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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
191

Testing the seams of the American dream : minority literature and film in the early Cold War

Burns, Patricia Mary 26 September 2011 (has links)
Testing the Seams of the American Dream: Minority Literature and Film in the Early Cold War delineates the concept of the liberal tolerance agenda in early Cold War. The liberal tolerance message of the U.S. government, the Democratic Party, and others endorsed racial tolerance and envisioned the possibility of a future free from racism and inequality. Filmmakers in often disseminated a liberal message similar to that of the politicians in the form of “race problem” films. My shows how these films and the liberal tolerance agenda as a whole promises racial equality to the racial minority in exchange for hard work, patriotism, education, and a belief in the majority culture. My first chapter, “Washing White the Racial Subject: Hollywood’s First Black Problem Film,” performs a close reading of Arthur Laurents 1946 play Home of the Brave, which features a Jewish American protagonist, in conjunction with a reading of the 1949 film version, which has an African American protagonist. The differences between the two texts reveal the slippages in the liberal tolerance agenda and signal the inability of filmmakers to envision racial equality on the big screen. “The American Institution and the Racial Subject,” my second chapter, discusses the 1949 film Pinky as well as Américo Paredes’s George Washington Gómez and Monica Sone’s Nisei Daughter. All of these works suggests that the attainment of education promises entry into the mainstream by racial minorities, yet Paredes and Sone question this process by interpreting it as resulting in the dual segregation of their protagonists. My third chapter, “Earning and Cultural Capital: The Work that Determines Place,” looks at the promise that with hard work anyone can attain the American Dream. I show how the 1951 film Go for Broke!, Ann Petry’s The Street, and José Antonio Villarreal’s Pocho work to dispel this American myth. My final chapter, “The Regrets of Dissent: Blacklists and the Race Question,” examines the 1954 film Salt of the Earth alongside Chester Himes’s If He Hollers Let Him Go and John Okada’s No-No Boy to reveal the dangerous mixture of race and dissent in this era. / text
192

Pfarrwitwenversorgung im Herzogtum Mecklenburg-Schwerin von der Reformation bis zum 20. Jahrhundert / The provision of widows of pastor's in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from the age of the Reformation until the 20th century

Würth, Hanna Dr. 20 April 2004 (has links)
No description available.
193

"Stealing the story, salvaging the she" : feminist revisionist fiction and the bible

Goosen, Adri 12 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MA (English))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis analyses six novels by different women writers, each of which rewrites an originally androcentric biblical story from a female perspective. These novels are The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, The Garden by Elsie Aidinoff, Leaving Eden by Ann Chamberlin, The Moon under her Feet by Clysta Kinstler, The Wild Girl by Michelle Roberts and Wisdom’s Daughter by India Edghill. By classifying these novels as feminist revisionist fiction, this study considers how they both subvert and revise the biblical narratives they are based on in order to offer readers new and gynocentric alternatives. With the intention of establishing the significance of such an endeavor, the study therefore employs the findings of feminist critique and theology to expose how the Bible, as a sexist text, has inspired, directly or indirectly, many of the patriarchal values that govern Western society and religion. Having established how biblical narratives have promoted and justified visions of women as marginal, subordinate and outside the realm of the sacred, we move on to explore how feminist rewritings of such narratives might function to challenge and transform androcentric ideology, patriarchal myth and phallocentric theology. The aim is to show that the new and different stories constructed within these revisionist novels re-conceptualise and re-imagine women, their place in society and their relation to the divine. Thus, as the title suggests, this thesis ultimately considers how women writers ‘steal’ the original biblical stories and transform them in ways that prove liberating for women. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis analiseer ses romans deur verskillende vroue skrywers - romans wat die oorspronklik androsentriese bybelse stories herskryf vanuit ’n vroulike perspektief. Die romans sluit in The Red Tent deur Anita Diamant, The Garden deur Elsie Aidinoff, Leaving Eden deur Ann Chamberlin, The Moon under her Feet deur Clysta Kinstler, The Wild Girl deur Michelle Roberts en Wisdom’s Daughter deur India Edghill. Deur hierdie romans te klassifiseer as feministiese revisionistiese fiksie, oorweeg hierdie studie hoe hulle die bybelse verhale waarop hulle gebaseer is, beide ondermyn en hersien om sodoende lesers nuwe en ginosentriese alternatiewe te bied. Met die voorneme om die betekenisvolheid van so ’n poging vas te stel, wend hierdie tesis dus die bevindings van feministiese kritiek en -teologie aan om bloot te lê hoe die Bybel, as ‘n seksistiese teks, baie van die patriargale waardes van die Westerse samelewing en godsdiens, direk of indirek, geïnspireer het. Nadat vasgestel is hoe bybelse verhale sienings van vroue as marginaal, ondergeskik en buite die sfeer van heiligheid bevorder en regverdig, beweeg die tesis aan om te ondersoek hoe feministiese herskrywings van sulke verhale, androsentriese ideologie, patriargale mite en fallosentriese teologie uitdaag en herskep. Die doelwit is om te wys dat die nuwe en anderste stories saamgestel in hierdie revisionistiese romans, vroue, hul plek in die samelewing en hul betrekking tot die goddelike, kan heroorweeg en herdink. Dus, soos die titel voorstel, oorweeg hierdie tesis primêr hoe vroue skrywers die oorspronklike bybelse stories ‘steel’ en herskep op maniere wat bevrydend vir vrouens blyk te wees.
194

Rev J.L.R. Rammala : a case study of an African missionary

Masuku, Mnyalaza Tobias 11 1900 (has links)
Text in English / This dissertation examines the missionary activities of Rev. J.L.R. Rammala of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) which was formally called the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA). Rev. Rammala worked among the Bushmen (San) of Botswana as a missionary from 1973 to 1980. The study examines how the DRCA as a·· product of Western missions, developed its own understanding of mission when judged through the mission activities of Rev. Rammala in Botswana as a case study. This understanding of mission is judged against the background of the survey of the debate on Third World missions, and the DRCA's involvement in intercultural mission. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / Th. M. (Missiology)
195

Self, family and society in Nadine Gordimer's Burger's Daughter, Rachel Zadok's Gem Squash Tokoloshe, and Doris Lessings's The Grass is Singing

O'Brien, Lauren Leigh 08 September 2013 (has links)
This dissertation examines Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter, Rachel Zadok’s Gem Squash Tokoloshe, and Doris Lessing’s The Grass is Singing. It focuses on the development of each of the protagonists’ identities in three realms: the individual, the familial and the societal. Additionally, it is concerned with the specific socio-political contexts in which the novels are set. It employs psychoanalytic and historical materialist frameworks in order to engage with the disparate areas of identity with which it is concerned. The introduction establishes the analytical perspective of the dissertation and explores the network of theoretical frames on which the dissertation relies. Additionally, it contextualises each of the novels, within their historical contexts, as well as in relation to the theory. The first chapter examines Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter. It focuses on the protagonist’s assertion of an identity independent of her father’s role as a political activist, and her eventual acceptance of the universal difficulty in negotiating a life which is both private and political. The second chapter, on Rachel Zadok’s Gem Squash Tokoloshe, examines the relationship between the protagonist’s traumatic experiences as a child and her inability to assert an identity as an adult. The similarities between the protagonist’s attempts to address her traumas and thereby create herself anew and South Africa’s employment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a means to acknowledge and engage with its traumatic history is of import. The third chapter which deals with Doris Lessing’s The Grass is Singing traces the life of its protagonist, whose identifications remain childish as a result of having witnessed her parents’ difficult relationship. Her understanding of the world is informed by a rigid, binary understanding, which is ultimately disrupted by her relationship with a black employee. She is incapable of readjusting her frame of reference, however, and ultimately goes mad. I conclude that, while my focus has been on personal, familial and social identifications, the standard terms in which identity is examined, namely, race, class, and gender, are present in each of the three tiers of identity with which I have been concerned.
196

Le Féminin-Psychique à l’œuvre dans le Syndrome d’Épuisement Professionnel - SEP - des aides-soignantes en Établissement d’Hébergement pour Personnes Âgées Dépendantes – EHPAD / Feminine psyche acting in the burn out syndrome of the auxilary nurse in the dependent seniors

Persod, Chloe 29 August 2014 (has links)
Mon poste de psychologue clinicienne au sein d’une maison de retraite m’a sensibilisée à la souffrance psychique des aides-soignantes. A partir de l’écoute des aides-soignantes dans le cadre de ma mission de support technique à l’équipe, émerge la plainte récurrente d’un déficit égotiste de désinvestissement émotionnel et affectif et la non reconnaissance de la pénibilité de leur tâche, qui me conduit à poser l’hypothèse d’un burn out. La recherche porte donc sur le Syndrome d’Épuisement Professionnel. Elle étudie les relations complexes entre le personnel médico-social aides-soignantes et la cadre de santé, et entre la personne âgée et sa fille. Un questionnaire clinique a fait ressortir l’ampleur du ressenti subjectif d’être épuisé. L’échelle standardisée MSP de Louise Lemyre, celle du ressenti subjectif d’être stressé. Le stress étant convoqué dans la position conceptuelle théorique retenue du Syndrome d’Épuisement Professionnel.L’analyse de ces deux ressentis a révélé les rapports complexes entre soignante–soignée et la cadre et entre fille–mère et grand-mère. C’est ainsi que l’enjeu narcissique du personnel fait ressurgir les origines archaïques de la sexualité infantile dans le lien intime au corps. En même temps, à cause d’une féminisation généralisée de la profession, la spécificité de la fonction du Féminin Psychique s’impose.Cette recherche souhaite apporter, grâce à ce Féminin Psychique, un éclairage autre sur la position intermédiaire de la Cadre. Le statut de bonne ou mauvaise mère que les aides-soignantes lui reconnaissent, aggrave ou diminue le Syndrome d’Épuisement Professionnel et le stress. Enfin, cette recherche insiste une nouvelle fois sur la nécessité impérieuse de la formation permanente institutionnelle et du travail d’élaboration psychique de ces personnels et ce, à périodicités constantes. / As a psychologist in an EHPAD (a regulated home for dependent seniors), I became very much aware of the auxiliary nurses’ psychological sufferings. Listening to them during my team-supporting mission, I heard a recurring complaint emerge, that of an egotistical deficit of emotional and affective disinvestment and of a lack of recognition of the painfulness of their task. This has led me to hypothesize professional exhaustion. The research in this thesis therefore focuses on the burn out syndrome. It studies the complex relations between the auxiliary nurses as medico-social staff and the health manager in charge as well as between the elderly person and his/her daughter.A clinical questionnaire highlighted the depth of the subjective feeling of exhaustion while Louise Lemyre’s standardized scale highlighted the depth of the subjective feeling of stress, an operational notion in the theoretical concept of burn out.The analysis of both feelings revealed the complex relations between patient-auxiliary nurse and manager as well as between daughter-mother and grandmother. The narcissism at stake with the staff reactivates the archaic origins if child sexuality in the nursing place. A t the same time, because of the general feminization of the profession, the specificity of the feminine psyche is of foremost importance.Thanks to this notion, the research paper aims to shed a different light on the intermediary position of the manager. The status of good or bad mother figure that auxiliary nurses grant her worsens or lessens the burn out and stress.Last, this research paper further insists on the absolute necessity of permanent institutional training and of psychic elaborative work for the staff at regular intervals.
197

The ministry of Dr Beyers Naude : towards developing a comprehensive mission (communication) strategy towards the victims of oppression

Masuku, M.T. (Mnyalaza Tobias) 09 June 2011 (has links)
This thesis proposes that the ministry of Dr Beyers Naudé to the victims of oppression during the apartheid rule in South Africa had a missionary dimension. It argues that the credibility of the Christian faith was challenged by the victims of oppression, as a result of the way in which it was used as a supportive tool for oppression. Through his ministry, Beyers Naudé succeeded in communicating the Christian faith in a special way to the victims of oppression. This led to a change of mind for the victims of oppression with regard to their negative attitude to the Christian faith. This study further resulted in the development of a comprehensive mission (communication) strategy to the victims of oppression. The argument is that there is another form of post-1994 victims of oppression in South Africa made out of those who feel left out by government poverty alleviation, economic development and service delivery programmes. The inability of government to strike a balance between the rich and the poor as well as corruption will always yield the ‘disadvantaged’ section of society who may feel ‘oppressed’, neglected and left out in favour of the few who have ‘connections’ at higher levels of government. These victims’ response will be characterized by anger which results into protest actions similar to those seen during the time of the ministry of Beyers Naudé. The question posed in this study is ‘how to minister to angry people who feel left out by government?’ In order to respond to this challenge and to equip ministers of religion and other interested people, a comprehensive mission (communication) strategy to victims of oppression was therefore developed based on the example of Beyers Naudé. The main question posed in this study around the reason for the success of Beyers Naudé’s ministry is “what ‘muthi’ did he use to win the hearts, love and support of the victims of oppression?” In order to answer this question, there is a three step approach that has been followed. Firstly I looked at factors that made him or influenced his making i.e. his life from his birth to his ‘conversion’, South African political landscape divided into two periods (1940-1963 and 1963-1994) as well as Faith Based Organisations’ response to apartheid. Secondly, I looked at his actual ministry to the victims of oppression from 1963 to 1994. I divided his ministry between the categories of centripetal and centrifugal patterns of mission. Thirdly a comprehensive mission (communication) strategy to the victims of oppression was developed, based on his contribution to a positive Christian witness. In the concluding chapter, I made some proposals for a way-forward in terms of areas for further study which were triggered by this research. The best statement for concluding this study, indicating the commitment of Beyers Naudé for God’s mission and how this was misunderstood by his church (the DRC) was taken from Mokgoebo (2009) who states: Beyers Naudé was a prophet of his time. As the saying goes, ‘the prophet is never respected at his own home’. His witness will remain long after we have gone, as a White man who was grasped by the powerful message of the Kingdom of God, of justice and reconciliation. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted
198

Implicit Family Process and Couples Rules: A Comparison of American and Hungarian Families

Gergely, Noemi 13 July 2006 (has links) (PDF)
Family life is organized by rules, and most of them are unspokenly agreed-upon by family members and may be even out of awareness. Implicit family process and couple rules may facilitate or constrain family relationship and intimate couple relationship growth. Prevalence of family rules may be different across cultures. Family members may perceive their rules and family functioning differently according to their family position and gender. Married couples may view their relationship rules differently than couples who cohabit. This study utilized the Family Implicit Rules Profile (FIRP) and the Couples Implicit Rules Profile (CIRP) Questionnaires to answer these research questions. The questionnaires were translated into Hungarian, and the content validity of the Hungarian translation was established. Hungarian non-clinical families and couples were compared to American (U.S.) non-clinical families and couples to examine how prevalent implicit rules were in the two cultures. According to the findings, Hungarian families and couples scored lower on the total FIRP and CIRP scores. Hungarian families perceived implicit family rules regarding kindness and monitoring less prevalent, and rules regarding constraining their thoughts, feelings and self more prevalent than American families. No differences were found in expressiveness and connection and inappropriate caretaking of parents between the two cultures. Hungarian couples perceived their implicit relationship rules regarding kindness, expressiveness and connection and monitoring less prevalent than American couples. No differences in implicit rules about constraining thoughts, feelings and self and inappropriate caretaking of partner were found between the two cultures. Mothers in both cultures viewed their families in a more positive light than other family members, and female family members (mothers and daughters) were more positive than their male counterparts (fathers and sons) about rules in their families in both cultures. Sons in both cultures perceived more responsibility to protect their parents emotionally than did daughters. Married couples in both cultures perceived their relationship rules more favorably in terms of kindness and monitoring than cohabiting couples. Results were interpreted in the context of cultural differences between the American and the Hungarian cultures. Limitations and the possibility of future research are discussed.
199

Maternidades alternativas en la narrativa de escritoras latinoamericanas contemporáneas

Alvarez Hernandez, Cyndi 05 1900 (has links)
Au cours des premières décennies du XXIe siècle, les écrivaines latino-américaines dépeignent des personnages féminins qui remettent en question la figure traditionnelle de la mère, remettant en cause simultanément le schéma traditionnel du lien entre mère et fille. Les approches de Judith Butler sur la performativité et le corps, ainsi que la méthode déconstructive de Jacques Derrida, sont à l’origine de cette analyse comparative des romans : Nueve lunas (Gabriela Wiener), La débil mental (Ariana Harwicz) et La hija única (Guadalupe Nettel). Butler soutient que la performativité du genre découle d’une construction soumise à une série de pratiques significatives qui ont perpétué un discours. Ce discours, instauré dans un contexte patriarcal, a été rendu opérationnel grâce à la reconnaissance de certaines normes qui ont historiquement placé les femmes dans une position subalterne. Dans ces romans, nous découvrons des mères qui remettent en question les normes établies par le discours dominant, offrant ainsi de nouvelles perspectives aux futures maternités de leurs filles. De même, les écrivains abordent la maternité au-delà du binôme de la bonne ou mauvaise mère, élargissant la chaîne des significations de la maternité et recensant des maternités alternatives. En dernier lieu, l’étude s’intéresse à la critique sociale que les écrivaines expriment dans leurs romans concernant l’application de la normativité imposée au corps maternel pour assurer une reproduction réussie, ainsi qu’à la violence associée à la défaillance de ces normativités. / In the early years of the 21st century, Latin American female writers engendered female characters that deconstruct the traditional model of the mother while questioning the traditional structure of the bond between mothers and daughters. Judith Butler’s approach to performativity and the body, together with Jacques Derrida’s method of deconstruction are the theoretical background to the comparative analysis of the novels Nueve lunas (Gabriela Wiener), La débil mental (Ariana Harwicz) y La hija única (Guadalupe Nettel). Butler argues that gender performativity stems from a construction anchored in a series of meaningful practices that have been perpetuated in the sociocultural discourse. This discourse, established under a patriarchal system, achieved its effect by naturalizing certain norms that have historically placed women in a subordinate position. In these novels, we find mothers who subvert the norms established by the dominant discourse, opening new perspectives to the future maternity of their daughters. Furthermore, the writers address motherhood beyond the binomial of good or bad mothers to expand the chain meaning of motherhood and take into account the present imprint of maternity. Finally, this study considers the social claim that the novels raise regarding the regulations that are imposed on the maternal body to ensure successful reproduction and the violence associated with the breach of those regulations. / Durante las primeras décadas del siglo XXI las escritoras latinoamericanas presentan en sus textos literarios personajes femeninos que deconstruyen la figura tradicional de la madre, cuestionando simultáneamente el esquema tradicional del vínculo entre madre e hija. Los planteamientos de Judith Butler sobre la performatividad y el cuerpo, así como el enfoque deconstructivo propuesto por Jacques Derrida sirven en este trabajo como marco para el análisis comparativo de las novelas Nueve lunas (Gabriela Wiener), La débil mental (Ariana Harwicz) y La hija única (Guadalupe Nettel). Butler argumenta que la performatividad de género resulta de una construcción sujeta a una serie de prácticas significativas que se han perpetuado en el discurso sociocultural. Este discurso, establecido bajo un sistema patriarcal, ha naturalizado ciertas normas que históricamente han situado a las mujeres en una posición subalterna. En las novelas del corpus encontramos madres que subvierten las normas establecidas por el discurso dominante, abriendo con ello nuevas perspectivas a las futuras maternidades de sus hijas. Asimismo, las escritoras abordan la maternidad más allá del binomio de la buena o mala madre, ampliando la cadena de significaciones de la maternidad y registrando maternidades alternativas. Por último, el trabajo considera la denuncia social que las novelas plantean con respecto al cumplimiento de la normativa impuesta sobre el cuerpo materno para garantizar una reproducción exitosa, así como con respecto a la violencia asociada al incumplimiento de dichas regulaciones.
200

Développement et évaluation d’une méthode LC-MS/MS pour l’analyse de résidus de tir en criminalistique/Development and assessment of a LC-MS/MS method for the analysis of gunshot residues in criminalistics

Laza, Désiré 16 February 2007 (has links)
Ce travail de thèse rentre dans le cadre d’un projet de recherche appliquée mené à l’Institut National de Criminalistique et de Criminologie s’intitulant « développement d’un système intégral de détection et d’identification de résidus de tir » visant à doter le laboratoire de balistique chimique d’un outil performant pour la recherche et la caractérisation des résidus de tir aussi bien inorganiques qu’organiques. Comme nous l’expliquons dans le chapitre 1, l’analyse des résidus de tir est aujourd’hui essentiellement basée sur la mise en évidence par microscopie électronique à balayage des particules métalliques provenant de l’amorce. Cette pratique a des limites. Introductif, ce chapitre met en lumière la relation entre criminologie et criminalistique, donne un aperçu de la classification des armes et décrit les relations entre les armes de poing, les munitions, les résidus de tir et la criminalistique. La motivation de l’analyse de résidus organiques et plus particulièrement des stabilisants pour poudres propulsives y est aussi expliquée. Le but principal de ce travail étant le développement d’une méthode d’analyse des stabilisants par spectrométrie de masse en tandem couplée à la chromatographie liquide à haute performance (LC-MS/MS), ce premier chapitre aborde de façon détaillée le principe de fonctionnement d’un spectromètre de masse quadripolaire, qu’il soit avec simple quadripôle ou en tandem, et traite avec une attention particulière les aspects relatifs à la production d’ions, l’acquisition des données et la détection des ions. Le chapitre 2 est consacré aux résultats et discussions. Comme point de départ de tous les travaux ultérieurs, l’optimisation du fonctionnement du spectromètre et plus particulièrement la détermination des « ions précurseurs » et des « ions produits » y est traitée en détails. De plus, l’étude de la fragmentation des ions précurseurs y occupe une place prépondérante et conditionne l’établissement d’une méthode de détection et d’acquisition des données. Dans ce même chapitre sont successivement traités la mise au point de la méthode chromatographique pour l’analyse des stabilisants par LC-MS/MS, le couplage LC-MS/MS, la collecte et préparation des échantillons, dont l’extraction sur phase solide (SPE). Disposant des procédures de traitement des échantillons et d’une méthode LC-MS/MS, il nous a été possible de mener l’étude de faisabilité de l’analyse des stabilisants dans les échantillons prélevés sur les mains d’un tireur. Cette étude fait l’objet d’une proposition de publication jointe en annexe. Pour être exploitable en criminalistique, ce travail est complété par une étude sur les fréquences d’observation des stabilisants pour poudres propulsives sur les mains des non-tireurs. L’ensemble des résultats nous permet de dresser un bilan et proposer des perspectives décrites dans le chapitre 3. A cet égard, nous proposons de poursuivre les essais relatifs aux tests de persistance des résidus de stabilisant sur les mains des tireurs et d’entamer une étude sur la caractérisation des résidus de tir de la nitrocellulose. Du point de vue de l’exploitation des acquis de ce travail, nous suggérons que les méthodes et procédures développées soient mises à l’épreuve dans les affaires nécessitant l’analyse des prélèvements effectués sur les vêtements d’un suspect ou d’une victime. Cette mise à l’épreuve permettra de comparer l’efficacité de la méthode LC-MS/MS à celle de la technique SEM/EDX habituellement utilisée. Le chapitre 4 est consacré aux matériels et méthodes détaillant notamment les procédures de collectes et de traitement des échantillons, les paramètres de fonctionnement du spectromètre de masse et les méthodes analytiques. <br> <br> This thesis deals with a research project entitled "Development of an integral system of detection and identification of gunshot residues”, carried out at the Belgian National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC). This project aims at providing the Laboratory of Chemical Ballistics, a powerful tool to detect and identify organic gunshot residues. For instance, the analyses of gunshot residues is presently performed mainly for characterizing metallic particles originating from the primer, using scanning electron microscopy coupled to energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDX). However this technique has its limits and the goal of the thesis was the development of a method for the analysis of the stabilizers (and their derivatives) present in propellant powders with the use of tandem mass spectrometry coupled to high performance liquid chromatography (LC-MS/MS). The introduction highlights the relations between Criminology and Criminalistics; it gives an outline of the classification of weapons, and describes how handguns, ammunitions, gunshot residues and Criminalistics can be linked when investigating criminal cases. The motivation of the analysis of organic gunshot residues and in particular the propellant powder stabilizers is also explained. Chapter 1 deals in detail with the working principle of a quadrupole mass spectrometer, whether it is with a single quadrupole or composed of a tandem mass spectrometer. Important aspects connected with the ion production, the data acquisition and the ion detection are also considered. Chapter 2 presents the results and discussions. It begins with the optimization of the operating conditions of the spectrometer, and focuses more specifically on the determination of “precursor ions" and "daughter ions”. The study of the precursor ion is more important because it is required for the choice of parameters involved in the data acquisition mode. The development of a liquid chromatography (LC) method and the procedures for collecting and preparing the samples are explained. Moreover, Chapter 2 summarizes the results of a feasibility study of the analyses of stabilizers in samples collected from the hands of a shooter. This study was published in a peer reviewed journal [1]. A complementary study on the frequencies of observation of stabilizers on the hands of non-shooter persons is reported at the end the Chapter. The results allow also proposing perspectives which are described in Chapter 3. In this respect, the characterization of nitrocellulose residues and the study of the persistence of stabilizer residues on the hands of shooters should be undertaken. From the practical point of view, the developed methods and procedures should be tested in real cases which involve the analyses of the samples taken from the clothing of suspects and/or victims. These tests should allow an assessment of the LC-MS/MS method compared to the efficiency of the SEM/EDX technique currently used. Chapter 4 is dedicated to the materials and methods; the sample collection and treatment procedures, as well as the working parameters of the mass spectrometer and the analytical methods are explained in detail. [1]. Désiré Laza, Ph.D.; Bart Nys, Ph.D.; Jan De Kinder, Ph.D.; Andrée Kirsch - De Mesmaeker, Ph.D.; and Cécile Moucheron, Ph.D. Development of a Quantitative LC-MS/MS Method for the Analysis of Common Propellant Powder Stabilizers in Gunshot Residue. J. Forensic Sci, July 2007, Vol. 52, N° 4, 842-850.

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