How Did the Case of Jack the Ripper help the Metropolitan Police and Forensic Science

Author(s):  
Sandra White

This study will examine the links between the historical case of Jack the Ripper, the history of forensic science, and the advancement of policing for the Metropolitan Police and forensic in Victorian Britain. Ripper’s crimes were committed in a ‘pre-forensic science’ period, when there were no fingerprints, DNA, or crime scene investigation units to help Detectives capture sophisticated criminals, but through this case forensic science and the Metropolitan Police Force would develop into a more modern form of policing. Jack the Ripper can be considered the prototype of the definition of a serial killer, and his crimes were of a nature that police had little experience with, which meant the police force would have to develop new techniques in criminal investigation. This study will examine the early history of the Metropolitan Police, how the young police force—less than sixty years old by the first murder of Jack the Ripper—was organized, the tools available for investigating murders, how the case of Jack the Ripper led to advancements in criminal investigation and how these new techniques were used to solve other crimes. The Metropolitan Police and British pathologists—such as Dr. Bernard Spilsbury— developed new ways of catching criminals because of the Jack the Ripper case, such as crime scene preservation, profiling and the use of photography to capture crime scenes that would be used to solve the case of Dr. Crippen in 1910 and the Bathtub Murders in 1915.

1962 ◽  
Vol 11 (02) ◽  
pp. 137-143
Author(s):  
M. Schwarzschild

It is perhaps one of the most important characteristics of the past decade in astronomy that the evolution of some major classes of astronomical objects has become accessible to detailed research. The theory of the evolution of individual stars has developed into a substantial body of quantitative investigations. The evolution of galaxies, particularly of our own, has clearly become a subject for serious research. Even the history of the solar system, this close-by intriguing puzzle, may soon make the transition from being a subject of speculation to being a subject of detailed study in view of the fast flow of new data obtained with new techniques, including space-craft.


Author(s):  
Katrina Burgess

This book examines state–migrant relations in four countries with a long history of migration, regime change, and democratic fragility: Turkey, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the Philippines. It uses these cases to develop an integrative theory of the interaction between “diaspora-making” by states and “state-making” by diasporas. Specifically, it tackles three questions: (1) Under what conditions and in what ways do states alter the boundaries of political membership to reach out to migrants and thereby “make” diasporas? (2) How do these migrants respond? (3) To what extent does their response, in turn, transform the state? Through historical case narratives and qualitative comparison, the book traces the feedback loops among migrant profiles, state strategies of diaspora-making, party transnationalization, and channels of migrant engagement in politics back home. The analysis reveals that most migrants follow the pathways established by the state and thereby act as “loyal” diasporas but with important deviations that push states to alter rules and institutions.


Author(s):  
Timur Ergen

This chapter brings together arguments from economics, sociology, and political economy to show that innovation processes are characterized by a dilemma between the advantages of aligned expectations—including greater coordination and investment—and those of diversity, including superior openness to new technological possibilities. To illustrate the argument, the chapter discusses a historical case involving one of the largest coordinated peace-time attempts to hasten technological innovation in the history of capitalism, namely the US energy technology policies of the 1970s and 1980s. Close examination of the commercialization of photovoltaics and synthetic fuel initiatives illustrates both sides of the dilemma between shared versus diverse expectations in innovation: coordination but possible premature lock-in on the one hand, and openness but possible stagnation on the other. The chapter shows that even the exploration and interpretation of new technologies may be as much a product of focused investment as of trial-and-error search.


Author(s):  
Jan Euteneuer ◽  
Cornelius Courts

AbstractMolecular ballistics combines molecular biological, forensic ballistic, and wound ballistic insights and approaches in the description, collection, objective investigation, and contextualization of the complex patterns of biological evidence that are generated by gunshots at biological targets. Setting out in 2010 with two seminal publications proving the principle that DNA from backspatter collected from inside surfaces of firearms can be retreived and successfully be analyzed, molecular ballistics covered a lot of ground until today. In this review, 10 years later, we begin with a comprehensive description and brief history of the field and lay out its intersections with other forensic disciplines like wound ballistics, forensic molecular biology, blood pattern analysis, and crime scene investigation. In an application guide section, we aim to raise consciousness to backspatter traces and the inside surfaces of firearms as sources of forensic evidence. Covering crime scene practical as well as forensic genetic aspects, we introduce operational requirements and lay out possible procedures, including forensic RNA analysis, when searching for, collecting, analyzing, and contextualizing such trace material. We discuss the intricacies and rationales of ballistic model building, employing different tissue, skin, and bone simulants and the advantages of the “triple-contrast” method in molecular ballistics and give advice on how to stage experimental shootings in molecular ballistic research. Finally, we take a look at future applications and prospects of molecular ballistics.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen-Ru Chen ◽  
You-Qi Chang-Liao ◽  
Cheng-yu Lin ◽  
Deng-Ruei Tsai ◽  
Jia-He Lim ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Aleksandra Onishchenko

Background. The matters of performing and composing art of the XIXth century are considered in this article. The way of formation and changes that have been brought into the violin literature for 100 years ‒ extension of performing techniques, breaking stereotypes that had been built for centuries ‒ were taken as a standard in the repertoire of the violinists of that time. The development of the concert genre by famous performers – composers and division of these two functions by the end of the century encouraged musicians to talk about «violin» and «non violin», limiting performer’s opportunities, by giving them anti violin tasks. It was encouraged by the presence of certain templates that were formed in the period of Italian violinists-composers, who defined a specific format of sound performances, formed definite formulas of technical phrases, and developed a full range of performing tools that built the violin-performing machine. In their turn, composers of the late XIX century had an opportunity to look at the performing structure from another perspective, bringing new acoustic author’s expressions into the violin literature. E. Lalo, A. Dvořák, К. Saint-Saens, J. Brahms, P. Tchaikovsky laid the foundation for new trends and performances that created a discussion about violin and non-violin. During 5 years (from 1874 until 1879), the mentioned authors were divided into two camps – followers of traditions E. Lalo, A. Dvořák, К. Saint-Saens and innovators in the concert genre J. Brahms and P. Tchaikovsky. The latter ones managed to avoid violin clichés and despite much resentment in the musical world showed those sides of performer’s characteristics that could not be positioned with related to violin performance. Objectives. This article is aimed at defining the range of techniques that allow to talk about «violin» and «non-violin» following the analysis of musical edition of the Concert for violin with orchestra by P. Thaikovsky. Results. Every era of violin art has brought its elements of expressive means that extended the violinists’ capabilities, thereby enriching the performing palette with new techniques and at the same time a range of complicated figurativesemantic objectives are given to performers. During a long period (from the seventeenth until the mid-nineteenth centuries), performers-composers, creating compositions for violin, did some methodical work as well, using specific technical tools for specific artistic objectives. In other words, musical value was intrinsically connected with the comfort while performing. Types of fingerings, dashes, chord techniques, timbres – what makes a performer’s toolbox ‒ was determined in the study and performance practice as a certain template. Over time teaching materials in form of «schools of violin performance», used for mastering performer’s technique, focused the composers on certain sound technical models, that particular «violin» structure that could be easily «read» not only the time of the composition creation but its style belonging and even its authorship. However, in the history of musical art the cases when the author’s imagination goes beyond templates, setting difficult objectives, including technical ones, for the performer are not so rare. Premier failures, musicians’ refusal to participate in the performance of a new composition ‒ all of it was the consequence of inertial processes of concert practice, its «delay» towards the composer’s practice. A clear example of such a situation is the Concert for violin with orchestra by P. Tchaikovsky, the composition that generated a discussion about «violin» and «non-violin» in musical art. It is evident that the modern performing toolbox allows mastering and overcoming those difficulties, which created an opinion about the composition as inconvenient and «non-violin» in days of the composer. So, what is the meaning of «violin» and «non violin»? Can «non violin» be outdated or is it a phenomenon at different stages of the evolution of musical stylistics? Conclusions. The end of the XIXth century was marked not only by the renewal of violin material, but also by extension of performer’s techniques, withdrawal of stereotypes that had been built for centuries and were taken as a standard in the repertoire of the performers of that time. The richness of the Concert for violin by P. Tchikovsky with technical discoveries, going ahead of the time, caused L. Auer’s refusal to take part in the premiere. A young soloist A. Brodsky needed more than a year to learn the musical language, dramaturgy and all those difficulties that were mentioned above. Nowadays the Concert for violin by P. Tchaikovsky is a mandatory composition in all prestigious violin contests. It is evident that modern violinist’s toolbox allows them to master and overcome all those difficulties that earlier were told to be «inconvenient» and «non-violin» in the composition. These days «non violin» can be considered a thing of the past. A range of authors of remarquable methodical works of the XX‒XXI centuries (К. Flesch, K. Mostras, I. Yampolsky, Yu. Yankelevich, L. Gurevich, M. Berlianchik) relied on their own experience while answering the questions that worried all the performers without any exception during the development of the whole complex of techniques. However, none of them studies the notion «non violin» as a methodological problem because the practice proves: the technical inconveniences are overcomed in case the performer can hear and understand the innovations, offered by a composer, that raise the performer above any stereotypes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alexander Gordon

<p>Through a specific historical case study, Another Elderly Lady to be Knocked Down applies discourse theory and the Authorised Heritage Discourse (AHD) to the context of urban built heritage in Aotearoa New Zealand. Previously, only limited work had been done in this area. By examining an underexplored event this dissertation fills two gaps in present literature: the history of the event itself and identification of the heritage discourses in the country at the time. Examination of these discourses in context also allows conclusions about the use of the AHD in similar studies to be critically examined.  In 1986 the Missions to Seamen building in Wellington, New Zealand, was threatened with demolition by its government owners. In a remarkable display of popular sentiment, individuals, organisations, the Wellington City Council (WCC) and the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) worked together to oppose this unpopular decision. This protest was a seminal event in the history of heritage in New Zealand.  This study relies upon documentary sources, especially the archival records of the Historic Places Trust and the State Services Commission, who owned the building, to provide the history of this watershed moment in New Zealand’s preservation movement. The prevalent attitudes of different groups in Wellington are examined through the letters of protest they wrote at the time. When analysed in context, these discourses reveal the ways in which heritage was articulated and constructed.  The course of this dissertation has revealed the difficulty of identifying an AHD in this context. The level of collaboration between ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’ heritage perspectives, and the extent to which they shaped each other’s language, creates considerable difficulty in distinguishing between discreet discourses. To better explore the ways that heritage meaning is constructed and articulated, heritage must be recognised as a complex dynamic process.</p>


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