced by others more compatible with current requirements and realities, its philosophical elements have survived and have been integrated into organizational management. II Despite their positive impact upon production and their contribution to the evolution of more efficient and effective organizations, Taylorism and Scientific Management were, as a result of the controversy they inspired, replaced by the human relations approach to management. Following a brief overview of both, the differences between the two approaches shall be elucidated. Scientific management adopts an objective, rational approach to organizational management, such as which decentralizes socio-cultural and human factors and considerations. This approach advocates the division of labor in the production process for the attainment of maximum productivity, even as it insists upon the separation of the physical from the mental tasks. The aforementioned practices are predicated on the belief that the work process is measurable, in that the componential elements of a single process can be quantified, just as the steps involved in the completion of each can be measured. The implication here is that through the rational quantification of work process steps, the calculation of the time it tales to complete each, the work process can evolve into a semi-automatic and highly efficient phenomenon. Scientific management, as may have been determined from the preceding, marginalizes the human factor, to the extent of rendering the work process an unthinking and routinised one wherein workers are isolated one from the other. Its focus on the rational, leading to its failure to acknowledge the human factor was a source of criticism and controversy. More importantly,

Legal framework for social work in United Kingdom Essay Example for Free

Legal framework for social work in United Kingdom Essay Legal framework for social work in United Kingdom Introduction            Social work is defined as a professional and academic discipline that will seek to have improvement on the individuals, groups’ and communities’ quality of life and their well-being through having policies, conducting researches, organizing communities and teaching for the good of the people affected by social limitations that may include poverty, mental and physical sickness, social injustice including violation of human rights. International (Federation of Social Workers 2000). These groups may include school dropouts, the elderly in the society, juvenile offenders, drug and alcohol abusers and the homeless            Social workers will work in different settings within a set of framework of legislation and practices. The setting may include a school situation, the service users’ home, a hospital or a public sector premise Social work values            Social work is argued to be value based. Since it is a profession on, social work ethics (values) thus refer to a set of guidelines that have to govern the way professionals treat the people they interact with and the sort of actions that are regarded as right or wrong. They offer a vision and discernment (Bernstein 1970)            Social work in the United Kingdom occurs in four spheres. The first sphere is majorly a concept relates to the moral philosophy that creates the ethical arguments on social work. The second sphere is based on the legislation that has created an environment for practice of social work with reference to the social work cases. The third sphere is the political ideas and concepts and their influence in shaping and sculpturing the social work models, social work methods and practices. The last sphere presents the historical part of the beginning of social work as a profession and its struggle for professional identity. These spheres are extended, mid range and restricted definitions of social work ethics and values (Bernard et al 2008, p. 6)            This paper will focus on the second sphere in reference to the United Kingdom. Social work and law            Social work as a profession has to follow certain laws and regulations which govern the profession. The legal framework involves the statute laws and case laws and tries to explain the relationship that links them. Moreover, it details legislation of the government under acts of parliament, the international laws, policy guidance, and the local government circulars that articulate the purpose and guidance principles of legislation. Health and Care professional Council code of practice            As a social worker, it is paramount to be aware of the legal obligations required of them to create a healthy and safe working conditions. The General Social Care Council code of practice imposes more duties for employers of social workers. The code states that (Brayne Carr 2002, P. 49) The social worker shall protect and promote interests of the service users The social worker will strive to establish, maintain trust and confidence of the service users The social worker will promote independence of the service users while giving them protection from possible harm The social worker shall respect the rights of the service users while ensuring that their behavior will not harm other people and themselves The social worker shall uphold the public trust and confidence in the social care services The social worker shall be accountable for quality in their work and taking responsibility for maintenance and improvement of their knowledge Acts of parliament The Carew standard Act 2000            This Act has a significant role in the social care work as it did extend the registration regime for the social care in England and that of Wales for provision of the children’s services, the Act requires the following: Registration of children homes Registration of family centre’s Registration of the independent fostering agencies Registration of the voluntary adoption agencies Registration of support agencies            To be a permanent registered member one has to meet a set of regulations tailored to each individual service. In coming up to a decision whether the regulatory requirement shave been fulfilled, the registering authority must have a regard to minimum National standards. England’s registration authority is Office for Standards in Education, Childrens Services and Skills (OFSTED). The Social workers and the social care services cannot function without having satisfied the above requirements. As a social worker or a social care service provider, there is a need to have knowledge to avoid prosecution by Law The health and social care Act 2012            This bill was agreed upon by both houses and obtained the Royal Assent on the 27th of March to become an act of parliament. The bill created an independent National Health Service Board to promote choices made by the patients in regard to their health issues and reduced the administration tool of the National Health Service. A National Health Service Board was also created to allocate resources and provide guidance on commissioning of social care services. Powers of the government’s ability to commission services on behalf of patients were increased. The function of the Care Quality Commission was strengthened and Section 209 of this Act amended. The powers of the new law under Section 60 of the 199 Act gave her majesty the power by order in the council to regulate social workers and social care practitioners of England. This placed the role of social workers and the role of social health care providers directly under her majesty (Britain 2012, p. 9). This A ct placed a lot of Significance on Social Care services being provided in the United Kingdom. A consideration on the adult social care was emphasized. For example, allowing the transfer of public health to the local authorities through local health and the well being boards. Various new bodies have emerged such as the Local health watches which have a function of checking on health and the social care standards. Children’s Act 2004.            In England, the law protects the right of children. Section 11 and 12 of this Act places a statutory duty on all agencies to co-operate and promote the welfare of the children. The government guidance for social workers and other professionals that interact with children is that: the social worker has a duty of keeping the children safe. There should be constant feedback to the children social care local authority on suggestions and assessment and lastly every person who has a role should not think that he/she has the absolute right to the child’s needs. Professionals sometimes fail to report the abuse and neglect cases do not face penalties for crime however; they might be subjected to professional discipline Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012            The bill got a Royal Assent on 8th of March. The bill aimed to give strength to the social enterprise businesses sectors and make relevant the concept of social value and its importance in the placing and providing of public services. With this bill a National Social enterprise strategy was created to encourage the engagement in social enterprises. The local government act 2000 section 4 was then required to have a sustainable community strategy proposal that promote the engagement of social enterprise in their areas. The Local Authority Social Services Act 1970            This Act brought together the different fields of social work into a single Social service department in every local authority. With this establishment, an emphasis was laid on a co-ordinated and comprehensive system of approach to the social care, the support of families and identifying the need for people to seek aid. The formulated departments then became responsible for domestic aid, residential accommodation and recreational services. Care council of Wales            All social workers should be registered. It is one of the bodies mandated to register and regulates the activities of the social workers and all other social care in Wales. The care council is set up under the Care Standards Act 2000. It includes the codes of professional practice, conduct rules, and a well established guideline on the complainant’s procedure. Some other features accessed include consultation services, annual reports, the newsletters and the e-bulletins. Registration of workers ensures that there is as constant data of available social workers and social health care workers in a given state or region. It is easy to verify a genuine worker and avoids imposters who might be out on criminal activities Care and Social Services of the inspectorate of Wales            This is a body mandated to regulating and inspecting the establishment of agencies that offer social care services in Wales region. It carries out duties on behalf of the ministers of Wales. It has been given power under Act 2003 of the Social and Health care to look into the handling of social services by the local authorities. On their website, one is able to raise a query on social workers conduct for necessary action. Rights and freedoms of Social workers and limitations Guide to information sharing            Social work is a professional duty. When dealing with children, England places emphasis on effective information sharing between the local agencies and the social workers on identification and assessment of service provisions. These are defined in â€Å"Working together to safeguard children (PDF). Under this guidance, paragraph 1.24 states clearly that fears that arise on sharing personal information should not hinder promotion of a child’s welfare and safety. All social workers and social care provider thus are required to have an efficient information discernment process to avoid a scenario of neglect in believe that another individual will do the task. Limitations to this guide            These provisions however do have limitations. In Wales’s guidance on information sharing is found in chapter 14 of Safeguarding children working together under the Children Act 2004 (PDF). In these guidance paragraph 14.5 overlaps the guidance for professionals in England. It states that â€Å"The safety and welfare of a child or young person must be put into consideration first when making decisions about sharing information about them† and that must be superseding public interest in revealing the information. The guidance then further goes on to give the way forward in sharing on information. Paragraph 14.6 states that â€Å"the best way of ensuring that information sharing is properly handled is to work within carefully worked out information-sharing protocols between agencies and professionals involved, and taking legal advice in each case where necessary. Guide to Loss and damage            Social workers have been mandated with a legal duty of caring and service providers. In essence these role places the employers with responsibility of paying up damages their employees suffer while in line of duty. In the event those being taken care of suffer adverse damage as a result of social work interference, then they are entitled to sue the social work company for negligence. These may be as a result of physical damage, emotional or psychological damage. While this is the case, the law prohibits the suing of social workers when performing certain statutory functions like safeguarding children. Employers need to understand the times which their employees may be liable to protection under the law and when not. Legislation on discrimination on Personal privacy            In line of duty, social workers provide aid services. In order for them to carry out these functions effectively, it is paramount for them to have knowledge of the raft of legislation that protects individuals for discrimination basing on their gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability or ethnicity. These are domestic laws of the United Kingdom and are complemented by European Convention on human right which protects the citizens of the United Kingdom against unjustified state interference with their life. It is always possible for government and social work agencies getting into people’s life when they are not willing. In this event then the public can resort to the human rights protection of privacy and autonomy. Social workers and social work agencies need to have knowledge of the rights and privileges granted to the masses under the European convention for both parties to avoid violating them while at the same time helping individuals who hav e had their rights contravened The Human rights            Human rights are legal obligations that are to be adhered to universally. Human rights are defined as â€Å"the universal right to standard living that is adequate for healthy and well being of individuals and their families.†(Roosevelt 2000, p.5). These are also embodied by global social work perspective by stating that â€Å"The struggle for dignity and fundamental freedoms, which allows for the full development of human potentials, boils down to two words: human rights.†(IFSW 1996).The presence of this law, social work in the United Kingdom is bound to human rights which are considered sensitive to human race and collective citizenship. The social work must then be conceptualized and sensitized to the culture in which the services are offered. Thus a social worker in England should be able to accept the culture and laws of a state or region in which he/she is working in. Conclusion            Social work and social care has a pivotal role in service delivery to the society. This view cannot go unnoticed. The values, ethics of social work such as respect for humanity, equality and service to all have played a major role in helping the less privileged in the United Kingdom. The beneficiaries have included the mentally ill, the old, women and children. The United Kingdom having realized the vital role of social care came up with various laws not only to check but to guide the professionals in their field of work. These laws have been defined in various Acts of parliament, Scholarly publications and various codes of ethics and conduct of the Social work profession. Social workers and social care workers interact with different people on daily basis. In order for a harmonious and efficient system of operation to uphold, these laws and various publications have played a major role. However the legal stipulations have also had a negative side of the story bein g felt where they have had to hamper the operations of social workers and social care practitioners. Technological advancements and constant reviews of challenges that have risen in the working environment of this profession I believe can act as a catalyst to new ideas to command this noble profession to greater heights in the United Kingdom References BRITAIN, G. (2012). Health and social care act 2012: chapter 7. [S.l.], Tso. BRAYNE, H., CARR, H. (2012). Law for social workers. Oxford, Oxford University Press. BRITAIN, G. (2012). Health and social care act 2012: chapter 7. [S.l.], Tso. BARNARD, A., HORNER, N., WILD, J. (2008). The value base of social work and social care. Maidenhead, England, Open University Press. ROOSEVELT, E. (2000). Universal declaration of human rights in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, Arabic. Bedford, Mass, Applewood Books. HEALY, L. M. (2008). International social work: professional action in an interdependent world. Oxford, Oxford University Press. REAMER, F. G. (2006). Social work values and ethics. New York, Columbia University Press. BERNSTEIN, P. (1997). American work values: their origin and development. New York, State Univ. of New York Press. BANKS, S. (2012). Ethics and values in social work. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan. (2004). Children Act 2004: Explanatory notes. [S.l.], Stationery Office. Source document

Rape Law Reform in England and Wales

Rape Law Reform in England and Wales 1. Introduction The beginning of the 21st Century has seen a major overhaul of the sexual offences legislation in England and Wales. Prior to this reform the law on sexual offences was based on legislation implemented in 1956[2], with some parts dating as far back as the 19th Century. It goes without saying that this legislation was grossly dated and unsuitable for the 21st Century. A number of important amendments had been made since the 1956 legislation, including the inclusion of marital rape and male rape in 1994[3]. However, these piecemeal changes resulted in very confusing laws, to the extent that many different Acts had to be accessed in order to decipher where the law stood on any given matter. The Home Office acknowledged that this had led to a ‘patchwork quilt of provisions (Home Office, 2000, pg. iii). The previous law was also plagued by anomalies, inappropriate language[4] and discrimination, some of which may have been construed as violating human rights legislation. Starting with a pledge by the newly elected 1997 Labour government to help victims of sexual offences obtain justice, a detailed and lengthy review process was initiated in 1999 (the Sexual Offences Review). This was followed by a Sexual Offences Bill and then, finally, the arrival of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into force in May 2004. This article outlines the criticisms feminists have previously made about rape law in England and Wales and describes and evaluates as far as possible the new legislation as it relates to rape. 2. The attrition problem The criticisms feminist academics and activists have highlighted in terms of rape law in England and Wales are similar to those described in other countries with adversarial legal systems. These include: the difficulties in proving non-consent; cross-examination; rape myths; the use of sexual history evidence in court; and the 1976 ruling in Morgan[5] that an ‘mistaken but ‘honest belief in consent should lead to an acquittal even if this belief in consent is not a ‘reasonable one. The incredibly high attrition rate for rape cases has been a major concern underpinning many of these criticisms and acted as a strong push factor towards the strengthening of the law on sexual offences. Quite simply, most rape victims who report the offence to the police will never even see their case reach court, never mind see the perpetrator convicted for rape. Many studies have documented the high attrition rate and how it has increased over time. While more and more men are being reported to the police for rape, the proportion that are convicted for rape has been steadily falling since records began (Smith, 1989; Chambers and Miller, 1983; Lees and Gregory, 1993; Harris and Grace, 1999; HMCPSI and HMIC, 2002; Lea, Lanvers and Shaw, 2003). These studies show that the ratio of rape convictions to reported rapes has steadily fallen from one in three in 1977 to one in 20 in 2002 (Kelly, 2004). Comparative analysis has found that the high rape attrition rate is not confined to England and Wales but is echoed to different extents across Europe (Kelly and Regan, 2001). Bearing in mind that most rapes are not even reported to the police[6], this of only one in twenty is particularly concerning and has been the basis of much campaigning by activist groups. Moreover, Kelly (2002) warns that attrition may actually be even higher than research has fo und because such studies do not take into account rapes that are reported to but not recorded by the police, or any convictions that are overturned on appeal. New research has found that around one in ten convicted rapists later have their convictions overturned or sentence reduced on appeal (Cook, 2004). 3. The reform process The Sex Offences Review began in 1999 and aimed to achieve ‘protection, fairness and justice within the Home Offices overall aim of creating a ‘safe, just and tolerant society (Home Office, 2000b)[7]. The reviews terms of reference were: ‘To review the sex offences in the common and statute law of England and Wales, and make recommendations that will:  · provide coherent and clear sex offences which protect individuals, especially children and the more vulnerable, from abuse and exploitation;  · enable abusers to be appropriately punished; and  · be fair and non-discriminatory in accordance with the ECHR and Human Rights Act. This third point is likely to have been an important factor in why the Government felt the pressing need for legislative reform; in October 2000 the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force and thereby incorporated the rights guaranteed by the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) into the domestic law of England and Wales. Although the Human Rights Act 1998 did not actually give citizens any ‘new rights it gave judges the power to make a statement of incompatibility if a piece of legislation failed to respect an individuals human rights. Moreover, the European Court of Human Rights has in the past held states accountable for violations of human rights where they failed to enact appropriate rape legislation[8]. An internal steering group and external reference group were set up as part of the review; the latter including established feminist academics[9], representatives from feminist organizations working with victims of rape[10] and feminists campaigning for rape law reform[11]. Intentionally or unintentionally, the review was therefore guided by a strong feminist influence. Two lengthy documents were then produced, consisting of literature reviews, reports from consultation seminars and recommendations (Home Office 2000a, 2000b) and from this review, the white paper ‘Protecting the Public was published (Home Office, 2002) setting out the Governments proposals. In the foreword by Home Secretary David Blunkett, he described the existing law on sexual offences using words such as ‘archaic, ‘incoherent and ‘discriminatory. The Sexual Offences Bill was introduced in January 2003 into the House of Lords, where some amendments were made. The Bill was passed to the House of Commons in June 2003 where it was reviewed by a Home Affairs Committee. In July 2003 this review was published, along with oral and written evidence submitted as part of an inquiry into specific sections of the Bill (House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, 2003). The Sexual Offences Bill was given Royal Assent on the 20th November 2003 and became the Sexual Offences Act 2003 with effect from May 2004. This replaced the Sexual Offences Act 1956 and its various amendments. It is widely acknowledged that the new Act represents the largest overhaul of sexual offences in over a century (Editorial, Criminal Law Review, 2003). 4. The Sexual Offences Act 2004 In order to secure a conviction for rape it is necessary to prove beyond reasonable doubt not only that the defendant committed an act that meets the legal definition of rape but also that the defendant knew that the victim was not consenting. These are known as the actus reus (the guilty act) and the mens rea (the guilty mind, or criminal intent). These two aspects of rape are now described in turn in terms of the reforms that have taken place. 4.1 The actus reus (guilty act) The actus reus of rape within the Sexual Offences Act 1956 was simply defined as unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman, which was amended in 1976[12] to unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent. The 1990s saw two major changes relating to the actus reus of rape. In 1991, after over 100 years of feminist campaigning rape within marriage became illegal within the common law system and this was placed into statute in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 when the word ‘unlawful was removed from the definition. It had previously been judged in common law that married women had no capability or authority to ‘not consent: ‘The sexual communication between them is by virtue of the irrevocable privilege conferred once for all on the husband at the time of the marriage †¦ (R v Clarence, 1888). ‘But the husband cannot be guilty of rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife, for their matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband, which she cannot retract. (Sir Matthew Hale, 1736 History of the Pleas of the Crown) The criminalisation of marital rape was controversial within legal circles. This is because when it was criminalized in 1991 it was seen as being criminalized by judge-made law rather than the elected government. The case in question was R v R[13] where it was alleged a husband had attempted to have sexual intercourse with his estranged wife without her consent and physically assaulted her by squeezing her neck with both hands. In this case the issue was not whether he had attempted to force his wife to have sexual intercourse without her consent, but rather whether this fell under the legal definition of ‘unlawful sexual intercourse. Relying upon Hales now infamous statement (cited above) the defence argued that because the acts were against his wife this could not be classed as unlawful. In considering this defence, Mr Justice Owen argued that Hales statement could not longer be seen as valid because it was ‘a statement made in general terms at a time when marriage was indissolvable. However, this dismissal of Hale appeared to relate more to the fact that there was physical force used in the attempted rape than the lack of consent per se: ‘I am asked to accept that there is a presumption or an implied consent by the wife to sexual intercourse with her husband; with that, I do not find it difficult to agree. However, I find it hard to believe †¦ that it was ever the common law that a husband was in effect entitled to beat his wife into submission to sexual intercourse †¦ If it was, it is a very sad commentary on the law and a very sad commentary on the judges in whose breasts the law is said to reside. However, I will nevertheless accept that there is such an implicit consent as to sexual intercourse which requires my consideration as to whether this accused may be convicted for rape. Mr Justice Owen ruled that the act could be classed as attempted rape and sentenced the defendant to three years imprisonment. The defendant appealed, arguing that Mr Justice Owen had been wrong to rule that rape within marriage was against the law when the marriage had not been revoked. The appeal was dismissed unanimously at the Court of Appeal[14], where Lord Lane dismissed Sir Matthew Hales statement as being a ‘statement of the common law at that epoch, where ‘the common law rule no longer remotely represents what is the true position of a wife in present-day society. The Court of Appeal concluded: ‘We take the view that the time has now arrived when the law should declare a rapist a rapist subject to the criminal law, irrespective of his relationship with his victim. This judgement was later upheld on appeal to the House of Lords[15] and at the European Court of Human Rights[16]. The second of the two previously mentioned changes was also made within the 1994 Act when it was acknowledged that a man could be a victim of rape and the actus reus of rape was amended to cover vaginal or anal intercourse against a woman or another man without their consent. Although other parts of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 were revised between 1995 and 2003, the actus reus of rape retained its definition as in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 until the new definition in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 defines the actus reus of rape as penile penetration of the vagina, anus or mouth of another person without their consent. Therefore, in terms of its actus reus, rape has slowly changed over nearly half a century from unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman to penile penetration of the vagina, anus or mouth of another person without their consent. The widening of the actus reus to include penile penetration of the mouth is based on arguments made in the Sexual Offences Review that other forms of penetration (for example: penile penetration of the mouth, or vaginal or anal penetration with an object or another part of the body) should be treated just as seriously as penile penetration of the vagina or anus. It was decided that rape should be extended to include penile penetration of the mouth, on the basis that ‘†¦ forced oral sex is as horrible, as demeaning and as traumatising as other forms of penile penetration (Home Office, 2000a, pg. 15)[ 17]. This means that it remains a gender-specific offence with regard to the perpetrator (i.e. the act requires a penis) but a gender-neutral offence with regard to the victim. A new offence of assault by penetration was introduced to cover penetration by objects other than a penis, as with rape carrying the maximum sentence of life imprisonment[18]. The second part of the actus reus relates to a lack of consent. There are generally three lines of defence used in rape cases; that intercourse never took place, that it took place but not by the accused or that it took place but that the victim consented to it or that the accused believed that the victim consented to it (Baird, 1999). Baird (1999) highlights that there are very few rape cases that are ‘whodunnits, and the defence that sexual intercourse never took place is also rare. These defences are likely to have become even less common since developments in DNA testing (Lees, 1996). The issue of consent is therefore what many rape defence arguments focus on, and one of the aims of the review of sexual offences was to ‘clarify the law on consent'[19]. The root of the ‘consent problem lies with the requirement of the prosecution to prove the absence of consent (rather than requiring the defence to prove that they had taken steps to ascertain consent), and in many ways this problem is unique to rape cases. If, for example, a person reported that their car had been stolen it would not be necessary to prove that it had been taken without their consent. Similarly, if an individual were physically assaulted, for example punched in the face, they would rarely be asked if they agreed to be punched in the face. A further problem in rape cases is that the only direct witness is likely to be the rape victim, which means that cases often come down to one persons word against the other. If the defendant says that the victim consented and the victim says she did not consent then it is difficult to validate either persons statement of the act[20]. Because of the nature of sexual offending it is unlikely there would be a third party availab le to directly corroborate either statement. The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976 was the first to use the term ‘consent in statute – previously it had been force that was named as the relevant factor. However, consent had been an issue within common law since 1845 in Camplin in which the woman was drugged with alcohol and it was ruled that, although no force had been used, it was clear that the act was against the womans will and that she could not have consented to it. Since then, there have been other cases where consent is automatically deemed to be absent[21], which Temkin (2000) refers to as the ‘category approach. The case of Olugboja[22] in 1981 however, appears to have changed the standards needed to show non-consent. In this case it was ruled that consent was a state of mind and that the jury should be directed to make up their own minds as to whether consent was present based on the victims state of mind at the time of the rape. This appears to overturn the legal standards that had been develop ed using the ‘category approach. However, this is unclear and Temkin (2000) described the situation as having a ‘threefold uncertainty. The first element of uncertainty was because there was no statutory definition of consent. Secondly, the Olugboja decision individualised cases regarding consent hence moved away from the idea of a legal standard of non-consent. Finally, there was uncertainty regarding whether or not Olugboja had replaced the previous common law ‘category approach. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 addressed these uncertainties by defining consent as ‘a person consents if he agrees by choice, and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice (section 74) and by returning to the category approach by listing the categories in statute. However, the 2003 Act differentiates between six categories where consent is presumed to be absent, unless there is sufficient evidence to the contrary to raise an issue that the defendant reasonably believed that the victim consented, and two categories where consent is conclusively presumed to be absent. This means that the issue of consent still, to some extent, relies upon the mental state of the defendant, even in cases such as where the victim was asleep, experiencing violence from the defendant, or unlawfully detained[23], although the burden of proof is reversed in these situations with the defendant required to demonstrate the steps he took to ascertain consent. 4.2 The mens rea (guilty mind) This second part of the offence of rape – the mens rea – is based on the premise that an individual should not be punished for an act that they did not know they were committing at the time of the act. Although the actus reus and the mens rea are components of all crimes, the mens rea only becomes relevant when the conduct in question contains some level of ambiguity. The need to prove both the actus reus and the mens rea is applicable to other crimes besides rape. The most regularly used example is the crime of trespass; it is against the law to trespass onto anothers property, but a person cannot be convicted if they did not know they were trespassing (i.e. if private property was not clearly marked). Whether or not a person intended to commit a crime is probably more central in rape cases than for other criminal offences when it comes to proving the ‘guilty mind. Previously, if a man committed the actus reus of rape – the guilty act, but he honestly believed that the woman was consenting regardless of how unreasonable that belief was, he can not be convicted of rape because the mens rea[24] – the guilty mind – was not present. This was known formally as the ‘mistaken belief clause and informally as the ‘rapists charter (Temkin, 1987) because it meant that a woman could be actively non-consenting, even shouting ‘no and struggling to free herself, and a man could still be acquitted of rape. It is a defence that is very difficult, if not impossible, to disprove because the defence relies upon what was going on the defendants mind. The ‘mistaken belief clause was first introduced in Morgan[25] in 1976 when a husband colluded in the raping of his wife by three of his friends. He allegedly told his friends that his wife would struggle and say ‘no, as though she did not want to have intercourse with them, but that this ‘turned her on because she was ‘kinky. The accused men claimed that they honestly believed she was enjoying it and consenting and that they did not intend to rape her – in other words they never had a guilty mind. Although in the Morgan case the men were convicted, and the husband convicted of aiding and abetting, this case set a new precedent. The House of Lords ruled that if a man honestly believed that a woman consented, regardless of how unreasonable this belief was, he could not be found guilty of rape. Feminist activist groups campaigned for many years that the mistaken belief defence should be based on some test of reasonableness or that the mistaken belief clause should be abolished altogether. These are issues that have been widely debated throughout the common-law world. In Australia this issue divided rape law reform campaigners into two groups; the ‘subjectivists who argued that the Morgan ruling should be upheld – i.e. if a man honestly believes that a woman consents to sexual intercourse regardless of how unreasonable that belief is he should not be found guilty of rape, and the ‘objectivists, who argue that the belief should be reasonable (Gans, 1997). In Victoria, Australia, the argument against the amendment or abolishment of the ‘mistaken belief defence was based upon data from an empirical study commissioned by the Law Reform Commission of Victoria. This research found that in an examination of 51 rape trials the ‘mistaken belief defence was used in 23 per cent of cases. Furthermore, it was found that acquittals were actually less likely in these cases (Law Reform Commission of Victoria, 1991a, 1991b). They concluded that although the adoption of objectivism would have some effect on the outcomes in rape trials, this impact would be very slight (Law Reform Commission of Victoria, 1991b). This opinion did not meet with universal agreement, and Gans (1997) argues that the methodology, and hence the findings, of this part of the research was fundamentally flawed, invalid and misleading. He criticises the research for not taking into account pre-trial decisions on attrition, and argues they should have included all reported rape cases when publicising the conviction rate rather than just those cases that got to court. Gans also argues the Victorian research ignored the role of the ‘honest belief within juror decision making and had vague coding categories around consent and honest belief. He suggests that, by re-c oding the data, at least 74 per cent rather than 23 per cent of the trials actually had at least some element of the ‘mistaken belief defence and warns that while successful law reform should be based upon empirical research, caution should also be exercised. In England and Wales no empirical research has ever addressed this subject, and it is therefore impossible to know the scale of the problem here[26]. In the Sexual Offences Review there was much debate about the mistaken belief defence, but no clear agreement was reached as to what should be recommended. Around a third of the respondents to the rape and sexual assault section of the Review argued that Morgan should be changed so that a belief must be both honest and reasonable (Home Office, 2000a). Alongside these responses, a postcard campaign to Jack Straw (then the Home Secretary) was organised by the feminist activist group Campaign to End Rape, which called for a total dismissal of the Morgan ruling. The debate within the review was not whether Morgan should be changed per se (the Home Office rape seminar and the Reviews External Reference group agreed that it should be changed), but rather how it should be changed, and what, if anything should replace it. After much debate, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 defined the mens rea of rape as if ‘A does not reasonably believe that B consents (section 1c). Whether or not the belief is classed as reasonable is determined after regarding all the circumstances, including any steps A may have taken to ascertain whether B consents. It is too early to consider what impact this may have had, and the lack of any baseline s makes evaluation difficult unless this were to be conducted retrospectively or using interviews with lawyers. 5. Conclusions The reformed rape law, as of May 2004 can thereby be summarised as if ‘A intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of ‘B with his penis, and if ‘B does not consent to the penetration and ‘A does not reasonably believe that ‘B consents (paraphrased from section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003). Although there were piecemeal reforms made between 1956 and 2003, none of these had any impact on the continued decrease in the conviction rate. It is too soon to know how the 2003 Act will be interpreted and what, if any, impact it will have. Although consent has now been defined in statute, this does not solve many of the issues relating to consent. It remains a problem that the law equates passivity or non-resistance with consent (Henning, 1997), especially when there is no evidence of physical violence or if the victim had consented in the past (Harris and Weiss, 1995). The re-wording of the mens rea so that the belief in consent must be reasonable is a significant step forwards, however it is too early to know how ‘reasonable will be interpreted in case law (i.e. reasonable to who? under what circumstances?). There was some scepticism relating to what impact the Sexual Offences Act 2003 would have even during the consultation stages. In 2001, for example, Rumney warned that the review might lead to ‘another false dawn (pg. 890) because of its sole focus on the black letter law. In other words, it is unlikely that men will ‘decide not to rape simply because the laws have been slightly strengthened. Similarly, the high attrition rate is not solely related to how rape is defined in law, so the impact here may also be marginal. Goldberg-Ambrose (1992) suggests that law reform should focus on the trial process, particularly on how rules of evidence and the ways in which rape cases are constructed relate to social perceptions of gender, coercion and sexuality. This suggests that it may be necessary to look further than the ‘black letter law towards the trial process in an attempt to explain why the problems around the prosecution of rape persist. Although campaigning for rape law reform is important it may not be enough. This has been acknowledged by feminists for some time; for example, in 1984 Jeffreys and Radford argued that reforms can only ever be effectively implemented alongside a transformation of mens attitudes. In its most simple terms, it is likely that laws are easier to change than prejudiced attitudes (Gaines, 1997). Although there remain many issues relating to the prosecution of rape defendants, few feminists in England and Wales will deny that the reformed rape law represents a huge step forwards. The same can be said for the other sexual offence laws that were reformed and with regard to the new offences that the legislation created. Decades of previously dismissed feminist campaigning have now come to fruition and the new legislation tempts ‘told you so type comments in some places. The major achievements of the legislation can be held as being: the retention of rape as a gendered offence in terms of its perpetration; the need for an ‘honest belief in consent to also be ‘reasonable; and a complete revision of what it means to truly consent. However, it is highly unlikely that a new law alone will see an end to the problems women who are raped face within the criminal justice system and it is important that monitoring of the new Act begins and is made publicly available as s oon as possible. References Baird, V. (1999) Changes to section 2 of Sexual Offences Act 1976, Medicine, Science and the Law, 39 (3), 198-208. Chambers, G. and Miller, A. (1983) Investigating Rape, Edinburgh: HMSO Cook, K. (2004) Rape Appeal Study: Summary Findings, available at www.truthaboutrape.co.uk Gans, J. (1997) Rape Trial Studies: Handle with Care, The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 30, 26-35. Hale, M. (1736, published in 1971) The History of the Pleas of the Crown, London: Professional Books. Harris, J. and Grace, S. (1999) A question of evidence? Investigating and prosecuting rape in the 1990s, London: Home Office. Harris, L.R. and Weiss, D.J. (1995) Judgements of Consent in Simulated Rape Cases, Journal of Social Behaviour and Personality, 10 (1), 79-90. Henning, T. (1997) Consent in sexual assault cases: the continuing construction, Violence Against Women, 3, 4-10. HMCPSI and HMIC (2002) A Report on the Joint Inspection into the Investigation and Prosecution of Cases involving Allegations of Rape, London: HMCPSI and HMIC. Home Office Review of Sex Offences (2000a) Setting the Boundaries: Reforming the law on sex offences (Volume 1), London: Home Office Communication Directorate. Home Office Review of Sex Offences (2000b) Setting the Boundaries: Reforming the law on sex offences (Volume 2), London: Home Office Communication Directorate. Jeffreys, S., and Radford, J. (1984) Contributory negligence or being a woman? The car rapist case, in P. Scraton and P. Gordon (eds) Causes for Concern, London: Penguin books. Kelly, L. (2002) A research review on the reporting, investigation and prosecution of rape cases, London: HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. Kelly, L. (2004) Legal Reform, Sexual Autonomy and the Justice Gap: Sexual Offences Law in the 21st Century, paper presented at the European Rape Congress, Brussels, 1st – 2nd April 2004. Kelly, L. and Regan, L. (2001) Rape: The Forgotten Issue? A European research and networking project, University of North London: Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit. Law Reform Commission of Victoria (1991a) Rape: Reform of Law and Procedure: Appendixes to Interim Report No 42, Melbourne: LRCV. Law Reform Commission of Victoria (1991b) Rape: Reform of Law and Procedure, Report No 43, Melbourne: LRCV. Lea, S.J., Lanvers, U. and Shaw, S. (2003) Attrition in rape cases; developing a profile and identifying relevant factors, British Journal of Criminology, 43, 583-599. Lees, S. (1996) Carnal Knowledge – Rape on Trial (1st edition), London: Hamish Hamilton. Lees, S. and Gregory, J. (1993) Rape and Sexual Assault: A Study of Attrition, London: Islington Council. Rumney, P.N.S. (2001) The Review of Sex Offences and Rape Law Reform: Another False Dawn? Modern Law Review, 64 (6), 890-910. Smith, L.J.F. (1989) Concerns About Rape, Home Office Research Study No. 106, London: HMSO. Temkin, J. (1987) Rape and the Legal Process, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Temkin, J. (2000) Literature Review: Rape and Sexual Assault, in Setting the Boundaries, London: Home Office www.bristol.ac.uk/sps [1] Nicole Westmarland is a Research Associate in the area of gender and violence at the University of Bristol, UK and a PhD candidate at the University of York, UK. Her activism work includes Tyneside Rape Crisis Centre and the Truth About Rape Campaign. [2] Sexual Offences Act 1956 [3] Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 [4] For example the use of the term ‘defective for individuals with learning disabilities. [5] Morgan v DPP [1976] AC 182 [6] Research on non-reporting in England and Wales vary depending on who is conducting the research and when the research was conducted. Recent governmental research found that two in ten women who have been raped reported the incident to the police (Myhill and Allen, 2002). However, dated non-governmental research suggested this may be even lower at one in ten women (Painter, 1991). [7] This is part of an overall Labour strategy to put support victims of crime and bring more criminals to justice. (c.f. ‘Justice for All; ‘Speaking up for Justice; the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and plans for a new Victims and Witnesses Bill in the future) [8] In X and Y v The Netherlands in 1985 the Netherlands was held to have violated the rights of a mentally handicapped 16 year old girl because of a loophole in the law which meant that she was not able to make a rape complaint. In M.C. v Bulgaria in 2003 Bulgaria was held to have violated the rights of a girl because she could not prove non-consent because the legal definition of non-consent required force to be used and she was not physically restrained during the rapes. [9] Including Professor Jennifer Temkin and Professor Liz Kelly [10] Rape Crisis Federation [11] Campaign to End Rape [12] Sexual Offences Amendment Act 1976 [13] R v R [1991] 1 All England Law Reports, 747 [14] R v R [1991] 2 All English Law Reports 257 [15] R v R [1991] 4 All England Law Reports 481 [16] CR and SW v UK [17] Previously, pe

False Positives In Presumptive Blood Testing Biology Essay

False Positives In Presumptive Blood Testing Biology Essay Blood is a fluid medium that is found within the cardiovascular system-which comprises of the heart and blood vessels (Jackson and Jackson 2008). It consists of 55% blood plasma and 45% cellular material (Jackson and Jackson 2008). Blood plasma consists of dissolved materials such as antibodies, hormones, waste products and nutrients, whereas the cellular material consists of erythrocytes (red blood cells), leucocytes (white blood cells) and thrombocytes (platelets) (Jackson and Jackson 2008). Blood is transported through the body by the pumping action of the heart. It has numerous functions including (Jackson and Jackson 2008): Acting as an internal transport system-including the removal of waste products for excretion and moving nutrients for metabolism. Maintaining body temperature. Defending against infection. Protecting the body from effects of injury. Blood is one of main sources of DNA found at crime scenes, and is crucially important in establishing a link between a suspect and a victim of a crime (Jackson and Jackson, 2008). To detect the presence of blood at a crime scene, a presumptive test is used. These can, however, only detect whether a substance is blood and cannot distinguish between human and animal blood-a serological test is needed to do this. The Erythrocytes (red blood cells) are the most common type of blood cell and contain haemoglobin (Jackson and Jackson 2008). They contain haemoglobin- a protein containing iron. Haemoglobin is responsible for the carriage of oxygen, and it is this property that presumptive blood tests are based on. Most of the presumptive tests rely on the ability of haemoglobin to catalyse the oxidation of a reagent, normally hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 (aq)) (Jackson and Jackson 2008). The result of oxidation normally produces a colour change in the presumptive test. Tiny amounts of blood present as a scene can be detecting using a colour change test. Some old and dried stains look similar in appearance to blood which can lead to a scenes of crime officer conducting a presumptive test. Other substances that could have contaminated suspected blood or other substances on their own at a scene could lead to a presumptive blood test incorrectly showing a positive result for blood. This is known as a false positive. Once a stain has been determined as blood, then two processes must be completed. The first is to interpret any bloodstain patterns, so that a reconstruction of events can be established (Langford et al 2005). Secondly, bloodstains must then be recovered for further analysis (Langford et al 2005). Recovery of bloodstains varies according to whether the stain is wet or dry. Once recovered, the blood can then be sent to a Forensic Science Service laboratory, where it will be initially tested to ascertain whether it is human or animal blood. To do this a serological test will be conducted, which involves identifying the presence of proteins specific to humans and analysing for DNA sequences specific to humans (Jackson and Jackson 2008). The blood will then be used for DNA profiling, which will hopefully establish whether the blood belongs to the suspect or the victim. I.II Aims and Objectives The aim of my project is to create a definitive list of false positives for four different presumptive blood tests. Within this aim I have six objectives to complete: To compare the false positives of four different presumptive tests. To test substances that are known false positives- as reported by other authors. To test unknown substances allied to those already known. To record the time taken for a substance to react with a presumptive test. To photograph the results of from each substance. To create a definitive list of false positives for each presumptive test. I am going to compare four different presumptive tests, as some tests are more practical to use in some situations than others. Consequently, analysing more than one test will allow a wider range of results. I shall also be testing known false positives as reported by other authors, as it is important to show how the presumptive tests react. Unknown substances allied to those that are known will then be tested to see whether similar substances react alike. This will then allow me to establish whether an unknown substance has reacted or not, as I can compare the reaction times and colour changes from both the known and unknown substances. It is important to record the time taken for a substance to react with a presumptive test, as blood should show a result straight away. An unobvious result that takes time to develop could indicate that the substance being tested is a false positive. Photographing results will allow me to document the differences in the colour change in each reaction with each substance. I feel that it is important to create a definitive list of false positives as it can reduce the risk of using valuable resources at a crime scene. For example, if a scenes of crime officer is informed that a possible blood stain has been contaminated with horseradish (a known false positive), then they can use a presumptive test for blood that is not known to produce a false positive with horseradish. If the result is positive for blood, then serological tests for blood can be carried out. Overall, I hope that this project will aid the work of a scenes of crime officer to choose the correct presumptive test to use in different situations-minimising time spent and resources used. Chapter II. Literature Review II.I Background Information The scientific analysis of blood was initially mentioned in 13th century Chinese texts, but it was Karl Landsteiner who discovered the modern science of blood typing, which categorises different types of blood into the ABO blood typing system (White 2010). In 1901 it was reported that blood could be determined in two week old serum stains on linen, and by 1902 the four blood types A, B, O and AB had been discovered (White 2010). This system is based on types of antigen on the red blood cells membrane. An antigen is a protein molecule capable of binding on to an antibody (Erzinà §lioglu 2004). The ABO system uses two antigens which are known as A and B; and the four blood groups are determined according to this system (Erzinà §lioglu 2004). People that have the blood group A have the A antigen, those that are group B have the B antigen; those in the AB category have both antigens and those who belong to the O group have neither antigen (Erzinà §lioglu 2004). A persons blood contai ns the opposite group of corresponding antibodies, so people with blood group A have b antibodies, people with blood group B have a antibodies, those with blood group AB have neither a or b antibodies and those with blood group O have both a and b antibodies (Erzinà §lioglu 2004). If the wrong antibodies are introduced into the wrong blood group then death can be a result due to the red cells clumping together. The first suspect to have been convicted largely on the basis of DNA analysis of blood samples was found guilty at Leicester Crown Court on 22nd January 1988 (White 2010). This case marks an important milestone, and DNA technology has become commonplace in forensic laboratories and is now instrumental in establishing both guilt and innocence in court cases (White 2010). II.II Physical Properties of Blood Blood constitutes about 7.7% of the body weight of a person (White 2010). This equates to 5-6 litres in males and 4-5 litres in females (Tortora and Anagnostakos 1987). Viscosity is resistance to flow, which in fluids is compared to water which has a viscosity of 1. (Bevel and Gardner 2002). Blood viscosity usually ranges between 4.4 and 4.7 (Tortora and Anagnostakos 1987). Blood also has a higher specific gravity (density) than water, which is the weight of a substance relative to the weight of an equal volume of water (James and Nordby 2005). Blood is a fluid that circulates throughout the body by way of the heart, arteries, veins and capillaries-known as the circulatory system (James and Nordby 2005). A primary function of blood is to transport oxygen, electrolytes, nourishment, hormones, vitamins and antibodies to tissues and to transport waste products from tissues to the excretory organs (James and Nordby 2005). Tortora and Anagnostakos (1987) (in Bevel and Gardner 2002) say that when 4-6 litres of blood is present in the circulatory system, it is distributed as follows: Figure 1- Blood Distribution in the Circulatory System (Tortora and Anagnostakos 1987) As a medium, blood is composed of 55% plasma and 45% cells (White 2010). A single drop or large volume of blood is held together by strong cohesive molecular forces that produce a surface tension (James and Nordby 2005). Surface tension is defined as the force that pulls the surface molecules of a liquid toward its interior, decreasing the surface area and causing the liquid to resist penetration (James and Nordby 2005). Bevel and Gardner (2002) state that plasma is the pale yellow fluid component of blood, which is broken down by volume into 91% water, 8% protein, 1% organic acids and 1% salts. Fibrinogen is one of the proteins, and this plays an important role in the clotting of blood (Bevel and Gardner 2002). Blood serum is blood plasma minus its protein content (Jackson and Jackson 2008). The cellular component of blood consists of erythrocytes (red blood cells), leukocytes (white blood cells) and thrombocytes (platelets) (Bevel and Gardner 2002). Red blood cells are heavier than plasma, which can be seen in bodies as lividity-which is where red cells settle to the lowest extremity of a body after death (Chmiel and Walitza 1980). http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/301images/Red_White_Blood_cells.jpg Figure 2- A red blood cell, platelet and white blood cell (University of Eastern Kentucky 2010). There are roughly 4.8 to 5.4 million red blood cells per cubic millimetre of blood (Tortora and Anagnostakos 1987). They are bioconcaved discs in shape. The main role of the red blood cells is to transport oxygen from the lungs via the arterial system and return carbon dioxide to the lungs for expiration via the venous system (James and Nordby 2005). Red blood cells contain haemoglobin which is a red pigment that gives blood its colour (Bevel and Gardner 2002). Haemoglobin is composed of globin, which is made up of four folded polypeptide chains, and four haem groups that join with iron (University of Eastern Kentucky 2010). http://www.ul.ie/~childsp/CinA/Issue64/Images/TOC36_2.gif Figure 3- Haemoglobin, containing four haem groups (University of Limerick, 2010). As the oxygen content increases in the blood, the bright red pigment of the haemoglobin also increases (Bevel and Gardner 2002). A red blood cell does not contain a nucleus. Red blood cells are expressed as a percentage of the packed (red) cell volume (PCV), also known as the haematocrit (Wonder 2001). Nelson and Rodak (1983) state that the haematocrit in humans is variable between individuals. Haematocrit Possible people with range of haematocrit 15-29% Chronic alcoholics or drug abusers, steroid abusers, women after traumatic child birth or illegal abortion, malnourished homeless, elderly. 30-48% Normal range for nontraumatic venipuncture (blood drawn in a clinic or hospital) samples. 49-75% Dehydrated individuals, people in shock, those living at high altitude, impending and active heart attack victims, newborn babies, people suffering from hypothermia, and people after extreme exercise. Table 1- Table to show the range of haematocrit ratios (Wonder 2001). White blood cells act to fight infections, destroy old cellular material and to destroy other invading microbes (Bevel and Gardner 2002). White blood cells can be further subdivided into phagocytes which are responsible for the capture and ingestion and foreign substances, and lymphocytes- which are responsible for the production of antibodies (Jackson and Jackson 2008). They make up less than 1% of the cellular component of blood, which equates to 5000 to 9000 white blood cells per cubic millimetre (Tortora and Anagnostakos 1987). The nuclei of white blood cells are the source of DNA in the blood (James and Nordby 2005). The other part of the cellular component of blood is the platelets. Like red blood cells, platelets also lack a nucleus (Bevel and Gardner 2002). Bevel and Gardner (2002) say that there are generally about 250,000 to 400,000 platelets per cubic millimetre of blood. Platelets are major components of the clotting mechanism of blood, and this is their primary function (James and Nordby 2005). Platelets have irregular shapes and are normally quite small, however when they encounter a damaged blood vessel they increase their size and their shapes changes (Bevel and Gardner 2002). They also become sticky and adhere to surrounding fibres in the vessel wall, which results in the accumulation of platelets called the platelet plug (Bevel and Gardner 2002). II.III Blood at a Crime Scene Blood is normally found at a crime scene due to a person sustaining an injury either by accident or on purpose. When a breach in the circulatory system occurs- due to an injury- the body reacts in different ways to control the loss of blood (Bevel and Gardner 2002). Initially the vascular spasm occurs, which is which the smooth vessels in the blood vessel wall contract to decrease the size of the vessel, which reduces the flow of blood through it (Bevel and Gardner 2002). Tortora and Anagnostakos (1987) say that this reduces blood loss for up to 30 minutes following injury, which gives time for the other blood loss mechanisms to engage. The platelet plug then follows which reduces, if not stops, the blood loss (Bevel and Gardner 2002). The final step is coagulation, or clotting. This is what is normally seen at crime scenes, where the clotted mass of fibrin fibres and blood cells is surrounded by blood serum (Bevel and Gardner 2002). There are three types of bleeding that can occur from damage to blood vessels (BUPA 2009): Arterial Bleeding Venous Bleeding Capillary Bleeding. Arterial bleeding usually is spurting bright red blood, due to the blood having come from the heart and lungs-so it is oxygen rich (Walter et al 2004). The pumping action of the heart adds rhythmic surges to move blood vessels away from the heart (Wonder 2001). It is the most serious type of bleeding, and the most difficult to control due to the blood in the arteries being under pressure from the heart (Walter et al 2004). Arterial wounds results in volume stains (Wonder 2001). Loss from the carotid artery or the aorta can rapidly lead to death (Wonder 2001). Examples of arterial injuries, and how they may occur are listed in Table 2. Artery Location Probable Occurrence Facial Mouth/lips Beating Temporal Head/temples Gunshot, Crushing Carotid Neck, front throat Stab wound, Gunshot, Decapitation Subclavian Under collar bone Gunshot, Crushing Aorta Chest Gunshot, Stab wound Brachial Arm/elbow Bone break Radial Wrist Slit wrists, Bone Break, Stab wound Femoral Groin Gunshot, Stab wound Tibial Ankle Bone Break, Crushing Deltoid Upper arm muscle Stab wound Table 2- Areas and actions that may involve arterial damage (Wonder 2001) External venous bleeding is normally as a result of wounding, as veins are closer to the skin than arteries (Walter et al 2004). It results in the steady flow of dark red (almost brown) blood, and is darker than arterial blood as it has released oxygen to the tissues in the body and is flowing back to the heart and lungs for more oxygen (Walter et al 2004). Capillary wounding is common in minor wounds as capillaries are very small vessels that are under very little pressure with a low volume of blood (Walter et al 2004). Capillary bleeding results in the oozing of either bright or dark red blood, which will normally stop on its own (Walter et al 2004). As well as the three main types of bleeding, there is a further category which is traumatic bleeding. There are different types of wounds which can cause traumatic bleeding, and these can be categorised as follows: Abrasion- also known as a graze, where an object brushes on the skin but does not break it. Hematoma- where blood vessels are damaged, causing blood to collect under the skin. Laceration- where a blunt impact to soft tissue causes a deep wound. Incision- where a precise cut is made into the skin. Puncture Wound- where an object penetrates the skin and deeper layers. Contusion- also known as a bruise, where a blunt trauma causes damage under the skin, but does not break it. Crushing injuries- where a great amount of force is applied over a period of time, causing initially internal bleeding. Ballistic trauma- where a projectile weapon has entered and exited the area of the body, causing a wound between the two. Scenes of Crime officers attend many types of crime scene where blood is present. These include: Burglary- When an offender breaks a glass window or door to gain entry to a premises, they risk cutting their hands/arms. This leads to blood being left on fragments of glass in the window and on the floor. Assault/Wounding- Open wounds are normally the result of an attack on a victim. Blood can be left at an assault scene on the weapon that was used in the assault, on the ground, on the offender and on the victim. If the victim is bleeding heavily then blood will be left whenever the victim comes into contact with another surface. Manslaughter/Attempted Murder/Murder- Blood left at these scenes is not only important for swabbing purposes, but the pattern in which the blood is left can determine the order of events at a major scene. Road Traffic Crash- Blood at this scene can be found in the victims car and, if involved, the offenders car. This is important as it can place people in their respective cars- allowing investigators to work out the positions of people at the time of the incident. The collection, packaging and preservation of blood evidence at a crime scene should not take place until the scenes of crime officer has documented the bloodstain patterns (Lee, Palmbach and Miller 2001). Whenever biological fluids are encountered at a crime scene, protective clothing, gloves and masks should be worn due to the biohazard nature of blood (Lee, Palmbach and Miller 2001). To recover dry blood, an area near the blood that is unstained should be swabbed using a sterile swab, as a control sample (Derbyshire Constabulary 2008). Then, the stain should be swabbed using a sterile swab that has been moistened using sterile water (Derbyshire Constabulary 2008). The remains of the stain should then be dry swabbed using a sterile swab (Derbyshire Constabulary 2008). The swabs should be returned to their tubes immediately and stored frozen as soon as possible (Derbyshire Constabulary 2008). A batch control of both the water and swabs should always be made, and should be exhibited separately to the swabbed stain and background control (Derbyshire Constabulary 2008). Items that have areas of dried blood on them should be packaged in paper bags which are sealed securely and clearly marked as biohazard. Blood and bloodstained evidence should never be packaged in airtight containers (Lee, Palmbach and Miller 2001). To recover wet blood, a control swab of the surrounding area of the stain should be taken using a sterile swab (Derbyshire Constabulary 2008). The wet stain should then be swabbed using a dry, sterile swab (Derbyshire Constabulary 2008). The swabs should be returned to their tubes immediately, and should be stored frozen as soon as possible (Derbyshire Constabulary 2008). Again, a batch control of the swab should be exhibited separately (Derbyshire Constabulary 2008). If a removable item has an area of wet blood on it, then the entire object should be exhibited and left to dry in a drying room at the police station. Often at crime scenes, stains that are composed of unknown substances can easily be confused with blood. Identifying whether a substance is blood allows further analysis to confirm species, and the individual (Spalding 2006). II.IV Presumptive Tests for Blood James and Nordby (2005) say that a presumptive test is one which allows the scenes of crime officer to make a qualified conclusion that blood is present in the tested sample, when positive. They also say that when a test is negative, stains that need no further consideration are eliminated. Presumptive tests may be recognised as those that produce a visible colour reaction or those that result in the release of light (James and Nordby 2005). Both of these rely on the catalytic properties of blood to drive the reaction (James and Nordby 2005). Lee, Palmbach and Miller (2001) write this as a chemical reaction: AH2 + H2O2 Æ’Â   A + 2H2O Oxidisable chemical Hydrogen peroxide Haeme Oxidised (colourless) (peroxidise) James and Nordby (2005) state that catalytic tests involve the chemical oxidation of a chromogenic substance by an oxidising agent catalyzed by the presence of blood. They also say that the catalyst of the reaction is the peroxidise-like activity of the haeme group of haemoglobin. Cox (2004) describes the attributes that a good presumptive test for blood should be sensitive, specific, quick, simple and safe. In order for presumptive tests for blood to function properly, they must detect a component of blood (Tobe, Watson and Daà ©id 2007). Most presumptive tests therefore act on the peroxidise activity of haemoglobin. This component is not found in the everyday environment, but other substances found in items such as fruit and vegetables perform a similar function (Tobe, Watson and Daà ©id 2007). A very popular presumptive method is the phenolphthalein test, which is also known as the Kastle- Meyer test (Virkler and Lednev 2009). Lee, Palmbach and Miller (2001) say that the Kastle-Meyer test was introduced in 1901 by Kastle. Phenolphthalein will cause an alkaline solution to turn pink after it has been oxidised by peroxide when blood is present (Spalding 2006). The reagent consists of reduced phenolphthalein in alkaline solution, which is oxidised by peroxide in the presence of haemoglobin (James and Nordby 2005). The test result is normally immediate, and a positive result a minute or more after the test is performed is usually not considered as reliable (James and Nordby 2005). It has a sensitivity of 1:100,000 (Lee, Palmbach and Miller 2001). James and Nordby (2005) say that Adler and Adler in 1904 investigated the reduced or colourless form (leuco) of the dye malachite green, which is also referred to as McPhails reagent. This test involves the Leuco base of malachite green (Lillie 1969). Leucomalachite Green oxidation is catalyzed by haeme to produce a green colour (James and Nordby 2005). The reaction is usually carried out in an acid medium with hydrogen peroxide as the oxidiser (James and Nordby 2005). It has a sensitivity of 1: 20,000 (Lee, Palmbach and Miller 2001). Bluestar is a luminol preparation developed by Professor Loic Blum in France that is extremely sensitive and stable and produces a very bright, long lasting chemiluminescence (James and Nordby 2005). The extreme sensitivity of Bluestar Forensic allows detections of bloodstains down to 1:10,000 dilutions (Bluestar Forensic 2004). It does not require total darkness to be visible, and works well on either fresh blood or old bloodstains (Bluestar Forensic 2004). Bluestar works by mixing the Bluestar Forensic solution with Bluestar Forensic tablets, which is then left to dissolve. This is sprayed onto the area of suspected blood. A positive result will cause a bluish luminescence (Bluestar Forensic 2004). The Hemastix test, created by Miles Laboratories in 1992, is particularly useful when solutions can be hazardous, or inconvenient (James and Nordby 2005). The test consists of a plastic strip with a reagent treated filter tab at one end (James and Nordby 2005). The tab contains TMB, diisopropylbenzene, dihydroperoxide, buffering materials and non reactants (James and Nordby 2005). A bloodstain is tested by moistening a swab with distilled water, sampling the stain, and touching the swab onto the reagent tab on the strip (James and Nordby 2005). The tab is normally yellow, and turns form orange to green or blue when positive. Quality control testing is necessary and should be completed with known blood samples on every new batch of test reagents to verify that the reagents are working as expected (Lee, Palmbach and Miller 2001). II.V False Positives Sutton (1999) points out that a false positive is an apparent positive test result obtained with a substance other than blood. James and Nordby (2005) say that misleading results can be attributed to Chemical oxidants (often producing a reaction before the application of peroxide) Plant materials (vegetable peroxidises are thermolabile) Materials of animal origin (that contain traces of blood). Substances that produce false positives generally take detectably longer to react and, therefore, may be eliminated through observational interpretation (Tobe, Watson and Daà ©id 2007). False positives were initially noted only with copper salts (Glaister 1926). Tobe, Watson and Daà ©id (2007) state that saliva, semen, potato, tomato, tomato sauce, tomato sauce with meat, red onion, red kidney bean, horseradish, 0.1 ascorbic acid, 5% bleach, 10% cupric sulphate, 10% ferric sulphate and 10% nickel chloride are all known false positives. Bluestar False Positives (2008) say that Bluestar has false positives that include oil based paint, alkyd varnish, turnip, banana, leek, green bean, carrot, ginger, manganese sulphate, copper sulphate, iron sulphate and potassium permanganate. Lee, Palmbach and Miller (2001) write that many household cleaning products contain oxidising agents that can produce false positives. Many fruit and vegetables produce false positives including apples, horseradish and broccoli (Lee, Palmbach and Miller 2001). Bleach is a false positive that provides an (immediate and intense reaction) according to Gardner (2005). Hunt et al (1960) say that faeces often gave a false positive depending on the food that had been eaten previously. Ponce and Pascual (1999) state that lemon juice added to a bloodstain can cause a positive result due to its acidity. A false negative is when there is some interference with the oxidation-reduction reaction, normally in the presence of a strong reducing agent, which results in a delay of the oxidation reaction; thus resulting in a coloured formation (Lee, Palmbach and Miller 2001). False negatives are less common but problematic as an actual blood sample may be overlooked or left at the scene (Lee, Palmbach and Miller 2001). Many of the false positive reactions can be identified during the presumptive testing procedure if any changes observed and the exact point in the reaction of these changes is recorded and compared to that of blood (Lee, Palmbach and Miller 2001). Chapter III. Experimental Methodology I will be investigating known substances previously reported by other authors that show a false positive and then analysing other substances similar to those already known to see if these also produce a false positive. III.I Project Design Each of the substances will need to be repeated to ensure a wide enough range of consistent results. Therefore, a grid will be drawn on a piece of Perspex measuring 1.5m2, and a piece of filter paper placed in each of the grid spaces, to allow the even distribution of substances and to allow the easy identification of false positives. Blood Known False Positives Unknowns 1 2 3 1 2 A New technique to detect metabolites from a single drop of blood B New technique to detect metabolites from a single drop of blood C New technique to detect metabolites from a single drop of blood Figure 4- A diagram to illustrate an example of the project layout. For each of the presumptive reagents tested, the filter paper in each grid space will be exposed to a substance to be tested. This will be allowed to dry for a minimum of 1 hour. Each substance will then be tested with a reagent. Each substance will be repeated three times to give a fair indication of performance. The time taken for a substance to register a positive result will be recorded. If a colour change occurs then the test will be classed as positive. If no colour change is noted within 5 minutes of the reagent being added, then the test will be classed as negative. III.II Sample Preparation The substances that I have chosen to analyse are known false positives as reported by other authors and then substances allied to known false positives. Known false positives to be tested: Horseradish. Tomato Sauce. Red Onion. Turnip. Lemon Juice. Bleach Solution (5%). Unknown substances to be tested: Brown Sauce. BBQ Sauce. Radish. Dark Chocolate. Orange Juice. Bleach Solution (less than 5%). III.III Choice of Presumptive Tests I have chosen to use the following presumptive reagents to test substances for false positives: Kastle-Meyer. Hemastix. McPhails. Bluestar. III.IV Control Tests I will test all of the presumptive tests on blank filter paper before proceeding to test with substances. This ensures that there is no reaction from the filter paper to the presumptive tests. I shall also test all of the presumptive tests with horse blood before proceeding to test with substances. This shows that the tests do recognise a sample of blood. I have chosen to use 2.5g of each substance as I feel this is an amount that is representative of a stain at a scene. Blood is reported to have been diluted to 1:10000 in previous tests, and as this dilution has proved the most successful, I have chosen to use this dilution. REARRANGE + FINISH